I get the sensation with Tron that nobody presently concerned with the franchise has an idea of what it’s about. So long as the whole lot appears like a rave is about to interrupt out, Disney will slap their identify on it and return their consideration to the following Pixar flop. However having resigned myself to that notion, I’ve to say TRON: Catalyst is likely one of the higher entries since 2003’s Tron 2.0.
Set throughout the Grid of TRON: Legacy, Catalyst plunges the participant right into a world the place black is the one crayon within the field. Practically the whole lot’s illuminated in shades of azure or amber, although, faithfully recreating the signature look of the trendy installments.
I nonetheless argue that the Grid of the unique Tron was rather more artistic and attention-grabbing to have a look at, however that’s not the purpose right here.
The purpose is that we’re following a courier named Exo who realizes a bit too late that one in every of her deliveries is a bomb. She tosses it away in time to forestall getting derezzed, however she survived with some attention-grabbing new powers that get the eye of Conn. Enticed by Exo’s newfound skills, he sees her and her newfound “Glitch” potential as a method to perform his personal objectives.
The story is usually conveyed by way of static photos between gameplay ranges. The art work is barren, however these segments are buoyed by stellar voice appearing. Regardless of the eccentric characters and abundance of nonsensical technical phrases used all through, the dialogue is delivered with a delicate earnestness that makes Exo’s predicaments plausible. In fact, that’s all there to serve the gameplay, and that is the place TRON: Legacy actually shines…till it doesn’t.
Three parts carry the sport, the primary of which is melee fight. That is principally disc associated, in fact. Exo can throw her disc at enemies or punch them with it at numerous strengths, and the controls for doing so are fairly straightforward to grasp. She will additionally parry and dodge, the latter of which is simpler to time than the previous.
The usage of discs within the Tron world nonetheless cracks me up, because the very system that serves as your ID and principally shops your very existence can also be a extremely lethal weapon. An ID card or flash drive wouldn’t suffice? It’s like if America began requiring weapons for citizen identification (which, now that I give it some thought, is more likely to occur inside my lifetime).
Anyway, the fight is slick and enjoyable, and it evolves nicely. Exo will study new (and fairly cool) skills all through the sport, and the participant is ready to decide the way to improve them by way of collected knowledge shards.
Nevertheless, the very fact you barely want any of those upgrades causes the fight to get repetitive. It additionally will get irritating when you need to eradicate enemies inside a sure timeframe. In a sport that’s already repetitive by design, gamers shouldn’t be pressured to replay ranges due to deadlines.
The repetitiveness is damaged up considerably by the second part: gentle cycle journey. Sadly, that is primarily used merely as a option to get round sooner, and the controls really feel…slippery. That carries over to whenever you’re utilizing the sunshine cycles in fight. Gone are the game-like 90-degree turns and the technique that concerned, changed by habits extra like precise bikes. That kills the coolness issue and the enjoyable, and I discovered these segments to be extra irritating than the disc battles.
The third and last part is the time-travel loop burnt into the story. One of many outcomes of the Glitch introduced on by Exo’s supply failure is her potential to journey again in time to provide totally different outcomes. If she missed a personality she wanted to fulfill, for instance, she will simply warp again to an outlined level and take a look at once more, using any routes she opened up on the primary try. This mechanic works nicely throughout the narrative, but it surely means you’re going to be wanting on the identical areas quite a few instances. Fortunately, the sport does a great job of letting you recognize whenever you don’t must replay a sure half or entry a particular location once more.
Finally, TRON: Catalyst does a great job of recreating the world of TRON: Legacy, proper right down to the music. It’s not practically as distinctive or memorable as Wendy Carlos’ rating for the unique film, but it surely efficiently mimics Daft Punk’s atmosphere from Legacy; disappearing properly into the background.
TRON: Catalyst additionally doesn’t put on out its welcome; you’ll be able to count on to finish it inside 10 to 12 hours. Gameplay will entertain and frustrate in flip all through that point, but it surely’s held collectively nicely by the tight script and high quality appearing. I’m nonetheless ready on a Tron sport that’s in a position to replicate the visible and thematic splendor of the unique movie, however truthfully? I’m nonetheless ready on that from a film, too.
