"Pontius had been quite taken by the ladylike flower they had encountered."

Basically, Trine 2 is more of the same Trine from before. On the surface, there are some changes that appear drastic - like a fluid physics engine, and a revamped skill system - but these boil down to relatively small differences in the gameplay itself. For better or worse, Trine 2 is another magical romp through a fantasy setting, which can be approached as a single-player puzzle or as a semi-hectic party experience -- and it looks exceptionally good.

Unfortunately, like its predecessor, Trine 2 can feel samey and dull in solo play. Stages just seem to take longer than they should. At the same time, there are a number of places where experience orbs are too far out of reach, requiring multiple players or - self-defeatingly - more ability upgrades; so maybe the game is trying to tell me not to worry about them as much as I am.

Progress: Reached the Petrified Tree.