TRON: Catalyst Review

The TRON franchise has been around for more years than I’ve been alive and started by telling the story of Kevin Flynn, a videogame developer and computer programmer who is pulled into the world of a mainframe computer. Developer Bithell Games brings a new adventure set in this iconic universe with TRON: Catalyst. I couldn’t wait to try it out and see if it captures the feel of the original movie.

Before jumping into the game, we have a few housekeeping items to take care of. The most important thing is that you will have to select the type of experience that you would like to have: Story Driven is for when you want to experience the narrative and meet the unique characters of the ARQ Grid; Action Orientated is for those who want a bit of a challenge to test their skills with the Identity Disc and are ready to fight; or Challenge Focused, which is for seasoned players who want to test their skills to master the ARQ Grid.

When we begin TRON: Catalyst, you take on the role of Exo, a courier program who has to make deliveries around the city. This day is different from all the others, as she has an odd package to deliver that is glowing with a blinking light. If you’ve played videogames in the past, you know it’s not a good sign when something blinks. Exo has a bad feeling and tosses the package to the side; it explodes on the busy street, causing massive damage.

This is where we begin Chapter 1. Exo is being questioned by a guard named Conn about what happened with the delivery. He is quite rude and believes our program clearly knows more than she is admitting to. As punishment, he forces her to fight in the arena, fully expecting her to de-rezz — another term for cease to exist, if you didn’t already guess that. She has no experience in battle, so she isn’t ready for conflict, and because of this, she is killed, triggering the time loop, and placing Exo right back in Conn’s office. He is still pressuring her for information, and again she enters the arena for battle. This time around, events will turn out differently than before, as you can change your actions to alter the outcome.

TRON: Catalyst is divided into chapters, each consisting of a time loop that begins when you de-rezz or choose to restart it. You won’t lose progress when this happens: you retain the information you’ve learned, experience points, and items you had, but the NPCs and enemies return to their starting point. Restarting the loop can be incredibly useful; sometimes, you get an item or knowledge that helps you get through a point that wasn’t accessible before, like obtaining a special key to access a previously locked area.
Now that Exo learns that, because of the Catalyst blast, she has the ability to loop and replay moments in time, she can go back to the beginning of the chapter she’s on. In the first chapter, you’ll use this to escape captivity and get out of the battle arena. Later on, you’ll use the time loop to bypass a heavily guarded checkpoint.

Your objective is constantly changing, so it never felt like I was always doing the same thing. Sometimes, you’ll need to have a conversation with a particular person, while other times you’ll solve a puzzle or find a specific item. The game has handy visual markers that show you where you need to go to complete your next mission and how far away the target is. This was incredibly helpful, until it disappeared, or was covered up by a text box or something else obscuring my view. So it got hard for me to know where I needed to go next and would wander until the marker appeared again.

One of the things I found most satisfying was beating up enemy guards with my Identity Disc. If you’re familiar with the TRON franchise, you’ll recognise this ring weapon. Smashing enemies up close or tossing the disc from a distance, either way, it’s fun and smooth.
As you progress in the game, you collect green tokens placed around the map or hidden in crates. You can spend these points to upgrade your base attacks and make them stronger or learn other helpful abilities. There are other moves in your arsenal, like a dodge to avoid enemy attacks or the ability to parry. Figuring out the correct timing for the parry is a bit tricky, but if you get right, it’s incredibly satisfying!

The visual style and soundtrack in TRON: Catalyst do not disappoint. The graphics are dark and very futuristic with many elements of the main capital city, such as trees, are made of electronic components, and everything glows with blue neon lights and colours. The music is moody, with what feels like a mix of industrial and techno all mashed together. I also have to mention the awesome voice work for all the characters: the voice actors do a great job portraying emotion; they aren’t flat and really bring the characters to life.

Now, it wouldn’t be TRON without Light Cycles! In my mind, this is one of the most important things. I’ve loved these bikes ever since I saw them in the first TRON movie years ago. I had so much fun zipping around the city on my Light Cycle, leaving a thick ribbon of light behind me for enemies, like other bikes, to smash into. There’s also an attack and boost button for when you really want to go fast. Guaranteed, it’ll look awesome, even when you smash into objects you’re actually trying to avoid. As long as it looks cool, that’s all that matters!

I’ve had a great time playing TRON: Catalyst and uncovering the secrets of this futuristic city and the story of our main character, Exo. Even if you aren’t familiar with the TRON lore from past movies and games, there’s a lot here to enjoy — from epic disc battles to racing around on a Light Cycle. You’ll have an enjoyable time.