Last week, Bithell Games, the developer of Thomas Was Alone, Tron: Identity, and other Disney-themed games, revealed Tron Catalyst. This is its next entry into Disney's world of identity discs and lightcycles with lovely neon piping. Bithell Games has traded the visual novel gameplay from Tron: Identity in favor of a time-looping, isometric action game, which features a rogue computer program's attempts to escape her city’s digital despots.
Tron: Catalyst takes place in the Arq Grid, a digital world that is different from the Grid of the Tron films. Arq Grid, introduced in Tron Identity, was created to allow its virtual inhabitants to exist without any contact with humans. Exo, Catalyst’s protagonist, is the only one who knows that the Arq Grid has gone haywire. Glitches have trapped the Grid in a loop of time, and she is the only person who can tell.
Exo is hunted down by the Core, the Arq Grid's despotic leaders, after an exploding parcel grants her mysterious powers. Her new powers allow her to keep her memories each time the Grid's loop resets. This allows her to discover new secrets, unlock new abilities, and gain new areas.
Exo will do a lot of lightcycle pursuits and identity disc battles along the way. I got a sneak peek at Tron: Catalyst isometric combat in a September preview. Exo is a nimble fighter, able to switch between close-range swipes or long-range disc throwings. Throughout the game she will earn upgrades which will allow her to customize her combat style. For example, a "Disc Kick", which allows you to kick her disc immediately after it rebounds.
Bithell Games adds a lot of verticality despite its top-down gameplay to Exo's exploration in the Arq Grid urban landscape. "We talked as a team about how to make a video game feel like you're getting to know a new place," creative director Mike Bithell stated during the preview demo.
Bithell explained that the solution was to create time loops with "ever-increasing circles of exploration," where Exo would unlock shortcut codes to provide faster access to areas upon her return. In the demo, Exo was able to unlock a code that allowed her to move from rooftops, rather than fighting street-level Core thugs in subsequent loops.
Bithell insists that despite the time-looping in the game, Tron: Catalyst remains a story-driven adventure, and not a roguelike. Bithell explained that the team wanted to "make an experience that plays with the idea that games are" by incorporating multiple playthroughs within the game's narrative while the character is aware of them.
Bithell stated that while Tron: Catalyst builds on the story elements of Tron: Identity it will be "definitely approachable" for newcomers. It will not be necessary to play through the last Tron game to understand what is going on. You'll need to know that lightcycles look cool.
The release date for Tron: Catalyst has been set for 2025.
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