Taking established fictional universes in new directions is an idea we should all stand by. Too often, licensed games get too close to established characters or scenarios, and these beloved fictional frameworks never get a chance to grow. With Tron: Identity, Bithell Games takes the venerable Tron franchise and tries something very different – a visual novel with a slight touch of puzzle gameplay. The novelty alone is worth a certain enthusiasm. Yet despite a valiant attempt at a fresh take, this bite-sized release falls short in a few key areas.
Tron: Identity is akin to a classic noir detective story, provided your investigator lived inside a computer, carried a disc of his memories, and was constantly surrounded by pulsing colored lights. The entire story unfolds in a vast repository of information about The Grid, and it’s up to you to solve the mystery of a strange explosion and possible theft that took place there. Along the way, you’ll meet a handful of other characters, or “programs” popularly, and make decisions that affect how each of you feels about you and how receptive they might be to your request. The entire affair unfolds through written text set under Character and Location Art in the Repository.
I like the limited scope and tight narrative constraints that are offered. But I can’t say I ever felt like I was solving a mystery. Periodically, new information would fall into my lap, but I never really felt like a detective putting all the pieces together. As the big picture unfolded, it felt more like a surprise plot twist than the satisfying click of anything that finally made sense.
Nonetheless, the written descriptions and dialogue draw an atmospheric story and help create nuance around the mostly static image visualization. I enjoyed Bithell’s distinctive take on the Tron world and the places the developer found to add new twists to this established fiction. I also liked the branching decision trees that allow each player to develop their own take on the narrative, maybe even with different characters living or dying at the end.
Along the way, my character has the unique ability to enlighten and clear character memories that have been inexplicably corrupted by recent events. These repairs take the form of an unusual puzzle game with matching numbers and card suits in specific patterns. Players repeat variations of this puzzle structure multiple times in the few hours it takes to play through the game. While not annoying, I never warmed to the mechanic and usually found trial and error to be the best way to wrap them up. On a subsequent playthrough to explore different avenues of storytelling, I was happy to pause and skip the puzzles altogether – an option that in my experience made sense.
Tron: Identity flirts with some pretty weighty themes during its incisive season. Questions of destiny, the importance of memory, and purpose in the face of obliteration – all of this and more is explored, primarily in connection with the game’s subtitle: Identity. Regardless of your choices, the game ends up not attempting to make any specific conclusive statements on these issues. But it’s fun to see how different characters reflect on these issues during a crisis.
While I appreciate Tron: Identity’s unique structure, I never felt drawn in or absorbed by the unfolding story. Everything feels authentic in the Tron universe, and fans like me should appreciate new folds in the setting. But even with some interesting ideas, I ended up being a user who failed to rouse much interest in these programs and their problems.