Before getting to the review, let me preface by saying that I had huge problems with running this game on Windows 10: despite exceeding all the requirements, I experienced numerous crashes that obliged me to reset the whole PC; after trying some existing solutions, the only thing that worked for me was a mix of them, and I had to run the game as administrator, in XP compatibility mode and after manually disabling bloom in the configuration file. However, this type of problem seems to be very rare (I only found four or five topics online), so I won’t count it as a flaw in this review. You’re still warned, though, that this could also happen to yourself.

Trine is a platform game in which the player controls three different characters, each with his own abilities, to overcome a series of puzzle to reach the end of the level, while fending off skeletons and trying to avoid stage hazards; each character can improve his/her abilities by collecting enough experience, which can be found by defeating enemies or by searching collectables in the levels: most of them in plain sight, others hidden behind some riddle or a test of skill.
The mechanics of the game are very simple and almost immediate, and levels are nor very long or very difficult, neither in the puzzle resolution or enemy/stage hazard presence or aggressiveness, so it’s definitely recommended to those who seek a not particularly difficult or unforgiving platform.
For those who instead seek a challenge, there is Hardcore mode, an extra option which disables saving during levels and prevents dead characters’ respawns at already visited checkpoints, sometimes making progression in the level impossible if the character required to perform a certain action has previously died. Hardcore mode does not increase enemies’ attack or defence (instead regulated by the difficulty chosen for that particular level), neither their intelligence (they will still fall into pits or attack their allies), making combat a simple matter of shielding yourself and waiting for the enemies to maul each other. It goes without saying that puzzle difficulty does not changes between Normal or Hardcore mode, so you can easily tell that the latter is just added artificial difficulty, punishing the player harsher for its mistakes but not increasing the general level of challenge at all.
Keep in mind that the game is very short: even on Hard difficulty and Hardcore mode, it should take about ten hours to finish it while also obtaining all the collectibles. It shouldn’t be a problem, though, as the game is particularly engaging on his own, especially if you like fantasy or are a fan of brightly and vivid settings, which the game is full of (and it is probably one of its major feats).

Recommended.

good