Transistor Reviews

Transistor is ranked in the 95th percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
Unscored
May 22, 2014

The Bastion followup has intriguing characters, great gameplay and a murky story.

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84 / 100
May 22, 2014

People were looking for a really good follow up to Bastion, and that's what they've got here. Transistor is really smart, looks and sounds great, and will leave you wanting more when it's all over.

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8.7 / 10.0
May 22, 2014

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.

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9.5 / 10.0
May 22, 2014

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.

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9.6 / 10.0
May 22, 2014

If you can believe it, Transistor surpasses the quality of Bastion in nearly every respect, making it a near perfect game. Easily the best game of the year so far.

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9 / 10.0
May 22, 2014

Supergiant Games established itself as a remarkable, highly creative studio with the release of 2011's Bastion, and its sophomore effort proves that the development team isn't running short on worthwhile concepts.

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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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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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8.5 / 10.0
May 21, 2014

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.

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May 21, 2014

Transistor is masterful. You'll come for the astonishing art direction and thoughtful storyline, but stay for the sensational combat that continually offers new opportunities and challenges long after your first playthrough comes to an end.

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Digitally Downloaded
Chris I.
Top Critic
May 21, 2014

There's a certain master stroke of genius to Transistor. It's in the way that the city is elaborately dappled to life with dark colours at the onset, yet fades away into a white emptiness. It's an almost Shakespearean-styled tragedy that slowly conjures up catharsis out of the hearts and emotions of its players, and collides with an intertwining of Ayn Rand's ideas around objectivism. Many call Supergiant Games a video game developer, but not me. I call it an artist and Transistor is its work of art. It starts with a oil painting still, filled with beauty, intrigue and mystery. What would happen if you could step inside?

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Unscored
May 20, 2014

So yes, Transistor is slow and annoyingly coy. You shouldn't have to play it twice to perceive all of its lovable quirks. Playing it twice, though, is still preferable to not playing it at all.

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9 / 10.0
May 20, 2014

If you'd told me five years ago that a game of this scope, and this level of polish, would come out of a twelve-person indie studio, I'd have thought you were nuts…but here we are. Transistor is easily one of the best things I've played so far this year, and in a field of games made by hundred-person teams and with hundred-million-dollar budgets, that's an extraordinary feat.

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RPG Site
Top Critic
8 / 10
May 20, 2014

An appealing skill system highlights this gorgeous game

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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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PC Gamer
Top Critic
80 / 100
May 20, 2014

A brilliant and rewarding combat system propels a story that never becomes as interesting as it seemingly should.

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7 / 10
May 20, 2014

Not all of the game's bold ideas are entirely successful but in terms of the visuals, music, and storytelling ambition this is one of the most absorbing indie adventures of the year.

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4.5 / 5.0
May 20, 2014

Like Bastion before it, Transistor is a lovingly crafted game by a dedicated and tight knit group of developers who strive not only to present us with a technically polished title, but one that keeps us interested throughout the entire journey. Though I personally would have liked more of a two-sided relationship between Red and the Transistor, I acknowledge the direction the designers were aiming for. Beyond that, the combat system is the most flexible and empowering I have seen in any game. Having dashed through the story in a mere seven hours, the New Game+ mode called Recursion allows me to keep my level and Functions intact, which is a good thing because there are still dozens of different combinations I'm eager to test out on the newly updated and tougher Process before me. At a bargain twenty dollars, Transistor is a refreshing and original adventure that every gamer should experience.

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Thomas Hugh
Top Critic
8.5 / 10.0
May 20, 2014

Transistor is a rare breed of game where there is not much else to compare it too. It is a shortish adventure but is so well designed that you will most likely want to jump straight back in and unlock that last trophy (yes it has a platinum!). I enjoyed it more than Bastion and can only hope it will lead to a sequel from Supergiant Games.

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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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