Trifox | Switch Review

As someone born in the early 1990s, the majority of my childhood was spent growing up in the 2000s which included a lot of video games. I was fortunate enough to have the majority of consoles released since the Sega Dreamcast, but some of my fondest memories were playing the PS2. Spyro and Sly Cooper were some of my favorite franchises. I remember sleepovers where we (maybe shouldn’t have) played Grand Theft Auto for hours, inputting cheat codes to have unlimited cash and weapons. It was such a great time to grow up playing games and I still have nostalgia for PS2 games. So when I saw that Glowfish Interactive’s first game Trifox was inspired by classic PS2 platformers, I had to play it, and it perfectly hit that nostalgic itch.

Don’t Steal His Remote

Trifox has a sprawling and elaborate story that will keep you captivated from beginning to…

I’m just kidding. It starts with the unnamed fox being robbed by some mysterious pirate leader and his henchmen. But they don’t steal just anything, they steal his TV remote! That is the extent of the story, as there is no dialogue in the game. There are only short cutscenes between levels that feature news alerts of the antagonist either dominating the world or laughing, seemingly at you with your remote. I was not looking for a deep narrative when I asked to review this game, but I absolutely enjoy the cheesy setup as well as the nonsensical cutscenes throughout the game.

It’s a Mage. It’s an Engineer. It’s a…Trifox!

I have eluded to this before, but Trifox is inspired by mostly PS2 era games, playing as a top-down, linear 3D twin-stick shooter/platformer. After a brief tutorial, you can equip the fox with abilities from three different classes: mage (ranged), engineer (gadgets), and warrior (melee). I normally prefer a more ranged approach, so I started with the basic mage abilities. However, both the mage’s attack and dodge mechanics were difficult to master. The attack has a tricky lock-on mechanic and a dodge that teleports you that was tough to direct. Fortunately, currency to unlock new abilities is easy to come by, and I was able to add different perks from the other classes early in the game. It was nice having the ability to mix and match abilities to best fit your playstyle.

There are three different environmental areas, each with three levels and a final boss. Each level ranged from about 15-35 minutes. Every level felt unique with a good mix of combat and platforming with a mini-boss either in the middle or towards the end of the level. Boss fights are pretty well-balanced, making unique experiences that feel like puzzles that get more challenging as you progress. Trifox is not an overly challenging game, but (for the most part) appropriately increases difficulty throughout the game. However, the end of world three, level three sticks in my mind as unnecessarily ramping up the difficulty due to poor level design. You are put in a small area with a lot of enemies that fire projectiles that are tough to dodge. Fortunately, this might be the only section that I thought was poorly designed, and the levels are otherwise great.

Something Looks Familiar…

The gaming industry is currently, and probably will continue to, produce a lot of remasters, prettying up the graphics and making them more available on modern consoles. If you listen to the podcast, you’ve probably heard Scott say, “It looks like I remember it,” when he’s playing a remaster. Trifox not only plays like a PS2 game, but it looks like how I remember a game during that era would appear, like a Spyro. Now, that is not a bad thing because it looks much better than a PS2 game, but something about the art style gives it that generational feel. Or maybe I am crazy and it only feels that way because I have nostalgia for that era.

Final Verdict

Glowfish Interactive’s first game Trifox does not reinvent the wheel, but in fact, creates a game that feels so familiar and hits on those nostalgic heartstrings. The story is cheesy and nonsensical, the combat is (mostly) solid, and the levels and boss fights are (mostly) well-designed with clever platforming and puzzles. It looks and feels like a game from my childhood, and I mean that as a compliment. If you want to play a “new PS2” game or want your kid to try a 3D platformer similar to the classics, I definitely recommend this at the $20 price point.

To hear me talk more about Trifox, be sure to listen to this episode of The Gaming Outsider podcast around the 1:00:42 mark.

 

This review is based on a Nintendo Switch copy of Trifox provided by Pirate PR for coverage purposes. It is also available on Xbox and PC via Steam and Epic Games Store, with a PlayStation version coming at a later date.