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Trine 5: A Clockwork Conspiracy is the latest entry in the action-platforming puzzle series, which made its debut back in 2009. Like Trine 4, the game uses a 2.5D art-style to add some dimension to its environments, which is engaging during its cinematic moments but occasionally adds unnecessary confusion during puzzles. Trine 5 manages to provide a balanced and engaging experience that rises to the standards set by its predecessors.
The story of Trine follows three protagonists that are bound together by the Trine, a magical artifact powered by an ancient soul. This group consists of Zoya the Thief, Amadeus the Wizard, and Pontius the Knight, with all three having been dubbed “The Heroes of Trine” after saving their kingdom numerous times. Despite their repeated victories, the cycle continues due to new evil forces that are using technology and deception to seize power and destroy the heroes.
A Fun Story With Great Performances
The inciting incident of Trine 5‘s story is a grand conspiracy designed to ruin the heroes’ reputations and unite the kingdom against them. The fallout of this plays out not only in cinematics, but also in environmental reactions, such as villagers fleeing in fear and hurling insults as players make their way through the level. To further dishearten the heroes, the villains of this tale have put their loved ones in danger, and are using that leverage to strip the heroes of their powers and remove them from the picture entirely.
The Trine series has a knack for finding unique angles to their stories and this is no different. The conspiracy may not be a grand mystery to the player, but it’s fun to see the heroes piece everything together and deal with effects it has on the kingdom they have saved time after time. That said, the fact that the same heroes have saved this kingdom four times already and had a statue made to honor them for this very feat, makes it hard to believe that the same kingdom would turn on them almost immediately.
Thankfully, Trine 5‘s animations and wonderful performances make this mild dissonance fade into the background. Each character is full of charm and personality, due in part to the original voice actors reprising their roles and the development team bringing in some new talent. When paired with deceptively good facial animations and physical comedy, any issues the story may have becomes trivial, allowing players to enjoy hanging out with this unlikely group of heroes and guide them through a beautiful and fantastic world.
Puzzles, Platforming, And Team Synergy
Generally speaking, the platforming and puzzles that serve as Trine 5‘s backbone are solid. Each hero has a number of ways to traverse this world, be it Zoya’s grappling hook and wall jumps, Pontius’ ability to slam on springs and rush forward midair, or Amadeus’ ability to conjure objects and platforms. With enough effort and creative thinking, players can get just about anywhere they need to without having to rely on obtaining a specific ability. On the rare occasion that a specific ability is required, ability points can be refunded and put into new skills at any time to avoid getting soft locked. When combined with consistent and accurate jump trajectories, generous mantling windows, and intuitive physics, platforming is easily the highlight of Trine 5‘s gameplay.
Following the platforming mechanics is Trine 5‘s puzzles design. While they may not be among the best puzzle games with regard to difficulty or complexity, the puzzles are still well crafted and plenty of fun. From a gameplay perspective, the design of each puzzle does a great job at highlighting how well the heroes’ abilities synergize, and from a story perspective, they hammer home just how reliant the heroes are on one another and why they make such a good team. That said, some puzzles are hindered by design decisions outside the puzzles themselves, such as the 2.5D art-style. An example of this revolves around wooden poles, which are used to hold platforms and crates in place. The issue is that same poles are used as non-interactable background pieces, resulting in confusion when the actions that players have learned to associate with those poles suddenly doesn’t work. These kinds of issues are minor in the grand scheme of things, but the frequency of these moments gets annoying.
Combat And The Limits Of Single-Player
Easily the most limited and unengaging aspect of Trine 5‘s gameplay, at least in single-player mode, is the combat. Unlike the puzzles and platforming, combat doesn’t allow someone playing alone to make use of team synergy, instead making this part of the game exclusive to Pontius. With his sword, shield, and combat oriented abilities, he is clearly designed to handle this aspect of the game. Zoya is a distant second thanks to her bow and Amadeus is almost useless thanks to the lack of offensive abilities, save for a detonation ability that does little damage. While it’s worth mentioning that there are missions that focus on one hero getting a new ability, this is an intentional and curated decision. On the contrary, using one hero for combat encounters does not feel intentional, and that subtle shift feels jarring and unengaging.
That said, a lot of those issues may stem from playing in single-player. With the rise of great co-op games over the last couple of years, Trine 5 embraced its multi-hero gameplay by including a co-op mode that allows each hero to be controlled by their respective player. This mode, while making puzzle solving look even more fun, likely changes the feeling of combat as well. With each character being present at the same time, it’s easy to see situations where Pontius can hold the front line, while Amadeus provides cover with his platforms and Zoya attacks from a distance. When considering how much this mode changes the gameplay, it feels like the only way to get the true, intended experience of Trine 5 is by playing with others. Unfortunately, this has the side effect of making a significant part of the gameplay feel tedious and unengaging to the solo player.
Final Thoughts And Review Score
For those looking for a fun and charming puzzle platformer to play, especially with friends, Trine 5 is the perfect choice. Each hero is distinct and lovable in their own ways, the story is fun and engaging, and the puzzles are intuitive and simple, if not lacking in creativity towards the end. In a series full of positively received games and support from players that have stuck with it for years, this is yet another great entry that’s sure to leave players with a smile on their face.
Trine 5: A Clockwork Conspiracy is available August 31st for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC. Screen Rant was provided with a Steam digital download for the purpose of this review.
