So yeah, we're reviewing an electrical component today known as a transistor.
.....
I was kidding.
To start, Transistor takes place in disaster that's already happening(Supergiant really seem to dislike worlds) in the fictional city of Couldbank. The main character of the game is a red-haired women creatively named Red, who had a stunning singing voice but lost it. The game opens in medias res,with her standing in front of a poor bloke who's probably had better days.
You know, considering he's dead by means of sword to the gut.
Well, he's physically dead anyway. Soon, the sword speaks to Red and tells her to help him out, and the voice apparently knows her. It doesn't take a genius to figure out the man's soul is now in the sword.
After pulling it out and facing off against odd mechanical forces known as The Process, they head out to find the members of a group called The Camerata, who are apparently the cause of all this and are the reason she's lost her voice.
It's gameplay may invoke comparisons to Bastion due to the similar isometric view and free movement at first glace. Unlike Bastion though, you don't check back to no 'hub' area and there are no currencies for upgrades. Instead, it's all just you leveling up to gain abilities and perks.
The combat would be something I would best described as real-time turn-based combat, in the sense that you can fight in real time within a confined battle space using The Transistor's various "Functions", though they each have a varying activation time, making some attacks feel unsafe to use in combat. That's where the "turn-based" part comes in.
TOKI WA TOMARE(TIME STOPS)
Red can utilize a "Turn" during combat, freezing time around her(minus the terrible photoshop in) to plan a chain of actions or attacks which will be executed in EXTREMELY quick succession once she exits the planning phase. The actions(Which include moving) are limited by a blue bar that appears on the top of the screen that fills up depending on the action/attack. After using a "Turn", however, she must wait for it to recharge. Something worth noting is how the Functions don't simply work as attacks.
(Note: The number of open upgrade slots and memory shown is only upon hitting higher levels)
A "Function" can work as one of 3 things: An active attack, an argumentation to another attack or a passive effect. Each Function would take up a certain amount of memory, however.
Example of an argumentation to an active Function using another.
Another thing about the Functions is the fact that they all source from people's souls. This is also where the game gets its story and world building done. Kind of. Every paragraph needs to be unlocked buy using them in every slot at least once(I.E As an active, an argumentation and a passive).
Using Breach as an example since it spoils the least.
Transistor's answer to Bastion's hub is The Sandbox, which can only be accessed via certain 'Backdoors' scattered through the game. In Sandbox, players can access 3 kinds of challenges and a Practice mode to test builds. The challenges include a time attack, killing off all enemies in 1 Turn or simply surviving. These challenges provide extra experience points as well as unlocking new music to be played on the Sandbox's music player.
Transistor's artstyle for it's world is almost similar to that of Bastion, only with futuristic architecture in mind. The characters are also more proportionate as to Bastion's. Due to the fact that the game doesn't depend on any currency for upgrades, it doesn't feel as much of a grind as Bastion is. As with Bastion, the game has it's own form of Idols to ramp up the difficulty should players feel the game needs more teeth.
The ability building with the Functions really encourages quite the bit of experimentation and feels much more organic, granting a good sense of achievement to oneself considering that however far the player has managed, it was due to a personal build they've created. The amount of slots also make it so that most Functions would be used up and not feel as wasted. What makes a nice(If not creepy) touch is that enemies would start having similar abilities as you, in which makes terrifying sense the moment a certain plot point is revealed.
Controls, be it when a player uses a game controller or keyboard and mouse, feel very comfortable to use. When using a controller, the game provides a snap-on to enemies to make up for the issue of aiming using the joystick.
The various songs are sang by Ashley Barrett, whom some may recall from Bastion. As for instruments used, the tracks use more electrical instruments along side more traditional ones such as the harp and accordion. The vocal tend to convey more of the situation or probably how Red feels during the time a certain track is played.
BUT
The combat has certain issues. As much as the game does tell a player about the damage dealt when they execute the plan, that is under the assumption that ALL the attacks land. Which is a problem as some attacks cause knockback or massive changes in the enemy position. And the game does not calculate that. The game also requires the player to pick up Cells dropped from enemies after defeat. If a Cell is not retrieved after a time limit, the enemy would respawn. The problem with this is that if an enemy somehow gets knocked out of the confined battle space, collecting the cell would be impossible, thus forcing a revert to the last savepoint before the battle.
Finally, possibly the biggest and most odd thing is that Active Functions also work as your 'lives'. If your health is completely depleted, you lose a Function. As much as some might argue that makes a challenge, I'd say it's more akin to being told to run with a sprained leg while an angry dog is chasing you.
There also seems to be a sense of missed potential to use the Turns and Functions for puzzle-solving or exploration.
The game also comes up short in the aspect of story and structuring. On the first playthough, it was rather difficult to process the torrent of information fed in one go. It was only with a second one that I could better grasp the events that conspired. The backstory of each Function's soul are very much detached from one another.Limiting the Sandbox to 'Backdoors' feels rather restrictive. It should have been an area freely accessable at any point of the game.
And finally the ending
Well
It's hard to describe what to feel about that ending.
For $25 dollars, it does seem rather extravagant. I would advise waiting for a price drop or sale, though if paid full price for, it would feel like you were cheated. The game does give off the vibe it could have been better.
.......Before we all become oneeeeee
Ruuuuun
Controls, be it when a player uses a game controller or keyboard and mouse, feel very comfortable to use. When using a controller, the game provides a snap-on to enemies to make up for the issue of aiming using the joystick.
The various songs are sang by Ashley Barrett, whom some may recall from Bastion. As for instruments used, the tracks use more electrical instruments along side more traditional ones such as the harp and accordion. The vocal tend to convey more of the situation or probably how Red feels during the time a certain track is played.
BUT
The combat has certain issues. As much as the game does tell a player about the damage dealt when they execute the plan, that is under the assumption that ALL the attacks land. Which is a problem as some attacks cause knockback or massive changes in the enemy position. And the game does not calculate that. The game also requires the player to pick up Cells dropped from enemies after defeat. If a Cell is not retrieved after a time limit, the enemy would respawn. The problem with this is that if an enemy somehow gets knocked out of the confined battle space, collecting the cell would be impossible, thus forcing a revert to the last savepoint before the battle.
There also seems to be a sense of missed potential to use the Turns and Functions for puzzle-solving or exploration.
The game also comes up short in the aspect of story and structuring. On the first playthough, it was rather difficult to process the torrent of information fed in one go. It was only with a second one that I could better grasp the events that conspired. The backstory of each Function's soul are very much detached from one another.Limiting the Sandbox to 'Backdoors' feels rather restrictive. It should have been an area freely accessable at any point of the game.
And finally the ending
Well
It's hard to describe what to feel about that ending.
For $25 dollars, it does seem rather extravagant. I would advise waiting for a price drop or sale, though if paid full price for, it would feel like you were cheated. The game does give off the vibe it could have been better.
.......Before we all become oneeeeee
Ruuuuun
review maxpayne 3 next wayjie or i will be sad
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