Trine 5: A Clockwork Conspiracy Review

“A wizard has to know how to handle his balls of steel”. 

Wise words from Hero of Trine Amadeus and the first videogame line to make me laugh out loud in a good while. Apparently, that’s the kind of classy humour that really gets me. It was the timing and delivery more than anything, I swear! Anyway, it cemented in my mind the quality of writing throughout Trine 5: A Clockwork Conspiracy and exemplifies why I enjoyed my time with the game so much.

A quick disclaimer: I’m ashamed to admit that previous entries in the series entirely passed me by, so comparisons with predecessors will be limited in this review. Still, like the conscientious fellow I’m not, I’ve performed extensive research on those past instalments to ensure that you get the key comparative bullet points. Because you’re worth it. And after all, if you’re a longtime Triner, a newcomer’s perspective might just help you to embrace the strengths you’ve been taking for granted. 

As it happens, that appreciation for the classic formula will be important; it doesn’t take a Trine veteran to know that this latest incarnation isn’t hugely adventurous. It’s a 2.5D platformer that’s densely packed with puzzles, featuring three loveable protagonists, each with their own weapons and abilities. It looks extremely similar to Trine 4: The Nightmare Prince, if a touch more grandiose with its scenery. And I think all of this might be just fine. There’s clearly a winning recipe here. It’d be a shame to waste it. 

In keeping with tradition, you can play Trine 5 solo or cooperatively with up to three buddies. As a single player, you can swap at the touch of a button between Amadeus, the ball-handling wizard, Zoya, the nimble thief, and Pontius, the rotund knight. Most puzzles require some collaboration between characters: you might have Amadeus conjure a metal crate or plank high up on a platform before switching to Zoya, who can attach a rope to it to access new areas. In multiplayer, you can get it all done concurrently, but the game will subtly adapt puzzles to ensure your added manpower is catered for, upping the difficulty and making simultaneous, coordinated teamwork mandatory. It’s pretty slick, y’know. In Classic mode, it’s one character per person, so three players maximum. But in Unlimited mode, four players can pick whichever character they like, duplicating the heroes if needed. Whichever ‘cooperative’ mode you go for, there’s likely to be sabotage and pranks to contend with alongside actual hazards, just because it’s too funny not to. 

It’s safe to say, according to my meticulous research, that regardless of party makeup, developer Frozenbyte has cranked up the difficulty this time around. Even with no prior Trine priming, I was surprised by how often puzzles had me stumped. I’d regularly sit there feeling like a right dum-dum for a few minutes, throwing boxes around or attaching ropes to anything in sight before finally spotting what suddenly seemed like an incredibly obvious solution. In other words, perfect puzzle design.

There were a few less-than-perfect examples, though. One of Trine’s strengths is its ability to incorporate puzzles somewhat organically into the environment — platforming sections might take place on a scaffolding frame, Zoya might swing between ship masts. But when this clever theming goes too far, it feels more like contextual camouflage, making it frustratingly difficult to discern a puzzle’s premise, let alone its solution. It’s hard to finish a jigsaw when you can’t find the friggin’ pieces. 

Occasionally, you’ll come across some esoteric-looking device for the first time that clearly operates a locked door, but without any explanation whatsoever on how it works, you’re left to fumble around trying every ability with every character in every conceivable way until something starts to happen. Some of you gluttons for punishment out there might consider these obfuscations to be perfectly legit forms of difficulty, but you lot can’t be trusted.

Those are my only criticisms when it comes to puzzles. Otherwise, they’re glorious. There’s freedom in their solutions, too. It’s a physics-based game, which means if you fudge around a bit, you might bungle through in some clumsy fashion that clearly isn’t the intended solution but works nonetheless. And hey, that’s life, man. It ain’t always pretty, but we muddle through. A cleverly disguised allegory from Frozenbyte, I’m sure.

The Trine trio start out with a few skills, but others are unlocked by finding experience vials around the levels and spending that currency on the Skill Tree. Really it’s more of a sapling, consisting only of little baby branches of two or three upgrades at most, but for a platformer, it adds a welcome bit of playstyle customisation. The abilities are surprisingly powerful, too, and not just the combat ones. Some movement-oriented skills can completely circumvent smaller puzzles.

Combat is more engaging than I’d anticipated, although, of course, we’re not talking Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice levels of intricacy here. Pontius will take the lead in most face-offs with his trusty shield and quick, powerful sword strikes. Zoya can chip away at health bars with her bow and Amadeus can summon his weighty balls to drop on people, but they’re not nearly as effective, even after unlocking some more potent attacks. Standard enemy encounters can get a bit tiresome, but bosses demand more thought and typically require you to combine the strengths of all three characters. 

Narratively, Trine 5 is a tricky one because the actual plot is nothing to write home about. There’s a villainous queen who decides to wreak havoc on the kingdom with her autonomous, mechanical minions, framing our heroes in the process and capitalising on their infamy. Mediocre stuff, but the script is so well written and performed that I was content to enjoy the banter without paying much attention to the "important" stuff. It’s the spirit of the thing that matters because it all complements the puzzly main attraction wonderfully. From the rich, enchanting visuals to the whimsical soundtrack, it feels very much like wandering through a fairy tale, if a slightly goofy and sarcastic one.

If you like puzzles and fun stuff, Trine 5 is absolutely worth a bash. It’s a good time solo and a hilarious or wholesome one multiplayer, depending on the type of friends you team up with. For OG fans of the series, this is the stuff you love taken up another notch. To my fellow newcomers: there’s never been a better Trine to jump in.