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Tryst Review for PC

Tryst Review for PC

This Tryst Requires Major Beer Goggles

A tryst is a meeting between lovers, and Tryst is certainly not a bad name for a game that hopes to develop a stronger relationship between gamers and the real-time strategy (RTS) genre. Of course, before lovers can get together for any kind of tryst, they need to have given each other the proper first impression needed to develop chemistry. Tryst fails to deliver that first impression, feeling a lot more like a failed blind date than a sexy assignation.

Players starting out in Tryst are simply plopped into the world with no direction. Very basic RTS functions, such as lassoing units to select them and right-clicking to attack enemies, are present. Performing other actions, such as placing units into groups, though, aren’t obvious. While some game functions are taught via in-game instruction, other basic functions must be learned by watching tutorial videos from the help menu. The experience of learning Tryst is rather piecemeal and can be frustrating to players who know what to do but have to delve through instructional videos in order to figure out how to do it. The tutorial videos are fairly brief, at least, but the subjects they cover are incomplete. For instance, there’s a video about building Zali (the alien faction) bases, but not one about building human bases.

Tryst Screenshot

Even once the player has a handle on how the game works, it suffers from usability issues. Many pieces of basic PC game functionality, such as getting quick information by hovering the mouse over units or pressing ESC to get to the main menu, are missing (the ESC button issue in particular drove me nuts). There’s no keyboard or command customization, and simple things that look like they should be possible, like using the mouse to group units together from the team panel, simply aren’t. It’s a strangely archaic experience that hampers the player, especially considering the fast pace at which Tryst’s battles operate.

Adding to the feeling of having traveled back in time to 2003 is the fact that the graphic settings don’t auto-detect, and default to low quality at 1024×768. Even after setting them properly for a modern rig, they’re not terribly inspiring. The worst part of the visuals is that the units look somewhat muddy, and the human units are particularly difficult to visually distinguish from each other. This can cause problems during hectic moments in the game. Additionally, the maps for the single-player campaign suffer from heavy fogging that can make the available paths difficult to find, even though those paths are generally quite linear.

Tryst Screenshot

Worse than the graphic design is Tryst’s sound design. The music is forgettable, and the sound effects lack oomph. The game lacks the kind of solid audio cues that help the player keep track of what’s going on in better-designed RTS titles. These issues pale in comparison to the voice acting, though, which is some of the worst I’ve heard in years. The actors sound like they were all hired from Sergeant Slappy’s House of Cut-Rate Fake Accents, causing even the most serious scene to inspire snickers. The poorly-articulated quips that the units shout out every time an order is issued will cause gamers to reach for the mute button.

Tryst Screenshot

Players who get past the awkward controls, average visuals, and poor sound will find a fairly standard RTS game underneath. Tryst attempts to combine a standard base-building RTS with the active exploration of a MOBA game, and does decently enough at it. There’s the standard base-building and tech tree gameplay here, as well as a fairly extensive system for unit training and customization. The unit customization system is the one element in the game that really stands out, allowing players to specialize troops heavily or attempt to compensate for their weaknesses. I can’t speak to how balanced this system will turn out to be in the multiplayer meta-game, but it’s a great idea in terms of adding more strategic value to the game.

Tryst Screenshot

There are three main gameplay types in Tryst: campaign, skirmish, and multiplayer matches. The single-player campaign is generally derivative space opera fare, heavily marred by the horrible voice acting. The one interesting idea in the campaign is the presence of occasional choices that change how a map plays out, such as choosing to rescue either medics or operatives in the first mission. It’s an idea that deserves to be explored more deeply in the future. The skirmish and multiplayer matches at least allow the gameplay to take center stage, but there aren’t many maps on offer. More might be added in the future, but as it is, I have serious doubts that the multiplayer community will stick around for very long.

Forgiving RTS fans can probably find some enjoyment from Tryst, but there are simply too many factors working against the game for it to be a long-term passion. Tryst could be described as a poor man’s StarCraft, but in this case I’d advise the poor man to save up and simply play StarCraft. This game is generally derivative and far too rough around the edges to bother with for long, with its good ideas buried under presentation and usability problems. There are items here that show promise, but the main impression that the game gives is that the team ran out of time to apply the proper amount of care and polish. The full package simply doesn’t make for a tempting tryst at all.

RATING OUT OF 5 RATING DESCRIPTION 2.4 Graphics
Uninteresting graphical design and muddy unit graphics. 2.5 Control
Controls are unintuitive and cannot be changed. 1.5 Music / Sound FX / Voice Acting
The voices, the voices, the horrible, horrible voices. 3.0 Play Value
There are some interesting ideas beneath the game’s surface, but they don’t make up for its shortcomings. 2.5 Overall Rating – Average
Not an average. See Rating legend below for a final score breakdown.

Review Rating Legend
0.1 – 1.9 = Avoid 2.5 – 2.9 = Average 3.5 – 3.9 = Good 4.5 – 4.9 = Must Buy
2.0 – 2.4 = Poor 3.0 – 3.4 = Fair 4.0 – 4.4 = Great 5.0 = The Best

Game Features:

  • Unique Character Abilities and Upgrades – Almost all Tryst’s battle units come with special abilities of their own. It’s up to the player to choose what they want and how they want to match the powers of one with that of another.
  • Multiplayer – Up to 8 player free for all maps that always promise to keep people reinventing new strategies to outdo their opponents.
  • Environmental Hazards – Maps are filled with dangers that can both hinder a player or help him set up the perfect ambush against an enemy.
  • Keep on Going – You don’t have to worry about players who go offline or have to leave in the middle of a game. They’ll be replaced with competent A.I. immediately.

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