Overall Impression
This game is somewhat a hidden gem that can be easily missed. It’s an earlier title in Supergiant’s string of exceptional games. You can see how this title would eventually give way to massive hits such as Hades. Transistor is an action adventure starring Red and her great sword like weapon set in a sci-fi universe where you battle robotic enemies. It has a unique combat system and painterly stylized art combined with an evocative soundscape and environment that pulls you into its poetic world.
Target Audience
This is a game that requires some patience to learn its combat system. This alone may have people drop it early without discovering the hidden gift it offers. There’s actually much more going on with the combat mechanics and skills than you would initially think. There’s a clever combination of planned actions (with a turned system) and active attacks. You don’t see a mix like this often in gaming. Hence those that will really connect with the game will require some patience to learn its systems. For those that do there’s a very stylish action combat experience.
Story
In Transistor, you play as Red. She is a singer in a futuristic sci-fi cityscape of Cloudbank. The opening sequences show Red by the body of a man who has been killed by a weapon, named the Transistor. Red’s voice is absorbed by the sword along with the consciousness of the man. The voice of the man through the blade communicates with Red and also acts as a narrator throughout your journey. As enemies are defeated, their data can also be absorbed into the weapon opening up new abilities for the player. The narrative has a unique feel to story telling with the role of the narrator being so prominent. It adds a layer of personality to the experience where you do feel like you are going through the journey as a member of the team. Story elements unfold through each section of the city as well as in cutscenes and in some written texts throughout the experience.
Gameplay
The core combat experience is made up of 2 components. There’s the action combat side where you setup various skills and use them when necessary. Then there’s the planned action combat. This is where you can pause the action and input a string of commands and have them executed all at once. After this planned chain of actions, there is a reset period where you won’t have access to certain abilities. This is where things can get a bit complicated. During the reset period, if you modify your skills appropriately you can still use certain abilities thereby allowing you to constantly be able to attack. This makes it so that in combat you’ll be alternating between planned and live real time attacks.
Adding to the complexity is that skills play multiple roles. Skills can be equipped as an ability but they can also be used to modify other skills. This mixing and matching allows you to customize your skill set. From this setup, you can already see the layers of complexity and depth that will take some time to learn and experiment with.
Another interesting aspect of combat are the skills themselves. Although Red utilizes the Transistor, her abilities are more diverse than what you would expect from a melee type weapon. Throughout the journey Red can acquire various skills. Some of these include the ability to shoot and bounce projectiles, cause clusters of explosions and stun enemies. As discussed earlier, each of these skills can be further augmented to produce different effects depending on the modifier that is added. Altogether this gives a pretty diverse range of abilities that are at the player’s disposal.
Art Design & Music
One of the defining characteristics of Supergiant’s games is the art direction. This is no different in Transistor. There’s a beautiful and imaginative painterly aesthetic to the overall look. The characters and the world are rendered in wonderful and vibrant hues that pull you into this imaginative universe. The characters and the surroundings are unique, charming and memorable.
The music is another core component that draws you in. The soundtrack for Transistor could be an album on its own. It’s a beautiful anthem for the character’s journey through this world filled with challenges and hope. Through song you feel the emotion and soul of the protagonist. It forms a powerful connection that only music can evoke. Moreover, the voice acting is also equally impressive. The overall art direction, music and voice acting display much care and dedication to true artistry and craftsmanship. This is a defining quality of the studio and why so many fans are drawn to their games.
Challenges
The main challenge of the game is understanding its core combat system. Most modern games have refined their on-boarding process to introduce elements to a player that are natural, intuitive and not overwhelming. The combat system here is pretty unique as you don’t often see a combination of turn based action planning and real time combat. Along with the option for skills to be used as abilities or modifiers, and there’s an interesting depth and customization that is available. All this means that it will take some time especially in the early play-through to slow down and understand how these systems work.
Another aspect that can be challenging is how the narrative is told. Although the voice acting is incredible it can be challenging to follow the story. The narrator is intriguing but a lot of the context of what is actually happening here isn’t always explained. Furthermore, with the player trying to learning all the mechanics in the early game can add to some challenges following the story in the early parts of the game.
Closing Thoughts
Transistor is a unique action game with both an active and turn based combat system. Exceptional art direction, music and voice acting are standout features of the title that have long defined Supergiant games. Here you can see much of the building blocks that would eventually lead to other popular titles in their catalgoue. The on-boarding process to understand the system is a bit rough but those who are willing to go through the journey will experience a unique game with a lot of heart and a beautiful soundtrack.
Thanks
Thanks for checking out this article! Neon Vanguard is about curating games in the mobile and indie space. Leading the charge to help you find new games that you are passionate about. If you enjoyed this content, please like, share or subscribe. Your support is greatly appreciated and makes a difference. Interested in other games? Check out our latest reviews.
GAME DETAILS
PLATFORMS: PS4, Nintendo Switch, Windows, OS X, iOS
RELEASE: 2014
DEVELOPER/PUBLISHER: Supergiant Games
GENRE/TAGS: Action RPG, Isometric, Indie, Active and Turn Based Combat, PVE, Story Driven, Music
TARGET AUDIENCE: Action RPG fans that enjoy an unique indie experience
IMAGE CREDIT: Supergiant
Leave a Reply