TRON: Catalyst review - A polished and faithful adventure into the legacy of TRON

When I first booted up TRON: Catalyst, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Sure, I had the trailers to go on, but the TRON franchise is a bit of an odd specimen in the pop culture sphere. It’s beloved, but only by a certain generation, and while it certainly impresses visually, the actual stories never really felt like the high point of the films. I’d argue the most popular thing about the original film was the style, and TRON: Legacy thrived because of the Daft Punk soundtrack. This isn’t me hating on the series, I’m a 1980s baby, so I’ve got some love for the films, even if the concept feels a bit dated.

Video games are somewhat intrinsic to the original film and those ideas of living computer programs, so while I was intrigued by this action-brawler that bursts with TRON’s usual neon aesthetic, I was sceptical that even the brilliant studio Bithell Games, headed by Mike Bithell, could pull this off. Having said that, this is Bithell Games’ second shot at a game within this universe, so they’ve earned the right to represent Disney’s franchise.

From the off, TRON: Catalyst impresses on a visual level, with gorgeous neon edging everything, and the sprawling city, which is seen from an isometric view, is lush from every angle. If there’s one thing I can champion about this game, it’s the city, otherwise known as the Arq Grid. So many of the buildings can be explored, unlocking random shortcuts, and they’re filled with NPCs - many of which will build out the lore of the world, discussing the lockdown by state police, or the life of other programs, all of which are sentient.

Devolver Digital

When it came to the story, I ended up feeling a little apathetic, even though the plot is delivered via lovely illustrated characters who manage to convey personality through their static image. I never found myself pulled in by the story, which follows Exo, a courier who one day tried to deliver a package which exploded in her hands, bestowing a strange power on her. Before I get into that power, let’s stay with the narrative which focuses on rebellions, facing off against the police state, and attempting to escape the Arq Grid.

I can’t be negative towards it; it’s serviceable and provides good direction for the action, but even when the narrative shifted into more dramatic moments and tones, it didn’t intrigue me enough. I think that’s a personal thing, because even when I go back to the original TRON film, as I said above, I find the core story to be the weakest element, because I have no lasting interest in the actual world of the franchise. It always felt like the atmosphere captivated me, as well as the fighting via the discs, or the light bikes.

The fighting here pulls from the films, with players using the disc to swing at enemies, much like a sword. As you’d expect with it feeling like swordplay, there’s a parry system and you can also roll through attacks or around the enemies, combining an arcade feel with a more modern action battle system. If you’ve seen the films, you’ll know the disc can be thrown, and this plays a big part of the combat, adding in ranged options, and part of me wished there was a way to play through the game in stealth, using the disc for distractions and ranged takedowns.

The combat is pretty thrilling for the most part, though I’d argue that, at times, it felt a little too easy - and that’s coming from someone who usually hates parrying and relying on rolling around enemies, taking advantage of their slowness or weapons. However, the light bike traversal is a big winner for me, as it genuinely felt like pulling me into the world of TRON, zooming around the neighbourhoods, drifting through traffic, or boosting over jumps.

Devolver Digital

Now’s the time to discuss the core concept, Exo’s power: the ability to rewind time to the start of the day. This can be used several ways, and most of them occur through the story, when given a chance to rewind time, start the day fresh, and come at problems from a new direction. This could be through a different conversation option, or finding an ID tag to get past someone you met earlier. You can also unlock shortcuts, making the second time through the day slightly easier to navigate.

Of course, you can also use this ability if you’re on the back foot in combat, as you can simply hold down the right stick and restart. I’d argue this feature isn’t used enough, and that’s mostly because the game holds your hand a fair bit, with an ever-present pointer leading you from place to place, and a box on the screen always telling you what’s next. This perhaps leading me into more dead-ends would force me to use this as a way to navigate puzzles or environmental points that could evolve over time.

I think if I was more invested in the TRON world, or had a passion for the narratives that have already been told, I would have enjoyed TRON: Catalyst much more. With the lack of drive to see this world unfurl before me, it really felt like a simple action game, moving from point-to-point, with decent combat. It’s dripping with gorgeous design, and I could walk around in the world happily, or zoom around on my bike, all day, but the isometric view does remove some immersion. There’s a spark here, and a high level of polish, but I think it just wasn't really for me in the end.

Pros: Lovely visual design, traversal is great, manages to capture the TRON vibes brilliantly

Cons: Lack of narrative excitement, combat could be deeper, the time travel feels underused

For fans of: TRON, Hades, Tunic

7/10: Very Good

TRON: Catalyst is available now on PC (Version tested, played on Steam Deck), PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S|X, Nintendo Switch 1 & 2. A review code was provided by the publisher. Read a guide to our review scores here.