At the end of June, Trion's cube game got an extension that takes you to a new planet: Geode. In addition, the title has welcomed a new game mode incorporating the rules of Battle Royale, Boumbombe Royale.
Géode
It is therefore a whole new planet that opens up to the adventurers of Trove, accessible by teleportation from the Atlas.
Once there, a gigantic sanctuary filled with friendly geodians offers all the services necessary for an efficient and safe exploration. A tutorial guides you through the installations, the first step therefore being to understand how the elevators work and to go to the lower floor to take one of the portals to Geode's caves. In all, there are three places that can be visited for the novice that I am: the Grotto of Scintilune, the Verdant Veins and the Sunken Heliocavern.
Other steps of the tutorial are unlocked as you progress in order to show all the functionalities: recovery of resources, equipment and improvement, reliquary, rescue of the beasts, crystallogy ... Rewards are each time given in order to '' offer an overview of all that is possible.
Once the tutorial is complete, new tasks become available in the form of Expertise Adventures, which always gives a goal for players who don't like to stay in the dark.
Exploration and tools
In the caves, there are no weapons to defend yourself, there is no combat anyway, in any case in those that I have explored, the only dangerous creatures are flowers, some explode when you go to proximity (it suffices to move away quickly enough before the explosion) while others do not hesitate to shoot blue areas. Some hungry critters also become aggressive if they are not helped, as I will discuss below.
Without the skills of my class, I find myself equipped with a special SAG armor with an Omni-tool that runs on a battery of N-Ergie, linked to the left click of the mouse.
I am offered my first mod, a Claw of Climbing which creates a line where I target and pulls me to my destination with the right click. At the start of each exploration, a geodian offers to change his equipment. Other equipment exists, all to be created at the mod workbench: a smasher to detect hidden crystals, propelled boots that can be used as a jetpack, a barrier generator to get rid of aggressive creatures and a path colourist. to create speed boosters.
These mods improve in the Mod Forge thanks to harvested components, with 10 levels per tool that increase efficiency, range, speed, capacity ...
Once better equipped, I can go further and further, sinking into the depths of the caverns through levels 1 to 5. Of course, the higher the level, the more abundant and valuable the resources there are, but also the more aggressive the wicked flowers.
Exploration is limited by the autonomy of the SAG armor, the durability of which decreases with each damage taken: flower attack, fall, hungry creature ... Once the gauge has fallen to zero, then it is mandatory to evacuate ( which results in a loading screen and a return to the sanctuary).
Reliquary
Like any module, the reliquary is installed at the start of the exploration but it takes care of as the activities progress. Once fully charged, it returns to the developer, which after a shorter or longer time (depending on the use or not of an accelerator and the initial level of the reliquary) gives a random reward.
Ideally, this provides a companion. Another reliquary must then be redeemed, the better the quality, the greater the chance of obtaining a reward.
Crystalgie
A new crafting skill is accessible from the shrine: Crystallogy. It is used on a daily basis to create objects to solve the problems of the bugs then, by leveling up, it produces objects for his world (ascending bubbles, anti-gravity, sparks, slime ...), costumes or even mounts ...
Very useful objects on Geode, as well as for improving tools, are also to be achieved in this way with, for example, accelerators of the duration of the opening of Reliquaries or prospecting platforms to access perched places.
Critters
In the caves, eight different species of critters are in danger and need help. Some are hungry, others are injured or cold. Treatments, care kits and blankets must be used respectively.
Once saved, the creature offers crystals, very useful for progression. Incidentally, this also prevents the hungry critters from damaging the SAG armor.
Note that the reward is not given only to the player character who used the item, it is also shared with all other nearby players.
Companion
Thanks to the opened reliquaries, it is possible to become the proud owner of a companion egg. A small passage in the egg incubator of the ranch of the companions, a little patience, and that gives a nice companion which brings significant bonuses.
Companions also evolve thanks to the Companion Trainer, a new opportunity to use plenty of resources to climb the five levels available.
Royal Boumbombe
Even if a portal is present from Géode, this new mode does not require going to the planet, it is accessible directly from the game interface, both from the home screen and the "Ctrl + B" shortcut "(or the bomb-shaped button at the bottom left).
The rules are super simple and summarized at the start of the fight, in the lobby where a cosmetic salon allows you to occupy yourself during the few seconds necessary for the nineteen other players to join the game.
We find Geode's grappling hook and a unique offensive capacity: the bomb (by default linked to the left click of the mouse). Then the count starts, the kind of transparent cage in which the players are locked at the beginning crumbles and everyone falls in the world.
The fights are extremely fast and violent with bombs tumbling in all directions. You don't always die directly from the bomb, the scenery is completely destructible and it also often happens to simply slip or be thrown into a hole.
Here and there, cubes are scattered with the key to special weapons (like the sticky bomb) or a healing ability. Of course, it's often dangerous to grab these highly visible optimizers because it's out in plain sight.
Once the character is dead, a scoreboard is displayed, with the rewards earned depending on the time left alive. My best score so far: 3 minutes and 8 seconds or a sixth place.
From there, a button allows direct access to a new game which is restarted almost instantly. Note that the amount of experience gained is phenomenal, I went from level 13 to level 16 in ten games (subscriber bonus activated).
Conclusion
Offering new content on Trion's cube game, Géode's exploration completely changes the rules by offering unprecedented non-violent content in a variety of environments, with a strong emphasis on material recovery. It will take a long time and a lot of farming if you want to get through the content so hopefully you like it, but the caves are varied enough that boredom doesn't set in. In addition, the desire to always go further gives the motivation necessary to redo a lap ... and one more ... come on, and one last! Finally, there is a very relaxing side with full cooperation: we get the same loot if we are next to another player who mines / helps the bugs, the crystals are linked to each player ...
The lack of action on this side is perfectly balanced with the arrival of the Battle Royale mode. I was not at all convinced by this aspect, all the games have their BR right now, so much so that it becomes boring. None of that here, Boumbombe Royale is fun and super fast, without any feeling of monotony thanks to its many cards. In five minutes, it's won, with a nice package of extra experience points.
A perfectly balanced extension therefore, which will appeal to all players especially as its access is free, just like the game. But if you want to start the adventure in the best conditions, you can acquire the Géodien Super Pack sold € 49,99 which gives in particular a rare companion and a reliquary, in addition to various useful currencies.
