Trine 3: The Artifacts of Power (PC) early access review

The puzzle platform game created by Frozenbyte comes in Early Access for PC format with several changes in its mechanics and supports a 3D world, brings new challenges to what we already knew from the saga. It comes out later this year.

Trine is one of those sagas that without making too much noise have managed to catch on among a large number of players. No wonder, a striking visuals and gameplay formula that mixes platforms and puzzle perfectly convinced more than one, especially with Trine 2 and its version of the director who appeared later. A title intended to cooperate with very clear base that now are modified and renewed with Trine 3. The game is scheduled for release later this year and arriving for Early Access in Steam. We tried the early stages of this third installment with surprise as most prominent feature of our first minutes: jump to 3D.

The latest installment of the saga appeared with vivid colors, full of detail and rich in both foreground and second scenarios. Many times, the feeling was that we'd love to enjoy everything we saw on the screen. And Trine 3 offers precisely this: it does not close in a 2D formula as we had seen so far it brings depth and constant changes of camera. This means that the background is not decorative, but part of the experience. Both to move forward in this world as beautiful as full of pitfalls as to expand the exploration for all kinds of extras beyond what we had seen to date.

The first feeling when we see that we can approach the "background" is not to be in a 3D platforms freely, but if it sounds contradictory although some 3D in a 2D world. We do not have the feeling of playing something completely different, but it is a Trine in depth. Naturally we win a much more diverse development-often, the output is unimaginable area that normally functions as decoration- and actions we must realize that beyond the usual level in the series. For example, in the background we see a door opens not know how and we must find a switch that is hidden behind a pillar.


Three heroes
But three things are immutable in Trine 3, as the presence of three distinct heroes among them and they play a vital role as complementary to move forward. The warrior is the first of three ahead of us. It is one that has more strength, ideal for close combat and movements that serve to move large structures. When we jump, we can give a blow down to break certain platforms, with one of the action buttons do an onslaught which serves for example to push a boulder up a half-broken wall and shield allows an analogue right, covered with blows and projectiles . You can also jump with shield plan to get to faraway places.

Zoya, the goalkeeper, it becomes one of the funniest characters so different from its properties. We can shoot with the bow pointing the right analog, has enough agility to jump and move around the stage and has a hook by which you can stick in certain areas or use it to move large objects, ranging from boxes to massive doors. In fact, one of the first puzzles is to open a gate that we have to stick with our hook in a couple of columns to pass through it.

The third is the magician, who becomes available with all its virtues, basically the ability to move objects and create boxes of nowhere. The magician uses his techniques to activate switches in places impossible to reach, unlock places full of objects, make balances, etc. As the game changes radically with 3D environments, we can also move back and forth objects leaving down a trigger and then using the left stick, a formula that works well and is easy once you run a couple of times.


As usual, the grace of all this is in the combination of elements. Knowing how to use each character is key to progress. Under one aspect of platforms, Trine 3 shall not cease to be a constant game of puzzles. We arrived to a specific area and there we had to find the exit to move forward. When we played solo all very agile, because with a button change the character we control as we combine their skills. An example: With the warrior wood to break a magician can enter a box and press a switch. Remain to be pressing another switch to happen, and it's time for the goalkeeper, who can jump between walls like a ninja to get to that second device. Already in the early stages we played couple of times trying to figure out how we could move forward, which is good sign for the overall title.

A wonder for the eyes
Visually, Trine 3 follows in the footsteps of its predecessors and recreates a dreamlike and fantasy world where everything shines equally. Lush gardens and forests full details camera changes that allow us to enjoy light effects as the sun setting behind the stage and closed dark areas and also convincing in its artistic and finishing section. The game had several customizable elements, but certainly it shows that so far the game still needs more development time. It was not unusual to find some jerks at times that there was nothing highlighted on display, and there are several details that have room for improvement, such as certain movements of the characters that seems to float across the stage when going at high speed or some physical responding strangely.

With a soundtrack chameleon that adapts to each stage and a winning formula at odds with the new 3D proposal Trine 3 is intended to give a blow of authority and become one of the most important downloadable titles this 2015. So far, the little that we could try to keep convincing the basis of a formula that worked and add new variants that give more freshness. In addition, PC users will be happy to know that they have all the assets that have been used so far to make life easier for mods.

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