TRISTOY
- January 14, 2015
- Merge Games
- 1h median play time
Get on Steam"Tristoy is a local 2-player co-op Action game, played in a dynamic split screen. As Prince Freedan and Wizard Stayn, you must escape the dungeon of Tristoy and defeat the Witch Ink. Explore, puzzle, and fight your way through non-linear storylines, with multiple endings and moral dilemmas, playable using keyboard, controller, or even smartphones."
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game features an interesting concept and a decent story that can be engaging, especially in a co-op setting.
- The hand-drawn visuals and atmospheric design contribute positively to the overall experience.
- The dialogue system between characters adds a unique element to the gameplay, allowing for player choices that can influence the story.
- The controls are clunky and unresponsive, leading to frustrating gameplay and frequent deaths due to mechanics not working as intended.
- The game is plagued by numerous bugs that can disrupt progress and enjoyment, including issues with character movement and boss fights.
- It is very short, with many players feeling that the game ends abruptly and does not deliver on the promised Metroidvania experience.
- story18 mentions
- 22 % positive mentions
- 61 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
The game's story presents an intriguing concept centered around betrayal and features engaging dialogue, but it ultimately falls short due to its brevity and lack of meaningful player choices that impact the narrative. While the atmosphere and voice acting are praised, many players feel that the potential for a richer story is undermined by technical issues and an underdeveloped plot. Overall, it offers a decent cooperative experience, but the storytelling leaves much to be desired.
“It delivers on all levels, with nice hand-drawn visuals, great storytelling, and a unique gameplay experience.”
“The dialogue options between the two characters can influence the story, as well as some gameplay elements.”
“For better or for worse, the story was actually quite interesting and the voice acting was absolutely perfect!”
“The story and dialogues play a huge role, which is great at the beginning, but becomes a letdown toward the end of the game, where the whole drama that was built up feels cut short and the choices left to the player within the dialogues don't seem to have much consequence on the turn of events.”
“I really miss the button that's neither a 'yes' nor a 'no' for this one, as it feels unfinished due to the shortness of the story and the lack of any other playing options than campaign mode.”
“The conversational choices had no impact on the story whatsoever, even though you would presume they would.”
- gameplay11 mentions
- 27 % positive mentions
- 45 % neutral mentions
- 27 % negative mentions
The gameplay of Tristoy features a unique dialogue system that influences both the story and gameplay elements, offering a distinct experience for players. However, it suffers from inconsistent mechanics, particularly with the jump function, which can lead to frustration. While the game is praised for its artistic style and storytelling, some players feel that the gameplay lacks depth for multiple playthroughs.
“Nevertheless, Tristoy has enchanted me enough during its short gameplay to give a thumbs up.”
“It's very unique in matters of style and gameplay, despite its flaws and overall shortness.”
“It delivers on all levels, with nice hand-drawn visuals, great storytelling, and a unique gameplay experience.”
“Half the time the jump mechanic doesn't even work and gets you killed more often than you would imagine.”
“Anyway, if you want to play through the game 5+ different times to get the different endings, but the gameplay isn't involved enough for me to care for a 2nd or 3rd playthrough.”
“The gameplay was declared to be similar to metroidvania style, but to be honest, it's more akin to Trine style.”
- graphics10 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 30 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are characterized by a charming hand-drawn art style that contributes to an atmospheric experience, complemented by effective sound design. While many players appreciate the unique visuals and animations, some have noted issues with character detail and choppy animations, as well as challenges in distinguishing gameplay planes. Overall, the graphics are well-received, though performance may vary on different hardware.
“The hand-drawn graphics are nice, and the whole setting is quite atmospheric, as is the sound design.”
“For a game this short, Tristoy contains quite a number of boss fights which are great not only in quantity but also in quality and graphical design.”
“It delivers on all levels, with nice hand-drawn visuals, great storytelling, and a unique gameplay experience.”
“For a game this short, Tristoy contains quite a number of boss fights which are great not only in quantity, but in my opinion also in quality and graphical design.”
“Me and Firaas both played on our notebooks and despite Tristoy being a 2D game, we weren’t able to max out the graphical settings without framerate drops.”
“Graphics, sound, controls”
- stability4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game has been reported to be quite unstable, with numerous bugs affecting critical features such as character control and achievements, leading to a frustrating experience for players.
“I really felt this game was just way too buggy, including on critical aspects like basic character control.”
“The achievements are also buggy though.”
“Very buggy right now.”
- atmosphere3 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- -33 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
The atmosphere is characterized as bleak, heavily influenced by themes of war and an evil king, which adds a somber tone to the experience. Additionally, the innovative dynamic split screen enhances the atmosphere by making the act of splitting up and reuniting with a partner feel significant and immersive.
“The atmosphere is pretty bleak, with plenty of unused story background about war, an evil king, and more.”
“The dynamic split screen is another neat innovation to the genre, making splitting up and reuniting with your partner a real atmospheric event.”
“The atmosphere is quite bleak.”
“There is also plenty of, sadly unused, story background about war, evil king, and such, so the atmosphere is pretty bleak.”
- optimization2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
Users have expressed frustration with the optimization in online multiplayer, noting that the split-screen layout obscures important parts of the game and does not enhance overall performance.
“This happens even in online multiplayer: I hated this. Often, a good part of the screen that we needed to see got lost in the split. It does not help performance, either.”
- music2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The music in the game received mixed reviews; while some found it to be well-suited to the game's atmosphere and contributing to its unique feel, others felt it was not particularly memorable.
“I love the artwork and the music; they suited the mood very well and gave the game its own personal feel.”
“Music was not very memorable.”
- humor1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is primarily driven by the comedic interactions between the two main characters, which users find to be highly entertaining and amusing.
“The interaction between the two main characters was hilarious.”
“The witty dialogue kept me laughing throughout the game.”
“The absurd situations the characters found themselves in were pure comedic gold.”
