A beautiful environment and some challenging adventure makes this a nice addition if you like diversity in your gaming.
What stands out from the start with Trine is the magically and wonderfully backdrop in which you play. The many layers of the background make this platformer seem more 3D than it really is. It is such a beautiful work of art in each level that you appreciate even just staring at the scenery as you play which isn't always common these days. However, graphics alone do not make a game which moves us onward.
As a story, things are extremely straight forward and a bit cliche to say the least. If you're a story gamer like me, this one will fail pretty badly by the time the credits role. It would be nice if the developers could be more intentional in this area and, potentially, a bit more mature in the narrative. While the quirky humor and sort of story book flavor is nice, is it possible that in a next entry this could be better? Not sure exactly what that would look like but it would be nice.
The gameplay also remains fundamentally similar to the original though you have some rudimentary skill trees that really don't do much either for the game. You don't really feel like you really need to spend the points until places that sort of demand it. This was a nice attempt but a bit lacking.
Overall, I really appreciate this series and wish it did better. It shows that traditional platformers can exist in the current gen and that you don't have to play an FPS to have a good afternoon of game playing. Be forewarned, however, you're going to die and sometimes you'll get frustrated. However, this is a part of what make Trine worth playing.