The fact that this game exists in any way is a cosmic miracle. A Tron visual novel exists. One handled by a writer that clearly loves and understands the subject matter, no-less. One that continues and even expands upon many of the ideas introduced in the films that were never expounded upon. One that promises to keep the story going with further episodes that will further expand upon this world that we've been so deprived of in over 10 years. One that makes use of it's limited budget to maintain a striking presentation that matches up to the great atmosphere of Tron Legacy. All of this, of course, comes at a cost. Unfortunately, the game's short episodic length means that most of its decisions won't carry much weight unless a continuation expands upon them in some way. Similarly, it can't fully explore a theme rather than simply introduce it, so we will be relying on future episodes to decide if the Tron: Identity series is the continuation of the series we've been waiting for all along.

Let's face it though, it will probably be better than Tron: Ares at least.

TL;DR: While not a perfect game by any means, TRON: Identity is a must-play for any hardcore TRON fan, and also a formidable visual novel in its own right. While the story progression itself may lack in depth of gameplay, it makes up for it in sheer visual spectacle and the interesting puzzles.

Pros:
+ Absolutely phenomenal visuals, music and overall presentation
+ Really good writing for both the characters and the general narration
+ A few really intriguing characters that represent the different perspectives of differing kinds of programs in the Grid, with standouts like an administrator who idolizes the Users, and a young nonbinary program who cleverly challenges the binary concepts of the world
+ The puzzle gameplay is well-built into the gameplay story-wise, and is also fun in itself, which is why it's good that they've included a standalone mode for playing it with great customizability
+ The game's story (and lore specifically) has some huge and exciting ramifications for the future of the Grid, which I genuinely hope is utilized or at least hinted at in future movies and other media
+ Title screen is great (TRON fans will understand why)
+ In general, definitely a worthy addition to the TRON mythos

Cons:
- I don't know how long visual novels are usually supposed to be, but this one sure feels like it's way too short. It really feels like Bithell might've bitten more than they could chew with this one, so they had to squeeze their existing budget to a relatively breezy experience.
- While the single tower - where the entire game takes place - does have some fairly diverse and unique locales inside of it, it feels quite restrictive with there only being like 6 major rooms to go into.
- Very little replayability for a few reasons:
• First, the only two things you can "collect" are clickable lore nodes during dialogue boxes, all of which are very easy to get on your first playthrough, as well as the different fates for each character. At least you're forced to get those during multiple playthroughs - which isn't really an issue since the characters are so fun - but when some only have two different narrow paths to follow, it doesn't really add much more depth.
• Second, you get basically no rewards for playing through the game, and none after replaying it. You're just playing for fun at that point, something which the standalone puzzle mode is much better for.

Mike Bithell's catalog of games has always explored sci-fi and technology in small, intimate worlds that feel massive beyond its barriers. Thomas Was Alone was a platformer about shapes with feelings and lives, Subsurface Circular is an entire urban robot city mystery thriller taking place entirely within a subway car. Taking on an existing property is a totally different animal, and this time Bithell has set their next story in the world of Tron, a complex hierarchal techno world where the software we create exists as part of their own ecosystem and society. Bithell adapts to the source material well, doing a great job not to alienate newcomers to the franchise, but unfortunately fails to create stakes that matter in this short adventure.

You play as Query, a detective sent to investigate an explosion at an important site for data and knowledge. Tron: Identity mainly plays as a visual novel, asking players to read all text and make dialogue choices to parse new information and develop relationships with the other remaining characters/suspects. There are a few unmarked key choices that lead to branching paths in the narrative, but overall, the story and dialogue choices are mostly the same and only matter in those key moments. The story takes place completely within one building, and with a small cast of interesting people, but unfortunately the game doesn't give its cast enough time to shine and you end up not caring about them, and what their fates become due to your decisions. Playing the game through 3 times, much of the important decisions come down to the character lives, dies, or escapes, and that didn't ever feel like enough. The ending, no matter which one you get, feels largely unresolved, and repeat playthroughs don't color the ending in different ways. Overall, Tron: Identity feels like a setup to something else in the franchise rather than a fully independent story.

At certain points in the story, you'll encounter characters who need to recover parts of their memory back. You complete this by playing a minigame of sorts that is most similar to Bithell's previous game The Solitaire Conspiracy. A disc of cards with a number and a suit must be matched by either icon to clear from the board. It's a fun puzzle setup to break up the text and it was used sparingly enough to not become frustrating. The game reteaches all mechanics on repeat playthroughs, which is a minor annoyance, but there is an endless mode if you fall into liking the puzzle elements for more than a few instinces in the main story.

Tron: Identity is an engaging noir thriller set in a generally underused IP. As is the norm for Tron, the music by Bithell's go-to composer Dan Le Sac is excellent and is a general standout for the whole piece. Its writing is great, but doesn't have the actual plot to sustain it, and sometimes feels like its not the best showcase for the world or the developer.