Title: Transistor
Format: PS4, PC
Release Date: May 20, 2014
Publisher: SuperGiant Games
Developer: SuperGiant Games
Price: $19.99
ESRB Rating: T
Transistor is SuperGiant Games' follow up to their instant hit, Bastion, and not only does it carry the same spirit has Bastion, but it proves to be one of the best indie games around.
Story and Presentation: The narrative in Transistor feels like you're watching a mysterious sci-fi movie, you play as Red, and you go about exploring CloudBank with the Transistor sword. You first retrieve the Transistor from a dead man's body when the game first starts, and the sword narrates your journey throughout constantly giving you details about the life in this futuristic city before everything bad started to happen. The city has been evacuated, and no one has stuck around. This creates a truly lonely experience, just Red and the Transistor diving deeper into the bowels of the city, uncovering a number of secrets along the way. I highly recommend you set the option to have the Transistor speak to you through the Dualshock 4's speaker, it creates a whole new feeling I've never had while playing a game before. Having someone constantly talk to you through a speaker on a controller, giving you more and more info about the backstory about what the city used to be ended up being a huge plus in the game. Red was once a famous singer, and during times in the game, you can have her sing and hum. With the futuristic jazz themed soundtrack behind her vocals, the soundtrack and audio design as a whole is outstanding. Now, the visual style in the game is what really caught my eye the first time the game was shown off, and it's yet another strong component in the presentation. The game gives off a very futuristic tone in the visual department, and at times the game feels like you're watching a moving painting. The environments are dark and industrial, while the abandoned apartments and balconies give off the slightest hints at human life. I can't praise the overall feel and look of the game enough, it's just something you have to see and hear for yourself to truly appreciate it.
Core Gameplay:I didn't know what I was going to get out of the game in terms of gameplay, but what I found was an excellent action RPG system in place. The game has the best of both worlds, you can execute every battle in real time if you wish, or you can utilize Red's Turn function which slows down time so you execute your abilities with more precision and strategy. As the game becomes more challenging, using her Turn function will become vital in completing every encounter. The game's take on traditional RPG mechanics is just as unique as the presentation. You have four set of functions that are mapped to the face buttons, but as you gain more XP, you can unlock more functions that you can mix and match in order to find the best set for you. Each function gives you a different ability to help defeat your enemies, like throwing scattered bombs or calling in a robotic dog for backup. Since you can only attach so many functions to the Transistor, you'll have to pay attention to each function's abilities so you'll have the best chance of getting past a particular encounter. There are numerous access points throughout a level so you can quickly swap functions in and out at will. If you like to add more of challenge to the game, Transistor gives you difficulty modifiers in the form of "limiters." These limiters will net you more experience, but the Process(your enemies) will be able to respawn faster if you don't completely destroy them. The pace in the game is perfect, each new level lets you experience new functions and more powerful enemy types to try them out on. It can be tough at times, but it's never cheap.
Final Thoughts:Transistor really lived up to the hype, as it's easily one of my favorite games of the year. The presentation is truly one of a kind, and with a smart RPG system in place, this game shouldn't be missed.
+Mesmerizing Visuals
+Fantastic Audio Design
+Haunting and Mysterious Story
+Brilliant Action RPG System
S&S Rating: 9.5/10 @whatsPlay
