Trine 4: The Nightmare Prince – Review (PS4)
A mischievous Prince meddling in the dark arts has brought the trio of Trine back together once again. As the follow up to the mediocre third entry in the series, Trine 4: The Nightmare Prince seeks to take the series back to its 2D puzzle solving roots. Luckily for us, developer Frozenbyte’s simplified approach has produced a game that is both gratifying in its challenge, and delightful in its presentation.
By utilizing the different powers of the three main characters, players will navigate 2D size scrolling puzzles to progress through the game. Three brief but helpful tutorials help to set up the story and explain the mechanics of our three heroes. Amadeus the Wizard is able to levitate objects and conjure blocks used as platforms, switch weights and more. Pontious the Knight is the most offensive of the trio and uses a sword to hack away enemies and barriers, as well as a shield to reflect light and projectile attacks. The most interesting and versatile of the three is Zoya the Thief. This rogue like archer combines her archery skills with ropes to pull switches, tether objects, and swing across large chasms. In single player mode, you can easily switch between each of the three playable characters depending on what the situation dictates.
In order to be enjoyable, puzzle games need to delicately balance fun with challenge. Trine 4 does a great job of testing the players resolve while making things just easy enough to not hinder the pace of the game. Many puzzles will present an obvious solution almost immediately, while others will take a little bit more trial and error. In their entirely, no level felt too easy nor did it submit us into frustration as a result of uneven challenge. If players do want a bit more of a challenge, they can seek to unlock all of the game’s collectibles. These hidden areas hold treasure chests that are locked behind Trine 4’s most difficult brain teasers.
Where Trine 4 does stumble is in the balancing of utility for the three characters. The Thief and the Wizard are by far the most busy of the group. Their collective abilities to rope together objects, or conjure blocks to be used as platforms are crucial to clearing most puzzles. Pontious the Knight is more often than not relegated tagging along without much to do. Given that his abilities are primarily offensive, the developers seemed to have awkwardly shoehorned combat sequences to ensure he has something to do. With the exception of the boss battles, these combat sections are the weakest part of the game. They generally require frantically hacking away at enemies with Pontious’ sword and dodging projectile attacks. You can use the Thief for these sections, but trying to aim while dodging enemy attacks can be quite frustrating. The Wizard is all but useless in battle until you unlock new abilities for him.
While Trine can easily be completed as a solo adventure, it can also be tackled from start to finish cooperatively with a team of up to four. Offering both local and online coop, players can team up and juggle the different characters to add a new level of challenge and teamwork for moving through puzzles. New to the series is Unlimited Mode. This gives coop players the opportunity to freely switch between any one of the three heroes. While adding an element of player choice, this actually takes away from the fun and team based problem solving. By giving all players the option of freely switch between the Knight, Thief, and Wizard, there’s seldom a reason to work together. One player can usually zoom through while the others follow. There’s also never much of a reason to have duplicates of any one of the heroes on screen at any time. The traditional Classic Mode designates a hero to each player at the beginning and is the best way to play with a team. This is where your partners will really need to cooperate to try out different solutions to puzzles rather than just allowing one person to do all the work.
As you progress through the game’s five chapters, you’ll collect skill points. These points automatically unlock new abilities for each of the three characters and help to keep the game fresh throughout. In and around the second chapter, Zoya unlocks elemental arrows of fire and ice. This allows her to create frozen platforms in bodies of water or quickly dispatch enemies with emblazoned arrows. Pontious learns a charge attack which is useful in combat, but can also launch objects across areas to smash through walls. Purple upgrade points can also be collected as optional extras. Using these points will allow you to modify some of these new abilities with cool new effects. Amadeus has an augment that allows him to use his levitation techniques on enemies as well as static objects.
The previous entry in the Trine series was criticized for it’s unnecessary introduction of the third dimension to game play. By returning to a 2.5D design, developer Frozenbyte have taken a back to basics approach with Trine 4 and it has paid off in spades from a visual standpoint. While only foreground elements can be interacted with, the gorgeous backdrops of the varied levels are absolutely incredible. While not technically superior, this is one of the better looking games we’ve seen on platforms this generation. A combination of whimsical subject matter and vibrant design have created a visually stunning game that impresses from start to finish. Particular standouts are Zoya’s tutorial level set in the Parisian styled streets during a masquerade festival, or the dilapidated and creepy ruins of Heatherwood Hall.
Recommendation: Trine 4’s varied and accessible approach to puzzle solving help it to stand out as a somewhat memorable and amusing experience. A charming world with an endearing cast of characters ensure that this lighthearted adventure remains enjoyable and never too trying. While there are some tedious combat sequences and balancing issues with your three characters, these never get in the way of what Trine 4 has to offer. At a budget price, Trine 4 is as easy to recommend as it is to pick up and play.
Trine 4: The Nightmare Prince is available in Nintendo Switch, Xbox ONE, Playstation 4 and PC on October 8th, 2019.
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Trine 4: The Nightmare Prince was provided to the reviewer by the publishing company but this fact did not alter the reviewer’s opinion*
