Reloading: Painting the town red with Transistor

Time to review a game that’s been out for so long, you probably forgot about it. But with the holiday Steam Sale just around the corner… this seems like an appropriate time to get this out. Transistor… here we go! 

For those who weren’t around for my old personal blog before I transitioned to a “semi-professional” entertainment blog, I once reviewed a game called Bastion and even went so far as to claim it was in my top five games of the year for 2012 (I think that was the year it came out). Since then, I’ve been eagerly awaiting the developer, SuperGiantGames, to push out another game (not necessarily a sequel, but something) to determine if they were a one-hit-wonder or if they knew what they were doing. Bastion was a great game with lots of great art, music, and very simple but deep combat that I was happy to spend hours just messing around with. (Hint: Go check it out).

This year, we were given Transistor. It bares MANY similarities to Bastion. Both are isometric action games for the most part where you wield some kind of weapon to take out a large array of assorted monsters across many different areas while the world is in some kind of vague peril. Your entire adventure is narrated by a disembodied voice who knows more than you or the character you’re playing, and slowly drip-feeds you information with some of the best quality voice acting in games. It’s also very stylized towards the narrative and world of the game in terms of visuals (meaning it’s very pretty). And there are several mechanics that carry over (but have a different name) from Bastion.

Okay… so what’s different?

The plot of Transistor starts in much of the same way where you don’t know shit and the game is very in medias res (meaning you’re just dropped into the middle of whatever disaster is going on). You play female protagonist, Red. She is a mute singer whose voice was stolen when she was recently attacked by an assassin (or something) working for the Camerata. Her body guard took the hit and his consciousness was trapped within the weapon they were assaulted with, the Transistor (roll credits). And so he basically does all the narration for the game (again, like Bastion or to a lesser extent, like Legend of Zelda but less annoying).

The city of Cloudbank (where most of the game takes place) is being taken over by a strange lifeform called “The Process” which are basically a hive-mind robotic lifeform slowly transforming the city into its own world. Their weakness? The Transistor. Their target? You. You must fight them with your new weapon/friend in hand, find their source, and put an end to their destruction before the people of Cloudbank are all wiped out. Along the way, you’ll encounter other citizens of Cloudbank (some of which work for the Camerata) and they’ll offer boss fights and upgrades to either hinder or aid your progress.

Combat shares some similarities to Bastion, but is approached differently here in Transistor. You can go around smacking shit with your sword, but you need to spec out your weapon properly with the upgrades you receive to give it attacks to use or it can’t do anything. Red also isn’t as fast as The Kid, and doesn’t have a dodge move that I’m aware of. Meaning you have to use the new mechanic introduced in this game to give yourself an edge, called “The Turn”.

Using “The Turn” will pause the game and allow you to plan out your moves (both movement and attacks) against the enemies. You have a set amount of time for “The Turn” and all movement and attacks take up a percentage of that time. So it’s like a strategy game button which I like, but upgrades come slowly, making it hard to improve the ability of this until later in the game. But for those who need to slow down because things are happening too fast around them, this is a nice ability to give yourself a breather and figure a way out of a rough fight.

As I said earlier, you get upgrades (abilities) throughout the game. I don’t know the full amount of upgrades you can have, but there’s clearly a lot as there are many upgrade slots on your weapon. You have three different kinds of slots (active, upgrade, and passive) and all abilities can be equipped, de-equipped, and shuffled around to help make all new kinds of moves combos and abilities to give you an edge in battle.

For example, you have a basic “Crash” move to start the game which stuns targets when hit. But you can give it an upgrade ability to let it split into three attacks, allowing it to hit multiple close-range targets. You can add a second upgrade ability to then let it do damage over time on top of that or create explosions. And that’s just with three powers alone. Passive abilities are just things active all the time (such as regeneration or creating allies from downed enemies) and don’t require you to attack to function (technically). This adds lots of variety to combat and can extend your time with the game by many hours for subsequent playthroughs to try new combos and abilities.

There are also “Limiters” which are passive effects that make enemies stronger, but allow you to gain more experience. This is very similar to the “Totems” in Bastion which did basically the same thing. I play with these for a bit and it wasn’t bad, but some can really slow down your progress if you aren’t prepared for enemies with additional shields or higher speeds. But it’s another fun way to get a little more time out of the game.

 Unlike Bastion, there isn’t a choice near the end that allows you to determine the fate of the world. There is only one ending and it’s actually bittersweet. I won’t spoil it here, but let’s just say the game certainly leans on the romantic side of things. The story is a mixture of mystery, romance, and light-action in a sci-fi inspired world. But, unlike most games you’re likely familiar with, the story isn’t presented all up front in cutscenes or dialogues. You have to seek it out.

Every “ability” you get comes from the consciousness of a person that the Transistor absorbs. And by using the ability in different slots (promoting changing up your combos) you can unlock lore behind the character who the ability came from. Through their lore, you can learn more about the world of Cloudbank, how they met their untimely fate, and what they may have meant to Red in life, including Red herself.

As you would expect from a SuperGiantGame title, the artwork is still as beautiful as ever and the soundtrack is among the best in games I’ve heard this year. It’s very subtle, but a lot of work went into making it sound unique and giving it a voice fitting the character (just listen to those end credits). The game is short, sweet, and (at times) sad. But there’s a lot to love and while it isn’t perfect, it’s still a standout title that most who just want a short adventure can enjoy.

That’s all for today. I hope you enjoyed the review. We have several other indie game reviews coming your way soon. I can’t afford all the big AAA games for reviews, but I have a nice catalogue of indie games available which are not only short enough to get through before the end of the year (for my personal GOTY awards) but also cheap enough where I can actually afford more than just one.

If you enjoyed the review and want to see more like it, please be sure to like, comment, share and subscribe. We’ll be back soon with more reviews along the way. We’re hoping to AT LEAST hit the following before 2014 is up (Five Nights At Freddy’s, One Finger Death Punch, Hand of Fate, and Daylight). If we can get more, we’ll certainly try. See ya next time!