For a franchise infamously based around the subject of video games and computer simulations for decades, Tron still hasn’t gotten a killer video game outside the original arcade classic. There have been attempts, but none have been as promising asTron: Catalyst, the upcoming action-adventure title from Devolver Digital, which showed a ton of potential during our hands-on preview of the game.
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Entering the Grid
Die-hard fans of the Tron franchise will be excited to see that the world of the Arq Grid, first introduced in the visual novel/detective game Tron: Identity, is freely explorable and (seemingly) open-world. Set thousands of years after the events ofTron: Legacy,Tron: Catalysttakes place in a new Grid, but the iconic vibes and visuals of Tron are still at the forefront.
Synth-heavy soundtracks pulse in the background as you make your way through the jet-black city streets, illuminated by the cybernetic neon-blue accents that glow and illuminate the world around them. Players can listen in on other programs' conversations, drive a Light Cycle through the streets and fight to the death wielding their own Identity Disc. Everything a Tron fan could want is not only present, but free to use at any time, giving a lot of freedom to how the player chooses to progress and approach situations.
The Descendants of Flynn
While we weren’t given a chance to freely explore the open world of the Arq Grid, there are plenty of signals that suggested there’s more to this game than just linear levels. Opportunities for quest tracking and side quests popped up more than a few times during the demo and we found lots of areas within our limited demo to explore (with plenty of unlockable doors that we’re sure had a key hidden somewhere).
Everything a Tron fan could want is not only present, but free to use at any time, giving a lot of freedom to how the player chooses to progress and approach situations.
The isometric camera angle may not be the most immersive, but an over-the-shoulder or first-person view of the Grid would be difficult to execute properly. Enemies surround you from all sides, and with the far-flying bounces of Identity Discs, it makes it way easier to determine trajectory and keep an eye out behind you with a birds-eye view.
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The combat and driving is a mixed bag in terms of gameplay. Both were fun, but were also brought down by hard-to-execute parries and a limited range of melee attacks, as well as difficulty in operating the Light Cycle’s boost and dodge mechanics. There’s a skill tree that unlocks tons of new abilities and moves for the player, so that may have just been a symptom of it being early in the game. We also have been assured that combat is still being fine-tuned at this state in development.
A Game Inside A Game
There’s a surprising amount of dialogue and story inTron: Catalyst, taking nods from the detective storytelling inTron: Identity. The game follows Exo, a program working as a carrier in the Arq Grid’s capital city when one of their packages explodes, giving them the ability to travel back in time to the beginning of their “loop,” giving a bit of a Groundhog’s Day aura to the experience.
Synth-heavy soundtracks pulse in the background as you make your way through the jet-black city streets, illuminated by the cybernetic neon-blue accents that glow and illuminate the world around them.
While the looping feature was available, there wasn’t much of it outside a hand-holding tutorial scenario. The game seems to be promising that players will be able to reset the loop and make unique choices regarding how they approach each attempt, changing the hostility of enemies and appearances of characters in certain locations.
Much like the other components of the game, the loop mechanic is an idea that has a lot of promise and ambition to it. We’re excited to see that potential pay off when the game launches June 17 on Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC.
Tron: Catalyst
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