Tron: Identity Reviews

Tron: Identity is ranked in the 51st percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
5 / 10.0
Jun 2, 2023

Although my time with Tron Identity was brief, it was nice to return to the virtual landscape that makes up The Grid. The world inside has undoubtedly moved on since the events of Tron Legacy, but the world is as recognisable as ever. Much like how Disney have approached Star Wars by expanding from the small cast of Skywalker family, was a welcome touch that proves there is a real depth to what is essentially the inner workings of an ageing arcade machine. The trouble is that just as Identity was working towards a bigger story and finding its rhythm, I suddenly had the rug pulled and it just ended.

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80%
May 2, 2023

Tron: Identity is a solid visual novel that fans of the Tron property should absolutely check out.

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7 / 10.0
May 1, 2023

If you are a fan of the Tron universe, you don't have to worry at all, the game can draw you in and brings an interesting story. But it also works the other way around. The world of Tron can appeal to fans of visual novels or detective games, even if they haven't had the chance to experience Tron so far. It's that unique mix where things just clicked. But there are also some shortcomings.

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Unscored
Apr 28, 2023

TRON Identity reduces the franchise in a game without disk battles like TRON Evolution, but it focuses in a deep story about the Grid and more on replayability. Even if the game was short, I was quite eager to see what could change in every run if I chose differently.

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IGN
Top Critic
7 / 10.0
Apr 25, 2023

Despite its short length, Tron: Identity's visual novel/detective story is well worth playing – and replaying – to unravel the latest mystery of life on the Grid.

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Guardian
Top Critic
Apr 21, 2023

This visual novel spins a passable yarn in a noirish atmosphere, but would benefit from more space to explore it

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7.5 / 10.0
Apr 21, 2023

What players are left with is something similar to my experience with Blade Runner: Enhanced Edition. If you love the source material, it’s going to be a grand expansion of the world and, truly, this is a great entry to the Tron pantheon. It’s a very competent if short visual novel, and it’s engaging in a bite sized sort of way. I do wish that Disney had thrown some money at it to get voice work, but I’m fine that there’s just ambient electronica and the proper synthesized sinister feel that carries the read text.

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7 / 10.0
Apr 18, 2023

While I applaud Tron: Identity’s unique structure, I never found myself drawn in and engrossed in the unfolding story. Everything feels authentic to the Tron universe, and fans like myself should appreciate new wrinkles in the setting. But even with some interesting ideas, I was ultimately a User who couldn’t manage to marshal a lot of interest in these Programs and their problems.

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69 / 100
Apr 18, 2023

The team at Bithell Games has an obvious love for their subject. This is true for writers of most fanfic. The challenge is creating an engaging narrative experience for those not on the inside, so the casual gamer can sweep away the jargon and lore, and be swept away by the story. This is where TRON: Identity struggles. TRON fans will probably enjoy spending a little bit of stylish time in their favorite fictional world. For everyone else, the claustrophobic story and lack of a high stakes payoff might be disappointing.

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8 / 10.0
Apr 18, 2023

Thanks to its wide variety of choices and unforgiving consequences, Tron: Identity is a surprisingly high-stakes visual novel that draws you in and keeps your attention.

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Unscored
Apr 17, 2023

It won’t take you long to work your way through Tron: Identity — two to three hours at most. That said, the nature of the story itself encourages replayability, especially for eagle-eyed Tron enthusiasts scoping out references to the political landscape of the Grid’s inhabitants and the occasional hint to what exactly is going on in the human world of the Users. Truth, as much as identity, is all a matter of perspective. Your Query will likely choose a different path than my own, arriving at a “truth” that itself is only one part of a far greater and inscrutable whole. Whether said truth brings you any closer to the game’s central mystery than mine did will depend on your vigilance, your cunning, and your willingness to adapt and change beyond the duties of your station. Good luck, program.

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3 / 5.0
Apr 16, 2023

Bithell Games has once again demonstrated their prowess in combining storytelling and gameplay elements, following in the footsteps of their earlier successes like John Wick Hex and Thomas Was Alone. TRON: Identity is a delightful package of mystery, engaging characters, and brain-teasing puzzles that will leave players wanting more.

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7 / 10
Apr 14, 2023

A strong take on a storied Disney franchise is held back by its brevity.

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65 / 100
Apr 13, 2023

Tron: Identity’s mystery has a strong foundation, but there’s just not enough meat on the bone. There’s a lack of places to go and people to see; this rendition of The Grid looks the part, but it ends up being too one-dimensional due to its short length.

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Apr 12, 2023

Tron: Identity is a smart and respectful use of the classic series, turning it into a gripping sci-fi detective story.

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6.5 / 10.0
Apr 12, 2023

Mike Bithell's writing, as it often is, remains on point as his team establishes new colours within an already riveting sci-fi world, not by replicating what came before-as appropriate as that may have been thematically-but by taking the franchise in a bold direction. It's a shame this thrilling plot against the archives is derezzed, and perhaps doomed to obsoletion, by a string of confoundingly dull puzzles.

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82 / 100
Apr 11, 2023

TRON: Identity shows how good storytellers visual novels can be and how valuable games can come out of this genre.

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Apr 11, 2023

The game doesn’t feel particularly focused on or interested in the mystery at hand so much as in better establishing the world of TRON for a future sequel, which may or may not come to fruition. Identity is beautiful and brilliant in spots, but more times than not, there’s no weight to the derezzing or freeing of the various suspects, no emotional connection between these digital creatures and their world. That and more leaves the game feeling too much like reading a rulebook—and one that stops just short of letting you actually take it for a hell of a ride.

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6.5 / 10.0
Apr 11, 2023

Tron: Identity expands the world of the IP in a modest yet intriguing way, courtesy of Mike Bithell’s imaginative and evocative – if perhaps spare-to-a-fault – writing.

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Apr 11, 2023

Tron: Identity is a hard game to review. Bithell Games has done an excellent job capturing the look and feel of the brand, and there's a lot to enjoy while it lasts. That said, each play through offers a fairly short experience, and it's hard to say whether longtime fans of the franchise will embrace the visual novel genre; it doesn't help that the game ends on a pretty big cliffhanger! It's an intriguing setup for future entries, and I find myself excited to see what happens next, and where Query's new quest will take him. It won't be for everyone, but Tron: Identity is a bold new take on a Disney favorite, and I applaud the company for being willing to try something different.

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