Transistor Review (PC)

Supergiant Games amazed lots of people with Bastion a few years ago, delivering an isometric brawler with an emphasis on the dynamic narrator, who offered live commentary on the actions of the player, no matter how wacky they were.

For its second big project, the studio didn't play it safe with a Bastion sequel, instead opting to deliver an all-new experience called Transistor, which shares the isometric view but brings a bigger emphasis on action and role-playing mechanics, while eliminating the dynamic narrator.

With a gorgeous art style, battles that can be played in real time or paused, and a unique weapon, Transistor certainly looks like another smash hit.

Can the new game make good on its promises and delight fans or should Supergiant go back to Bastion? Let's find out.

Transistor puts players in the shoes of Red, a singer in the city of Cloudbank who, through a series of events, gets to wield the Transistor, a big sword-like item that employs a variety of functions to take down enemies called The Process.

Play as Red ...

... and take on The Process

While Bastion's dynamic narrator is no more, players are still treated to a voiceover, coming from the actual Transistor, as the item holds the conscience of a man. This adds a new layer of depth to the story and his impromptu connection with Red evolves throughout the campaign.

Transistor may seem, at first glance, as a similar title to Bastion in terms of gameplay, largely due to the isometric view, but it's much, much more.

The game can be played like a real time brawler, like Bastion, but the protagonist, Red, can employ a special mechanic called Turn(), which freezes the battle and allows her to plan out different attacks and movements on the battlefield, up to a certain degree. When you unpause the game, she quickly follows the strategy and wreaks havoc.

While you can certainly enjoy the game while playing in real time and unleashing the attacks one by one, the Turn() system is quite brilliant and elevates the whole experience, adding a great degree of depth and requiring a bit of strategy.

Your adventures in Cloudbank are pretty lengthy, requiring over 6 hours to complete, and thanks to a special backdoor area, you can also engage in different challenge zones that host encounters emphasizing speed, strategy, or survival. You can also choose to engage in the Recursion mode, which acts as a New Game+ experience, restarting the story while keeping your upgrades and improving your foes.

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Enemies are quite varied, ranging from small turrets to levitating beasts and much more. Regular opponents get upgraded throughout the campaign and there are some quite tricky boss encounters, culminating with the end one that will put your mettle to the test.

Dying isn't exactly possible in Transistor, as once your life gauge depletes, you just lose a Transistor function and can continue fighting with the rest that you have equipped.

Speaking of the Transistor, the unique weapon is quite complex. Throughout the game's campaign and as you level up, you gain access to new functions that can act as active skills, upgrades to existing abilities, or provide passive benefits. You can't equip them all at once, as you can have only four active skills, and you have an energy gauge that prohibits you from using more resource-intensive functions.

There's a huge amount of possible combinations and most of them are quite viable, as the game doesn't have any difficulty settings. Those who want a bigger challenge can enlist different Limiters, which are items that augment the abilities of The Process, from enemies dealing more damage to spawning shielded cells when they die, and more. These make the game tougher but also give players more XP.

The visuals are downright gorgeous, with the isometric point of view and the brilliant art style resulting in a beautiful experience. The animations are great as well and you won't notice any bug or problem.

The audio part is also superb, ranging from the awesome soundtrack to the voice of the Transistor, Logan Cunningham, who provides a different performance here than the one from Bastion. Also, whenever you can, hold the Tab button and just listen to Red hum along the current track in a brief moment of solace. It's truly a gorgeous experience.

Use the Turn() system ...

... and improve your Transistor functions

The Good

The Bad

Conclusion