TRON: Catalyst Has a Cool Style but Missing That Spark

TRON: Catalyst is the latest game in the TRON universe, following up on TRON: Identity. But unlike its puzzle-heavy predecessor, this one is all about action. You play as Exo, a courier who gets caught in a deadly setup and finds herself trapped in a time loop. Sounds exciting, right? Well… kind of.

Let’s break it down.

Fun Combat That Keeps You Coming Back

The best thing about TRON: Catalyst is its combat. Throwing your Identity Disc, dodging attacks, and unlocking new abilities as you go is really satisfying. The game slowly gives you new moves, so nothing feels too complicated. By the time you learn a new skill, it fits naturally into your fighting style.

The best parts of fighting include:

• A disc that bounces between enemies
• The ability to counter your own thrown disc to send it flying again
• Late-game upgrades let you steal weapons from enemies, which adds variety

The combat is fast, smooth, and looks great. Both with keyboard/mouse or a controller, the controls feel nice and responsive. However, it’s a bit of a shame that you can’t replay battles after beating the game, your save sort of gets “erased”, so no post-game fun with all your powers.

Time Loops Sound Cool, But Don’t Do Much

One of the game’s big ideas is a time loop mechanic. You can go back and replay earlier moments with new info or skills. It sounds awesome on paper, but in practice, it doesn’t add much. Most of the time, the game tells you exactly when and where to reset the loop, so it feels more like a cutscene trigger than a real gameplay feature.

Later in the game, the map opens up and lets you revisit places, but even then, it’s still very linear. There’s not much problem-solving or clever use of time travel, it’s just following quest markers.

The Story Has a Good Start, But Gets Held Down

At the start, the story is interesting. A mystery package turns out to be a bomb, and you’re thrown into a strange new world with big questions: Who sent the bomb? Why are you stuck in a loop?

Sadly, those early hooks give way to a lot of heavy dialogue about the TRON world, especially the Arq Grid, the setting for this game. If you’re a big TRON fan, you might love the lore. But if you’re not, it can feel like too much exposition and not enough emotional storytelling.

The characters don’t really grow, and your choices in conversations don’t seem to change much. Instead of getting pulled into the world, you might find yourself skipping dialogue just to get back to the action.

Lightcycle Moments Are Great, But Too Short

The Lightcycle sections are really fun. Zooming through enemy cycles, dodging attacks, and laying down glowing walls feels just like in the movies. But the game barely uses them. Maybe two or three short sections. It’s a missed opportunity, because these moments are some of the most fun and memorable in the game.

There’s also a Light Jet sequence, but… we could’ve done without it.

Short Game, Some Bugs

The game is short, you’ll probably beat it in under 8 hours. There are secret areas to explore, but there’s not much reason to go looking once you’ve maxed out your upgrades.

Worse, bugs sometimes get in the way. You might fall through the floor, glitch through doors, or lose progress from crashes. Nothing game-breaking, but definitely annoying.

Final Thoughts: Cool Ideas, Needs More Depth

We give it a solid 3.5/5. It definitely has potential, it just misses some spark. It can be a great setting for future TRON games!

Should You Play TRON: Catalyst?

If you’re a TRON fan, there’s enough here to enjoy. The world looks great, the music hits the right notes, and combat is fun throughout. But if you’re not already into TRON, this might not be the game to win you over. The price is rather correct for the amount of time you will spend playing it. It’s around 25€ on Steam, which seems fair.

It really feels like a solid step forward, just not the final destination. Hopefully, the next game in the series will build on this foundation and deliver something really amazing.

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