Now here’s a strange beast: Trine 2: Director’s Cut was a launch game for the Wii U eShop, and almost three years later, we’re getting the original—but the original as rebuilt in the Trine 2 engine. I enjoyed, but did not stick with, Trine 2. The game is beautiful, but slow-paced, essentially consisting of a series of puzzle rooms with some minor combat. I was excited to try the original, however, as I wondered how it would differ from its sequel. As it turns out, however, it doesn’t differ very strongly.

The game concerns three protagonist joined at the hip by a magical artifact called the Trine—what this really means is that you can magically switch between characters at the tap of a button. They’re on a quest to save their realm from an ancient evil, of course, and their journey is told through an omnipresent narrator. The three heroes—Pontius the Knight, Amadeus the Wizard, and Zoya the Thief—must use their unique abilities to traverse the environment, solve puzzles, and defeat enemies.

This is a thinking man’s puzzle platformer. There is no level timer, and you are encouraged to take things slowly, noticing every detail of a given puzzle before acting. Pontius has a sword and shield and will be your main undead-dispatcher. His shield can also reflect projectile attacks. Amadeus can lift certain objects in the world, like boxes, and also conjure clockwork boxes out of thin air. Zoya can fire a bow for a distance attack and use a grappling hook to cross large gaps. As your progress, each character gains two more abilities. For example, Pontius’ first “upgrade” is the ability to carry and throw small objects using a “Gravity Shield.” Aside from surviving to the end of each level, your main goal will be collecting all the green experience orbs and treasure chests. Collecting 50 orbs allows you to upgrade one of your characters’ abilities. For Amadeus, for example, upgrading may mean being able to conjure TWO boxes at a time.

None of the puzzles are especially difficult, and checkpoints are numerous enough that dying never robs you of too much progress. There are times when the physics engine seems to be working against you, however, especially when it comes to jumping. Jumping feels just a little too floaty to me—not Little Big Planet floaty by any means—but floaty enough that several jumps were more of a gamble than I’d like. You can actually cheat the system a bit by jumping again as you connect with the surface you’re trying to reach, but that feels like a consequence of the physics engine, not a genuine part of the gameplay.

I don’t particularly like the combat. For the most part, your enemies are undead skeletons with swords or bows. Combat just seems wholly unnecessary given the overall tenor of Trine, and whenever it crops up I’m more concerned with getting it over with than enjoying it. It’s my one big knock against the game.

Well, okay, I have one more complaint, and it’s going to sound petty.

Like its sequel, Trine is stunningly gorgeous although there’s way too much bloom lighting, especially in outdoor sections. The colors, the attention to detail, the fact that no two rooms look alike—it’s all inspiring. Every game developer should play Trine and learn something from it. But they might also want to take a step back, because too often, the game’s beauty actually obscured the underlying level design. Can I jump there? Can I step there? Is that a wooden panel that Zoya’s grapple can attach to? Is that a wall I can break through? It’s often difficult to say until you actually try it, which probably isn’t the intention, especially when taking damage (or dying) is the result of a failed experiment.

You have the option of local or online multiplayer, as well. Three players can get in on the Trine goodness, and having all three players on screen at once is quite a feat. It’s all a bit chaotic, but it works. Unfortunately, the online multiplayer component is hampered by two untoward facts: (1) nobody is actually playing;* and (2) when you do connect to somebody, you may hit connection issues, as I did. Local is the way to go unless you’re connecting to somebody on your Friends list. Oddly, with two players, either can switch at any time between their character and the third unused character—this means, practically, that the third character has the ability to teleport.

Trine: Enchanted Edition is a good game, well made and competent, but not necessarily for me. I can appreciate what it has accomplished, but its slow, methodical brand of puzzle platforming and the “meh” combat leave me wanting. Now, if you got a real kick out of Trine 2: Director’s Cut, understand that Trine: Enchanted Edition was made using the Trine 2 engine, so you’re essentially getting an expansion—have fun! I just prefer something a little faster-paced.