Delays are pretty much a guarantee in this industry: you know it, I know it, developers certainly know it. A quick search in TheXboxHub vaults will tell you that Trifox was initially announced in 2019 as due for release in spring 2020. Well, autumn 2022 is now here and so is Trifox, some two and a half years later (admittedly, not the longest delay by any means). Has this extra time turned Trifox from a potentially fun platformer into an absolute gamechanger?
After having had his remote control stolen, the titular Trifox is on a quest to get it back. It may seem like a novel thing to steal, but think about it for a second. Having to manually stand up, walk across the room to change channels, and then again when you can’t quite hear it well enough, then again when you’ve made it too loud and finally again when you want to go to bed? First world problems indeed.
Trifox is a top-down twin-stick platformer that channels the 3D platformers of old. That is immediately evident when you arrive at the level select hub. A button on the floor will open a portal to the level itself, just like in the classic Crash Bandicoot games. It also features a level of difficulty which is similar.
Not necessarily from the platforming aspect, but Trifox features a wide variety of tough enemies. These are aggressive too; they won’t wait for you to attack as they are very much on the offensive. It is a good thing then that Trifox has an arsenal that even Ratchet and Clank would be proud of.
Trifox allows you to fully customise your loadout with a range of abilities. The ‘tri’ in Trifox relates to having the choice of three archetypes: Warrior, Mage and Engineer. Not exactly unique tropes, but their inclusion in a platformer is unusual.
Your first choice is to choose a dash ability from one of these traits, but this doesn’t lock you into a specific skill tree for the rest of your playthrough. You are free to unlock abilities from all three and mix-and-match to find your optimum loadout. You can have four additional abilities – each assigned to a shoulder button – along with your dash ability.
Some abilities will be offensive, whilst others are more defensive. You can preview these from the hub world to see what they are like before purchasing. There is also a training area to trial these before jumping into a level. Given the difficulty and large number of different abilities, this trial and error approach can help massively.
You will need a lot of offensive power but you would do well also to not neglect the defensive abilities, particularly with some of the boss battles.
You unlock abilities by collecting coins from defeating enemies and smashing breakables. Of course, being a platformer at heart, this isn’t the only collectible. But unlike others, it isn’t purely a collectathon. Throughout Trifox’s thirteen levels, there are thirty-six gems hidden away to find. These aren’t always the easiest to uncover, sometimes requiring you to complete a short puzzle to find them.
As well as these, there are a few easter eggs dotted around. These aren’t required for 100% completion, but some of them have achievements associated with them.
Despite Trifox only having thirteen levels – four of which are boss levels as well – the design of these is very good. The first level will lull you into a false sense of security with its short length and high emphasis on platforming. The second level is far more honest with you; more enemies, more danger, larger levels and less emphasis on platforming. By the time you reach the first boss, you will adjust your expectations again. Trifox is tough, and having the right loadout for the right situation is key.
Some levels are designed like a mini-Metroidvania, with you backtracking and requiring keys to open doors. Others are shorter, but feature waves of increasingly difficult enemies. The roster of different enemies is impressive, with each one attacking in a way that requires a variety of different tactics.
Trifox has forty-six achievements to unlock. Currently however, some are not working as intended. There are a few related to the different combinations of abilities for Trifox based on the three archetypes. These should unlock as you complete a level with a different combination but at the moment, only unlock if you complete a level without dying. The developer is well aware of these issues and a patch is en route.
Other achievements are for finishing levels, finding gems and completing milestones related to total coins, number of enemies defeated, breakables smashed, and potions drank. There is nothing too demanding here and considering you will likely be replaying levels again to find the gems, most cumulative ones will occur naturally.
Whilst it attempts to channel the classic 3D platformers, Trifox feels much more like its own competent video game. The twin-stick and mix-and-match abilities can afford the player lots of freedom to play around with. But don’t let the cute platforming visuals suggest this is an easy ride; Trifox is challenging without ever being unfair. The two and a bit year wait has been well worth it.
Help reclaim the remote with Trifox from the Xbox Store
