Trine 3: The Artifacts of Power

Gameplay

Similar to its predecessors, Trine 3: The Artifacts of Power is an action role-playing platform game with puzzle elements, which requires the players to utilize the skills of three different returning characters: Pontius, Amadeus and Zoya. 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. Players can swap between the three playable characters freely during the campaign. 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. The game also includes three-player co-operative multiplayer, special challenge levels and a level editor.

Development

The game was revealed by Frozenbyte on March 2, 2015. Alongside the announcement, a debut trailer was released. 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. 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". 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. Ari Pulkkinen, the composer of the original Trine and Trine 2, returned to compose the music for Trine 3. The game's budget was $5.4 million, triple that of Trine 2.

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. The game took $5.4 million to make. Trine 3: The Artifacts of Power was released on August 20, 2015 for Microsoft Windows. In December 2015, a PlayStation 4 version of the game was announced.

Reception

Upon release, players complained that the game was too short. Frozenbyte later responded that if they extended the length of the game, it would have cost $15 million, a price that they can not afford. Joel Kinnunen, VP from Frozenbyte, added that,"[they] tried to make something too ambitious, and it ended up financially impossible". While the developer is proud of the game they had created, the future for the franchise is now "in question".