Continuing their run of adaptations in the Tron universe, Thomas Was Alone and The Solitaire Conspiracy developer Bithell Games will soon release TRON: Catalyst, an isometric action adventure game bathed in neon. We got to check out the game’s first hour ahead of its June release. Though it promises more exciting world-building in the classic Disney franchise, it’s got a bit of a way to go yet til its minute-to-minute gameplay truly wins us over.
Tron: Catalyst stars Exo, a resourceful and rogue program who unexpectedly comes into possession of a power known as the Glitch. This power causes the Arq Grid, the digital cyberspace the game is situated in, to lose stability, and therefore, the world starts looping — something only Exo is privy to. Exo’s mission then becomes to break out of the loop and navigate the criminal underbelly of the Arq Grid, doing their best to survive.
Though a lot of the pieces of TRON: Catalyst seem to be prime for the roguelike genre (isometric action game, loops and the like), I’d hesitate to call it that. The loops are happening through the narrative, all of your upgrades are permanent, and you’re not going on ‘runs.’ What is occurring in TRON: Catalyst, at least in the starting 2 chapters thus far, is a time-loop mystery where you’re taking advantage of the world around you and all you learn to break the cycle. What this looks like in motion is learning a character with vital information is going to be at a location for a limited time that you can’t arrive in time to on the normal route, forcing you to restart the loop and find a shortcut instead. It’s meeting a character that would better help you with a prior interaction after the fact, and then rewinding time to get them to aid you sooner.
There’s a reality where TRON: Catalyst is a thinking man’s game (à la Hitman) where you’re frequently scanning the environment for opportunities and openings that take you down the next path of chaos or fun, all based on a spontaneous choice. At least, based on the hands-on experience with this mechanic, it doesn’t look to be quite that and instead seems to be more railroaded down a linear path. That being said, it does well enough to freshen up the ‘navigate A to B’ feeling the game otherwise has. I, like perhaps other players, can give or take this so far, but what I will eagerly and undoubtedly be tuning in for is more of the world-building and writing chops found in Bithell Games’ prior foray into the series with TRON: Identity. Already I’m seeing hints of that with striking new figures and moody and verbose table setting.
Catalyst features brawler combat that sees you engage in close and far quarters with the series’ iconic disc. Equipped with a simple light combo, parry, a dodge roll and throwing my disc, it seems a bit barebones for combat variation and play. The animations and weight to all your movements are at most competent so far, but don’t quite nail the fluid and fast feeling that so many other isometric action games have. There are moments of hectic battle, and crucially, the option to flee on your hallmark light cycle feels good in the moment, but I’m hoping for more depth and variety when it comes to full release. Time will tell for that, as the upgrades you’re getting so far aren’t that prevalent.
Bithell Games has stepped up the presentation compared to their prior TRON journey, and it’s resulted in incredibly striking 2D character sprite art in visual novel-esque dialogue, also now with voice acting. A crucial part of crafting and depicting a Cyberpunk world is creating characters with designs that intrigue the audience, leaving them wondering what their deal is and why they’re dressed and present in such a way. The TRON movies were always very good at this (you need look no further than Michael Sheen’s Castor in Legacy), and I’m glad the jump to games seems to be meeting that ambition.
Exo makes for a striking and brooding hero with dreadlocks as they bathe in their neon blue colours. There’s an informant character you meet who is eccentric, and their entire colour scheme is neon green, standing out in crowds. With how neon blue the entire world and universe of TRON is, I appreciate when the game finds ways to break up this imagery, whether it’s introducing characters of intrigue or throwing glowy-red mooks at you.
There are still a lot of question marks surrounding TRON: Catalyst. Just how involved will the experience be? Where is the mystery going? Bithell Games is a strong developer with a proven pedigree, and they’ve at least earned my benefit of the doubt.
TRON: Catalyst releases on June 17 on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch. Stay tuned for more on its intriguing cyberpunk world.
About the Author
Charlie Kelly
She/Her, They/Them
Charlie loves her video games as much as she loves dumb, charming JRPG protagonists: probably way too much. You can often catch her spending too much time being emotional over LGBT stories in games. She also thinks Yakuza 6 is the best one.
