REVIEW | Trifox

LifeisXbox’s Trifox review | I have a lot to say about this latest platform game, so sit down and take a moment to read. Belgian Developer Glowfish Interactive has been smart to use fun elements of other games in the genre. Games like Ratchet & Clank, Super Lucky, and Crash Bandicoot to name a few. The people at Glowfish have not forgotten to give Trifox a personality and individuality though. In case you didn’t already know Trifox is a Belgian game. So it is with some pride that I wrote this review because I’m from that little waffle and beer country. In the gaming space, we don’t really have a lot of famous game studios besides Larian Studios. Will Glowfish be the next studio that gets some recognition? That might just happen with Trifox! We’ve featured a lot of Belgian games lately. Shredders, AgriLife and You Suck at Parking, but as far as I’m concerned, Trifox is the one with the most to be proud of. It really is a must-have in the platform genre, with a surprising amount of novelty that makes age-old gameplay innovative and cool again. Before we continue with our review I want to apologize in advance for the many fur-puns. I guess Trifox’s tail made me do that, fur your information.

ℹ️ Reviewed on Xbox Series X | Review code provided by PR/publisher, this review is the personal opinion of the writer.

What we Liked!

• I am an engineer! I am a warrior! No, I am a mage! Wait, I’m EVERYTHING! | Think outside the fox! Multitasking is one of Trifox his specialties. You have three combat paths to take, and all of them change the way our fox fights. I’m not sure why the developer decided to call the game Trifox, but the tri-part might be a suggestion for the three different ways of fighting. Spoiled fur choice because what I adore is that you can create your own abilities, so you are not stuck being a mage. Before you ask, no you can’t turn enemies into sheep but the mage was my favorite path. Shooting self-guided bolts, and spawning arcane friends that damage enemies or teleportation are great for keeping distance from nasty mobs. But the best way to play Trifox is by creating a hybrid class, combining abilities from the mage, the warrior, or the engineer. The engineering class is a tiny bit overpowered if you ask me but it looks really cool when you spawn rocket turrets that devastate the enemy. You will have finished the game before you unlock all abilities from the classes, this motivates the only negative point later on in the review. One thing is for sure though, Trifox’s strength is allowing the player to choose how they want to play the game.

• Crash Bandicoot mixed with Ratchet & Clank with a Trifox sauce | Trifox combines many things from other 3D platformers that the average gamer will immediately recognize. Take for example the level selection hub, you could say it is a replica of how Crash Bandicoot’s game hub works. You go in a portal and your level starts! (Kinda like Season 1 episodes from Rick & Morty) Level and gameplay inspiration clearly comes from a few of the bigger names in the genre. Important here is that Glowfish didn’t steal or copy/pasted that inspiration, everything is covered with 50% Trifox sauce which makes it so fresh and fun to play. That’s the point I wanted to make here, Trifox found a place in the long list of platformers being so unique that I’m sure it will inspire other developers too. Glowfish has a big love for the genre, which is evident by how well the level design is, the combat, and the colorful visuals. More on those three topics below!

• Brilliant level design & camera | I’m not going to spoil some of the surprises in Trifox but you won’t always be doing the same things. There are some moments that stand out for multiple reasons, one of them is combat challenges but the main one is outstanding level design. They really come to fruition in the last world, that world features levels that are complex and honestly one of the best I played in the platforming genre. It slowly builds up in the first world to make the player get used to Trifox’s unique combat and platforming abilities. One of my most memorable moments early on was an Indiana Jones-inspired part in a dark cave. You have many of those though, not only the movie moment winks. Speaking off, there’s a small hilarious moment for Cast Away movie lovers too! Most of the time I felt like I was playing a Ratchet & Clank game, although it has some strong Super Lucky’s Tale vibes too. I wouldn’t say that the visual performance comes near to Playstation’s exclusive Insomniac game but Trifox is charming enough to be pleasant on the eyes. An important part of 3D platformers is the camera, the best example of that is Super Lucky’s Tale and New Super Lucky’s Tale. The same game but with a different camera, and that makes the game so much more enjoyable. Trifox uses a top-down camera so you can easily follow all the action and look around for hidden chests containing coins and gems.
  
• Vibrant and colorful visuals | All levels have a distinct look and feel. You’ll find yourself in an industrial zone, in an ancient catacomb, or fully surrounded by water. You never know what’s coming next and each level has the same attention to detail. Trifox his journey is a colorful one, which continues to make it interesting for the player. There are some visual hiccups along the way but nothing major enough to mention. There are some shadow layering issues but this should be solved soon, nonetheless, it didn’t break my fun while playing. Effects are nicely done too, with Metal Gear ?! signs above enemy heads when they notice you and fairly realistic smoke and fire effects. What I really liked is that every important object had an extra colored layer, so I never lost an important quest item. You would think that this is something obvious but many games fail to do it. Another thing that Trifox nails perfectly is the jump shadow, I recently played Pac-Man Re-PAC, a game that frustratingly didn’t have a landing indication so I appreciated that even more now. In Belgium, we say when someone is doing annoying things ‘vossenstreken’. I’m not sure if this is a saying in English, the literal translation is fox tricks. So while we are controlling a fox character there are no annoying fox tricks in sight, performance was excellent with a steady frame rate and no visual issues whatsoever. Or well, not that impact the fun. The way how trees and other objects block your view is done a bit weirdly, they disappear and reappear but you get used to that in the long run.
  
• Trifox versus. enemies & boss fights! | So there is a lot to adjust in your attack strategy but that would be of no use if there were no enemies. It would all be good fur nothing. Fortunately, there’s plenty of that too. I do feel that our fox character is a bit too strong but the combat is really fun. There is a lot of difference between the enemies, all of which have their own way of attacking. One by one, they are quite simple but their cooperation still ensures you don’t attack blindly. Really golden, are the boss fights. This is where all your abilities come in handy, it’s a bit of a shame that you can’t adjust your attack abilities on the fly but that would be a bit too much of a stretch. By far the most challenging moments of Trifox but just like Crash Bandicoot’s boss fights they bring out the best of the game.

Mixed Feelings

• I’m with you Trifox, the television remote always makes me frustrated too | How many times did you curse because you can’t seem to find the tv remote? Looking all over for it and just when you decide to give up and lay on your bed crying because you can’t switch over to the Xbox TV source channel you see that damn thing from hell on your bed pillow. (true story) Anyway I digress, Trifox has an issue with the TV remote too as bad guys attacked his home and stole that remote. That’s how the story begins in Trifox and your journey through three different worlds start. There isn’t a lot of attention to storytelling but it does feature some small cutscenes with a few funny moments and good but forgettable characters. Trifox himself has a lot of personality, I wouldn’t rate him as high as Crash or Banjo but for a first appearance, I’m sure many gamers will find him memorable. I know I do!
  
• Trifox is overpowered. Not really a bad thing, or is it? | A furce to be reckoned with! Even with the three different difficulty modes, slashing, blasting or exploding enemies remains a bit too easy. Only when the game swarms you with different kinds of enemies or with boss fights you’ll really get some combat challenges. Trifox is like a dragon in Game of Thrones, they can be defeated but with massive resources and luck. If you die you spawn right at the section you died, so you will never have to repeat parts too much. Platforming itself is relaxing too, you have a few sections that require a bit more attention but you’ll never have Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time moments that test your ability to throw away your expensive controller. Makes it the perfect game for all ages, I think that’s important to mention that kids will be able to enjoy it too!

What we Disliked

• Seemingly obvious things that are missing | While this doesn’t have much that negatively impacts my opinion about Trifox I do think it is important to write this down. There is much more potential in the core gameplay mechanics. One thing I really missed was something Crash Bandicoot players will know very well, Relics. A small collectible for beating a level with a time limit, I really felt a little disappointed that this is completely absent. You do see your fastest completion time for a level and you do earn an Achievement if you manage to finish all Trifox levels in under three hours but besides that, there is no real motivation to replay levels, A Relic award would have solved that. With the create your own class feature from the game it is pretty neat to find and create your perfect hybrid class for the fastest time. Small hint: Using the Engineer flying-heli ability allows you to travel a bit faster. Now that I’m talking about that hybrid class and as I mentioned in the ‘I am an engineer! I am a warrior! No, I am a mage! Wait, I’m EVERYTHING!‘ part there’s something I really, really miss. Trifox has a few challenging moments that really push the skills of the player but there isn’t something that really pushes for finding your ultimate hybrid class. This would have been easily fixed by providing combat challenges or a survival game mode. This sounds weird to add in a traditional platformer but Trifox has a few unique mechanics that really scream for more battle challenges. It would have been a tremendous feature so the player could really explore the create a class feature and add replay value.

How long to beat the story | 5 hours
How long to achieve 1000G | 8 hours

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