Trine 4 A Wonderful time on the Switch
Ok I'll be honest, I've never played a Trine title in the past but this one caught my eye. Also let's face it, it looks to be a title purposefully made for the Nintendo Switch which is where I have been lucky enough to play it.
Once again our three heroic champions Amadeus the Wizard, Sir Pontius the Knight and Zora the Thief come together to help find a prince who has run away or should we say escaped from the Wizards Academy. The Prince vanishes into the magical forest with nightmarish creatures in tow that he himself is conjuring unknowingly.
I never knew I needed to play a Trine title until it was sitting in front of me. For years friends have talked up the other titles but platforming has never been my strong point, something I am enjoying more and more lately. Trine 4 has managed to keep me engrossed in the title for much more than what is essentially a lacklustre story.
Trine 4 returns to the 2.5D layout of the first two titles that served them so well. Trine 4's strong point is its puzzling elements. To progress through each level you need to use a variety mechanics available from each character to solve puzzles and progress. Amadeus conjures boxes and balls and lifts other objects to make bridges or steps. Sir Pontius' shield reflects light and projectiles, plus he is good at smashing things and Zora's bow and arrow can trigger switches and cut ropes while her grappling hook can be used to tie objects together or make a tight rope for her to walk across. Throughout the game the puzzles do get harder and more thought is required for some of the later levels.
Solving puzzles often require a combination of abilities along with the many objects that can be interacted with. Planks, scales, seesaws, rotating wheels, plants shooting projectiles and many more. Each puzzle has many different ways to solve it, some can even be cheesed, say by building a bit of a leaning tower than quickly grappling your way up it.
Combat is probably the weakest element of Trine 4. For most encounters I saw myself defaulting to Sir Pontius and his deflect and smash techniques. Hey I said I wasn't good at platformers but it worked for me. The combat is a side note of Trine 4 but there are boss battles at the end of each area. These while work with the story, feel a little unneeded. While not overly difficult I found myself defaulting to the same techniques time and time again. It got a little repetitive and drawn out.
There is something about a magical setting that draws me in. That almost ancient celtic feel of the Fairy folk is whimsical. Trine 4 has this in spades. Pretty games are everywhere these days but rarely do you get a sense of magic from a title.
Trine 4 has our heroes battling and solving their way through varied landscapes from frozen mountain tops to farmlands ripe for harvest time, cityscapes to magical forests. Folklore is here and I have to say Trine 4 is one of the best looking games I have played in a long time. Most definitely of the games I have played on the Switch.
The Nintendo Switch doesn't miss a beat. While Trine 4 may utalise the added grunt of others to it's advantage the Switch has no issues running. I played the entire time in handheld mode. Nothing negative to report here.
Some have said Trine 4 is an unneeded sequel but it is a story that stands on its own and doesn't need a knowledge of the previous to thoroughly enjoy.
Stay tuned to our Podcast for more updates as I close in on the finale.
Please note there is CO-OP available in Trine 4 but at this time I have been unable to try it out.
Snoogs.
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