Tweet
With Trine 3, developer Frozenbyte has delivered an impressive title filled with vivid, intricate environments and a variety of accomplished effects work and lighting. The combined use of depth of field, dynamic lighting, and volumetric effects add atmosphere to the game's varied locations, while the move to a true three-dimensional playfield feels like a natural progression to the puzzle-based gameplay seen in previous titles. The use of a full 3D space doesn't always work well, but from a visual perspective we're looking at a significant leap over Trine 2, despite the utilisation of the ageing DirectX 9 API. Of course Frozenbyte has made plenty of optimisations over previous Trine titles, and as a result we see Microsoft's ageing API still putting out a gorgeous release.Trine 3 is finally available on PlayStation 4, and this version offers up native 1080p visuals along with a 60fps update. However, the game was originally conceived for the PC, and this is the version to beat. Running at 1080p to match the PS4 code, we were able to we maxed out all graphical settings, combining FXAA with 4x SSAA (supersampling) anti-aliasing using a GTX 980 Ti-based system. Our challenge for the PS4 game was pretty straightforward - to see just how close Frozenbyte could get to the title's showing on a top-end PC. Here, clean image quality is joined by lashings of detailed texture work, along with thick volumetric lighting, and extensive use of physics-based interactivity with the environment.
It's a visual treat, but what quickly becomes apparent is that the core experience offered by the PS4 version holds up well, with just a couple of caveats. Sony's console offers up native 1080p resolution, and the use of post-process anti-aliasing provides a clean presentation overall. There's some sub-pixel shimmer, but on the whole there's isn't a huge gulf in image quality between the PS4 and PC versions in this area. In fact, the use of 4x supersampling on PC is basically overkill for this game - the bottom line is that running at native resolution with FXAA alone offers up the vast bulk of the title's visual riches.
Read more…
More...