Trifox Review
Developer: Glowfish Interactive
Publisher: Big Sugar
Release: October 14th, 2022
Reviewed on: PC
Also on: Switch (Oct. 13th) Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S
By: Evan1Sonic. In this game, a fox finds his TV remote missing when he gets home following a burglary. This multi-talented creature then sets out on a mission to retrieve his remote and bring peace back to his house. Despite having many flaws, this action-platformer game is a good throwback to classic platformers from yesteryear.
One of these flaws is the game's plot. While this cartoonish story is below average, it has a nice charm to it with the pantomime feel (due to the lack of voice-acting) and the addition of little slapstick gags. I chuckled out loud at a handful of these jokes. Despite being my favorite aspect of the story, the pantomime feel of the cutscenes didn't do an excellent job of conveying the characters' personalities. The villains I faced felt like typical evil foes and I wish I got to know them and everyone else in the game better. The ending provided a nice but abrupt end to the title's story. The story, while not being one of the game's focuses and not something that blew me away, filled the gaps between gameplay well and was charming from beginning to end.
Both the highlight and one of my gripes with the game is the gameplay. The game set out to recreate a Mascot-era platformer, and it did a wonderful job of doing so. It is not as polished and refined as other games in the genre, but once I got used to the controls, each jump felt good to execute. My choice of movement perk (a special ability that you can only use for short bursts) was the helicopter, which helped me make jumps that I wouldn’t have landed without. The platforming is only half of the gameplay, and the twin-stick shooter-style combat plays a big role as well. You can use the coins you collect in each level to buy and equip abilities in the hub before you begin a level. Some of these abilities include a machine gun, hammer, missile launcher, and even a shield. There are so many options for customization, and this allows you to engage in every fight the way you want to. Fighting in the heart of the action, taking out opponents one by one from a distance, or doing anything in between are all valid fighting strategies. Sadly the enemies either were a breeze to defeat or felt too damage spongy with very few breaking this pattern. However, if you have the right loadout, you can easily dispatch any tough foes that stand in your way. Combat can become repetitive fairly quickly if you don't switch loadouts and decide to stick with one for a while. Although the gameplay has many issues as a whole, it is the highlight of Trifox.
The graphics were yet another highlight of my experience. The game creates a lovely fusion of the old and new by combining the classic, low-poly look of the retro platformers it was inspired by with a modern touch. The visuals aren’t perfect though, as some animations feel a bit lifeless and without weight. A platformer is only as good as the levels it places you in, and in that way, this title neither succeeds nor fails. A few of the levels, including Off the Rails and The Factory, were fantastic, and a few felt like a chore to finish. All of them ended up dragging on too long, and by the end of each, I felt well overdue for a new one. Small puzzles tucked within them were enjoyable to solve and gave a nice feeling of satisfaction after doing so. Another part of the title that didn’t blow me away, aside from the final encounter, were the three-tiered boss battles. The last boss felt fantastic to defeat and gave me a nice boost of adrenaline. Similar to the boss battles, the soundtrack sounded average, and in moments of silence where it could have shined, it didn’t. The checkpoint placement was both fantastic and not great at points. Sometimes I was set back only a few seconds of gameplay after reaching death, but a few times I had to restart full sections of levels. Overall, the placement felt all over the place. All of these aspects put together helped solidify my-less-than excellent experience.
Modern homages either improve upon the format and produce a brilliant combination of the new and the old, or they follow too closely to the format of the title to which they are paying homage. Trifox slightly follows the latter by adding combat, a fresh appearance, and a set of new levels to the retro platformer format. However, the five hours it took me to finish the game didn’t feel smooth or polished enough to stand among the likes of Crash Bandicoot or other similar games it pays homage to. Although I had a lot of fun playing this game, it falls short when compared to other games of a similar ilk. Trifox provides a good, short experience, and I recommend you give it a go if you're a fan of platformers, but go into it with tempered expectations.
Trifox 7.5/10
This game was reviewed using a code provided by Pirate PR on behalf of Glowfish Interactive. What did you think of this review? Are you planning on playing Trifox? Let me know in the comments below.
Thanks for reading and Game On!!
