Trine 5: Everything We Know

Amadeus, Zoya, and Pontius are back for their “most action-packed journey yet”, signalling the arrival of THQ Nordic and Frozenbyte's latest 2.5D adventure, Trine 5: The Clockwork Conspiracy. In a similar format to its earlier chapters, the fifth segment will cast players as the ever-faithful Heroes of Trine—a trio of magic-wielding folk who swear an oath to drive back “dastardly and duplicitous villains, who will stop at nothing to seize control of the kingdom.”

So, what do we actually know about the latest entry in the book of Trine? Well, here's everything we've been able to gather on it since first hearing of it earlier this week. Trine 5: The Clockwork Conspiracy: what, when, and above all, why?

What Is Trine 5: The Clockwork Conspiracy?

Trine 5 is an upcoming 2.5D action-adventure puzzle platformer by Frozenbyte. It will serve as the sequel to—you guessed it—Trine 4: The Nightmare Prince, which released back in 2019. Once again, players will be invited to enroll in an epic single-player or four-player co-op journey as the Heroes of Trine. With idyllic magic-infused biomes and “world-renowned puzzles” to soak up, budding saviors and kingdom keepers will have the opportunity to immerse in a tale that dares to go beyond what's expected of a modern side scroller. And honestly, from what we've caught so far, it's looking pretty darn beautiful.

Story

Amadeus the Wizard, Zoya the Thief, and Pontius the Knight will once again reprise their roles as the Heroes of Trine, a collective of sworn protectors with magical powers and somewhat otherworldly abilities. As the trio of loyal defenders, players will embark on an epic quest to banish the Clockwork army—an evil faction that moves to conquer the world of Trine and its entire infrastructure. “With their reputations tarnished, loved ones in danger, and their own magical powers at stake, the Heroes of Trine must reunite to push back a fearsome Clockwork army and bring peace and justice to the land!”

Going by the blurb, players will have the option to embark on this journey either alone, or with up to three friends in its local or online multiplayer mode.

Gameplay

In the words of Frozenbyte, Trine 5: The Clockwork Conspiracy will launch as a “2.5D adventure with world-renowned puzzle platformer action.” That's quite the boast, and yet one that appears to have some merit to it—especially in its platforming department. What's more, the fifth chapter will ship stunning and evidently fantastical visuals, all of which will breathe life into the latest and supposedly biggest revamp of Trine to date.

On top of the returning puzzle platformer elements, Trine 5 will also feature an “all-new skill quest system”—a node that allows you to evolve your Heroes and adopt new abilities to further enhance their combined legendary prowess as the beloved and forever tenacious Heroes of Trine. Add the fact that the blurb also boasts “more levels, puzzles, and battles than previous entries”, and you've got yourself quite the lofty venture.

Development

Frozenbyte, a studio best known for its lineage of 2.5D puzzle platformers, first teased the fifth instalment in the Trine saga earlier this week in the most traditional way possible — via a trailer. Since giving fans of the series a sneak peak at its gameplay elements and the newly revitalized kingdom of Trine, both its developer and THQ Nordic have provided a rough summer 2023 release window update. Besides that, not a great deal more has been spared, other than the fact it'll be heading to all major platforms and PC via Steam, GOG, and the Epic Games Store.

One thing Frozenbyte does have a habit of doing is keeping its devlog up to date with fresh details on all its working titles. So, if you're curious to know what else has been going on behind closed doors, be sure to see here for the whole blog.

Trailer

So, has the world of Trine caught your eye? Good news, as Frozenbyte did actually let slip an announcement trailer earlier this week. And while it didn't exactly go on to shed light on its release date, it did paint the general aesthetic of the game and its rather alluring platforming elements. Need we say more? You can see it for yourself in the video embedded above.

Release Date, Platforms & Editions

Trine 5: The Clockwork Conspiracy will be heading to Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Switch, and PC via Steam, GOG, and the Epic Games Store in summer 2023. And while that is a rather vague release window to staple onto the backboard, it's doubtful that Frozenbyte will wait around all that long ahead of its formal announcement. Until news on the matter does come knocking, however, you'll have to settle for adding to your wishlist on Steam here.

So, if it's gearing up for an Xbox and PlayStation launch, then does that mean it could, in theory, find its way to the likes of Game Pass and PlayStation Plus? In short, yes—and it isn't entirely out of the question, either, as Game Pass did host Trine 4 on its servers for quite some time a fair ways back. So, it's certainly in the realm of possibility.

At the time of writing, neither THQ Nordic nor Frozenbyte have mentioned anything about bringing any special or deluxe editions to the market. Instead, Trine 5 will launch only as a standard digital (and possibly physical) copy at some stage this summer. If anything of the sort does come about, then chances are the details will be stapled to its official site here.

For more updates on the Trine 5 launch, you can check in with the official social feed here. If anything changes ahead of its summer release, we'll be sure to fill you in on all the key details right here on gaming.net.

So, what's your take? Will you be picking up a copy of Trine 5 when it drops? Let us know your thoughts over on our socials here.