Trine 5: A Clockwork Conspiracy Review – It Takes Three

In less than a handful of entries over the past few years, the Trine series has managed to cement itself as a great pick for fun co-op games. After an almost 4 year-long hiatus, the franchise has returned with Trine 5: A Clockwork Conspiracy. It’s a sequel that tries to expand upon what came before in familiar ways, and while that approach works pretty well for the most part – it’s not without its fair share of flaws.

"The gameplay is definitely the star of the show, and it fares a lot better than the story."

Trine 5 puts players back in the shoes of Zoya, Amadeus, and Pontius as the trio reunites once again to save the world from another evil force. The series has always stuck to telling fairy tale stories, and Trine 5 is no different in this regard. The titular trio of misfits is put up against an evil empress and her army of clockwork knights this time around, and you must do everything in your might to put an end to these mechanical soldiers and expose the villainy behind this clockwork conspiracy.

It’s a simple story that’s woefully predictable, but that’s par for the course for a Trine game at this point. The writing is pretty basic and wouldn’t be winning any awards, but the voice acting is quality stuff. Each of the three protagonists is distinct in their own way, so it’s good that we spend the majority of the story’s runtime with these characters. Knight Pontius is a hulking warrior with a natural inclination toward tasty food, Zoya is a thrifty archer with a history of thievery, and Amadeus is a depressed master wizard who lives away from his family. The trio does share occasional moments of banter between them, which can be a refreshing change of pace from the otherwise straightforward narrative.

The gameplay is definitely the star of the show, and it fares a lot better than the story. Much like prior entries, you can go with the co-op mode which gives each player their own character to control or you could choose the single-player route which allows you to seamlessly switch between the characters at any given point. My time with Trine 5 was limited to the single-player mode, so this review will be reflective of my experience with that particular mode only.

"Each of the three protagonists is distinct in their own way, so it’s good that we spend the majority of the story’s runtime with these characters."

Trine 5 is a 2.5D action platformer with a heavy emphasis on puzzle solving, so the moment-to-moment gameplay revolves around navigating through maze-like locales while overcoming all sorts of obstacles. The controls are pretty responsive which means jumping through gaps and maneuvering your character around the screen is a consistently joyous experience. Each of the three characters has a different set of abilities, and you must use them smartly in conjunction with each other to clear these labyrinthian stages.

Zoya is a master archer who specializes in using arrows to break ropes, tie ropes to objects, and grapple from one hook point to the other. Pontius is a warrior with super strength, and he can stomp on surfaces to break them, charge into stuff to send them flying across the screen, and use his shield to deflect incoming projectiles. Lastly, there’s Amadeus who can conjure different objects and manipulate them to create routes for other characters.

The level design tries to craft all sorts of interesting scenarios that challenge you to use these abilities in creative ways to get across. Puzzles can range from incredibly basic to surprisingly complex, and the game does a good job of exploring a wide range of possibilities with the given set of abilities. One thing that I particularly liked about Trine 5’s approach to puzzle design is that the solutions are a lot more straightforward than you might think – at least for the most part. There were multiple instances when I would try to get across using all sorts of finicky strategies like piling up boxes to create a staircase, only to realize that I had to use a completely different albeit straightforward approach to create a simple route to the other side of the screen.

"One thing that I particularly liked about Trine 5’s approach to puzzle design is that the solutions are a lot more straightforward than you might think – at least for the most part."

And this is why it gets really frustrating when the game occasionally resorts to solutions that have an element of awkwardness to them. While I can’t obviously talk about all such instances, there were more than a couple of times when I had to be pixel-perfect with my aim or conjure objects in weird orientations to get to the desired destination which left me flustered as to whether my solution to the puzzle was even correct or not.

As you progress through the five acts in the story, each character gets access to even more abilities which opens the door to even more complex puzzle designs. For instance, Zoya will get arrows that can reflect from a surface while Amadeus gets the ability to conjure new kinds of objects and much more. Getting new abilities does help in keeping things fresh, but juggling between the three characters and their constantly expanding move sets can prove to be too much to keep your attention at any given time. And this can compound the issue of occasionally frustrating puzzle design to an even further degree, which in turn hinders the flow of the game as you find yourself stuck for minutes on end on one puzzle with little to no clue of what to do in order to progress.

In addition to the skills that you obtain in the critical path, you can also spend accumulated currency in each character’s skill tree to increase their efficiency in combat encounters. I did invest the majority of my skill points in Pontius’ skill tree, but that proved to be largely inessential as I didn’t really end up using any of the additional tricks during these encounters. And that boils down to enemies being really easy to take down in the first place, which meant I could stick to what I knew and take on anything and everything that was thrown my way. Boss fights do require a bit of effort to take down, but it’s nothing that you can’t do in a couple of tries.

". Getting new abilities does help in keeping things fresh, but juggling between the three characters and their constantly expanding move sets can prove to be too much to keep your attention at any given time."

Much like prior entries in the franchise, art direction remains one of the strongest suits in Trine 5. The visuals are really crisp and with smart use of popping colours and beautiful backdrops, but there is also an element of inconsistency in the visual presentation. You make your way through lavish castles adorned by exquisite furniture, forests that are peppered with all sorts of plants and trees, and dimly lit dungeons filled with hazards and reawakened skeletons – and it all looks absolutely gorgeous. And while the environments and lighting do look fantastic, the character models can look pretty dated in comparison. This is especially noticeable in cutscenes, and it can really dampen the otherwise solid visual presentation.

Trine 5 is also a longer adventure than its predecessors, and it will take you well over 10 hours to beat the campaign. You can also try to get all the collectibles which adds an additional layer of challenge to the puzzles, and if you played through the game in a solo fashion – you could also go back with your friends. All in all, there’s a good amount of stuff to do which should keep you busy for quite some time.

In conclusion, Trine 5 is a sequel that knows its strengths and focuses on polishing them to an even higher degree. The story is still simple and the combat doesn’t pull any punches either, but the co-op puzzling core of it all remains an enjoyable affair through and through. Trine 5 does have a few edges, but it’s still a surprisingly solid game and probably a great choice for some fun with friends.

This game was reviewed on the PlayStation 5.