Game News Sci-fi Action RPG Transistor Released

[Crooked Bee]

Tags: Bastion; Supergiant Games; Transistor

Transistor, the new "sci-fi themed" ARPG/hack-and-slash from creators of Bastion, has been released on Steam today. If you're one of the few around here to enjoy Bastion, you might want to give this a look.

From the creators of Bastion, Transistor is a sci-fi themed action RPG that invites you to wield an extraordinary weapon of unknown origin as you fight through a stunning futuristic city. Transistor seamlessly integrates thoughtful strategic planning into a fast-paced action experience, melding responsive gameplay and rich atmospheric storytelling. During the course of the adventure, you will piece together the Transistor's mysteries as you pursue its former owners.

Key Features

• An all-new world from the team that created Bastion
• Configure the powerful Transistor with thousands of possible Function combinations
• Action-packed real-time combat fused with a robust strategic planning mode
• Vibrant hand-painted artwork in full 1080p resolution
• Original soundtrack changes dynamically as the action unfolds
• Hours of reactive voiceover create a deep and atmospheric story
• 'Recursion' option introduces procedural battles after finishing the story
• Fully customizable controls custom-tailored for PC

Screenshots and more info can be found on the game's Steam page.

 

[cvv]

From a brief look it seems this "ARPG" has a RTwP combat?
Now that'd be a first.

 

[Crooked Bee]

From a brief look it seems this "ARPG" has a RTwP combat?
Now that'd be a first.

I saw it described as a Fallout 3 VATS-like, but I've no idea how that actually works.

 

[evdk]

I've seen the videos when they first announced it - it's pretty much VATS. You can pause the game to execute some more complicated manoeuvres, like hacking two enemies at once.

 

[SuicideBunny]

I saw it described as a Fallout 3 VATS-like, but I've no idea how that actually works.

you press a trigger, it shifts into a special mode where you plan your moves, then execute them. the world slows down vats-like, but unlike vats when the trigger mode gauge is charging and not full, you cannot use your attack powers. also some enemies have special reactions to attacks which will fuck up execution.

it's a hack'n slash without much (or any) rpg in it.

 

[Denim Demon]

If you don't care for the game itself (like me), you can listen to the soundtrack for free here.

It's also available on Spotify, together with the Bastion soundtrack. I like Bastions ST a lot, but this one doesn't seem as interesting - might change though after listening a few more times.

 

[thesheeep]

I wanted to like Bastion, but it became so monotone after only a few hours...

 

[Modron]

Bastion is only a few hours long...

 

[MicoSelva]

I did not fall in love with Bastion at a first sight, but I am willing to give it another chance soon, since I've heard so many good opinons about it (mostly outside The Codex, though). Anyway I got it in a bundle so no big deal anyway.

Transistor also looks like a $5 purchase at most. Audio and visuals are pretty nice, but I'm not a fan of the H&S combat, even if the skill system seems quite fun to play with.

I feel that both Bastion and this would be so much better as actual RPGs (maybe with turn based combat?), as the narrative seems kind of wasted on an action game. Obviously, the mainstream disagrees as review scores so far put it around BEST GOTY OF THE YEAR 10/10 category.

 

[Jay]

So has anyone played this?My purse is kind of thin right now.

 

[SuicideBunny]

So has anyone played this?My purse is kind of thin right now.

http://www.rpgcodex.net/forums/inde...me-from-the-makers-of-bastion-released.81450/

 

[Kron]

Gay.

 

[Azalin]

I enjoyed Bastion as a $5 Steam sale purchase,I will probably get this one the same way

 

[Misconnected]

To me it looks like an anime truck crashed in the 1970s. Or a styles-I-hate-mash-up. So... No thank you?

 

[SuicideBunny]

To me it looks like an anime truck crashed in the 1970s. Or a styles-I-hate-mash-up. So... No thank you?

to me it looks heavily mucha-inspired, and not in a bad way.

 

[BurritoGoblin]

I bought it out of a lack of PS4 RPGs and played it for a little over an hour this morning ~ it's fine but it's not completing me. While it being a slow, somber tale may be what they're going for, it's not really fun or engaging. The only thing that kept me going was the art and sound and unless a vastly different/more interesting new area opens up when I get home, I'll probably stop playing. Forgive whatever this post is for being my 1st post here. I don't know if I'm internetting properly.

 

[crawlkill]

From a brief look it seems this "ARPG" has a RTwP combat?
Now that'd be a first.

I saw it described as a Fallout 3 VATS-like, but I've no idea how that actually works.

It's tactical VATS, basically. You pause the game and have (non-numerically displayed) action points that you consume by moving and triggering abilities, then the game goes into slow motion while you execute your assault at normal speed. You then go into reboot mode for 2-5 seconds depending on how much of your action bar (action tape?) you used, during which time you can only use specific reboot-okay abilities (and potentially one arbitrary ability you've modified to be reboot-okay). Realtime mode makes no use of action points; abilities are limited by the fact that most root you and put you in a slight delay when you use them, and a few have cooldowns.

I'm, I dunno, halfway through it? It could be worse. As a realtime beatemup it could be better. The customization system is interestingly varied, but you can only have four abilities with up to two mods (also derived from abilities--each ability can be either an active, a mod to an active or a global character passive) equipped at a time, so it's not like you've got the tools to do a rich ballet of destruction at any given time. Individual combats tend to last 30-90 seconds and are partitioned by a "here goes!" and by a "now you're done, here's your XP!" which feels a little jerky. It has bullet hell elements, lot of enemies firing fast but non-hitscan attacks, but even using the one evasive movement ability available (a frontal blink) I find that a lot of attacks are just too difficult to avoid. The game is really based less around movement and more around cover: each environment has regenerating destructible cover across which most (but not all) enemies can't fire.

The Bastion narrator is back doing the voice of the sword, which, well, you can't go too far wrong with that dude, but neither the script nor the voice he's doing quite live up to Bastion's. I've heard that the plot, which is simple but occulted ("A cabal has a secret scheme for the city, and their plan goes awry, unleashing terrible creatures and havoc!"), doesn't really resolve itself too well. It seems to be set in a digital landscape, but the exact reasons for and implications of that, at least as far as I've gotten, aren't clear.

But I have no real complaints. It's fun enough, it's pretty, and it was cheap. I hope their next title is some kind of unholy fusion between the best parts of Bastion and the best of Transistor.

 

[chiefnewo]

I bought it out of a lack of PS4 RPGs and played it for a little over an hour this morning ~ it's fine but it's not completing me. While it being a slow, somber tale may be what they're going for, it's not really fun or engaging. The only thing that kept me going was the art and sound and unless a vastly different/more interesting new area opens up when I get home, I'll probably stop playing. Forgive whatever this post is for being my 1st post here. I don't know if I'm internetting properly.

You posted that you didn't like a new game, so I'd say you'll fit right in here at the Codex. Try to swear more.

 

[Metro]

Like Bastion, overly pretentious covering for the lack of substance.

 

[DalekFlay]

Combat looks really interesting but the supposed 5 hour playtime turns me right the fuck off at $20.

Bundle fodder, as Metro would say.

 

[SuicideBunny]

Combat looks really interesting but the supposed 5 hour playtime turns me right the fuck off at $20.

well, you are supposed to play ng+ after finishing it once, which keeps ramping up the difficulty.

 

[crawlkill]

Like Bastion, overly pretentious covering for the lack of substance.

Bastion wasn't pretentious...sort of. The "reveal" was pretty weak, but it wasn't a game that held its players (or at least me) on the strength of a promised mystery. It was predicated on the strength of its narrator, and that's okay. Whole movies have worked only because Morgan Freeman was in them. Are we gonna call those bad movies now? You work with the assets you've got. Bastion was fine. It just wasn't the "whole" great experience some pundits suggested it was. If you found your opinion of a game on a revulsion to the overbroad generalizations mainstream gaming journalism responds to it with, you have other problems.

 

[Castanova]

I bought it out of a lack of PS4 RPGs and played it for a little over an hour this morning ~ it's fine but it's not completing me. While it being a slow, somber tale may be what they're going for, it's not really fun or engaging. The only thing that kept me going was the art and sound and unless a vastly different/more interesting new area opens up when I get home, I'll probably stop playing. Forgive whatever this post is for being my 1st post here. I don't know if I'm internetting properly.

Confirmed developer from Irvine, CA. Is that you Jay Wilson?

 

[BurritoGoblin]

I bought it out of a lack of PS4 RPGs and played it for a little over an hour this morning ~ it's fine but it's not completing me. While it being a slow, somber tale may be what they're going for, it's not really fun or engaging. The only thing that kept me going was the art and sound and unless a vastly different/more interesting new area opens up when I get home, I'll probably stop playing. Forgive whatever this post is for being my 1st post here. I don't know if I'm internetting properly.

You posted that you didn't like a new game, so I'd say you'll fit right in here at the Codex. Try to swear more.

Ah fuckin' nice.
I played an extra 2 or 3 hours last night, putting me about 4 hours in. The narration is gross in that it's way too frequent and I don't like this guy trapped in my sword pervin' on my character with his creeper voice. The locations didn't really change, either - it's basically all the dumbest parts of Midgar at the beginning of FFVII but for 4 hours, aside from a small netherbeach that has trials and a beachball that doesn't drop any items no matter how many times I kick it. Also no I'm not Jay Wilson.

 

[SuicideBunny]

Whole movies have worked only because Morgan Freeman was in them. Are we gonna call those bad movies now?

are you going to call an otherwise shitty movie good or ok just because morgan freeman is in it?