Trinity Fusion PC Review

Games come and go, with their life span varying in several aspects. One of those said aspects is replayability, however, the method a game takes to show it has replayability differs from title to title. Many open-world games offer massive maps where the replayability comes more from completing every aspect of the game. Several arcade-style games will have rewards behind higher scores or ranks. With Metroidvania-style games, the replayability usually comes in with how fast the player can beat the game, or difficulty modes. Trinity Fusion is a game many would consider being a Metroidvania but it takes a different approach to the structure of the game, adding to the replayability.
 

 

Trinity Fusion is a side-scrolling action title, that again many would refer to as a Metroidvania, as it follows many of the tropes found in both the Metroid and Castlevania series of games. The main twist that the game has on that style is that it factors in rouge-like elements to its gameplay, similar in nature to the game Dead Cells. This style of the game allows for a unique experience with every single run through the game, with different weapons, abilities, and to a point, different characters.

Those different characters are actually three different versions of the same person being controlled by a fourth version of these characters, all of which are from different planes of existence. A bit on the confusing side, but the game makes things clear by slowly explaining the story and its worlds to the character throughout both the hub world and in the actual stages. At no point does the story feel like it gets in the way, and in fact acts as something to keep the player interested in exploring.

Trinity Fusion has a very basic set of controls, with two types of attacks and the standard movement option, including a dodge roll. Having a dodge roll is one thing, but having one that is actively used in the design is another. Many upgrades will actually take into account the dodge, and not just the fact that an attack is being avoided. It’s a small thing that makes the gameplay feel a bit more satisfying, as seeing a little pop-up notifying that damage was actually prevented is a quick little way of getting it across that what was input worked.

 

 

Combat is rather standard for the style Trinity Fusion is in, with several different primary weapons with varying stats like reach, speed, or damage. But there are often extra effects like freezing an enemy or slowing them, allowing for more weapon variants. The same can be said for the secondary weapons. This allows for a large variety of combinations to be explored, adding another layer to that before mentioned replayability.

With the combat only having a single button for inputs, there is a bit of a lack of usage outside of the combos most melee weapons offer. Not having directional inputs outside of aiming with certain ranged weapons leaves a stiff feeling to a lot of the weapons, and unfortunately, that is a large case for the beginning of the game. Most enemies can still be dealt with easily, but there are exceptions that leave a sour feeling. Early on in the game, there is a squid enemy that often flies by quickly striking the foe can be difficult if it is hiding above the player or if the player doesn’t have a ranged secondary to aim at it with. It is a rare issue but something that got a bit frustrating. But then again, perhaps seeking a different weapon combo would have been a better idea.

Throughout the stages of Trinity Fusion, there are several upgrades and pickups to find. With these being randomized elements, there is a sense of unpredictability to things. This is both good and bad. It allows for another factor in tube replayability, but it can also end up being relied on too much by beginners, a problem these games often face. However, it is up to luck as there is no guarantee that the same thing will be there for every single player as they start out in the different worlds found in the game. Like many other games with rouge-like elements, the true challenge is learning to adapt to all different upgrades and pickups.

 

 

The largest change in gameplay comes from those three characters, as they have different focuses in their gameplay style. Trinity Fusion's three characters have different story sections that tie into the larger narrative, so the environments and enemies they encounter will be different. Each character's primary and secondary weapons work differently, and on top of that, their movement styles are all a bit different. This can make things a bit confusing at times when jumping from character to character, but after a few minutes or so, things begin to feel natural again.

There is a bit of an unbalance throughout the game, specifically in regards to some damage outputs on both player and enemy sides. The early game of Trinity Fusion is seemingly where it is the worst as there are still a lot of things to adapt to, and perhaps that is the intended case with the first boss, but that doesn't really excuse how weak some of the secondaries feel and how strong some of the others feel. Slower primary weapons just don’t seem to have the equivalent damage output compared to the much faster weapons, and the opposite is true for the secondaries in the early game.

Then there some enemies do a lot of damage compared to some of the other enemies on the same stage. It isn't really compensated with a larger telegraph, rather it is seemingly expected that the large enemies just are much more powerful. This becomes much less of an issue as the game goes on and enemy patterns become memorized, but it is something that can easily get in the way of a first playthrough or simply just early experiences in general for Trinity Fusion. It is a small roadblock in the grand scheme of the overall game that could just hold back some of the enjoyment in the early moments.

 

 

Even though the three characters don’t carry over any weapons or level-ups after they die, there is a currency that is carried over from run to run. This can be used to purchase permanent upgrades like an increase in health at the start of a run. This is yet another incentive to play through Trinity Fusion several times in different ways as it provides permanent changes and allows for a sense of progression, in a game that would otherwise have only the bettering of skills and enemy memorization as its form of progression.

The story elements in Trinity Fusion carry over as well, and there is a noticeable focus on the story. It is very welcome as it explains the circumstances and worlds in a setting that would have been much more confusing to learn about through random lore documents or hidden context clues through the stage elements. This does mean that there are moments where there will be dialogue while on stage. This is a nice thing to have when the dialogue doesn’t go on for too long. But in the very rare occurrence, the conversations go on a bit too long and become a bit distracting while trying to dodge and weave through enemy attacks.

The presentation in Trinity Fusion is probably where the game lacks most, and it isn’t necessarily bad. The game uses 3D models throughout the whole area, allowing for areas like the hub to be a sort of 2.5D. The biggest issue with the 3D modeling comes from the characters, as they all look a bit cheap or unfinished. This really doesn’t help the game when the loading screens feature the three protagonists looking lifeless. These are issues with the human-esc characters, as most of the monsters and enemies do look quite a bit better, or at least they fit in with their environments more.

 

 

Tying in with the monsters, the combat looks rather nice and does help convey a connection between the things going on with the screen as well as with what the player is inputting. Bright colors were often on the weapons to help convey where the damage would be, as well as to help point out the location of the player while in pretty dark locations. This is probably the most important factor when mentioning visual design, but it really does hurt that when seeing the characters up close things just don’t feel right.

Trinity Fusion does feature voice acting, and it is pretty decent. None of the vocal performances are bad, but none really feel great either. It feels standard for what the game is. However, going back to the fact that the characters don’t move around, this includes their mouths even when talking. This makes the whole thing feel awkward. If they even had a simple opening and closing animation or had sprites next to text boxes instead of zooming in, this would be more acceptable. It leaves things feeling incomplete.

The audio overall within Trinity Fusion is solid, again not something amazing, but not bad. The music is fitting and never feels out of place, and the sound effects fit well with all of the sci-fi craziness going on around. This is all good but it is worth noting that default mixing does feel a bit cluttered. It is, of course, something that anyone who plays the game can modify to their liking but it does such when there is that clash between someone speaking, the music, and combat sound effects that make things a bit harder to comprehend.

 

 

Unfortunately, while Trinity Fusion does offer a fun experience, it definitely doesn’t feel done. Luckily this is also the case. The game is still in active development, and there are even things in-game to advertise the fact. These things are a great reminder that there will be updates and additions to the game to simply add to it. A lot of what is already here simply needs polishing, but more variety in stages, weapons, and enemies is always nice as well.

As it is now, Trinity Fusion is a fun go but doesn’t feel complete. The core experience it offers is still something great, and knowing it isn’t stopping in terms of changing brings promise. That promise of more is yet another reason this game should continue to live even beyond its full release. Trinity Fusion is really only something that can exist in today's landscape, with the online medium allowing for further updates to the game surely the work here will continue to be something fun, but if this were a final product there would be some disappointments.
 

Jacob Cowsert (@TweetJAJ)
News Editor, NoobFeed