Video Game Review - Trifox

Rob reviews Trifox on Xbox Series X...

Back in the day, it was commonplace for developers to base their games around cute animal mascots. Go back a couple of console generations and these anthropomorphic animals not only came in all shapes and sizes - there were hundreds of them. While names such as Spyro the Dragon, Crash Bandicoot, and Sonic the Hedgehog have become household names. There are plenty of mascots who've fallen to the wayside. (Who remembers Blinx?)

Recently the "anthropomorphic generation" has seen a bit of a renaissance. With Kao, The Kangaroo, Sonic Frontiers, and TMNT: Shredders Revenge having their moment in the spotlight it is now time for another animal to join their ranks. 

Belgian developer Glowfish Interactive alongside publisher, Big Sugar has created Trifox - a tale about a fox, a stolen television remote control, and a whole horde of evil minions. First announced back in 2019 for a spring 2020 release, Trifox has also had quite a lengthy development time. 

But, is it worth playing? 

The premise of Trifox is pretty simple. After having his TV remote stolen, our titular fox sets out on a journey to get it back, while showing the villain that this isn't a fox you should mess with. After all, who wants to get up to manually change the channel on their TV? 

What then follows is a twin-stick shooter that channels plenty of elements from some well-known classic 3D platformers. This is evident straight from its hub area, which is pulled straight out of Crash Bandicoot. After running through a quick prologue that aims to teach you the fundamentals of the game, you're then taken to Trifox's base of operations to unlock your first abilities. 

As the title sort of suggests, this is a story about three foxes. However, what it means is that our fox can utilize skills from three classes - hence Trifox. Set across skill classes such as; Warrior, Engineer, and Mage. Where your first choice is locked to picking a dash ability from one of these three trees, you're soon able to mix and match these skills and abilities in an almost endless way. 

There's a great mix of these abilities with a balance between both aggressive and defensive moves. Deciding on what to unlock is also helped by a handy preview that plays displaying what the selected ability does. This is then further added by a training arena that allows you to test builds before taking on the next stage. And given the difficulty of Trifox - it's a welcomed sight! To keep things balanced, additional skills are purchased via coins that you collect during the game stages. As you progress through each class skill tree, the amount of coins you need to pay also increases. 

Much like other 3D platformers, Trifox has a wealth of collectibles for completionists to find. Scattered across the game's thirteen levels you'll find copious amounts of coins and other items of worth with the main being a humble gem. There are thirty-six of these gems to collect, and it'll come as no surprise that they're located off the beaten track. While some of them are pretty simple to find, others ask you to complete an attached puzzle, or even replay stages once you've unlocked a certain skill. I sadly didn't go out of my way to find all of these, but their inclusion does add a sense of replayability to the title. Well, unless you're following an achievement guide, and getting them all in one run. 

When it comes to conveying its story, Trifox relies on text rather than spoken dialogue. While the characters do speak, it's mostly gibberish - much like that seen in the original StarFox or Sims. It's all presented in an over-the-top and exasperated way that gives Trifox a Saturday morning cartoon feel. 

Sound design is also of a similar ilk, with plenty of callbacks to games of old. While the game's soundtrack is generally good, it's not necessarily memorable. That's not a slight on what Glowfish has done, I just haven't found myself humming any tunes from the game at work. 

It's evident that Glowfish has a clear passion for the genre, and they've essentially built a game that they would love to play. Across the multilayered biomes, there are Easter eggs and other pop culture references hidden away, and it becomes a real nostalgia trip when you recognize them. For the "older" player, it's a great callback to times of old - and gaming's heyday of the PlayStation 1/Sega Saturn era. 

While the Trifox experience is mostly a positive one, it's not flawless and does have a few negative points. For me, the biggest letdown was its sluggish jumping mechanic. Due to being played from a top-down perspective, when you jump your landing zone is indicated by a target circle. Quite often I found myself completely missing my intended target, which then resulted in either having to work my way back up to the obstacle I was trying to jump over, or instant death. It did start to frustrate me on a couple of occasions, but I wasn't detracted from seeing the game through. 

The only other thing that could be improved is how you equip your skills. While there is a sort-of training area, it does gives an accurate representation of how that skill performs out in the wild. If you take a skill and then decide halfway through a stage that it isn't for you, you'll then have to quit and head back to the hub. This considerably slows the game down, as you'll have to start the current stage again from the beginning. 

Overall, Trifox is going to be one of those games that don't get the recognition that it deserves. The team over at Glowfish has crafted a game that's packed full of love for the subject. Its mix of action and platforming is a nice nod to a few early 3D greats and helps to keep you engaged across Trifox's 5-hour run time. I hope we see a Trifox 2 as what we have here is the perfect foundation to build upon.

Rating 7/10 

A code was kindly provided for this review

Trifox is available now and can be purchased via the Microsoft Store. 

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