Platformer · 2019 · Frozenbyte · local · online
Trine 4: The Nightmare Prince
Three heroes — a wizard, a thief and a knight — and puzzle after puzzle that gets easier with two.
What it is about
Three heroes set out together: Amadeus the wizard can conjure crates and levitate objects, Zoya the thief fires ropes at wooden surfaces and swings across, Pontius the knight carries sword and shield and can turn both against physics.
From that the game builds chapters full of obstacles that can be cleared several ways. A chasm can be crossed with a floating crate, with a rope, or by one hero launching the other off a shield. In between come fights against shadow creatures, noticeably simpler than the puzzles.
As a pair you play split screen with one copy, or online with one each. There is a classic mode where each hero appears only once — then everyone has to commit to a role.
Our verdict for couples
Each of you gets a tool the other one cannot use: the wizard lifts crates into the air, the thief swings across on a rope, the knight holds her shield into the waterfall. Because almost every puzzle allows several solutions, the pleasantest kind of argument follows — you are not arguing about who got it wrong but about which of two right answers is the nicer one. The backdrops are painted, the music is calm, and dying costs nothing but a few metres. Ten to fifteen hours, and then it is told. One thing to know beforehand: on split screen one copy is enough, but real online play needs an Epic account each, and more people founder on that in the reviews than on any puzzle.
Pros
- One copy is enough on split screen
- Each hero does something the others cannot
- Almost every puzzle has several solutions
Cons
- Online requires an Epic account from both of you
- The combat is the weakest part
- It is over after fifteen hours
Suitable from
Casual–Hobby
- Conflict potential
- Harmonious
- Cosiness
- Cosy
- When you can stop
- After 30–45 minutes
- How long it lasts
- 5–15 hours
What other co-op fans say
Almost everyone writing here played it as a pair, and the tone is warm: praise for the painted backdrops, the music and puzzles that challenge without irritating. Several mention finishing it with somebody who otherwise never plays. The sharpest objection is not about the game: online play requires a linked Epic account from both of you, and several openly furious reviews hang on that.
- “Puzzles are a good balance of challenging but rarely frustrating. Played this with my beginner-level mum and we got through in 15 hours! Combat is a bit barebones but accessible.”
- “Gorgeous textures and atmosphere. A hell of a lot lot of fun with a friend or two.”
- “You have to link an Epic account with a Steam account to play online. So if you don't have an Epic account, you do not get to play with friends or online. Singleplayer only. Garbage game. "DO NOT BUY"!!!”
Summarised by machine from 60 Steam reviews, not written by our editors. The quotes appear verbatim in those reviews.
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