Trine 2: Complete Story Review Summary

Stunning visuals, clever varied puzzles, and excellent co-op make it shine, though the weak story and online connection issues hold it back.

Stunning visuals and graphics: Players frequently praise the game's beautiful, colorful, and impressive graphics that remain stunning even years after release. The art style and level design are often described as gorgeous and visually pleasing.

Superior to original game: Many reviewers consider this sequel a significant improvement over the first game, with better visuals, puzzles, characters, and more content. It retains the best elements while enhancing nearly every aspect.

Excellent co-op experience: Co-op play is highly praised, especially with friends, and is considered where the game truly shines. The cooperative puzzle platforming offers great fun and teamwork, comparable to Portal 2.

Clever and varied puzzles: Puzzles are well-constructed, creative, and satisfying, with multiple solutions using each character's unique abilities. The variety and fair difficulty contribute to an engaging experience.

Great soundtrack and audio: The soundtrack, voice acting, and overall audio quality are frequently commended. The music fits the game perfectly and enhances the atmosphere.

Weak and forgettable story: The narrative is often described as bland, unimpressive, and lacking a climax. Some find it cliche and predictable, with little emotional impact.

Online co-op connection issues: Players frequently report disconnections and unstable online co-op sessions, with some citing extreme lag like 9999 ping. This makes multiplayer unreliable and frustrating.

Lack of new features: Many reviewers feel the game adds too few new features compared to the first Trine, with some calling it a rehash with only visual upgrades. The removal of wearable items and RPG elements further disappoints.

High difficulty and obscure puzzles: Many find the puzzles too numerous and difficult, with some being unclear about the intended solution. Certain levels have insane difficulty spikes that frustrate players.

Solo play is boring and hard: Playing alone is described as masochistic and uninteresting, with particular difficulty in collecting all experience orbs. Some sections become overly challenging when playing solo.

Co-op multiplayer support: The game offers co-op multiplayer, including local and online options for up to three players. Many reviewers highlight the co-op mode as a key feature, allowing friends to play together.

Puzzle-platformer genre: Reviewers consistently describe the game as a puzzle-platformer with action-adventure elements. It combines platforming challenges with puzzle solving.

Three switchable characters: Players control three distinct characters—a wizard, a knight, and a thief—and can switch between them freely. Each character has unique abilities used for combat and puzzle-solving.

Puzzle solving focus: Puzzles are a core gameplay element, often requiring thought and multiple solutions. Players use the characters' abilities to overcome environmental challenges.

Character-specific abilities: Each of the three characters possesses unique skills and roles. For example, the wizard can conjure objects, the knight can fight, and the thief uses ranged attacks and agility.

Runs well on low-end systems: Some players report the game runs on a potato PC, a microwave, and low-end systems. It ran fine with 144 FPS and the engine is smooth.

Stable and bug-free: Several players encountered no bugs or issues, and the game is described as dead stable with no crashes. One notes it is more stable than Trine 1.

Game freezes on exit: The game often hangs or freezes when exiting, sometimes preventing return to the desktop. Multiple reports note this issue.

Bad optimization: Players report bad optimization, with performance problems that will never be fixed. Game is demanding on GPU and runs slowly.

Linux compatibility broken: The game does not run on Linux, and the Linux version is broken. Gamepad detection also fails on Linux.

Strong Co-op Focus: Many reviewers highlight that the game is best experienced in co-op, with options for local and online play. They emphasize that playing with friends enhances the fun and allows full understanding of the mechanics.

General Recommendations: Many reviewers simply recommend the game without specific conditions, using terms like 'definitely recommended' and 'highly recommended'. This reflects broad overall satisfaction.

Series Continuity Enjoyment: Players who enjoyed previous games in the series are very likely to enjoy this one as well. Many recommend playing the entire Trine series and the DLC.

Buy on Sale: Several reviewers recommend waiting for a sale before purchasing, suggesting the game is a good deal when discounted. Some still say 'buy it right now', but the majority advise picking it up on sale.

Worth Full Price: A significant number of players consider the game worth its full price, stating it offers good value for money. They use phrases like 'worth every penny' and 'absolutely worth buying'.

Community fair range: $5.00 - $15.00.

Game completion: 17.5h.

Story completion: 9.0h.

Endgame: 50.0h.

Trine 2 is most often described as fun immediately, especially when played in co-op with friends, with no specific time or count reported before enjoyment begins. A minority report later repetition or boredom, but the predominant time-to-fun profile is immediate co-op enjoyment.

Friction: Solo play is less engaging than co-op.; Wizard is hard to control in co-op due to camera interference.; Some puzzles feel tedious and rely on the rogue's anti-gravity field.; Online matchmaking can fail unless hosting with randoms.; Co-op partners need similar progress to avoid spoilers and trolling.; Linux multiplayer requires the Windows version for compatibility..

Unlock drivers: Playing with friends in co-op; Local or online co-op; Stable online co-op netcode; Co-op-specific new skills and more enemies; Getting the hang of the controls; Combining unique hero abilities cleverly.

Co-op Social Gamer: Plays 3-player online or local co-op, combines hero abilities, switches characters, and embraces friendly trolling or puzzle-cheesing. Motivation: Sharing joyful, chaotic teamwork with friends or family. Stance: buy.

Hardcore Completionist: Replays on hard and hardcore modes, collects everything, completes skill challenges, and may restrict revives or play single-role runs. Motivation: Conquering the hardest challenges and earning every achievement. Stance: buy.

Relaxed Family Player: Plays on easy or casual difficulty, often solo or with family, focusing on atmosphere, simple puzzles, and low-stress platforming. Motivation: Enjoying a calm, magical, family-friendly adventure with easy accessibility. Stance: buy.

Steam Deck: User feedback on Steam Deck/Linux compatibility for Trine 2 is mixed and friction-heavy. One user explicitly warns it does not run on Linux and likely not on Deck, while another says the Windows version is needed for multiplayer, indicating Proton reliance. Multiplayer is unstable for some, with frequent disconnections and configuration edits that break launch. Controller use is discouraged or described as clunky. Positive reports confirm the co-op game works wonderfully on Linux when configured, but the technical barriers are significant.

Linux and Proton: The game Trine 2 shows generally positive Linux compatibility, with one review confirming it works wonderfully on Ubuntu Linux and another noting that the Windows version should be run for multiplayer compatibility. A single isolated review reports that it does not run on Linux and likely fails on Steam Deck, but this is outweighed by the positive reports. Overall, the game is playable on Linux with a minor tweak for multiplayer compatibility.

Sequel to Trine series: The game is widely recognized as the second installment in the Trine series, a direct sequel to the 2009 original. It continues the story and builds upon the franchise.

Goblin Menace DLC praised: The Goblin Menace expansion is frequently highlighted for adding a substantial new campaign with six levels, new puzzles, enemies, and achievements. Many consider it to have some of the best levels in the series.

DLC adds significant content: The game includes DLC that is described as extensive and as good as the main campaign, adding multiple missions and prolonging the experience. Some versions include the Goblin Menace DLC at no extra cost.

Variable playtime hours: Estimated playtime ranges from around 6 hours for the main game to 16-17 hours for thorough playthroughs, with many reporting about 10-15 hours. The DLC extends the total time.

Compared to Trine 1: When compared to the first Trine, reviewers note improvements in level design, music variation, and puzzle complexity, though some find graphics and sound design worse. Overall it is seen as richer and bigger.