Transistor is so damn pretty
What is it?
Transistor is a tactical, isometric, action, adventure game brought to you by Supergiant Games the
creators of Bastion.
Gameplay
Combat is a big part of this game and the mechanics lend themselves well to this, you can either take a very active and involved approach to the encounters or you can adopt a more tactical approach. When going for the active approach combat goes something like this…
Run around - Use different skills on enemies - Run around - Repeat
It isn’t quite as God of War(y) as it sounds but it’s a good approximation, on the other hand, the tactical approach certainly plays out a little differently..
Press Space to enter “Turn” mode - plot out the best movement course to the enemy - Queue up a flurry of attacks until your turn bar is full - Unleash hell - run away until you can use turn mode again
The thing that can take some getting used to with the turn system is accounting for where enemies will either move to or be moved to by your actions, you may hit with your first attack but the second, third and fourth may miss completely if you’re not paying attention to your planning. Either style will work and getting to grips with both will definitely serve you well through the game.
To keep combat interesting there’s a myriad of different skills and skill combinations for you to try as you progress, not to mention the various limiters you can activate to make the game harder and gain more rewards such as boosted XP and such.
Graphics
So. Very. Pretty!
I can’t stress this enough, this game is absolutely gorgeous. The environments are beautiful and varied, the character models are superb both in terms of their animations and design. The last time I felt this way about a game was when Journey came out and that was a bloody gorgeous game as well.
Audio
Again, just fantastic. Darren Korb who worked on Bastion returns again bringing an acoustic treat to your ears with what he describes as "Old-world electronic post-rock". 23 stunning pieces featuring returning vocalist/voice actress Ashley Barrett who just brings something hauntingly beautiful to the table as always. It’s not enough to just talk about the music though, the sound design is equally remarkable with every dash, slice and explosion fitting perfectly into the mix. If Supergiant keep going at this pace it will be hard to compete with them on an audio front, it’s hard to name a AAA game that manages to do the same (in this reviewers opinion)
Story
I will keep this spoiler free so fear not
Your name is Red, you’re a singer who has recently come down with a case of mutism and awoke to find everyone has disappeared. You immediately find a sword, the sword in fact, who will be accompanying you throughout your journey. The story of Transistor can be summarised as a quest for answers, you are thrown into this world with no explanation and your only means of figuring anything out is done via terminals scattered across the world or through the lore that is heavily embedded in each of your skills (which can be further expanded by equipping said skills in different function slots, active, passive or modifier).
The thing that sets Transistor apart from it’s predecessor is that unlike Rucks who narrates the actions from a spectator position - “Kid just whaled on rocks for a while” etc., Transistor (your sword) is there with you, involved in everything that’s happening. It’s a subtle difference but it’s what sets the narratives delivery apart and in some aspects for the better.
Yay or Nay
I can’t say enough good things about this game, I absolutely love it all and that much should be pretty clear by now. The only real problem I have is the same one that most people have and it’s the games length, I clocked it at 3hours 37minutes start to finish in one sitting, some people say 4-5hours.The game does seem to rely on the new game plus aspect and I think that’s it’s biggest short coming but then again for £14.99 it’s not too much of an ask.
I would love to see what happens if these guys could really let loose and give us something 10+ hours but I love the work they do already. Transistor is great and I would (and have) recommended it to everyone
