If you’re at all familiar with my writing, then you’ll probably have guessed that I was over the moon when I saw the announcement for TRON: Catalyst. In my review of TRON: Identity, I had said, “I was a little disappointed that it took the form of an interactive novel—but that’s really just me wanting more Disc and Lightcycle action.” Well, it appears Bithell read my review because they’re returned to The Grid to deliver exactly what I wanted.
Something I also said in my review was “it shows there is a lot that can be done with the TRON license,” and getting a brief hands-on with TRON: Catalyst really proves it. With Bithell already proving they had the capability to create an interesting experience within the TRON universe, seeing them backed by Big Fan (Devolver Digital’s publishing label) was only further confirmation that this would be something special.
The first thing I noticed about TRON: Catalyst was how, despite looking and feeling appropriately modern, following the TRON: Legacy aesthetic, it also feels so refreshingly old school—it throws you into a pretty simple tutorial, efficiently establishing how the game is played, while also doing a little bit of worldbuilding. From there, the player is sent spiralling as Exo, a simple Courier program who is caught in a massive explosion.
“TRON: Catalyst allows players to rewind to the start of the loop or be sent back if they’re derezzed in combat.”
When she awakens in a Disc Wars prison, she learns this was no simple explosion but a Glitch that distorts her code outside the bounds of practical space and time. Exo is caught in a loop that allows her to restart at various points in time, which is not only central to the narrative but also a key gameplay feature. TRON: Catalyst allows players to rewind to the start of the loop or be sent back if they’re derezzed in combat.
It’s a solid idea that fits in so seamlessly with the TRON universe. It plays on the idea of broken or corrupted code causing loops in program functions while simultaneously adding elements of the Soulslike genre to the game, allowing players to learn from difficult scenarios and attempt them again with improved knowledge and skills. Not only that, it adds an interesting layer to storytelling as players’ approach to quests can be limited by a lack of information, or elements that require restarting the loop.
However, despite having Soulslike elements, TRON: Catalyst is surprisingly simple—and I don’t mean that as a negative. Utilizing an angled top-down perspective, the game has a much more arcade action style of gameplay while still feeling true to the TRON experience. Players can get up close and personal with their Identity Discs or throw them to attack enemies at a distance. Furthermore, players are able to find Data Shards throughout the world that allow them to unlock new abilities to add a bit more nuance to the combat, though the options in the preview build were fairly limited. Hopefully, the final version has a bit more.
“The first thing I noticed about TRON: Catalyst was how, despite looking and feeling appropriately modern, following the TRON: Legacy aesthetic, it also feels so refreshingly old school…”
Things get even more interesting as players are able to hop on their Light Cycle in any area large enough to allow it—no cycling in buildings, unfortunately. It really gives players the best of both worlds—getting to experience the interesting storytelling of TRON while highlighting the Disc and Light Cycle combat fans know and love. In a lot of ways, it feels spiritually like what a handheld version of TRON: Evolution would’ve been like, only with expanded storytelling and worldbuilding.
But something I really liked while previewing TRON: Catalyst was how much the game’s world—literally called Vertical Slice—felt like a realized portion of The Grid that we’ve only really seen in the movies or TV series. It’s got that great sense of size and feeling of openness that smaller, more contained games like Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars or Yo-Kai Watch were able to achieve through a unique camera angle and excellent world design. Not only that, but both its audio and visual design really capture the sleek, techno-cool elements of the TRON: Legacy aesthetic in a really authentic way.
While it’s still a little ways away and may need to iron out a few more kinks, TRON: Catalyst feels like a really promising addition to this iconic franchise. Bithell may be stepping a bit outside their comfort zone with something like this, but the fundamentals are definitely there for a really fun experience.
TRON: Catalyst will launch for PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S on June 17th, 2025.
