Transistor is the second game from Supergiant, following the great Bastion. Can it hold up to that standard?

Yes, it can do even better than Bastion. Transistor is a game that I highly regard, and you should check it out too.

This game may be for you if you:

• Enjoy a story that isn't just your run-of-the-mill plot
  
• Like turn based OR realtime combat with lots of choices
  
• Program
  
• Love a good soundtrack

Transistor is set in a futuristic utopian city: Cloudbank. You gain control of Red, a singer, who wields the Transistor - Basically a sword that can absorb powers of others. The story places you in the middle of the action: Your friend (or boyfriend? husband?) has just been killed, and you try to get revenge. At first it sounds like a rather normal plot, but things change quickly with the appearance of the "Process"...Of course I don't want to spoil anything here.

The gameplay is a mix between turn based and real time combat. At any point during combat you may activate a "turn()", which allows you to stop time and plan out some moves, that are then executed in an instant. This ability of course has a cooldown, so you will have to rely on the real time combat too. Besides the combat, you explore Cloudbank and try to find the people responsible for everything.


I was afraid that Transistor might not keep up with Bastion, but I was surprised: Supergiant managed to create another masterpiece that exceeds the quality Bastion had.

The graphics feel just right. It's clearly futuristic, but not all chrome and shiny - more like a modern city lit up at night. The heavy use of orange tones makes the town feel busy and alive, and the characters look great - be that in combat or during their dialogue.

The OST is even better than Bastion's. The vocal tracks (sung by the protagonist) really fit into the game, and the various "remixes" work perfectly. The music always matches the situation perfectly. Another great addition: During your turn() the music doesn't just fade out or something, instead it just adds Red's humming to the background. Very soothing and exciting at the same time. I can recommend you buy the soundtrack too.

The story is really good amazing. I know I sound like a broken record, but I think the game in general is amazing. It is a story that is only partially told upfront, kind of like Dark Souls's storytelling. If Dark Souls tells its story like it just rips out all the pages of a history book, burns some and throws the others away, Transistor instead just mixes up the pages and gives you hints where the next page can be found. I really don't want to spoil the story for you, but I can certainly tell you that it is worth your while.

The gameplay...I feared that the trend of "decent" combat may continue. I was pleasantly surprised with the depth and strategy involved. While you gain skills every so often, you can freely use these skills as either an active, passive, or an upgrade for another skill. At every save point, you can change whatever you'd like. By locking the story behind the usage of skills (you have to use the skill in one battle as active, one as passive...) and removing skills for a certain period of time instead of dying Transistor encourages experimentation and variation. More than enough variation to gain replay value for at least 3 playthroughs. The "limiter" system functions as a DIY difficulty setting: Harder difficulty means better rewards, but you don't miss anything if you choose to play without them.

With me praising this game, you'd expect me not to have many things to say in this paragraph. Well, you'd be right.
I copied the above straight from my Bastion review, since I think it holds true here.

What annoyed me?

• The story is only about 6 hours long
  
• One attack (The Haircut) seemed a bit unfair and was hard to see

Transistor is really an almost flawless experience. I just wish that there had been more of it.

Do yourself a favor and play through this game. I would recommend it even over Bastion, since it improves massively on the gameplay. It is a great game that you won't forget playing through.
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