Trine 3: The Artifacts of Power

Trine 3: The Artifacts of Power
Developer(s)Frozenbyte
Publisher(s)Frozenbyte
Director(s)Lauri Hyvärinen
Producer(s)Jari Kantomaa
Designer(s)Kim Juntunen
Programmer(s)Jani Mäkinen
Artist(s)Teemu Lintunen
Writer(s)Maija Koivula
Composer(s)Ari Pulkkinen
SeriesTrine
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows
Linux
OS X
PlayStation 4
Nintendo Switch
ReleaseWindows
August 20, 2015
Linux
November 5, 2015
OS X
November 19, 2015
PlayStation 4
December 22, 2015
Nintendo Switch
July 29, 2019
Genre(s)Puzzle-platform, action-adventure
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Trine 3: The Artifacts of Power is a 2015 action-adventure puzzle-platform video game developed by Frozenbyte,[1] released on August 20, 2015 for Microsoft Windows. It was made available on Linux, OS X and PlayStation 4 later in 2015. It is the sequel to Trine 2 and features a return of the series' three protagonists and medieval fantasy location. The game is the first in the series to feature fully 3D gameplay. A port to the Nintendo Switch was released in 2019.

Gameplay

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Similar to its predecessors, Trine 3: The Artifacts of Power is an action-adventure platform game with puzzle elements, which requires the players to utilize the skills of three different returning characters: Pontius, Amadeus and Zoya.[2] Abilities varied among characters. Pontius is a knight equipped with a sword and a shield to defend himself against enemies. Zoya is a thief that is equipped with arrows and a grappling hook, while Amadeus is a wizard that has the ability to manipulate and levitate objects.[3] Players can swap between the three playable characters freely during the campaign.[4] Trine 3 is the first game in the series to feature 3D gameplay, while the 2D gameplay remains the game's focus as with previous installments.[5] The game also includes three-player co-operative multiplayer, special challenge levels and a level editor.[6][7]

Plot

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As in Trine 2, the Trine artifact summons Amadeus the wizard, Pontius the knight and Zoya the thief from across the realm for a quest, this time defending the Astral Academy. While the artifact gives the trio the power of immortality, they are tired of being bound this way, and decide to return the power to the Trine in return for their freedom. Their plan fails, though, and the artifact shatters, releasing an evil spirit known as Sarek, who rushes to the Academy.

The trio ventures into the Academy and learn from the spirit of the Trine that Sarek was a powerful wizard who became invincible by sealing his heart away; in doing so he became insane. Since no one could locate his heart, the only alternative to stopping him was binding his body. Two sisters did battle with him; they were successful but died in the process, creating the three artifacts of power (previously seen in the first Trine): one of the sisters, known as Trine, had her spirit encased in the artifact of soul, the other in the artifact of mind, and Sarek himself in the artifact of body. The two sisters were able to use the combined powers of the two artifacts to keep Sarek subdued, until the Trine was damaged.

The Trine is willing to take back the power she granted the heroes and release them if they collect all her shards and repair her, then find and destroy Sarek's heart. The trio agrees and finds one such shard. Meanwhile, Sarek has managed to locate the artifact of mind within the Astral Academy and corrupt the spirit of Trine's sister. The game then ends and the story is left incomplete. An easter egg in Trine 4 reveals they were indeed able to restore the Trine and defeat Sarek.

Development

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The game was revealed by Frozenbyte on March 2, 2015. Alongside the announcement, a debut trailer was released.[8] A nine-minute gameplay trailer of the game was released on April 9, 2015, showcasing the ways the three playable characters interact with the three-dimensional world.[9] The game entered early access on April 21, 2015, so as to allow the company to receive player feedback regarding the new gameplay elements featured. The early access of the game only featured two maps, with the developers saying the full release would be "significantly longer".[10] As promised, the game remained in the early access phase for "a few months" and was released on August 20, 2015 "initially" for Microsoft Windows.[7][11] Ari Pulkkinen, the composer of the original Trine and Trine 2, returned to compose the music for Trine 3.[12] The game's budget was $5.4 million, triple that of Trine 2.[13]

The developer of the game called the introduction of 3D graphics something "challenging and time consuming", as the skills and the abilities of the three playable characters had to undergo overhaul and redesign without damaging the characters' characteristics.[14] Trine 3: The Artifacts of Power was released on August 20, 2015 for Microsoft Windows.[15] A public beta for Linux and OS X was made available in October 2015.[16] Linux platforms received full support on November 5, 2015,[17] followed by an OS X release on November 19, 2015.[18] In December 2015, a PlayStation 4 version of the game was announced,[19] releasing later that month on December 22, 2015.[20] A port to the Nintendo Switch was released on July 29, 2019.[21]

Reception

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Upon release, players complained that the game was too short. Frozenbyte later responded that if they had extended the length of the game, it would have cost $15 million, a price that they could not afford. Joel Kinnunen, VP from Frozenbyte, added that,"[they] tried to make something too ambitious, and it ended up financially impossible".[25] While the developer was proud of the game they had created, Kinnunen indicated at the time that the future for the franchise "is now in question".[26] A sequel, Trine 4: The Nightmare Prince, was eventually released in 2019 with critical acclaim.

References

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  1. ^ "Official Trine 3 Announcement". Frozenbyte. Retrieved April 26, 2015.
  2. ^ Savage, Phil (March 2, 2015). "Trine 3: The Artifacts of Power announced". PC Gamer. Retrieved April 26, 2015.
  3. ^ Donlan, Christian (April 23, 2015). "Trine 3: Can Early Access iron out some of the series' kinks?". Eurogamer. Retrieved April 29, 2015.
  4. ^ Sheridan, Corner (March 2, 2015). "Trine 3 bursts into 3D action/puzzle platforming". GamesRadar. Retrieved March 29, 2015.
  5. ^ Kato, Matthew (March 2, 2015). "Trine 3: The Artifacts Of Power Announced Via Trailer & Screens". Game Informer. Archived from the original on March 4, 2015. Retrieved March 2, 2015.
  6. ^ S. Good, Owen (March 2, 2015). "Trine 3: Artifacts of Power announced; see its trailer here". Polygon. Retrieved April 26, 2015.
  7. ^ a b Ishaan (April 20, 2015). "Trine 3 To Debut On Steam Early Access Tomorrow". Siliconera. Retrieved April 26, 2015.
  8. ^ Yin-Poole, Wesley (April 26, 2015). "Trine 3 announced with gorgeous debut trailer". Eurogamer. Retrieved April 26, 2015.
  9. ^ Pikkarainen, Joonas (April 9, 2015). "Trine 3: An Exclusive 9-minute look at the upcoming puzzle platformer". IGN. Retrieved April 26, 2015.
  10. ^ Savage, Phil (April 26, 2015). "Trine 3 is out in Early Access next week". PC Gamer. Retrieved April 26, 2015.
  11. ^ Osborn, Alex (March 2, 2015). "Trine 3 Announced, Coming 2015". Game Revolution. Retrieved April 26, 2015.
  12. ^ Huynh, Christopher (March 4, 2015). "Ari Pulkkinen returns to score Trine 3". Game Music Online. Retrieved March 26, 2015.
  13. ^ Matulef, Jeffrey (24 August 2015). "Trine 3 dev says "the future of the series is now in question"". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
  14. ^ Devore, Jordan (April 17, 2015). "Trine 3 will use Steam Early Access to nail its new 3D gameplay". Destructoid. Retrieved April 26, 2015.
  15. ^ Yin-Poole, Wesley (August 4, 2015). "Trine 3 launches proper 20th August". Eurogamer. Retrieved August 4, 2015.
  16. ^ "Trine 3: The Artifacts of Power Mac and Linux BETA". Frozenbyte. October 5, 2015. Retrieved September 10, 2023.
  17. ^ "Trine 3 Updated with Free New Level – All Trine Games Now on Sale!". Frozenbyte. November 5, 2015. Retrieved September 10, 2023.
  18. ^ "Trine 3: The Artifacts of Power Officially Released for Mac!". Frozenbyte. November 19, 2015. Retrieved September 10, 2023.
  19. ^ Porter, Matt (December 8, 2015). "Trine 3: The Artifacts of Power announced for PlayStation 4". IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved December 9, 2015.
  20. ^ "Trine 3 coming to PS4 before Christmas". Gematsu. 8 December 2015. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
  21. ^ "Trine 3: The Artifacts of Power for Switch launches July 29". Gematsu. 24 July 2019. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
  22. ^ "Trine 3: The Artifacts of Power for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
  23. ^ "Trine 3: The Artifacts of Power for PlayStation 4 Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
  24. ^ "Trine 3: The Artifacts of Power for Switch Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
  25. ^ Kerr, Chris (August 24, 2015). "Trine 3 backlash puts future of the franchise in doubt". Gamasutra. Retrieved August 25, 2015.
  26. ^ Pereira, Chris (August 24, 2015). "Trine's Future "Now in Question" After Criticism of Trine 3". GameSpot. Retrieved August 25, 2015.
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