Related Articles

TRINE, like Mirror's Edge and Zeno Clash before it, is another title here at Neoseeker which has held a special place in our hearts, and today we'll give you a hands-on look at how it's shaping up so far following some background.  The game marks developer Frozenbyte's third game, and is quite a departure from their previous two shooters Shadowgrounds and Shadowgrounds: Survivor.

At heart, the game is a platformer, puzzler and dare we say it, RPG, with influences that appear to be all over the map. For one example, fans of the classic Ghosts 'N Goblins series (and its spiritual successor Maximo) should find lots to love here, and we might even go so far as to say ARPG lovers will find likenesses to appreciate as well -- besides aesthetics and combat, an experience system allowing the player to upgrade his weapons and abilities is in the pipeline, as is an inventory menu and character enhancement items. Rest assured, even based on the preview build, TRINE is every bit as good as these games in and of itself, bringing its own originality and brand of fun to the table.

Gameplay is depicted from a side-scrolling viewpoint, and hosts a well-blended myriad of puzzle-solving, platforming, and combat. The hook here is you can alternate at any point between either the Thief, Knight, or Wizard (click the 1, 2, or 3 key), which proves terribly exciting. More, local co-op for up to three players is planned for the game, so folks can use their skills together, which should up the fun even more.

With the Wizard it's immensely satisfying to create and move as many blocks as you like at whatever sizes you like to get where you want to go, and with the Thief it's fun to use in picking off enemies from a distance with her bow and arrow and use her grappling hook to leap chasms and scale walls and such. The Knight proved to be the weakpoint in this early build, who mostly just attacked things, with virtually no variety in combat. Weapons beyond his sword are planned, though, as are new skills and weapons for all the characters, so we should have no complaints in this regard come release time.