Tron: Identity transforms the cyberpunk world into a noir detective game
The question of identity — of what makes a person who they are — is as much a matter of experience as it is of the perspective of one asking it. This is as true in life as it is in the Grid, the spectral digital dimension in which the Tron series predominantly takes place.
In the world of Tron: Identity, the new visual novel adventure game by Subsurface Circular and John Wick Hex developer Bithell Games, the Grid takes on an entirely new perspective when seen through the eyes of lead designer Mike Bithell and company: that of noir-like mystery drama of half-truths, hearsay, and conspiracies nested within mysteries. Though my time with the game was relatively short, the experience was nonetheless one that I walked away from with an overall glowing impression, eager to dive back in for another playthrough in order to uncover clues to still-lingering questions.
Set sometime after the events of 2010’s Tron: Legacy, Tron: Identity places players in the role of Query, an intuitive program tasked with investigating a mysterious explosion. Said explosion took place at the Repository, a towering, fortified nexus of highly classified information maintained by a governing body of higher-level programs known collectively as the Core. Something else is amiss, however: The entire facility is empty, save for a handful of suspects. The explosion, which rocked the facility, wiped the memories of several on-site programs, compromising the reliability of their testimony. Despite the explosion presumably having been triggered to cover up for a robbery, nobody seems particularly inclined to say just what — if anything — has been taken, least of all the facility’s administrator.
As a member of the “Disciples of Tron,” an order of programs
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