Trine 2 - 20/20 hours

Most of my discussion of Trine 2 has centered around my cold. So let me just say that the worst of it has passed and I'm now back up to about 95%  - and that will be the last of it. It wasn't the sort of game I'd play to distract me from my health problems, but it also did not add excessively to my burden.

I'm actually at a loss for any superlatives to attach to Trine 2. It's definitely the best of the Trine games, with the best balance between length, difficulty, and story, but the series as a whole is . . .

. . .

. . .

. . . Above average in a forgettable way. Like, if I'm honestly ranking the various platformer games I've played, it's better than Hell Yeah! (by quite a significant margin), and it's better than Fez (less dramatically so, but still) and it's better even than Apotheon (though that's a tough call), but it doesn't have disgusting hell rabbits, or twisty 3D perspective puzzles, or art direction that belongs in a museum. It just does everything it's supposed to do and does it well. The controls are almost perfectly functional, enough so that the few errors (sometimes, you will grapple things you didn't mean to, or summon boxes imprecisely) are forgotten after a few seconds. The puzzles are clever and keep you on your toes, even if they never rise to the level of memorable spectacle. The graphics are gorgeously lush, colorful, and detailed, and the only fault I can possibly find with it is that the world it depicts is kind of generic.

All in all, I'm in a weird position. I can unreservedly recommend Trine 2. It was worth the time to play and though I received it as a gift, I would consider it a fair bargain at its full price. However, it is taking up precisely zero real estate in my head. That's probably why it took me longer to finish than Stronghold Crusader Extreme. There just wasn't anything for my imagination to hook onto, either good or bad. It was pleasant, fun in a way most games should strive to be, but if it weren't so good, it would be the definition of "average."