Amadeus can levitate objects and (later) enemies, or conjure magical blocks out of thin air and manipulate distant levers and then there’s Zoya, who can use her bow to deal damage from afar, use her grappling hook to swing from certain outcrops or render herself invisible. Pontius is the melee guy, equipped with a hefty sword and a shield you can angle to deflect attacks, and able to switch to a two-handed hammer in order to smash down certain boundaries. So the trio of world-weary heroes head off into the Enchanted Forest, each equipped with specific skills and equipment to overcome any obstacle. The problem stems from a couple of magical sisters whose sibling feud is causing an imbalance in the Forest, producing enlarged wildlife (giant snakes and cottage-sized snails feature, among other things) and stirring up the resident goblin population. The story follows Amadeus the Wizard, Pontius the Knight and Zoya the Thief, a triumvirate of legendary heroes summoned by the mysterious Trine to eradicate a growing evil leaking its dark influence across the world from deep within the Enchanted Forest.
Nothing else has an art style like Trine 2, and few games reward co-op experimentation quite so well, either. Nothing has changed to dampen that quality in any way over the past year, and it remains as beautiful and as playable as ever. Trine 2 is an excellent game, let’s get that out of the way immediately. Here we are, 12 months on, at the launch of another major console and Frozenbyte’s exceptional fantasy adventure, like a reliable, dutiful hound, is back in our lives again, wagging its tail and panting for our affection. It’s exactly a whole year ago to the day that I reviewed Trine 2: Director’s Cut for the Wii U and found it to be absolutely brilliant.