Trinity Fusion may have something with its mix of 2D platforming, combat, and action-roguelite elements, but its current closed beta feels like an early proof of concept. Offering what seems like the first third of the complete adventure, the present build is skeletal and starved, with a small pool of powers, upgrades, and half-baked systems. It’s all couched in some strong combat design, but the final incarnation of Trinity Fusion is hard to discern at this point, though it looks to be courting fans of modern metroidvania classics like Hollow Knight.

The underlying multiverse narrative for Trinity Fusion appears somewhat incoherent, but it regards “the Hitchhiker,” a woman linked to three other versions of herself from parallel realities. This structure allows players to select from one of three playable characters: Naira, Altara, and Kera, which function as different classes. Kera is a warrior, whose two weapon slots include a faster weapon with a slower one allowing for high-damage windups, while Naira gets to wield both a melee and projectile weapon simultaneously. Altara gets a melee weapon with a spell, and the two quicker classes can use a special bonus double jump and air dash.

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Action roguelite combat provides Trinity Fusion’s best foot forward and is clearly where the bulk of development has been focused, though it’s also much simpler than it first appears. A dodge ability affords a few i-frames to shimmy between enemies, and simplified combos provide decent feedback when they connect. It’s all fairly basic stuff, only made challenging or interesting when the game tosses in rotating groups of enemies, most of whom are isolated to specific biomes, outside some occasional locked-room battles where it’s anything-goes.

Trinity Fusion Preview Laser Katana

Curiously, that’s one of the only areas where Trinity Fusion actually leverages its multiverse concept during gameplay. Each selectable character has their own progression of level chapters, so it’s never a matter of choosing the right person for the right circumstance. Along with a few other aspects of the game’s design, this feels like a missed opportunity to lean into its big ideas in impactful ways.

The roguelite elements are also lacking, hobbled by limited upgrades (a handful of runs will reveal almost all of them and they repeat quickly and often) that affect things like increased critical hit chances or slight damage buffs. There’s also progressive modular upgrades to tinker with in the hub, similar to the Plug-in Chips from Nier Automata's excellent design. What’s currently available sadly does not deliver much variation between runs, but Trinity Fusion’s armory is a bit more interesting, a collection of sci-fi-tinged armaments with varied attack rates, occasional elemental buffs, and other special features.

Trinity Fusion Preview Bossfight

The irony is this: it’s always a terrible idea to pick these weapons up right away. Trinity Fusion has a “power level” mechanic, which amounts to an experience level which increases during each run from defeating enemies. The blind-box weapon drops scattered through each stage contain weapons tied to player level, so opening one of these up earlier on provides weaker, lower-level loot. The smart move is to rinse the entire stage of enemies and then run through the empty environment to open each container up before finally exiting the stage, a drab bout of housecleaning. And no, there are no familiar teleporting mechanics to quickly flit between corners of each stage like what you'd find in Enter the Gungeon or Dead Cells.

These issues are indicative of some significant problems with the game’s structural design which will really have to be repaired and reconsidered prior to launch for Trinity Fusion to work. Luckily, the visual presentation isn’t one of them, and though the biomes aren’t the most original settings – factories, cave tunnels, distant sci-fi cities, etc. – they present finely rendered 3D backgrounds with smooth framerates throughout. The two bosses available in the beta are particularly well-animated and fun to tussle with, and enemies present legible callouts and characterful animations. It’s not the most complicated or tricky bestiary, but the fun lies in handling hordes of them at once, dodging projectiles and sliding around AOE attacks to discern proper windows to retaliate.

Trinity Fusion Preview Nalimyet

Trinity Fusion is admittedly unfinished and will probably introduce dozens of additional upgrades, weapons, and powers before nearing it’s v1.0 launch, but the primary concern is whether the developers will attend to the game’s structural misfires. Its multiverse concept should also be integrated in a more dynamic way, as it presently seems more like window dressing than a central thesis. With a little more attention, Trinity Fusion could be a great follow-up to anyone looking for another Dead Cells, with some nimble combat and pick-up-and-play appeal.

Trinity Fusion Preview Lightning Sword

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Trinity Fusion’s closed beta began on November 17th. Screen Rant was invited to participate for the purpose of this preview.