TRON: Catalyst hands-on preview — Battling in blue neon

Huge TRON nerd here. The original movie may have come out before I was born, but especially after watching TRON: Legacy, I was entranced by the world. Unfortunately for me, anything TRON-oriented has been slowed to a dripfeed. Thankfully, however, Mike Bithell and the crew at Bithell Games have been hard at work, with TRON: Identity being a great take on both the franchise and as a visual novel. Still, us TRON lovers want some action alongside a great story and setting. Now that I’ve laid hands on their latest in TRON: Catalyst, it seems like we’re getting just that.

My biggest surprise when booting into the preview build was the scale. I thought I’d be running along a linear path, fighting corrupt programs, and finding the exit. To my surprise, you begin the game as Exo, a courier, delivering packages around an open level. Yes, the premise will still have you doing a lot of what I mentioned above, but having the ability to explore a few additional corners of the Grid is awesome. There's a bit of Metroidvania in here as well, as you find your way back into areas with new abilities that unlock further conversations or collectibles.

Continuing with our main character, after one of your packages explodes, Exo finds herself being interrogated about what happened and is stuck in prison. In usual TRON fashion, the only option for moving forward is to hop into a gladiatorial arena and try your best to avoid being derezzed. On your first attempt, things don’t go well; you don’t know how to fight.

This is where my interest in Catalyst peaked tremendously; I was presented with the option to reset my loop. Apparently the blast I was caught in gave me the ability to rewind to the beginning of my interrogation, which also brought me into this second loop with the information I needed to question other programs to learn to fight back. After a quick conversation with the program who was in the arena as well – at least, back in my first loop – I gained access to the training room. I'm intrigued to find out how these resets will shape TRON: Catalyst, and if they're useful outside of the mission structure.

Combat in TRON: Catalyst is exactly what you want it to be. Most isometric games follow the hack and slash formula, and Catalyst follows in those footsteps. It’s a lot of fun to dodge, swipe at a program with your light disc, and then chuck it to hit another. Parrying is also present, but I had the most fun trying to trickshot my disc, ricocheting it around the room to hit my foes in the back. Eventually, more skills are available to unlock, like hitting multiple enemies at once or getting more out of your parries. Enemies will also have specific weaknesses to your abilities, which are generously displayed next to their health bars.

From the slice I played, dialogue is an integral part of TRON: Catalyst. I'd expect nothing less considering their experience with TRON: Identity, which is chock full of impactful dialogue. While none of my hour of gameplay featured a lot of different paths in conversation, I could see the care put into my few interactions. I'm intrigued to see if more layers will find their way into your exchanges, especially with the reset feature adding extra flavor.

Of course, this couldn't be a TRON game without light cycles involved, and I'm happy to report you get your own. After breaking out of the prison and into an open area, you find yourself able to call it in at your leisure. It is limited to the city streets, but speeding around brings a smile to your face. The controls did feel a bit janky – any directional movement is quite touchy – but I'm betting those will be smoother by launch. I did have plenty of fun running down a few enemy programs in the meantime. I'm also curious what skills may be unlocked as the game continues, as the light trail wasn't present on the bike. Perhaps an upgrade?

Also marking off the checklist: the vibes. The entire game is soaked in blue neon, showing that the devs knew the assignment. Backing up the look is the sound, with a bass-heavy cyberpunk score punctuating the background. It's no Daft Punk (nothing is), but it immerses you in the world exactly how it needs to.

I was initially hesitant at the prospect of TRON: Catalyst’s choice of genre, but those have melted away after my time with this preview. The direction from Bithell Games feels incredibly clear: make an isometric action game with spunky combat and use our experience with Identity to forge an interesting narrative featuring a level of dialogue you usually don't get in this genre. So far, so good, and I'm ready for a trip back to the Grid. TRON: Catalyst releases on June 17th for PC, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox Series consoles.