Before I start playing an indie game, I usually expect it to be a pure gaming experience. And what I mean by that is that a group of people get together, that are passionate about games and create wonderful games. Indi games are usually niche games that appeal only to most hardcore gamers, because the developers are like that themselves and know how to target those people. Transistor is not the kind of game that I would just show to any kind of gamer and expect to love it and that is fine, to each their own I say, but damn...what a shame.
Transistor is a 3-D isometrical action adventure game with light RPG elements. Developed by Supergiant Games, the makers of Bastion. The game is very story driven and the plot goes like this. You start of and all you know is that you play a lady named Red, who was a singer and has lost her voice and wields a magical sword, the Transistor which talks, because a soul has been trapped in there. You go around and you face some sort of mechanical creatures. And that's all I can tell you without spoiling anything, the rest is up to you to discover. Here is my first big positive about the game. The game never tells you the story directly. It just gives you pieces of the puzzle and you have to put them together yourself. You have to try hard, to understand it and pay attention to every line. This sounds like pain, but it's very satisfying. It feels mysterious as you have to reach for it and is very rewarding when you uncover it yourself. What makes this storytelling great is that the story itself is very interesting. I finished the game and there was still a lot I didn’t understand. But I felt so compelled by it that I immediately had to go on the internet and look for details. If you pay attention you will know the majority, but there are still going to be pieces of the puzzle missing, unless you are Sherlock.
The thing that compliments the story very nicely is the art style and the setting. I immediately fell in love with the world. It's a colorful utopia, set in the future. It's nothing I have ever seen before, but maybe it reminds me a bit of cyber punk. Transistor is such a beautiful looking games that, many times I just stopped playing, got goosebumps and said to myself »Damn, this game is gorgeous«. I'd say this is one of the most beautiful games I've seen in a while.
Another ingredient that was added to the mix, which makes the world and the story of transistor, is the sound. There are not many voice actors in the game. Red doesn't have a voice and a part from occasional other characters, most of the story is narrated by the Transistor. He talks to us, he makes comments on the situations and he is telling us what is happening. I have to say, for what there was, voice acting was nothing short of phenomenal. But when I say sound I really mean music, which is just as strong as the story and the world. Instrumental songs are played constantly through the entire game and every soundtrack fitted perfectly into the action. It's so nice, relaxing and sometimes mysterious. It felt so good, traversing this land and constantly hearing to absolutely fantastic music. My ears just could not get enough of it. I loved the music of one area so much that I didn't want to leave it, but when I finally did, I was shocked to find out, that the music in the next area was even better. Oh, and did I mention the »Hummm« button. Red can't talk but she can still »Hummm«. You can stop, press he right button for »Hummm« and have an eargasem. Got to love the »Hummm« button man.
So everything is very good, but that is not what makes the game very good. In order to have a very good game, it has to play very good. So does it play very good? Yes, yes and yes. The gameplay is fantastic. Apart from a lot of walking around and exploring, you are going to spent your tie fighting the, whatever they are. I'm just going to call them monsters. You step in the combat zones and you can't leave until you deal with all the threats. There are two ways you can deal with them. In real time or you can stop the time and do some planning and then execute all the attacks. Every way has its own advantage and disadvantages and I'm going to explain them to you. You have 4 attacks, which are mapped to your hot keys. In real-time, you can select the attacks and just attack the enemy endlessly. There is no cool down to most of the attacks (there are a few of them with cool down) so that is a viable way to deal with them. The bad side of this way is that it's harder to dodge the attacks, and you can fall quickly. In planning mode, which is called entering the »Turn«, you stop the time and then you have a bar at the top, which limits you how many attacks you can do. You select the attack and then Red executes them in slow motion and then it goes real time again. So for example: Your turn is 100 units worth; you can select 4 attacks for 25 units and then execute it. Moving around also takes up your Turn meter when in Turn mode. What I really liked instantly, is that if for example, you select an attack that takes 99% of your Turn meter and there is 1% left, you can still choose any attack, so you can use another one of those 99% attacks. There are no actions that can take 99% of your Turn away, but there are some that take up half. The consequences you face are, that when you finish your Turn you are exposed for 5 seconds and you can do nothing but move around and use dash so you are completely vulnerable after it and let me tell you, that health bar of yours depletes very fast, so 5 seconds is a lot and that can be lethal. My favorite was the combination of both. Knowing that I couldn't fit everything in Turn, I attacked with an attack that takes up a lot of the meter and then entered Turn. Or when I was in a good position where enemies couldn't reach me I just destroyed them with range attacks. Otherwise I don't think that real-time only combat is viable enough and you have to use Turn when going up against stronger enemies. With that said, I loved the mechanic a lot. I like planning my attacks, and figuring out how to deal max damage. I haven't seen this system anywhere else, so the combat was something new and refreshing. And it never felt as a chore.
What makes the combat more complex are abilities and attacks and customizing it in your favor. Every time you reach a new level you can chose a new ability/attack and new upgrade for your abilities. Upgrades are or, a new slot for your passive ability/attack, more memory, so you can equip them or a new upgrade slot for your abilities (each slot has up to 2 slots). Sounds complicated? It is and that's good. So you have 4 slots, and on every slot there are 2 slots to upgrade them. There are also up to 4 slots for passive abilities. What makes this interesting, that every ability, can serve every purpose. You can use it for attack, upgrade or passive. Total, I got 15 abilities in my 1st playthrough. Some you find, and some you acquire with leveling up. I finished the game on level 10. You can shape the way you play the game to your liking and there are a lot of options. Options are good.
Conclusion
So with everything I said, would I call this game a masterpiece? No, but it's very close to one. It's really hard to find faults in Transistor. If I had to nitpick, I would say it’s a bit short. I finished it in 6 hours. But every second is beyond good. The last 20 minutes were dragging just a bit. But it gave me a lot of story info and the ending was very fulfilling. I don't know what else to say. Everything compliments everything. The story, storytelling, characters, voice acting, music, the world, art style and most importantly complex gameplay. The game speaks for itself. If there is one word I would use to describe Transistor, its art.
Final score:
+ The music
+ Innovative and refreshing gameplay
+ Storytelling
+ Colorful art style
+ The F-ing »Hummm« button
9 SUPERB