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I thought Tron: Catalyst would be a lot to take in. In truth, it kind of was – I'm only casually familiar with Disney's cyberpunk movie series, my last experience being catching Tron: Legacy at the cinema in 2010. It's safe to say that I remembered precious little about Tron, save for flashy neon-accented everything, when I sat down for this two-chapter hands-on.
But Tron: Catalyst quickly pulled me in. Pivoting away from Tron: Identity's visual novel format, Bithell's new game presents a fast and fluid isometric adventure that puts action front and center. It's surprisingly intuitive, the top-down viewpoint lending it a familiar roguelike twist (thanks in part to Hades 2) that helped me pay attention to all the context clues dotted throughout. Programs are people, The Grid is the setting, and the Core is the megalomaniacal self-appointed government that has seized control of these parts.
Paired with stellar voice acting, an innovative Deathloop-esque time-bending mechanic framing the narrative, and moreish combat encounters, Tron: Catalyst took less than three hours to convince me that it's one of the most exciting upcoming PC games on the horizon for fans of quirky action-adventures – and I think I'm already hooked.
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That's not to say Tron: Catalyst is a totally smooth ride just yet. Even with great potential firmly locked in its sights, the biggest issues I experienced during my hands-on session were predominantly to do with work-in-progress moments, odd keybindings when using a KBM setup, and the odd bit of sticky scenery.
I stumble upon the first of these blips during the game's prologue. Stepping into the futuristic boots of Exo, a courier tasked with delivering parcels to people across the Vertical Slice (this particular corner of the Grid), one such piece of cargo has the unfortunate snag of being explosive.
The prologue itself is still being ironed out by the developer, so what should have probably been a dramatic moment of city-wide chaos as Exo's parcel explodes in her arms becomes a quick animation of her simply falling to the ground, prone. It makes me snort despite the circumstances, but it's an easy quirk to forgive.
The following segments introduce me to how combat works in Tron: Catalyst. I've awakened somewhere called the Arena, a gladiator-like prison run by the Core, where fighters must battle holographic enemies to earn their freedom. After a lengthy discussion with an interrogator named Conn, who seems adamant that I'm working for a renegade group and rebelling against the Core (which, for the time being, I'm not), I'm sent down to the Arena's, well, arena to do battle.
Wait a second – being pitted against waves of foes with little more than my wits? Immediately, I feel my roguelike senses twitching – or at the very least, my bullet-hell alarm starts going off. However, the moment I spawn into the chamber, that dream fizzles out. I'm urged to retreat by another fighter, and some on-screen text encourages me to use my newfound powers of time reversal to restart the loop and head to the training chamber first.
Looping in Tron: Catalyst works similarly to the likes of Deathloop. Some major actions carried out in one loop will be carried back in time whenever you restart it, from unlocking shortcuts and passageways to receiving combat training. Sometimes you have no choice but to restart the loop to complete a new mission objective. Like meeting an NPC earlier in the cycle, for example. Run out of health at any point, and you encounter the only other roguelike-shaped element in Tron: Catalyst aside from its isometric viewpoint. Dying mid-loop restarts it, possibly losing some meaningful progress at the same time, so I remind myself constantly that I can restart the loop myself at any point to mitigate that risk.
Encoded
Bithell sets up a roiling tale of power, control, and dystopian tyranny
Combat training is perhaps the most vital element of Tron: Catalyst to get to grips with – using Exo's identity disc, you can hit enemies within melee range with quick attacks, or throw it like a boomerang to attack from a distance, using walls to pinball your disc to perform bounce-back trick shots.
There are other tools in her arsenal when it comes to avoiding damage rather than inflicting it. The parry mechanic is useful for deflecting incoming damage back at your attacker, the space bar helps you dash or dodge away in the nick of time, and hitting the tab key locks you onto an enemy.
While I find ranged attacks and regular melee ones easy and satisfying enough with my mouse, the keyboard mappings are a bit trickier. Swapping to a D-pad made the whole experience much more comfortable and less frenetic – for me, the controller is the way to go. Before long, the hack n' slash nature of Tron: Catalyst's combat feels second nature to me thanks to my isometric roguelike training.
Once I collect enough ability powerups, earned by defeating enemies, smashing up crates, or simply tucked away in hidden corners across the map – upgrading my disc to ricochet off multiple enemies is a real gamechanger. Especially when, as often happens, Exo gets overwhelmed by hordes of enemies and needs to keep at a safe distance.
I finally unlock the Light Cycle after breaking out of the Arena successfully and completing that first loop – aka, the first chapter. Except now, I find myself being hunted by the Core. It turns out the military state is not fond of runaway prisoners, and a scripted moment where I get caught with illegal materials on my identity disc leads the whole district to be permanently alerted to Exo's presence.
It's a fun bit of drama, one I'd hoped to avoid by restarting the loop – but Exo outing herself to the Core is unavoidable, and pushes me to move and think fast to avoid detection or fight a lot of enemies. In order to get rid of my district alert, I need to make my way through garish neon-lit streets and into labyrinthine buildings in hot pursuit of a certain bartender I'd encountered at the Arena. They won't remember me, I'm told, but Exo will remember them.
I don't want to spoil who exactly this program is or where it causes you to end up, but the first two chapters of Tron: Catalyst definitely impressed me. Bithell sets up a roiling tale of power, control, and dystopian tyranny bubbling beneath all the neon and chrome, positioning Exo as an intriguing (albeit unwilling) heroine for the job.
There's just enough RPG flavor to allow players to tailor her responses accordingly, carving out a distinct identity for both her and the high-stakes world she lives in. Don't be put off if you've not played Tron: Identity yet – you really don't need to, though given how I can't stop thinking about Tron: Catalyst, Bithell has made an excellent pitch for me to do so while I await the sequel's June 17 release.
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