Transistor | Cheerful Ghost

Transistor - See You in the Country

"Transistor is a sci-fi themed action RPG that invites players to wield an extraordinary weapon of unknown origin as they fight through a stunning futuristic city."

Transistor is richly decorated, savory/sweet, ear, eye and soul candy. It even tastes good. Yeah, I licked my screen. It hurt a little, but it was delicious.

No, I didn’t really lick my screen. But I want to. I want to immerse into Transistor with as many senses as I have. For how barren the world is, Transistor absolutely drips with life. A world of death, where everything is alive. Lonely, but not alone. You don't really quite know what's going on at the start, but you get the feeling that you are caught... Read All "Transistor is a sci-fi themed action RPG that invites players to wield an extraordinary weapon of unknown origin as they fight through a stunning futuristic city."

Transistor is richly decorated, savory/sweet, ear, eye and soul candy. It even tastes good. Yeah, I licked my screen. It hurt a little, but it was delicious.

No, I didn’t really lick my screen. But I want to. I want to immerse into Transistor with as many senses as I have. For how barren the world is, Transistor absolutely drips with life. A world of death, where everything is alive. Lonely, but not alone. You don't really quite know what's going on at the start, but you get the feeling that you are caught up in the middle of something. Something big. You see a man lying on the street with an odd weapon stuck in his chest. The Transistor. It calls you Red, tells you to pull it from him. When it speaks to you, it seems to know you. You take to the streets to try to find answers. There are interactive kiosks scattered about, offering news updates, citizen polling, weather predictions... Sometimes Red will interact by posting a comment for the city to read, which can give keen insight into what she's going through, emotionally. A pseudo-multiplayer experience exists, somewhat similar to Dark Souls, where you see the ghosts of other players skittering through the streets. There are also in-games statistics that seem to represent global activity in certain polls or weapon use percentages, but I wasn’t able to verify whether this is actually tied to global statistics, or just made to represent such a thing. Either way, even an echo of life can be reassuring when you’re fighting alone. Story information is fed to you from the environment, from Functions you equip - offensive and defensive executable actions - and even from the enemies. They all join together, in a very synergetic way, to flesh out the mystery of this ghost town known as Cloudbank. This is one of the things I love most about Transistor, how it unravels it’s mysteries.

Style plays just as much a part in telling the story, too. Since there aren’t really many people around town, to speak of, the change in tone and color, in the design of the layout, can go to significant lengths to convey poignant emotion. Music and other sound cues are also masterfully designed. Logan Cunningham, known for his voice work in Bastion, developer Supergiant Games’ previous debut hit, returns as the voice of the Transistor, giving sometimes cryptic, but often specifically contextual, commentary on what transpires here. This voice reminds me of all the good things about Elizabeth in Bioshock Infinite. Very little to do with impacting your direct gameplay, but a constant presence with significant influence on how you participate with the game. The Voice is very much the soul of the experience.

Not your typical RPG, Supergiant has successfully combined party management, ability management, and ability modification, all within the same mechanic. That is to say, your abilities (Functions) are imbued by the spirits (called Traces) of the party member that hosts it, and when you combine said abilities, you not only kick a little more ass, but also learn more about your party members situation. It plays out in a more simplified fashion, but I found it clever, and it works really well. If you want the full story, you have to accept the challenge of trying out different Function combinations. You’ll unlock most Functions as you level up, but some will come in other, more story-driven ways. While I’m on the topic, if you fall to zero health in battle, rather than die, you’ll temporarily lose an assigned Function, and then your life bar is filled back to full, and then the process continues (pun intended). Now you finish the fight, but with less of a punch. Oh, and the Functions are lost by priority of most powerful. Makes for interesting challenges when assembling your arsenal. Go with one heavy hitter and a few light backups, and you’ll find yourself quite underpowered should you take a fall. All ability assignment and modification is managed at save points, which are, thankfully, abundant. Your lost Functions will eventually be recovered here as well. You’ll also unlock Limiters, which are fancy trinkets that allow you to modify the combat challenge.

I highly recommend Transistor to anyone looking for a soulful, strategic, action combat adventure. If you do pick it up, words of advice: Soak it all in. Pay attention to the voice(s). Play with headphones. Play with a controller (if you get it on Steam, like I did). Play in the evening, and if you’re lucky, when it’s raining. Sea Monster is really the only option. Read between the lines. Play with Luna. Stick around after the credits. Play it twice (the Recourse allows continued use of retained Functions, and leveling up, as well as subtle story changes). This isn’t Bastion, and it doesn’t try to be. This is a good thing. Don’t be sad. This is a good thing.

Travis Admin wrote on 05/30/2014 at 02:00pm

I didn't realize this was out! I need to get this. After Bastion I have a lot of trust in SuperGiant Games.

AdamPFarnsworth wrote on 05/30/2014 at 03:02pm

This sounds really cool. I only read about half your post, as I want to get into the game knowing nothing about it. But I will definitely have to check this one out!

scrypt Supporter Post Author wrote on 05/30/2014 at 04:41pm

@Adym: I tried to be vague, or intentionally cryptic, with things that had to do with actual story, and anything that is specific happens literally within the first minute of the game. Figuring everything out, even the mechanics, is part of the fun, too, so I respect that :).

Travis Admin wrote on 05/31/2014 at 01:37am

Also it's worth noting, this game will be coming to Mac and Linux later on, if you swing that way.

Travis Admin wrote on 05/31/2014 at 05:01am

I'm a little over an hour in, and loving it. It's nice to have Logan Cunningham back as a kind of narrator, though in a very different way, and a very different character.

The game is absolutely beautiful, and the soundtrack just blows me away.

scrypt Supporter Post Author wrote on 05/31/2014 at 03:23pm

I was thinking of springing for the soundtrack, but for some reason it didn't sound as good to me outside of the game. I'm assuming I was just in a mood, or something, because it really is an amazing set of songs. You can listen completely, and repeatedly, to the whole thing for free on Spotify: https://play.spotify.com/album/3vrhY9tG4lA8Z16LVGqok5

jdodson Admin wrote on 06/03/2014 at 12:39am

Really interested in picking up something after Wolfenstein and this looks like a great candidate. Super Giant seems to always drop their games for Mac & Linux a bit later so I imagine they will port it at some point.

That said, this seems like a couch laptop game.

Does it work with a controller?

scrypt Supporter Post Author wrote on 06/03/2014 at 01:43am

My opinion, it works best with a controller.

jdodson Admin wrote on 06/03/2014 at 01:51am

That's great. The game seems to be suited best for it too.

Travis Admin wrote on 06/03/2014 at 02:23am

Jon, see my comment from a few days ago-- they have announced that it's coming out for Mac and Linux, it's just not ready yet.

jdodson Admin wrote on 06/03/2014 at 02:24am

NICE! Maybe i'll wait till it comes native then.

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Transistor, the next game from Supergiant, drops May 20

Transistor is a sci-fi themed action RPG that invites players to wield an extraordinary weapon of unknown origin as they fight through a stunning futuristic city.

I've been looking forward to Transistor for a year now, I'm glad to see that it's finally got a release date. You can pick it up May 20 on PSN (Playstation 4 only) or Steam.

Transistor is being developed by Supergiant Games, the creators of the masterpiece and indie darling, Bastion. It looks like a very beautifully styled isometric ARPG, and while we certainly aren't hurting for isometric ARPGs these days, Transistor seems to be bringing some new hotness to the table.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 04/10/2014 at 06:14pm

Important to note that the May 20 PSN release is only for Playstation 4. At least next-gen adopters will finally have some love rolling their way.

This is one of my most anticipated games coming out this year. Didn't get the chance to play it at PAX Prime last year, but watching the demos was enough to expect good fun. Can't wait!

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 04/10/2014 at 07:28pm

Yes, thanks. I'll update my post now.

jdodson Admin wrote on 04/11/2014 at 01:54am

PS4 only at first huh? That kind of makes sense but I think i'll wait to play it.

I heard Jonathan Blow's The Witness will get the exclusive treatment on Playstation at first too.

jdodson Admin wrote on 04/11/2014 at 01:55am

That said, the trailer looks great. This may not be popular, but I didn't really get the drawn of Bastion. Transistor looks more to my liking and in a way it looks as if Lightning might be getting a run for his money in the HUGE SWORD department.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 04/11/2014 at 03:09am

"... Lightning might be getting a run for his money in the HUGE SWORD department."

I'm not sure if you're talking about Cloud or Lightning here, since Lightning had a big sword but it was *her* sword, not his.

jdodson Admin wrote on 04/11/2014 at 03:52am

Uh yeah, Cloud sorry. Sort of never played that one but I know the dude has a fairly big sword.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 04/11/2014 at 01:18pm

Wait. Wait wait... You. You never played FF7?

jdodson Admin wrote on 04/11/2014 at 02:24pm

Yeah. At that time I kind of stopped away from gaming for a bit.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 04/11/2014 at 02:35pm

*hands Jon a PSX*

Get to it! :D

jdodson Admin wrote on 04/11/2014 at 02:36pm

It's on Steam too. One of the games on the ol' list of shame.

Travis Admin Post Author wrote on 04/11/2014 at 03:40pm

Ah right, I always forget it's there.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 04/11/2014 at 04:27pm

It's okay. I missed entire catalogs, because I didn't have much exposure to Sega systems growing up. It was usually Atari or Nintendo under our TV.

jdodson Admin wrote on 04/11/2014 at 07:37pm

Yeah, me too. Because of that I like Sonic but don't love that franchise like others do.

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Supergiant Games: Transistor

"In Transistor, players assume the role of a young woman who gains control of a powerful weapon after a mysterious group of assailants nearly kills her with it. Now she must fight from street to street against forces that will stop at nothing to recover the weapon. During the course of the adventure, players will piece together the Transistor’s mysteries as they pursue its former owners."

What do you think, are you interested in getting Transistor? The music and visuals look top notch and the character and premise look very interesting.

http://supergiantgames.com/?p=1816

mate211 wrote on 03/21/2013 at 05:42pm

never played bastion myself, but this looks really promising. The song playing in the video was beautiful too:)

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 03/21/2013 at 05:44pm

I totally agree the song really hooked me into the premise and game world.

Travis Admin wrote on 03/21/2013 at 09:02pm

You had me at Supergiant Games.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 03/21/2013 at 09:49pm

Yes, please!

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 03/21/2013 at 11:33pm

Yeah, it looks really good. Hopefully more leaks out about it at PAX East.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 03/22/2013 at 12:24am

Or PAX Prime! Did you see the announce on ticket availability in a month or so?

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 03/22/2013 at 02:33am

Yeah, the site says to check back after PAX East. Woot! I got tix last time, but they sold out really fast.

beansmyname Supporter wrote on 03/22/2013 at 02:37am

I'll be picking this one up when the Linux version comes out, for sure. Bastion was incredible and this is a team that designs games they want to play.

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