Transistor Reviews

Transistor is ranked in the 95th percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
9 / 10
May 19, 2014

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.

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9 / 10.0
May 24, 2014

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.

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Drew Leachman
Top Critic
9.5 / 10.0
May 20, 2014

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.

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9 / 10.0
Jun 24, 2014

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.

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May 19, 2014

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.

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May 19, 2014

Sometimes frustrating in terms of both gameplay and narrative, Transistor manages to be a redolent title with a ton of imagination. While not quite as clever as its presentation suggests, it's a pretty little title that ends on a beautifully bittersweet note.

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May 26, 2014

It may seem less of a fairy tale, but it's still one accomplished story. And with gameplay that is both approachable and engaging without sacrificing depth, the team at Supergiant have shown that they're just getting started.

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Unscored
May 20, 2014
► WTF Is... - Transistor ? video thumbnail
Unscored
May 20, 2014

I do not believe Transistor is everything it could've been, but it's still close enough that I won't hesitate to recommend it to basically anybody. I critique because I love, and that second part is especially true in this case. Transistor's got brains, heart, and a knack for always knowing just what to say and when to say it. And also, perhaps more importantly, it knows precisely when it's better to say nothing at all.

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5.5 / 10.0
May 21, 2014

Supergiant Games' follow-up to the critically acclaimed Bastion is doggedly, aggravatingly abstruse in both narrative and game design

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May 22, 2014

Innovative gameplay and beautiful art and music make “Transistor” a must-play for a variety of gamers.

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75 / 100
May 19, 2014

Transistor is beautiful and engaging with a brilliant combat systems that encourages careful planning before and during battle. It's just a shame the story holds it back from being a true classic. It's a more flawed experience than Bastion was, but it's also a more interesting one. It takes risks. It ditches Bastion's charm and lighter moments for a darker, more somber story. Not all of the risks, however, pay off.

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10 / 10.0
May 20, 2014

It may be slightly too complex in parts for the more casual gamers out there, but it's full of clever ideas, and every area has had attention lavished upon it. Transistor is comfortably one of the best games of 2014 so far, and Supergiant deserve the plaudits yet again for a job well done.

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May 25, 2014

While the combat system itself is the real star of Transistor, Red's journey through Cloudbank is definitely one worth taking.

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8 / 10
May 20, 2014

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.

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10 / 10.0
May 20, 2014

SuperGiant has created a world brimming with sophistication, mysteries, and tech-heavy sci-fi charm. It's a world with serious staying power should they decide to revisit it. It meets and then promptly blows right past every high watermark you'd expect a digitally downloadable title to reach.

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9 / 10.0
May 19, 2014

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.

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9 / 10
May 20, 2014

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.

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May 19, 2014

Taking its name from one of the greatest technological inventions of the 20th century, Transistor is unequivocally one of the greatest games this year.

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8.5 / 10.0
May 20, 2014

Still, it's worth trying; the world of Cloudbank is a wonder to behold and the mystery of the Camarata, the Process, and the Transistor itself is something that is really worth exploring. 

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