Console Corner: Trine 2 Nintendo Switch review

A magical little masterpiece.
The three heroes have very unique abilitiesThe three heroes have very unique abilities
The three heroes have very unique abilities

The Nintendo Switch is a truly marvellous little machine made all the better now it has added gorgeous side-scrolling puzzle platformer Trine 2 to its roster.

Puzzle game fans will already know about the brilliant Trine series.

The games have been universally critically acclaimed since Frozenbyte released the original on PC back in 2009.

The three heroes have very unique abilitiesThe three heroes have very unique abilities
The three heroes have very unique abilities

It has spawned even better sequels and now Trine 2 has been released on the Nintendo Switch.

T2 allows three players to play the iconic roles of a wizard (Amadeus), a thief (Zoya), and Pontius the knight in a simultaneous cooperative mode.

Players use the skills of the three heroes to navigate each level. As with the first game, the mystical “Trine” has bound the three characters together into one common entity which - if playing solo - you controls one at any time switching between their unique abilities to solve the puzzles and progress.

Amadeus can use magic to grab onto certain objects in the game world and conjure boxes and planks to be used to navigate to higher ground or the next section of the level. Zoya can strike at objects with her arrows, and grapple onto certain surfaces and Pontius is strong in combat against foes, can smash through walls and deflect projectiles with his shield.

The three heroes have very unique abilitiesThe three heroes have very unique abilities
The three heroes have very unique abilities

You will need to call on all three to complete each stage in the game’s world.

Characters have individual life bars, and if one dies they cannot be used until the next checkpoint is reached. If all three characters lose die you start back at the last checkpoint.

Magical vials are key to the soft RPG progression element in T2. For every 50 you collect the player receives a skill point, which can be used to gain abilities through a skill tree for each character. These skill points can be used collectively for each of the three characters, and can also be traded between them.

It is co-op mode that T2 really shines on Switch, though, with each player controlling a character. It is undoubtedly Trine 2’s crowning achievement and is only aided by the beautiful simplicity of the Switch.

The three heroes have very unique abilitiesThe three heroes have very unique abilities
The three heroes have very unique abilities

Beautiful is word that comes to mind when you play Trine 2 too.

The visuals are simply stunning, enchanting and charming. Whether it is the lush forests or the shadows of the caves to the beaches, T2 is brimming with colour and detail and basks in superb lighting effects.

It looks truly magical.

The gorgeous visuals, the fun, addictive puzzle solving and soft RPG element make this super slick platformer a superb experience from start to finish whether playing solo or co-op.

The story may be a bit old hat and lacking in originality but that is literally the only slight negative about this little masterpiece.