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Lately, we’ve seen a few famous movie franchises trying their luck in the video game landscape. Some have worked and performed exceptionally well, while others have become a fleeting memory that only a handful recall. TRON: Catalyst aims to be the former. After some hands-on time with it, it has the potential to be, yet some small details didn’t surprise me. Still, seeing anything related to TRON is always great, and fans of the neon landscape of this franchise will love it.
Into the Loop
TRON: Catalyst is an original story set in the sci-fi universe that follows Exo, a courier whose life takes a drastic turn when one of the packages Exo was delivering explodes. This causes a glitch of sorts that rolls back time inside the Arq Grid. However, only Exo can turn back time, and so the loop-hopping journey begins.
Right off the bat, TRON: Catalyst has a superb premise. It hits even better if you’re familiar with the universe, but even if you’re not, it is so great. My hands-on time lasted a bit more than an hour, so it wasn’t enough to see the whole plot unfold. Yet, it was more than enough to hook me. At first, it all starts as a normal quest of Exo trying to discover what happened. But then, it becomes a time-hopping adventure where you must restart a loop to find a different outcome, prevent things from happening, and use the things you discovered in previous loops to help you.
Naturally, this also translates to the gameplay aspect. For instance, during the preview, I had to speak with one NPC. However, this NPC was inside the arena. Since Exo didn’t know how to fight at the time, I restarted the loop, spoke with the NPC before he moved to the arena, and he sent me to the training area. After learning how to fight, I joined him and learned vital information for the quest. Then, I restarted the loop and used said information to unlock a shortcut, which would lead me to find an important character who knew about the exploding package.
Beyond the story-related aspects, there are other things you can unlock throughout your loops, such as shortcuts and new areas. This is an excellent idea and one that TRON: Catalyst executes perfectly, especially if you take the time to explore your surroundings thoroughly. There are even a few NPCs who have vital information that will help you as you progress through the intricate plot.
The Combat Wasn’t As Engaging as The Narrative
Despite being a preview and the combat still being worked on, I still found it underwhelming, which isn’t great for a first impression playthrough. It is an action-adventure game at its core with an isometric view. To fight enemies, you have your light attack combos, a charged attack, the ability to parry, and a skill that lets you throw your disc at foes. You can also unlock other passive skills by finding and spending currency. It’s important to note that combat is still being tuned. Still, I enjoyed the exploration and narrative aspect way more.
A normal fight consists of different enemies attacking you with different gimmicks. The most common foes use a sword and slice at you with a move you can parry easily. Others wield a hammer that can cause a lot of damage. A few have specific weaknesses you must exploit. In truth, the strategic part is there, and TRON: Catalyst encourages players to do more than just button-mash mindlessly. Still, I wish there were a more in-depth look at the combat during this preview. Then again, the full release will likely be different, so I’m excited to see what’s coming.
Another key aspect of the gameplay loop (no pun intended) is the Light Cycle. Once you unlock it, you can ride through the Arq Grid in TRON fashion, and that’s something I also liked a lot. You’ll also need it a lot because the actual map is huge, which was a welcome surprise. I wasn’t expecting such depth and verticality. It was nice to discover a few hidden areas and places that required long travel times. TRON: Catalyst captures Arq Grid’s size and feel flawlessly. Even if I only explored it for a short while, it felt like an isometric sci-fi sandbox, and one I’m eager to fully explore in the future.
Time to Finish the Game
While I felt conflicted about the combat, everything else was great. TRON: Catalyst takes the best parts of this sci-fi universe and represents them in the most gorgeous way possible to lure new players in and please old fans. Yet, the absolute best thing about the game is its loop mechanic, which, paired with an intriguing narrative, makes for one killer combination I can’t wait to fully experience. Fortunately, the release date isn’t that far away, so I won’t have to wait long to see this mysterious plot unfold.
