Tron: Catalyst looks to deepen our understanding of the Grid and its programmatic inhabitants by offering up an expansive, entirely original tale inside the computer. If the opening act is anything to go by, it’s sure to be an electric dream indeed.
Although it’s been quite some time since the Tron franchise was truly in the spotlight, 2025 is finally giving Users a reason to have hope. Not only is Tron: Ares hitting the big screen on October 10 after more than a decade of talks on following up from Legacy, but a brand new video game is also on the way too.
Tron: Catalyst has been in the works at Bithell Games since the studio’s visual novel-style puzzle game, Tron: Identity, launched in 2023. Two years on, they’re gearing up for a far more ambitious project with Identity Disc combat and Light Cycles galore. It’s a bold step forward, and while we’ve only played the first chunk, it’s certainly coming together in most respects.
As a lifelong Tron fan, it’s always felt like an absolute no-brainer to expand on the world through our beloved medium. While I definitely have my gripes with a few game design choices, Catalyst is unquestionably set to deliver on that promise with a rich narrative full of intriguing lore to help flesh out the universe. Programs ought to be very excited for this one.
What is Tron: Catalyst?
Set to release on June 17, 2025, Tron: Catalyst is a wholly original gaming experience for the IP. We’ve seen everything from Light Cycle racing battles to the 2010 movie tie-in for Tron: Evolution, but Catalyst presents something distinct from all that came before it.
From an overhead perspective, you control Exo, a new protagonist with a flaw in her code. Exo’s unique ‘Glitch’ lets her reset a time loop. With this power, she can manipulate the world to her advantage, or be swayed by rivaling factions all looking to gain a foothold in Vertical Slice city.
Exo offers a unique perspective from anything we’ve seen in the Tron universe before.
While there’s a heavy emphasis on storytelling, with dialogue taking up most of your game time as you meet new characters and in some cases, choose what to say to them, combat is still at the forefront of the experience as well. Wielding your Identity Disc, you’re often engaging with enemy programs, throwing to hit them from afar while swiping up close with an array of melee attacks.
Along the way, you’ve got access to a litany of upgrades and of course, what would a Tron game really be without a Light Cycle? We found ourselves zooming through the neon-soaked streets of the Grid in no time.
Expanding the Program
Let’s make no mistake, the main appeal of Catalyst is its storytelling. Vertical Slice city is a big world with a great deal of new characters to engage with. Some are just looking to get by, others promote their eccentricity at every turn, showing off their dazzling outfits and scoffing at those lower on the totem pole. Remind you of anyone?
Zooming out, a number of disparate factions all have their own agendas too. Where you fall appears to be something you can influence on behalf of protagonist Exo, at least, that’s how the preview made it seem, offering dialogue choices that turned her nose up at the idea of sparking a revolution.
Dialogue options give you numerous pathways to explore.
Of course, there’s the main storyline itself, with Exo coming to grips with her Glitch and others looking to benefit from her power, but there’s so much more to the world than just that. Characters along the way give a rare insight into life on the Grid, but not just any Grid, one that many believe has been abandoned and forgotten by its creator, Flynn.
It’s a captivating tale to be thrust in the midst of, and one I’m desperately eager to learn more about through Exo’s core path, but also through many missable conversations with NPCs gone in a flash.
Each interaction is superbly written, as we’ve come to expect from Bithell Games, and voice acting across the board is utterly stellar here as well.
Room to upgrade
Where the experience of Catalyst ultimately left me a little dissatisfied was in the combat. Playing it relatively safe, at least in the early stages, you’re limited to the same toolset you’ve seen in any number of games over the years.
There’s your melee attack, a dodge button, an option to parry if you time it right, and then you can throw your Identity Disc for a little medium to long-range damage. I’m hoping to be proven wrong in the full game as the hours go by and the options expand, but in the opening chapter, it all just felt rather uninspired.
In most combat encounters, simply mashing the attack button is all you need to worry about as enemies mindlessly walk into your attacks and only take a few hits to go down.
Combat wasn’t all that impressive in the early preview, but there’s plenty of room for growth in the full game.
Again, it’s all early days yet and there’s plenty of potential for Exo’s powers to grow to allow for a far more engaging combat experience. A few new enemy types did spice things up a little in the preview build, so hopefully there’s plenty more of that still to come when Tron: Catalyst arrives in full on June 17.
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