Downloadable-only titles are currently finding their niche in today's gaming world. The lowered development costs that are often associated with these games allow smaller studios with experimental ideas to put out their titles at a lower price. Developers who want to try something unique will often opt to test out their ideas on downloadable games simply because the risk of financial disaster is far less than a disc-copy game. Trine is not one of those games. It instead attempts to take some tried and true platforming elements and put them in a stunning fantasy setting. Trine keeps a great balance between the nostalgic, often-used elements of a fantasy setting, and quirky physics-based environmental puzzles that manage to never seem out of place. And, while this formula works quite well, the lack of any extraordinary gameplay elements hurts the experience as a whole.

Trine's story begins by introducing each of the characters that you will play as throughout the game. The thief, a quick female character with ranged abilities is trying to steal an ancient artifact from the Astral Academy. While her deeds may be a bit nefarious, there seems to be a sense of honor in her that is later seen as she helps to save the kingdom. The Wizard is a man who studies at the Academy, and tends to focus more on using his powers to impress the ladies rather than actually becoming more powerful. Then the knight comes into play. He is dead set on doing his duty as a guard by stopping any thieves who may threaten the Academy's store of treasure. These three unlikely and mismatched heroes meet up in the treasure room and are accidentally united into one by a mysterious object called the Trine.

It's amazing what one can do with a few boxes and some magic.

The opening of the plot sets the tone of a classic fantasy. The rest of the story carries that mood through a whimsical narrator who calmly intones archetypal monologues as the heroes explore a decaying kingdom teeming with the undead. The goal, of course, is to save the kingdom and return it to its former glory. Trine's narrative really is very standard fare when it comes to high fantasy - however, the characters, though shallow, carry the plot twists well enough. Though you will not be overwhelmed by the adventure, it does provide enough of a backdrop for this beautiful two-dimensional romp.

When the time comes to step up and save the kingdom, Trine provides a relatively fun and intuitive gameplay system. In single player mode, one may switch freely between the three characters. The thief is able to attack at long-range, but her real strength comes in her quickness and ability to use a grappling hook to swing across gaps. She is also well-balanced when it comes between being able to solve environmental puzzles, and also taking down foes. The knight of Trine provides the muscles of the operation. While cumbersome to a fault, he can slay foes with ease and defend himself with his mighty shield. Later in the game, he gets a massive hammer that is utterly destructive. As a counterpoint to the knight's pure power, players can choose to control the wizard. This character is capable of conjuring boxes, planks and floating platforms. He is able to take on the most nefarious collections of jumping puzzles and turn them into a walk through the park. The balance that is created by these three disparate people is wonderful. You can, if you work very hard, specialize in one hero - however, Trine is at its best when you use all three in conjunction.

The excellent balance of power is not the only thing Trine's gameplay has going for it. The controls are intuitive, the puzzles are fun to solve, and even the combat is fun, despite it consisting of only glorified button mashing. The main problem, however, is the single player game's ease. While unchallenging, everything that the game does is done well. There is not a physics based puzzle that will truly challenge the player's creative energies, nor are there any spectacular boss fights. Though, while most of the levels are relatively straightforward and basic, the game is still very enjoyable. Trine is fun, but not outstanding.

The cooperative multiplayer is probably the part of Trine that has the most potential. Sadly, this also has a fatal flaw. If you play the game as it was meant to be played, then you can grab a friend or two and have riotous good time. Moments of pure fun can be had, for example, as a wizard in multiplayer. Conjure up some boxes and planks, cross the chasm, and then when your friend, the knight, tries to walk across, make those planks disappear and watch him fall into a pit full of spikes. This ability to use your character's strengths to help or hurt your friends provides a spectacular mix of teamwork and vengeance-filled fantasy violence that is very hard to resist. That is, until that fatal flaw comes into play. The developers at Frozenbyte decided to allow players to freely switch characters. This means that somebody can easily cross a chasm, switch characters and allow his/her friend to then use the same character to cross in the same way, taking away any of the challenge to be had. This really hurts the multiplayer experience as a whole. Still, the overall experience will stand out from the offerings of other games.

Amazing lighting creates atmosphere perfectly, even underground.

Presentation is the one area of Trine that really jumps out and grabs you. The graphics quickly trick you into thinking that this game was something more than a downloadable title. Each character is rendered in detail, and all of the animation is as smooth as can be. The greatest achievement, however, is the lighting. Sunlight will stream in through gaps in trees, shadows will permeate the depths of crypts, and torches will flicker when lit. This flawless execution makes each level come to life in an exciting way. The attention to detail in these environments is almost staggering, and as a package, Trine makes for a great piece of eye candy. The sound, while not as outstanding as the visuals, is also very well accomplished. Narration perfectly matches the tone set by all other areas of design, and each character communicates personality very well. The atmospheric nature of the audio design gives each level a tone that is unique, and this serves to greatly enhance the storybook fantasy atmosphere.

While the story, gameplay, multiplayer and presentation all combine into a very solid game, the quality is damaged by the overall value of the title. With only fifteen levels, the game is short. Way too short. While you can get some solid replay value through multiple difficulty levels and the multiplayer, none of that really lengthens the game enough to justify its price tag on the PC. With so many other quality platforming games that can be downloaded for less, it is hard to recommend Trine until the price goes down. Trine is a very good game in many ways; yet, it simply does not stand out enough to warrant its price tag.