Trinity Fusion was provided by Angry Mob Games and Evolve PR for review. Thank you!
Update 1/23/24: The settings and parts of this review have been updated for the 1.0 release and Steam Deck OLED performance!
Trinity Fusion is a 2.5D roguelite action-platformer that takes place in a distant future. With the fate of the multiverse at stake, you (Maya) must work with your three other versions of yourself in their respective universes to bring them all together. Run through the worlds, picking up new, more powerful weapons and sub-weapons, defeat enemies in fast-paced combat, and upgrade yourself with permanent buffs whenever you die. Will you be able to save the multiverse from this calamity?
When I first played Trinity Fusion at PAX East, I enjoyed it, or at least I thought I did. Playing the 1.0 release, I see how far the game has come and found it extremely hard to put down. As I remembered from the early access build, the combat and movement are very tight. It was awesome going from platform to platform, evading attacks, and going up from behind to attack. And I do love the visuals, it’s quite enjoyable to see each biome and how each of the three characters has their worlds they come from.
But what makes it unique is the weapon power system and merging. So, instead of finding more powerful weapons randomly, you will level up your power the more enemies you defeat. The higher the level, the better the weapons you will find. There are different weapons you can find with different stats and moves, which will increase as you increase your level. I found this system engaging, and it made me want to seek out and kill as many enemies as possible. You can also find secondary weapons, as well as consumables, abilities, and items, that will get more powerful as you progress and defeat bosses.
Then, we have merging and upgrading your character. At the beginning of the game, you choose a character with its own weapon layout and go into the world, but as you progress through the levels, you may find structures where you can merge with your other characters and gain access to their layout. You will also be able to get upgrades that modify how you play, similar to other roguelike games, that can give you new skills. Each of these has a theme with them, and if you get three of the same theme, you get an extra ability.
There are also more permanent upgrades that persist throughout each run. As you play, you can get special currency that can be used to buy more upgrades, new moves, and increase your own stats.
I really enjoy playing Trinity Fusion, way more than I remembered, and I found it difficult to put down. And with how well it plays on the Steam Deck, I had a hard time putting it down to write this review.
Trinity Fusion – Steam Deck Performance
Trinity Fusion actually has a Steam Deck preset, which is nice, but there’s one problem with it: Shadows. With the shadows turned off, the game looks very off, with some characters being see-through and some models not showing any details. Turning shadows on low fixes this and doesn’t impact performance much, so I recommend turning it on. I also found higher graphical settings to drain the battery more without a major change in visual fidelity.
The majority of the game will drain around 11W – 15W, but the hub will bump this up to 16W – 19W. Since this is pretty adequate already, I decided no TDP limit had to be changed for maximum enjoyment and battery life. It plays extremely well as is, and I love it.
Trinity Fusion does support 16:10 resolutions, so there are no black bars, and it does have cloud saves and full controller support!
Conclusion
Trinity Fusion had a really great base when it was released in early access, and I am so happy to see how much it has grown through the 1.0 release. The combat feels fantastic, the movement is tight, and the weapon system and upgrades make going into each run exciting. And with how well it runs on the Steam Deck, it is hard not to recommend the game. As long as you change Shadows to low, there is little sacrifice to enjoy the game to the fullest extent possible. This is a fantastic roguelike 2.5D action-platformer to play on the go and I highly recommend it!
Our review is based on the PC version of this game.
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