English
Gamereactor
reviews
Trove

Trove

For Minecraft players looking for a new addiction, might Trove be a destination worth visiting?

Subscribe to our newsletter here!

* Required field
HQ
HQ

Trove is a sandbox game from Trion Worlds, dug from the same dirt as Minecraft, but built around a free-to-play MMO setup. Millions of players have joined its ranks since it started on PC, and it has been available in open beta on PS4 and Xbox One since December. Following the beta, the console versions have accrued more than a million players each, and the numbers keep growing, so let's find out why.

One of the first things to note is how visually striking it is. With its myriad of sharply contrasting coloured blocks, you can tell immediately that it's a whole universe away from Minecraft's earthy tones. After a brief opening cutscene the game opens up into a huge hub area in which you will find yourself every time you log in.

There are 14 different character classes to choose from and they cover almost all forms of combat. Picking one uses a class unlock token, so you may want to trial a few first to find a fighting style that suits you, although you can get more unlock tokens later in the game, so don't worry too much about that. We chose the Boomeranger for his mixture of melee and ranged attacks, and found he was quite formidable in most battles.

This is an ad:
TroveTroveTrove

A lot of the areas will be locked off to low-level players to begin with, and it can be a little overwhelming and disorientating at first. You may find yourself blindly stumbling about, at least to begin with, although there is a helpful and detailed HUD which can guide you via a Quest Feed in the corner that hints at your current objectives. One small problem with the HUD though is that it's so minuscule that you'll need to sit really close to the screen to stand any chance of reading it.

After making your way over to the portals that are open to beginners, it's time to jump into one and visit your first world. Each portal will take you to a procedurally generated environment filled with different biomes and dungeons to explore, and you'll soon realise that you have no idea of where to go and what to do. Heading towards other players scattered around the map seems like the sensible thing to start with. Moving around is made simple with the ability to reach very high ledges using a multi-jump, as repeatedly hitting the jump button will have you bounding through the air with ease. For the longer journeys though you can call in mounts to run, fly, or swim you around.

Being an MMO, the hub and the worlds you'll visit are populated by other players, and for the most part they're mainly just hitting dungeons (which seems to be the main aim of the game), so tagging along with a few to begin with can certainly help to give you an idea of what's going on. Dungeons are relatively simple and consist of a series of staircases, platforms, and rooms filled with mobs, culminating in a boss fight which will reward you with a large chest full of loot if you defeat it. As with other MMOs, this is what the hordes of players are after. The large number of items that can drop from enemies and chests will keep you chasing after rarer, more powerful gear, and with mining and crafting taking more of a backseat, the game certainly seems to feel more like a dungeon crawler than a sandbox game. With little variation between dungeons though, this can feel like a grind over longer sessions.

This is an ad:

Throughout the worlds and their many, many dungeons, there's a constant supply of angry mobs just waiting to attack you at any given moment. Thankfully the combat system is far more advanced than just hitting an attack button, which makes fighting more enjoyable. The Boomeranger, for example, can attack at close range with a sword, fire at distance with a hefty boomerang, and even clear out some of the weaker ones with a bomb or two. We did notice some issues with frame-rate though, and when a lot was going on, especially during the big dungeon raids, the rubber banding can cause some issues with hitting enemies, dodging blows, or even just making precarious jumps.

Trove

Luckily there are some places that offer respite from all of the action; small plots of land called Cornerstones that act like small bases. These Cornerstones are blank canvases that can be built on to create a home away from home, somewhere to drop off your loot and upgrade weapons and armour. Mining the environment yields bricks that can be used to create somewhat primitive homes that, once you start levelling up, can be furnished with various crafting tables, loot storage, and trophies. The thing that sets these Cornerstones apart, though, is the ability to drop your fully built home on any of the blank plots in any region of the world you happen to arrive in.

The mining, building, and crafting doesn't stop there, as you're free to create just about anything if you're willing to put in the time. As we found during our repeated visits however, it's the lure of irresistible loot that will keep you hooked. Whether playing as a lone wolf, teaming up with friends, or joining a Club (Trove's guild system), the promise of better armour, weapons, or even a funny-looking hat will keep you dipping into the game.

Being a free-to-play game there is, of course, a pay-to-play element, but we found at no point was this shoved in our faces, and you can play for many hours without ever having to drop any real money. For those willing to spend a little (or a lot), there doesn't seem to be a great deal of benefit from it, as character tokens, mounts, and other collectables can just as easily be found in the game, if you don't mind grinding a little that is.

So, it's bright, brash, simple, addictive, and free; basically catnip for kids. However, in a game that seemingly has everything, it's lacking in a couple of key areas. There are a few bugs, frame-rate drops (on the console version we played, at least), and there's a huge amount of repetition. That said, if looting, mining, and crafting - either alone or with friends - is your thing, then there's fun to be had with Trove, even if this is a game best enjoyed in small doses.

HQ
TroveTroveTrove
06 Gamereactor UK
6 / 10
+
Quirky audio-visual design, Lots to do, Low barrier to entry.
-
Repetition leads to tedium, There's bugs and frame-rate drops (on console).
overall score
is our network score. What's yours? The network score is the average of every country's score

Related texts

0
TroveScore

Trove

REVIEW. Written by Graham Bellars

"There's fun to be had with Trove, even if this is a game best enjoyed in small doses."



Loading next content