Trifox Review

Trifox is a 3D platformer developed by Glowfish Interactive that incorporates twin-stick shooting elements into the platforming action. The game stars a fox who doesn't really act like a fox but more like a human. Like many other people I know, Trifox loves watching his television. The game starts with him watching some action or boxing event as he emulates punching. Suddenly, the screen is shattered, and our fox hero is knocked out by one of the guys responsible. The worst part is they stole the remote for the TV; why would they steal the remote for a device they don't have? We aren't sure, but Trifox will stop at nothing to retrieve it.

He sets out to track down the goons responsible for this, fighting off angry crabs with blades on their claws, crazy robots, wolf ninjas, and a collection of other animal-type baddies. Besides defeating all the enemies you come across, the stages have several puzzles you will need to solve. This will allow you to pass through obstacles like gates, locked corridors, and other sections you can't access until the cipher is solved. Many puzzles involve moving an object to a particular pedestal or standing on a pressure plate that gives power to an entryway. 

There are three themed worlds with three stages and a boss battle to complete before you can move on. In between the worlds, we see a TV broadcast showing the villains moving the game along. There isn't much for character development or a story here; the game is about platforming and fighting action. The battling mechanics in Trifox are interesting. Our hero has three main perks you can focus on: an engineer to create gadgets, a mage for ranged attacks, or a warrior for melee. Your loadout will be made of abilities you can unlock by spending the coins you earn defeating enemies or found by breaking pots and wooden crates while exploring the levels. The cool part is you aren't stuck with one class; you can mix and match all of these abilities and assign different ones to all your buttons. The skill tree is not limitless, as you will need to unlock some abilities to access others, but you can come up with some fun combinations. Playing through levels you have previously beat to earn more gold to buy moves is definitely worth the time!

The game controls a bit differently than you would expect from a platformer, as your attacks work like a twin-stick shooter. It takes a little bit to get used to, so don't be surprised if it takes a bit of time to get a feel for it. The left thumbstick controls where Trifox is walking, whereas the right thumbstick controls where he is aiming. It doesn't control where he is looking, so if you think you can adjust your view with this, it won't work. Each of the abilities you have learned on the skill tree is mapped to a different button. So you can really customise this to your play style. I wish there was some ability you could use to increase Trifox's speed because it feels like he is constantly moving too slow. 

There is a central hub where you can select any of the areas and levels that you have completed, which reminds me of Crash Bandicoot. The level design is pretty straightforward; there wasn't anything really new that you haven't seen before, beach and factory-themed levels dominated most of the game. Most of your time is spent fighting off hordes of enemies while attempting to find the entrance to the rest of the level. You will find some collectables like gems that will reward you with money, coins, and health potions. The stages weren't too challenging to complete. Although, they felt like a bit of a slog as it was pretty repetitive until you came across the fun action segments. These included Trifox operating a turret gun while you are riding down train tracks to take out the enemies or jumping across rocks floating down a river. 

The challenge awaits you in the boss battles, but the difficulty depends on the loadout you have created. This can be an incredible short battle where you can repeatedly get killed over and over again. To change your loadout, you must go back to the hub and leave the level. Once you have made the changes, you must play through the full fight again, but with a different selection of weapons it shouldn't be too hard. If you have managed to make a loadout that works well against the boss, you probably won't have too hard of a time. Trifox does offer the ability to change the game's difficulty at any time if you are stuck; this can really help when you get incredibly frustrated. Chances are, making changes to your loadout will be the key to success. Make sure you have a fast dodge ability as I died more than a few times because I couldn't get out of the way fast enough!

The characters in Trifox have a retro, low-poly look resembling an N64 game or original PlayStation title. The environments were nice with some good lighting effects. Still, every once in a while, an object in the environment blocks your view because you can't adjust the camera angle yourself. The soundtrack in the game was pretty good, but the sound effects were lacking. Audio cues from when you get hit or when your different abilities are ready to be used again feel non-existent. Most of the time, you will have to look at the bottom left-hand corner of the screen to see which of your loadouts are ready to use again or how low your health is. The attack sound effects are very lacklustre, so it doesn't feel like many of the abilities do much. 

Trifox is an average platforming game with a neat skill tree/loadout mechanic. It was fun to mix and match three different types of skills and map them to the buttons I wanted. Unfortunately, the pacing was very slow throughout the game, and I would have enjoyed seeing more of the action segments as they helped break up the repetitive moments. Some of the unique enemies, like the blade claw crabs, made the game for me. I'll never get sick of seeing those crazy crustaceans!