TRI Review

As of lately, the focus from most developers and publishers are shooters, survival horrors or action adventure with a little bit of innovation, be it good or bad, and almost nothing else. The once glorious puzzle game genre, home to classics like the Portal series among others, spanned multiple games a couple or so years ago. Nowadays puzzle games are much rarer, which is why TRI is such a welcome addition to a genre which is becoming cast aside because of publishers who want to aim their games at casuals, who will just like their game to shoot here press x there and congratulations you finished it.

TRI, developed by Rat King Entertainment, is a first person puzzle game, which is why comparisons with Portal are abundant. The game’s mechanics have nothing in common though, meaning TRI will deliver a totally new experience from Portal. And a very good experience indeed. TRI focuses mainly on drawing triangles, thanks to the “tri” which is a triangular object, giving the wielder the power to draw triangles which may help you cross paths or get to objects high up in places one can’t even see let alone reach. This is crucial to progression through the game since to move from one level to the next, one needs to find three fox statues and place them on three statue holders, in a triangular pattern, to unlock a triangular warp zone which takes you to the next level. Foxes are apparently the divinities or the mythical creatures in the world of TRI, with statues dedicated to these animals. There is also a priest which guides you and accompanies you, and sometimes blabbers some philosophical phrase which confuses your brain and makes you rethink what you were planning.

The gameplay in TRI is simple and is understood easily, even though the controls remain a little awkward throughout due to the fact that, well, it’s triangles. Triangles are drawn clicking the left mouse button in three different places, other than dragging. I found the single click thing to be much more handy than having to drag along a line. Triangles can also be destroyed by pressing the right click, and is useful when you make a mistake or block yourself out with your own triangles, or also to remove obstacles placed by the game itself. Immediately after being drawn, triangles remain in a “liquid” state which lets the player resize by dragging from the edges, which once again is useful and saves time from deleting and drawing another. There is also a command to solidify “liquid” triangles so as one can draw other triangles using the former ones as base, since if these are not solid their edges are dragged instead of giving birth to a new trilateral. The scope of the game, as mentioned before, is using this power to draw triangles to get to where these fox statues are, take them and place them on these special holders to move to the next level. Triangles on which you can climb are painted yellow, while those too steep for you to climb are red. These colours help reducing a lot of useless attempts, and thus the game is there to help you as well. In each level there are other collectibles, namely golden idols, which upon collecting a certain amount unlocks some content like concept art or other.

TRI is graphically beautiful, the level design is exceptional and the use of particles in the air, although does not serve a particular scope, is spot on since it helps get in the atmosphere of the “divinity” of the foxes. The game also includes a lot of the same colours, mainly red yellow and orange, which although a little repetitive in tonality really helps the game get along together, the same way Mirror’s Edge’s bright red colour helped the game stand out. The art style resembles a comic, and complements the game very well. As what regards sound, TRI has an incredibly fitting soundtrack, ranging from a song you are likely to listen at some Indian ceremony to relaxing music mostly in menus. You can fire up the game and minimize it on pause just to hear the music, it is that good. Something that I also really liked but others may be indifferent to is that you can hear the footsteps of your character. I find it relaxing for some reason, and coupled with the music is an instant win. The footsteps also match the speed you are going at, including a faster rate when running.

TRI is one of the best puzzle games of this generation, and goes head to head with established classics and still makes a name for itself. The feeling of accomplishment once you solve one of its many conundrums is a feeling of joy as well. Its relaxed nature, giving the player all the time he needs to complete a level, coupled with the great music and outstanding visuals, make it stand out even more. Ultimately, having witnessed a game like this still keeps the hope alive for the rejuvenation of the puzzle genre, and if indies can pump titles like this, there really is no limit to the imagination.

Disclaimer:All scores given within our reviews are based on the artist’s personal opinion; this should in no way impede your decision to purchase the game.