What did folks think of Transistor?

Zhukov

The Laughing Arsehole
Dec 29, 2009
13,769
5
43
I know, I know, I'm stupid late on this one, but I wanted to play it through a second time and mull it over properly before talking about it.

(Here be spoilers, yee have been warned.)

(Although if you haven't played the game you're not going to understand a fucking thing I say here anyway.)

So yeah... Transistor. Sweet game from the makers of Bastion. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Looks pretty, sounds great, liked the combat system and skill system, blah-de-blah-de-blah.

Mostly though, I wanna talk about the story. Because, God damn, I know games like to use the ol' in medias res to get straight into the action, but this might be one of the most extreme examples I've ever seen. By the time you get even a tenuous grip on just what the fuck is going on the game is basically over, and even then you're left with a lot of unanswered questions.

Thing is, I honestly can't decide whether or not they went to far with it. Piecing together the setting and events from fragments and context certainly feels more organic than being handed a tour guide at the door and gives a sense of mystery.

On the other hand, I feel they could have been a good deal more generous with said story fragments and I get the distinct impression that a great deal of things are left unexplained because the developers themselves weren't at all interested in a tight, cohesive plot and probably didn't have any answers. For example, what exactly is the Transistor itself and what does it do? I know it's a fantastical device, I'm not expecting blueprints and hard science, but some hints would have been nice. Because as it is, it seems to do whatever the story needs it to, from being an oversized telekinetic shank to reality-rewriting paintbrush.

On a similar note, why was Red rendered mute? And how? Does the Transistor do that too? Because it felt like they just wanted an excuse to do their silent protagonist + sexy disembodied voice thing.

Another criticism I have is that the scope of the story was a bit too big for the game's budget. It's made clear that you are bearing witness to the doom of a bustling city, if not an entire civilization, involving the deaths of millions and the rearrangement of the landscape, if not the very laws of physics. But you never see any of this happen. It's either just happened when you arrive or is going down somewhere else, just out of sight.

At the end of the day though, despite any annoyances with the game's narrative vagueness, I did like it a lot. The melancholy atmosphere was great and the bittersweet relationship of the main characters was immensely charming, especially considering that we're dealing with a mute lady and a possessed magical USB stick.

I'm very curious to know what other people made of the game and if anyone picked up on anything that I missed.
 

ohnoitsabear

New member
Feb 15, 2011
1,236
0
0
I think your criticisms of the story are completely valid. The plot was way too vague for me to have any real idea what was going on, although I think if I played again or looked a bit more closely I might have been able to pick up a bit more.

But the strange thing is, I don't think I would have enjoyed the game more if the story was clearer. I'm not saying it would make the game worse, but I don't think it could have made the game better, at least for me. I was so engrossed by each individual moment of that game that what was going on with the overall story just didn't really matter to me.

Fuck, now I want to play Transistor again. Damn all of these other games I want to play (to say nothing of unimportant stuff like school or work).
 

The Madman

New member
Dec 7, 2007
4,404
0
0
I thought it was great. I agree with the criticism that the game felt like it ended too soon, just as you finally unlocked all the abilities and before the story really felt complete, but even so it was one hell of an enjoyable journey that left me thinking about it long after the game itself was over. One of those games where immediately after I finished it I jumped online to see what others were saying and mull over anything I might have missed, exactly like what's happened with this topic.

Anyway for the most part the vague narrative works. Story is kept fairly minimal and can be ignored almost entirely by someone with no interest in the setting or characters, but for those that seek it out there's a fair bit to be had from the Transistors companionship to the journals and logs you can unlock for various people throughout the games world. Even Red is given a fair bit of characterization albeit through unusual means, especially seeing as she's the games protagonist. Her typing into the consoles was a great little touch and a good reminder that despite being silent, she's still a character and not some blank slate persona. Similarly even the lyrics of the music that play throughout the game can be enlightening and serve to further enhance the plot and characters in various subtle ways.

In light of the games ending the lyrics for 'In Circles' are suddenly a lot darker for example:

I hear you buzzing, a fly on the wall
In through the window and up through the hall
Flying in circles just trying to land
I see you hurting I do what I can

But I won't save you
I won't save you

Maybe you're looking for someone to blame
Fighting for air while you circle the drain
Never be sorry for your little time
It's not when you get there, it's always the climb

But I won't save you
I won't save you

I won't save you
I won't save you


So yeah, great game. Visually it was stunning, I love the artwork and the painterly 'cutscenes' throughout the game. And that soundtrack... oh jeez. I love it. Beyond doubt the best game soundtrack of 2014 in my mind.

 

G00N3R7883

New member
Feb 16, 2011
281
0
0
I thought it was massively overrated. Its a nicely timed thread because I actually started my second playthrough yesterday (my first was close to the original release date). I'm not saying its a "bad" game, I think its decent, but it doesn't deserve as much hype as it got.

The combat is very good. I like tactical combat, and the way each ability has 3 different functions (attack, upgrade for another attack, passive buff) gives the player lots of options. Its one of those games where if you put 10 different people in a room, they'll all invent a different tactic that works.

But yeah, the story almost killed the game for me. I spent the first few hours thinking "what the hell is going on? Who am I? Who are the enemies? What are they doing? Why are they doing it? Aaaaaagh!" and eventually I reached a point where I just didn't care. I knew it was a short game (6 hours for me) so I just wanted to get it finished and move on to something else. You see, as much as I enjoy combat in games, I need a good story to provide context to my actions. I'm not going to enjoy a game that is "kill 300 guys because you need to kill them". Even if its the most cliched save the world story, I still understand why I'm killing things.

But hey, indie dev & pretty graphics & nice music = GOTY, right?
 

raeior

New member
Oct 18, 2013
214
0
0
Finished it 2 weeks or so ago for the first time so this thread suits me quite well :)

I pretty much agree with the OP. The aesthetics and the music/sound design were awesome but the story was kinda...thin. As was already said the Transistor is some kind of magical brush that can change anything while being a prison for people at the same time for some reason and it's existence isn't really explained except that it was created by the Camerata. The whole Transistor sheath thing later on also really confused me, whats that even supposed to be? Didn't unlock all the function files so no idea what was hidden there. Did it offer information about the voice accompanying you?

The ending was...really confusing on one hand and quite beautiful on the other hand. I was a bit surprised how short the game was, although that way the game didn't outstay it's welcome and in retrospective the length was pretty fitting for the game.
 

Zhukov

The Laughing Arsehole
Dec 29, 2009
13,769
5
43
ohnoitsabear said:
But the strange thing is, I don't think I would have enjoyed the game more if the story was clearer. I'm not saying it would make the game worse, but I don't think it could have made the game better, at least for me. I was so engrossed by each individual moment of that game that what was going on with the overall story just didn't really matter to me.
Yeah, this ended up being my overall reaction as well.

Every time I got irritated the game would pull something sweet and I'd stop giving a damn. (Fun fact: if you hold down the 'Hum a Tune' button while whatshisname is in the dazed state he tries to sing along.)

I don't mind a story being vague so long as it hold my attention in other ways, but I like to think it's a deliberate decision rather than done to cover a lack of plan or plot. It gets on my nerves when I start to suspect that the writers themselves were as confused as I was. Just on general principles, y'know?

raeior said:
As was already said the Transistor is some kind of magical brush that can change anything while being a prison for people at the same time for some reason and it's existence isn't really explained except that it was created by the Camerata. The whole Transistor sheath thing later on also really confused me, whats that even supposed to be? Didn't unlock all the function files so no idea what was hidden there. Did it offer information about the voice accompanying you?
I can explain some of that.

The Process are what used to change the city in accordance with the votes of the population. (It's unclear how the Process was originally made or harnessed however.) The Camerata planned to hijack the Process and so they made the Transistor which can control the Process. This is why it's so effective at fighting them and also why it can be used to reshape the city. When they lost the Transistor the Process broke free and went nuts. Restoring the Transistor reasserts control over the Process.

Of course that only covers the broad strokes. Still loads of details that go unexplained.

You never do learn anything about Red's lover from the function files. His file is one of the first you get and it basically amounts to a 404. It's suggested that he was in some way "off the grid" of Cloadbank and this is what caused his stabbing/absorption to not work as planned, leaving him and Red in control of the Transistor.
 

Trunkage

Nascent Orca
Legacy
Jun 21, 2012
8,684
2,879
118
Brisbane
Gender
Cyborg
I loved the game and totally agree with most of what's said. I found the responses from all the camerata not well explained, especially the brothers.
 

Dansen

Master Lurker
Mar 24, 2010
932
39
33
I thought it was a good game but the story kinda held it back for me. The story feels like it was made as an after thought in service of the game. You know what would have been good, showing us the city before it was being sterilized so that we have some context and know the stakes.
Also killing off the main antagonist by suicide because he felt bad was really lame. Instead we have his gay lover explain everything before he kills himself too. As soon as I realized it was her boyfriend trapped in the transistor, I knew she was going to kill herself to be with him.
Figuring that out really made the end lose most of its impact. On the other hand I though the gameplay and music was great. The way they used abilities was great as it allows you to find your play style and fine tune it.
 

Baron Tanks

New member
Mar 3, 2013
93
0
0
I enjoyed it a lot and agree they kept things vague mostly because the writers themselves didn?t have the answer and/or didn?t want to give them. It took me an hour or two to let go of the fact this wasn?t Bastion. The combat system was fun, although I preferred the simpler system employed in Bastion. There were some really powerful combinations, which took some reading and trial and error to figure out. It did invite you to experiment, although as in most non-shooter combat games there were a couple of cookie-cutter go-to methods that were very reliable and did not require much imagination. But for those wanting to sample more, the possibilities were there. I overall liked the length of the game, because by the time you have figured the combat system out and the cracks are showing in the plot (i.e. this really isn?t going anywhere) the game is over before any issues become too much to bare. I can be short about the visuals and sound design/voice acting, I adored both and in the end those are the traits of the game that leave most of a lasting impact.
 

Zhukov

The Laughing Arsehole
Dec 29, 2009
13,769
5
43
trunkage said:
I loved the game and totally agree with most of what's said. I found the responses from all the camerata not well explained, especially the brothers.
Wait... brothers?

None of the Camerata were brothers, of that I am fairly certain.

Who were you thinking of?
 

Zydrate

New member
Apr 1, 2009
1,914
0
0
I played for about 30 minutes but was intimidated from further attempt. The tutorial was way too fast paced with too many terms and descriptions I didn't understand.
I'll get back to it eventually but I have to work up the nerve to attempt it again.
 

Thebazilly

New member
Jul 7, 2010
128
0
0
I only played through until I beat the first or second boss (the lady with the umbrella), so my comments should probably be taken with a grain of salt.

I thought it was more style than substance. The atmosphere, music, art, and voice acting were superb. The gameplay struck me as just okay. They tried something new, but it never really grabbed me, and the only thing outside of combat was running down a hallway to more combat. You can tell a lot of genuine love went into the game, but it still felt like it was missing something to me.
 

TakerFoxx

Elite Member
Jan 27, 2011
1,125
0
41
Transistor is one of those games that you really need to play through a couple of times to really get. My first time through I was like, "That was it? Well, it was all right, but it was no Bastion." It wasn't until partway through my second playthrough, after I had started to really experiment with the Functions and unlocked all those backstories that it started to really click. And the Limiters took it to a whole new level. It's a game that you really need to take the time to unravel, but you'll be glad that you did.
 

Plasticaprinae

New member
Jul 9, 2013
80
0
0
shapaza said:
Zhukov said:
trunkage said:
I loved the game and totally agree with most of what's said. I found the responses from all the camerata not well explained, especially the brothers.
Wait... brothers?

None of the Camerata were brothers, of that I am fairly certain.

Who were you thinking of?
I can't speak for trunkage, but I think they're probably referring to Grant and Asher Kendrell.
I agree that the camerata werent well explained, Grant and Asher Kendrell share last names, their relationship is not elaborated on, only that Grant means a great deal to Asher. I assumed that they were married, since it's implied that Grant and Asher have met when Asher interviewed Grant.
 

Maximum Bert

New member
Feb 3, 2013
2,149
0
0
Bought it in the steam sale for about 5 pounds I had liked what I had seen and had been meaning to get it for ages anyway plus it seemed to generally go down well with people. My experience went something like this

Hmmm looks nice ok battle yup cool nice system then I beat the first boss by the microphone and just thought ok that wasnt anything special and to be honest still not really drawn into the world much the music sounds nice but I couldnt remember a single part of any tune after I had turned it off.

By the time I got to the thing with the tail and killed it I was pretty bored and kept looking at the clock to see how much longer the game would last I ended up just turning it off when some guy kept talking to me explaining stuff about the story I literally just had zero interest or investment in the game by that point and dont think I will ever go back. Also those challenges started fun but ended up a chore but then again I guess I found most of the game a chore to play through.

So in conclusion cant say the games awful but I can say I got very little enjoyment out of it in any form and wish I had kept my 5 pounds.
 

Raggedstar

New member
Jul 5, 2011
753
0
0
I agree with most of the posts here. While I did enjoy the game, I still don't feel that I learned enough about the story. Even the wiki at the time (which was about 2 months after release) seemed emaciated. I learned a little bit more on NG+ after paying closer attention and upgrading, but I still felt like there was more there that wasn't explained (and I WANTED to learn. This seemed like such an interesting world). Perhaps the scope was a bit too ambitious for such a short game. Bastion also had most of the story told through one character with a silent protagonist, but I felt like I got more out of it. Considering that I'm actually LEARNING about about plot points on this thread (and in Yahtzee's review), it's obvious a lot isn't well explained. Most of what I enjoyed from the story was the character and chemistry of Red and Mr. Nobody. I don't know how long they can keep it up, but dat Logan Cunningham voice. Yummy.

It does kinda toss you to the wolves pretty quickly at the beginning (both for gameplay AND story). Most of the abilities and combinations have their uses (except Switch. It can be a downright bother), though combat outside of the plan mode doesn't seem viable enough. My usual strategy in combat was to plan out my attacks, spam Crash while in downtime (I have jaunt attached so I can use it) as I try not to die, and then do a plan again when my cool-down is finished. It not only got me through NG+ but also the 10 limiter achievement. I also felt a little robbed because when I looked at that initial picture of the Camerata, I thought "Aw yeah, my boss fights!" and only 2 of the 4 are met alive (the deceased ones being only for background story) and the one other boss seemed a bit out of place.

Though as long as we're all in agreement that the music and sound design is the greatest asset the game has. Blew me away and bought the OST.
 

go-10

New member
Feb 3, 2010
1,557
0
0
I loved the battle system, I almost wish they would have done away with the action aspect and have it always be in TURN mode. The mix and matching of abilities was a great addition as well, I would mix up my equipment at every terminal just to see what else I could come up with. Overall the gameplay was fantastic and I really wanted/want more of it

story wise it felt to vague and it wasn't until the end that things finally cleared up, although I still don't understand how the Spine came to be or what exactly it is, hell even the Transistor for that matter, what the hell is it. Why can only 1 voice be heard?
so yeah the story left a lot to be desired.

the other bad thing was traversal. I hated that once you went to a new area you couldn't go back to explore previous areas and that really took a lot out of the experience since the game is very corridor based, only a few areas offer multiple paths and taking the path that furthered the story meant you couldn't go back to see where the other path took you to.

Then we have the music... Yeah the music alone was the reason I bought this game. It's amazing, The Spine is an awesome track and I need to go listen to that soundtrack again.

so yeah based on gameplay and music alone this game was incredible, it's when you add in everything else that it looses some of its charm, but overall still a great game :)