Transistor Reviews
With Transistor, Supergiant Games created a beautiful, unique and enjoyable world. Unfortunately, the game is so focused that you're not offered the opportunity to really explore or experience this world.
Transistor, from start to finish, is immersive, charming, emotional, imaginative, the list goes on. This is a true gem, not to be missed. The one real regret is that it had to end eventually. I knew this, but so badly did I want it to last just a little longer. Just one more encounter. One more conversation. One more touching moment. Just one more, just a little longer. As an experience, it would be impossible to forget. Emotionally, few games have left such a lingering impact. It has so much to share and will make your imagination run satisfyingly wild. It pains me to judge this game professionally, giving it a 4.5 (closer to 4.8) instead of the 5 that I so wish to give it. I genuinely want to forget its few tiny flaws; this is how much I love this game. It may not be flawless, but that doesn’t take away from its sheer magnificence. Transistor is an absolute masterpiece.
Transistor is a short game, but intense and very fun. Its playable proposal hooks and its duration is just so that it does not get heavy, although if your combat system catches you (which is very easy to happen) you will be wanting much more. The narrative is very good and is perfectly integrated into the development of the game, sometimes very evident and other times very subtle. It is an excellent game with few buts and really hard not to recommend. It compensates for its short duration with the intensity and quality of its hours.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Transistor is a beautiful game with a fun, addictive progression and combat systems.
Supergiant Games has done a great job with their follow-up to the acclaimed Bastion by putting out a unique take on the strategy RPG genre that we haven’t seen since Valkyria Chronicles infused third-person shooter controls into the traditional strategy RPG mechanics.
It may start off feeling pompous and arrogant, but give it enough time and you'll start to uncover a deeply sophisticated world, supported by a brilliant story, and solid, dynamic gameplay.
Transistor is a worthy follow up to one of the most revered indie games of the last generation. Supergiant have taken a formula that works really well and applied a truly gorgeous art direction to it, with an incredibly deep combat system to boot. It's a game that is well worth your time, and with the big AAA game drought heading our way over summer, it's a perfect title to sink your teeth into for a few hours and just let it wash over you.
Transistor left me floored.
Overall, despite my criticisms, Transistor is a game that is definitely worth your time. If you're a person who loves an interesting story, amazing soundtrack, beautiful visuals, and cheap games (it's only $20 on Steam) then there is no reason why you shouldn't be playing this. After you beat it, you could even have some more fun and join the long and vast discussions about the game's story on Reddit and YouTube, to name a few places. Or not, your choice!
With excellent music, beautifully drawn levels, and a story that jerks at the heartstrings, Transistor is a great game that will surely leave you satisfied and wanting to play through it a second time.
Between the somewhat different way that its story and details reveal themselves, the terrific music and visuals, and the custom-catered abilities you’ll use in challenging combat Transistor is a satisfying cyberpunk romp. No matter how powerful you may feel the Process continues to send new enemies and scenarios at you so you’ll need to experiment and adapt, keeping everything engaging throughout. While the story feels like it’s over a bit too soon it’s a satisfying ride and if you want even more challenging combat you then always have the Sandbox and New Game + to indulge in.
There's not a single area in which Transistor doesn't shine beautifully. It is objectively short and very linear which many will see as a negative, but it really works to make a tight package in Transistor's case.
As pretty as the game looks and sounds, it just doesn't make up for shallow gameplay and a story that really fell flat for me in the end. At least I was able to complete it in six hours, so the tedium didn't last for that long.
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.
Of Supergiant's two games, 'Transistor' is second-best. I'll always commend a studio for opting to be different, and in some ways it pays off for Supergiant, while in others it doesn't. The combat system is compelling at first, but generally not balanced enough to compel me to keep going in a second playthrough. The story is at first mysterious but eventually underwhelming, despite a strong emotional core in its two lead characters, and the city of Cloudbank shines brightly in just one way, and so feels dull after about an hour.
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.
Despite following in Bastion's footsteps, Transistor doesn't quite manage to deliver as compelling and memorable an experience, even though it has clearly been crafted with such heartfelt intent. Whilst the premise is full of mystery and intrigue, during the course of the short story it never really draws players in as it would have many people believe after its promising start. A case of style over substance, but still a game that deserves the attention of those after something original and rather beautiful - only wait till it goes on sale first.
Transistor is an early contender for one of the most engaging games of the year. It isn't Bastion 2, since it's more of a straight RPG than an action game, and the tone, characters and setting are quite different. It manages to craft an engaging and exciting RPG experience mixed with a simple but curiously enticing story, and its biggest sin is being over too soon. It won't necessarily appeal to all of Bastion's fans, but Transistor shows that Supergiant Games isn't just a one-hit wonder and is capable of crafting an entirely different kind of game experience that is still exciting and delightful.
Everything about the game shows it has been made with love and affection, it has the visuals to impress anyone that lays eyes on it, but also some really well balanced gameplay to dig its claws in and keep you hooked.
Just as I see Supergiant's uneasiness exercised in the mechanics and themes of Bastion, I cannot help but find Transistor's obsession with performativity a bit telling of its creators' desire to break the sophomore slump.