Like stepping into a fantasy painting.

In Trine, (developed by Frozenbyte, available on Steam and PSN) you play three characters in a medieval-fantasy themed world: the thief, the wizard, and the knight.  They have been bound together by magic, and now this odd-threesome have to share an apartment in this season's hot new sitcom!  Sorry.  Actually, the three work together to explore, battle enemies, and solve puzzles.  Each one of the trio has unique talents, and to best make your way through each map in the single-player mode (in which you only control one at a time), you have to quickly switch between them.  You only see one on screen at a time, and the other two are apparently hitching a ride in that one's body.  Trine is also designed for local co-op play for up to three people, where each person takes possession of a particular character and all work together.

There's not a lot more to say about Trine, except that it's a fun, fantasy-themed puzzle game.  It's best to just show it (which is, of course, the point of this series).  The only big issue that I had with the game was that the menus (such as the inventory) were counter-intuitive in some respects.  The strong points of the game are its fast-paced puzzles with multiple solutions, rich soundtrack, and colorful, detailed visuals.  Story is not it's strong point; it's just a means for setting up the gameplay concept, and it gets our of your way pretty quickly.  It's humorously ridiculous, and it intentionally doesn't take itself seriously.  But a serious story is not necessary to enjoy the experience.  It's all about creating entertaining and challenging gameplay with physics, puzzles, a pretty theme, and likable characters.  The mechanic of quickly switching between characters to navigate through levels is creative, flows well, and sets this game apart from similar indie puzzlers.  If it sounds intriguing to you, and you're not put off by the medieval-fantasy theme, then you will probably enjoy this game.  We certainly did.  Our rating: three multiple personality disorders.