Transistor Reviews
Add to this the strengths of the world that has been created, Darren Korb's soundtrack, the charm of Ashley Barrett's voice, and the clever story that unfolds, and Transistor is a near essential game to own on PS4.
Bastion certainly wasn't a fluke. Transistor cements Supergiant Games as one of the sharpest, most stylish, and unique small developers. Though some of its flourishes aren't quite as fresh the second time around, Transistor speaks with a unique creative identity, mostly successfully refreshes solid RPG mechanics, and tells a poignant story worth experiencing.
Despite some reservations with the ending, Transistor is captivating in ways that few other games can manage. It creates a place that we wanted to be a part of, learn more about, and most importantly didn't want to leave. Transistor isn't something you'll forget about immediately after finishing it. Instead, it's one that you'll wish you could play again for the first time.
Supergiant Games' follow-up to the critically acclaimed Bastion is doggedly, aggravatingly abstruse in both narrative and game design
While the combat system itself is the real star of Transistor, Red's journey through Cloudbank is definitely one worth taking.
Editor's Note – Check out our interview with Transistor's Creative Director.
It isn't a bad story, with plenty of intrigue from its setting and characters. The issue comes in when it tries to take a leap into the realm of allegory, where it never ties itself together thematically in a satisfying way. In that way, Transistor is like a virtual croissant. It is layered and delicious, but there is a lingering airy emptiness to it that makes it hard to fill up on just one.
Players looking for a very artistic world with unique narration and an amazing soundtrack, you have just found it. Strategy fans will have a great time taking on the combat, and anyone looking for a great game for $20 should not pass this up. Transistor has the style along with the game play that makes this a must own for many.
The enticing narrative, interlaced with gripping story-mechanics, all culminating in a fittingly poignant finale make Transistor a game that deserves to find its home in as many PlayStation 4's as possible.
Transistor is an absolute triumph: a stunning sensory experience that buoys its lofty ambitions on a rock solid strategic core. It spins a tale of love, technology, and political and social unrest that speeds confidently towards a magnificent crescendo. What's more, the razor sharp combat remains thrilling throughout, and the visuals and music display an almost superhuman level of polish. While niggling complaints can certainly be levelled at the gorgeous indie, a trip to Cloudbank comes highly recommended.
While it has the capabilities, it probably won't appeal to those looking for twitch-action or puzzles. Still it deserves a chance to steal your heart, just as it stole mine. The only thing missing is more content.
Transistor is one of my favorite games of the past year, easy. Without being weird and unrecognizable as a video game, Transistor turns many video game tropes on their heads—subtley. It also features an excellently written and likable narrator, a fully realized and meaningfully motivated female protagonist, a twist on the tired old tech tree of yore, a soundtrack that's integral to the storytelling fabric of the game, and a complex enemy composed of cowards, contemporaries, and anything-but-bloodthirsty rivals. There's not a note, pixel, or line of dialog out of place.
My biggest wish is for more of this game, a sequel or some DLC, because I want to see this world continued, and I want to play the combat until my thumbs bleed. I'm disappointed in its short play-length, but it can't be said enough that Transistor is a beautiful and unique RPG that every gamer should play. I can hardly wait to see what Supergiant will come up with next.
With the emergence of Transistor and Child of Light from earlier this year, it's getting harder and harder to argue that video games are merely there for entertainment and have no artistic value at all. Transistor strikes a fine balance between being an enjoyable video game and a cyberpunk piece of art.
The experience of Transistor is lush and enjoyable. It is a beautiful game with some truly excellent mechanics. Unfortunately, its story and lack of character development through gameplay brings the rest of the game down - but not by much.
Transistor is ripe with potential, but in the end, it just doesn't rise to the occasion, and thus prevents itself from becoming greater than the sum of its parts.
Like Bastion before it, Transistor is a pleasure to play and an involving experience from start to finish. Its mature story and evolving combat will keep you engaged to the very end, and have you longing for more.
Supergiant has made it clear that stories are important to them. Players seeking a game with strategic combat and simply a great, unique story need not look any further than Transistor.
As in Bastion, you'll gain the option of increasing the difficulty in exchange for more experience, and the soundtrack and narration is surprisingly on par with the previously high bar set by Supergiant Games.