For much of the last three days, every time I thought about playing Trine 2, I was in physical pain. The facts are unrelated, of course, but it's hard to convince your brain of that. I hope this doesn't retroactively change my opinion of the game, because it's really quite good.
I especially like the way the main story seamlessly transitions into the DLC. When you defeat Rosabel's dragon, it at first appears that the credits will scroll, but a goblin runs onscreen and interrupts, saying that there's more to come. And then you play the DLC levels, a semi-sequel about Amadeus's (the wizard's) wife getting kidnapped by goblins.
That whole plotline is somewhat problematic, because Margaret's characterization relies heavily on the "shrewish housewife" stereotype. It's kind of amusing that her monstrous captors got more than they bargained for, but they didn't do anything interesting enough with the idea to make up for how regressive it was.
I guess plot isn't that important to the Trine series, though. It's presented very in a very minimalist fashion. There's not a lot of worldbuilding, and the characterization is distinct, but shallow, and done mostly through the characters' mid-level quips. It's easy to forget what exactly is going on when you solve puzzles for 40 minutes and then watch a 1 minute cutscene.
I think they're deliberately going for a "fairy tale" aesthetic, which works well with the colorful levels and broadly drawn enemies, but, of course, it puts me at a loss for stuff to write about.
My next move is to go back through the game and try and get 100% completion. It will likely take me longer than I have left, but that's not a problem. The real concern is that there's a significant difficulty spike in the later levels, and I might get stuck having to collect a bunch of xp that requires precision platforming I am still too plague-ridden to tolerate.
Ah well, at least it's not Stronghold.
No comments:
Post a Comment