When you think of the most iconic sci-fi movies ever made, there's no doubt that Tron needs to make the list. Some of its special effects may not have aged brilliantly, but the clarity of its visual design has stood the test of time, burgeoned by Tron: Legacy in 2010 (for all that it's a flawed movie, too).
Since then, there hasn't been another sequel, but a couple of years ago fans of the franchise did get Tron: Identity. It was a visual novel and puzzle game set in the world of Tron, and had some great storytelling. Now there's another Tron game out from the same team: Catalyst, which aims to insert a little more active gameplay into the mix to keep people's attention.
I've been playing the game on my Switch 2, since the new console has been monopolising my attention quite a lot. This sort of game is actually a pretty great test for its new LCD display, too, since there's a lot of black and neon on-screen, a palette that suits an OLED perfectly. I don't have any complaints about how the Switch 2 handles it, even if I suspect that an OLED would indeed be a little better and more vivid.
Still, what I've been enjoying more in Catalyst is the gameplay loop, which sees you making your way around large city blocks to find characters to talk to, before heading out on tasks and missions for them. These generally involve getting into combat, which is an isometric dodge and parry-based system that works nicely.
It pales in comparison to something like Hades, but that doesn't mean it's without merit, and the simplicity in this case means that you can sort of relax a bit more while you play – it's not a particularly difficult game on its middle, default difficulty.
I'm interested to see where the story goes as the game progresses – it's started off with a fairly standard story about the ruling class of Core within the Grid being challenged by more freeform ideas from a faction called Automata. The extent to which you get drawn into its sci-fi themes might vary, but fans of the franchise will probably find things to like.
More to the point, much like Fast Fusion, which I spotlit last week, it's a title you can get for less than most games right now, making it ideal for those exploring their Switch 2 on a budget. Catalyst is also on a range of other platforms, though, so check it out if you're feeling like a new game could perk your week up.
