Tron: Catalyst
Review
Looping in the Grid
by William Thompson
reviewed on PC
The Catalyst
You play as Exo, a courier program inside the Tron world that has been imprisoned for an explosion caused by a package that she delivered. The Arq Grid itself is an area full of factions vying for control. The Core, a police-state faction that controls much of the area is headed by Conn, whilst the Automata, are a radical faction that are more open to freedom for the citizens inside the Arq Grid. After escaping the prison, players will travel with Exo across the Grid to work out how to solve the issue of their server crashing. To aid with this is a Glitch mechanic that Exo has somehow been exposed to, enabling her to loop time periods.
The story is told via interactions with other characters within the Arq Grid, mostly via almost comic-book style conversations. The voiced dialogue during these interactions works well for the most part and has the added benefit of allowing players to take a break from the combat. Annoyingly though, conversations are often replayed several times. There was one area that I needed to constantly pass through that required me to speak with a guard at the front. And each time, after gaining the right credentials, I had to go through the whole conversation with him handing over my disc so that he could check it.
Like many quest-based titles, traversing the Arq Grid between objectives could quickly become tedious. Thankfully, Exo gains access to a Tron Light Cycle, making traversal a swift and visually thrilling experience, allowing players to zoom around at Light(Cycle) Speed.
The Glitch
Inevitably, conflict arises. Whether cruising on your Light Cycle or navigating on foot, you'll frequently encounter resistance, primarily from the relentless Core operatives hunting Exo, but also from other programs displeased with your disruptive activities. This is where Exo's iconic light disc skills truly shine.
Combat in Tron: Catalyst offers a satisfying blend of dodging, parrying, close-quarters melee, and ranged disc attacks. Controls are commendably responsive. However, the ranged disc, especially after acquiring a bouncing upgrade, can make picking off enemies a bit too straightforward, potentially trivializing some encounters. Despite this, smaller, more confined combat zones cleverly push players to utilize their full arsenal, demanding precise parries and strategic positioning. Most of the combat engagements come with a bonus challenge that grants additional XP, with some of these challenges requiring you to perform melee attacks or win within a certain time. This adds encouragement to get up close and personal with your attackers from time to time.
As well as earning XP during combat phases, green XP shards can be found scattered around each of the locations, either in plain sight (but often difficult to reach) or hidden in special crates that can be smashed open. It does pay to explore your surroundings so that you can quickly gain XP. The XP shards can be used to purchase upgrades for Exo's combat abilities. These upgrades include improvements to her disc attacks, defensive capabilities, and other combat-related enhancements.
Underutilised potential
While Tron: Catalyst nails the core gameplay, it frustratingly underutilizes some of its most intriguing mechanics. The disguise system, for instance, offers glimpses of compelling stealth gameplay, allowing Exo to don a Core uniform and bypass certain combat encounters.. There are some ranked officers that will see through your disguise and a stealthy approach is necessary. But like the loop mechanic, it was underutilised. It would have been nice to have avoided some combat scenarios with the use of a disguise.
The Arq grid does look gorgeous with its neon orange and blue highlights, but the pinks of the Automata really stand out, adding some colour to the locations. From a distance, the roads and buildings seem to resemble a futuristic circuit board with the buildings representing the computer chips situated within the circuit board - which is fitting given that you’re a program in the system.
Disc flinging fun
Tron: Catalyst does plenty right. The story of the glitch in the system works well within the Tron environment, and the combat is quite fluid, requiring players to make use of all of Exo’s abilities. However, some of the enjoyable mechanics are underutilised. I only ever used the Glitch loop mechanic when I was specifically asked to do so, and it would have been nice to have donned the Core uniform disguise in more locations to allow a more stealthy game if you wanted. But the game's signature Tron visual styling is breathtaking, making every moment spent in the Arq Grid a feast for the eyes. Fans of the futuristic Disney films will find much to love here, especially if they can overlook some of its missed opportunities..
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7.0
fun score
Pros
Lovely aesthetic
Cons
Underutilised Loop system
