Trine 3: The Artifacts of Power is an upcoming action adventure platforming game that is currently being worked on by the Finnish developer Frozenbyte Inc. who first found fame with their well received top down shooter Shadowgrounds.
The original Trine, which first launched in 2009, was published by Nobilis, the same group that published Trine: Enhanced Edition later. Frozenbyte worked with Atlus and Nintendo of Japan to publish Trine 2 on different platforms, but for Trine 3: The Artifacts of Power we only know that Frozenbyte will be publishing the game for PC. Other platform publishers are yet to be announced.
Despite not having an official release date for the game in its finished form, PC players can now get the game early by way of Steams Early Access program. The finished build of the game currently has an estimated release window of Summer 2015.
At this time, Trine 3: The Artifacts of Power is only slated for release on PC with other platforms to be announced, but with Trine 2 being available on Microsoft Windows PC’s, OS X, Linux, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360 and Wii U, it’s likely that Trine 3 will eventually see a multiplatform release.
The developers were asked why they brought their game to the Early Access scheme, speaking out by way of an Early Access blog listing on the Trine 3 Steam page, Frozenbyte answered, “Trine 3 is our first move towards 3D gameplay in the Trine series, so we wanted to get in touch with our player-base in an early enough phase to collect feedback on the new gameplay features, so we can tweak those into the right direction. Early Access can hopefully provide us with lots of players willing to do this.”
As mentioned above in the introduction portion of this Wiki, the game currently has no given release date, with only a vague summer release window in place. The game first went live to play on April 21st and the Early Access window, “will last approximately a few months.”
The Early Access build of Trine 3: The Artifacts of Power will have less content than the full build of the game which is aiming for a playtime of around 6-7 hours. Speaking about this, Frozenbyte said that, “The Early Access version will have the first two maps playable at launch, and the full version will be significantly longer. We hope to achieve at least 6-7 hours of total playable content for a first-time player with the full version.”
Another function of the Early Access build is to better optimize the game through the implementation of feedback on hardware specific performance. The developer has also said that the final build of the game will feature “working online-co-op” as well as a level editor and specialised challenge stages that are tied into the game’s main story.
At the time of writing, the Early Access build features the first two stages in the game, it also features local co-op functionality. While online co-op is included in the current build, it’s not yet been made bug-free. The game’s three main characters are all going to be available but with only their basic abilities in place. The developer has already said, “Overall, there are still many features that need tweaking and polishing.”
At this time, the game currently supports Windows only and can be played with both a keyboard and mouse or a controller. The final build of the game is likely going to be influenced by player feedback. “We want to listen to community feedback on the gameplay features, and hope to include them in deciding on things like balancing of the different character’s abilities, how the controls work and so on.”
Trine 3: The Artifacts of Power picks up the story with our three heroes. Amadeus The Wizard, Pontius The Knight and Zoya The Thief all coming to the decision that having their lives commanded by an item of magical power is not a worthwhile existence, and so they set about trying to free themselves from it.
In trying to do so, they somehow manage to shatter the Trine and now there’s a heartless sorcerer on the prowl. Now our heroes must undo the damage they have wrought and prevent further problems.
The major gameplay change for Trine 3: The Artifacts of Power is that the game is now played in a 3D space, opposed to the more familiar 2D sidescrolling setting. This is the foremost change in how the game is played, however the camera will often swing around to give a side-view perspective of a 3D environment that players will move in.
Beyond this change in environment design and perspective, not much has changed. The Wizard still makes use of his powerful Magic to influence the game world and aid with progression through the stages. He also uses his powers to help combat enemies by hurling objects at them with levitation magic.
The Knight still serves as the dedicated melee class, bringing his sword and shield to the fray, slashing, bashing and shield floating his way through the game. The thief returns to fulfil the role of a rogue-esque character that makes use of her agility and bow to help navigate the game.
One of the games newest features is a series of challenge levels that will be unlocked which will feature all manner of challenges for players to complete.
Trine 3: The Artifacts of Power features a primary cast of three returning characters, Amadeus, Pontius and Zoya, a wizard, a knight and a thief respectively.
Note: This wiki will be updated once we have more information about the game.
