Game Review: Transistor

 

I had recently watched a YouTube video of someone giving a first look/playthrough of the recently released title Hades from developer Supergiant Games. Described as Rogue-like with randomly generated rooms and enemy placements, I was instantly hooked on its gameplay, voice over work and art. However like most new genres I dip my toes in, there was a fear of me not liking it so I wanted to learn more of the developer. Previous games Supergiant had made included Bastion, Pyre, and Transistor. All of these I was familiar with in name alone but it was the latter that hooked me based on the premise and setting alone. Transistor takes place in a very futuristic Blade Runner-esque world run by a group of people known as the Camrata. You play as Red, a renowned singer out for revenge against the very same collection of individuals after tragedy strikes. The main weapon of choice for Red is a heavy blade known as the Transistor. 

The blade itself is imbued with the conscious of her loved one which perished in an incident which sets this whole game up. As Red, you move around a gorgeously detailed world as the Transistor provides backstory towards the world you traverse. I was simply agape in awe at the art and how beautiful the map was. The music also did a wonderful job in setting the stage for each fight. Your main enemies are what's known as the Process. Machines that grew a mind of their own and have been terrorizing the world of Cloudbank. The citizens themselves are even transforming into these rampant machines.

Your arsenal consists of 4 moves that can be mapped to the face buttons. You can also upgrade them with other moves to create interesting combinations to better suit your playstyle. From creating rapid fire blasts, to traveling across the field in an instant (and also leaving a destructive path in your wake). The "functions" you obtain can also give out passive abilities however, you're only allowed so much memory which you can gain as you level up. There are also limiters which you can put on yourself to give more of a challenge. The reward from this is even more experience points. The limiters include enemies hitting twice as hard, or you losing more than one function at a time. With regard to that last point, the functions act as your lives. When you run out of HP, a function is disabled or overloaded if I were to use this game's terminology. I didn't really get a sense as to which function is removed, whether it's the last one used or the one that deals the most damage. If you happen to run out of functions, you die and are sent to the last room or save points.

Save Points are spread out in a fair manner so that you're not terrified of not being able to make it to one in time. Most functions are restored after two visits to unique save spots. Rogue like games seem to be short in nature but thrive on people coming back for multiple run throughs. In my time playing Transistor, I did two full runs, and the second one responded with the Process being beefed up in level and damage. I absolutely had a blast though smoking through the rooms once I had a pattern/loadout that worked best for me. That's something I absolutely enjoyed. The only criticism I can give is that while the voice acting is stellar, the output was fairly soft so my next run will def be spent wearing my headphones. There's really not much else to say so here's a collection of screenshots from my runs in Transistor!

Should you Play this Game?
Yes! If you've been on the fence in diving into this genre of games, Transistor is a great introduction to the rogue genre. With a stunning art direction and addicting gameplay, you'll definitely have your own style of blasting your way through. The replay value is moderately high giving you a chance to challenge yourself and experiment with new loadouts!

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