Trinity Fusion | PC Review

The rogue-like genre is, at this point, a pretty saturated market, so it can be hard to stand out from the pack. Moreso anything to do with the multiverse which, while a fun storytelling mechanic, has been extremely prolific in recent media. So when Trinity Fusion, by Angry Mob Games, attempts to combine the two, the result is far more unique and enjoyable than you might think, though not without its issues.

Familiar Trappings

Trinity Fusion has what could be described as your typical multiversal story: the multiverse is borked, and you must link with your alternate selves and activate the technological MacGuffins necessary to un-bork it. What this means mechanically is Maya, the Prime variant of yourself, acts as the controller, and Altera, Kera, and Naira get thrown in the thick of it to slash, shoot, and leap through the three separate timelines.

Fans of Dead Cells will feel right at home when starting up the game. At its core, Trinity Fusion takes a lot of inspiration from that particular title for the gameplay, as well as Hades for the narrative style. You’ll traverse a 2D side-scrolling world by hopping across platforms, hitting or shooting enemies, finding currency and power-ups, and eventually reach a variety of boss battles. Similarly, the further you get (and the more you die) the more of the game’s story you unlock. 

Each of the three characters/variants have their own abilities, though not as distinct as you might expect. Naira and Altara can double jump, but only Naira can wall-jump. Kera can do neither, but instead starts with a slow-moving but powerful melee secondary weapon in place of a gun. However, they all play roughly the same (melee primary weapon and ranged secondary, though Altara uses spell-like abilities rather than guns) so your starting character primarily determines the zone where you start your run.

One unique aspect of the game is the ability to fuse two (or more) variants, giving you the others’ abilities. However, fusing doesn’t really add much from a mechanical standpoint. Yes, fusing Naira to Kera means you get a double-jump and a ranged weapon tertiary, but it doesn’t create a meaningful change for something that is thematically impactful. You’re still smacking enemies to death, but you at least get one more option with which to do so.

Intriguing, But Shallow

The upgrade system (referred to here as Amplifiers) also doesn’t feel as impactful as it should. Each amplifier corresponds to a particular color (red for offense, green for healing, etc.) and gives you a minor buff to that category. Complete three of a color and you get a free bonus ability that actually is impactful. The problem is, many amplifiers are either purely situational (get a damage bonus when low on health, shock enemies on a perfect evade, etc.) or don’t really make you feel stronger. You’re just spinning your wheels until you get three of the same color and you get something actually useful. Compare that to Hades, for instance, where every powerup could be a game-changer, or at least give you some extra oomph to your current build.

That’s ultimately the issue with Trinity Fusion: while the devs have certainly nailed the basic gameplay loop, the underlying mechanics just don’t feel worthwhile. In my first couple runs, every amplifier I found was intriguing as I anticipated (and hoped) to find something I could build a run around. This is similar to how, in Hades for example, you could stack Zeus boons and get a lightning-themed run. But the amplifiers were so situational, it was really just a matter of stacking one color to get the better bonus amplifier (and you have to hope for a good one from a random selection of three). Fusing Maya’s alternate selves, similarly, was more a matter of rote “guess I should,” rather than “this will change everything.”

Concluding Thoughts

That isn’t to say Trinity Fusion is a bad game. It’s not. It’s quite good. But it doesn’t explore its own mechanics deeply enough to really set itself apart as an amazing game in the same vein as the roguelikes mentioned in comparison. And that’s a shame, because the bones of a wonderful experience are there. A revamp of the amplifier system, as well as making fusing Maya’s alternate selves more potent, could go a long way toward cementing Trinity Fusion’s place in roguelike gaming. As it stands, each run feels too similar, because the amplifiers don’t make meaningful improvements to your abilities, and only the weapons you pick up really mark an increase in power.

Trinity Fusion is currently out of early access on Steam for $20 USD (with a 10% launch discount down to $18 USD) as well as PlayStation and Xbox. It’s certainly worthwhile if you’re looking for Dead Cells style gameplay with a sci-fi bent, and it includes difficulty options and a ‘hyper mode’ that progressively increases damage reduction the more you die, so it’s easier to progress. While it may not rock the roguelike world, it’s still a worthy offering for the genre.

To hear me talk more about Trinity Fusion, be sure to listen to the December 20 episode of The Gaming Outsider podcast around the 1:11:45 time stamp.

This review is based on a PC copy of Trinity Fusion provided by Evolve PR for coverage purposes. It is also available on PlayStation, Xbox, and Epic Games Store.