Transistor

One of the games of all time. It's been almost ten years since I played Transistor but I still think about it, listen to the soundtrack and recommend it to people. Going to play it again sometime soon

At first, it feels like a simple indie game, but the further you progress, the more you start questioning everything around you.

The combat system isn't just about fun—it reflects how you understand and experiment with it. Every ability you choose reshapes your entire playstyle, as if you’re redefining yourself with every battle.

The story doesn’t explain itself directly; Instead, it gives you space to observe, infer, and understand. And when everything finally clicks, it hits much harder than you expect.

Transistor quietly asks its main question: If everything about you could be turned into a “power”...would you still be yourself?

Rating: 8/10

For those who have come to check out prior Supergiant games from Hades 1 and 2: this is going to be a bit different gameplay-wise from those games. However, in terms of gorgeous artwork, music that will live in your head rent-free for eternity, and Darren Korb and Ashley Barret doing that thing they do Again (which is "being amazing"), you'll once again not be disappointed.

Honestly, in some ways, Transistor's art gets to shine in a particularly unique way compared to other Supergiant games. This is because of the clear art noveau influence that you see everywhere from the lovely posters depicting the protagonist, to the delicate and intricately crafted backdrops you traverse to, to a couple of interesting places. For those who know: breaking something's heart gets to be particularly stunning because of this.

And this also works out really great as a contrast to your enemies. The Process really stand out starkly in contrast, with their monochrome white/red color scheme and hard lines that encroach upon all of this gorgeous scenery. This does something good on a technical level, because you will be able to near instantly pick out your enemies in a stage. However, it's also great on a storytelling level, as you get to see this invade everything that our protagonists clearly love.

As for the music, I'm not knowledgeable enough in this area to gush about it as it deserves. I just know that I really dig it, and it fits in with the setting perfectly. You're not going to find a lot of the more.... classical? hard? rock that you will find in Bastion and the Hades series, I will say that. However, much like the setting is a mixture of art noveau and interesting scifi, the music also manages to be the perfect reflection to that. (You can still hear a bit of rock influence however, in songs like Old Friends.)

Additionally, having the protagonist you control being a singer, whose songs come up regularly and who can hum along to the background music, is a fun little detail. Does it add anything? On a technical level, no, but it heightened my enjoyment, so I think it is a good addition.

It goes without saying that the story is excellent, and that all the prior qualities before really enhance it. A lot could be said on the philosophy behind the game, what the antagonists are arguing for, what the setting tells you, and the ending, but I think that is something people should play through and figure out for themselves.

However, even without going into that, I can say that the game does the best thing any story can do: it gets you incredibly invested in the protagonists, Red and the man in the Transistor ("Blue" to keep things short).

Which is a little bit of a feat. There's a joke/headcanon in certain online communities that portrays some silent protagonists (see: Link from Legend of Zelda) as mute, but we know in most cases that's not actually confirmed. That's not the case in Transistor. Red really CAN'T speak; her voice being robbed from her is one of the things that sets off the story.

Yet there's never any doubt that Red is her own person, with her own personality, who is reacting to things - even before you get into stuff like reading the optional file on her that comes with you using Crash() in all its capabilities. You see her in a flashback, holding onto herself, rattled by what has just happened. You see her blatantly ignoring Blue's directions that would have them "skip town", instead charging right back to confront the antagonists instead of running away. There's teasing little smirks she gives to Blue when she has to leave him outside a restroom. You really get a feeling for her, so long as you're paying attention.

Additionally, even if Red is silent, the good news is that Blue in contrast never shuts up - potentially because, without a body, talking to Red is really all he can do. So through him, you get context for so much: who the Camarata are, what's considered the norm in Cloudbank, and even the kind of person that Red is.

And through both of them.... You really get a sense for how much these two love each other, so much. The way Red holds onto the Transistor with a desperate longing, whether when humming or during so many little cutscenes. The way Blue is so violently protective of her, raging at the Camarata for targeting her.

They love each other. And, through that, you quickly grow to love them both in turn.

Finally, the combat system. It is quite different from any of the other games that Supergiant has put out before - but that's generally the norm, honestly, with how committed they are to doing A First (tm) for each of their games. Bastion is different from Transistor is different from Pyre. However, I do find it to be a very interesting system. It kind of mixes in a sort of... turn-based planning to it, while also making the player have to deal with real-time battle while often not having access to your battle abilities. It really makes you have to think carefully about your movements, and what you are bringing with you to each battle.

However, while I did say that this is nothing like Hades way of playing... I will say, for those who liked how different weapon/upgrade/boon combos could make something new, they might like the Transistor way of playing for that. Three things contribute to the battle system for Transistor:
1. An active slot (Switch() makes an enemy flip to your defense)
2. A secondary slot (Switch() on, say, Cull() makes it so that anything too tough for you to one shot goes to your side)
3. A passive slot (Switch() makes you a small bonus friend when you collect the remains of enemies)

So fiddling around with how everything influences everything else can be a really fun part of the game for those who are into that aspect. I do thing that it was likely one of the building blocks for how things would interact in the Hades franchise, and I think that's neat.

anyway tl;dr this is a great game and you should play it

I've beaten this game several times, and it brings me to tears every single time
I don't know what black magic Darren Korb is using, but he is the best thing that happened to videogame OST's since Akira Yamaoka

Hi Red… Hey
So supergiant Games were truly giant long before people realized it. Transistor isn’t just a game , it’s art in every form: story, music, painting, poetry, emotion. Every pixel, every chord, every whisper from the sword is crafted with purpose.
It’s one of those rare experiences that, when it ends, leaves you hollow yet fulfilled , aching for more, but knowing deep down that the story is complete. The ending hits so good it almost feels wrong to replay it, like reopening a letter from someone you’ve already said what you wanted to say to them.
When the final pieces connect, you understand something profound: being human with all our love, grief, and choice is a beautiful thing.
And if you didn’t feel anything by the end, maybe you’re not human at all. Maybe you’re just another {Process}.
Because in that silence, as the credits fade and the music swells, all i wanted to hear is just one thing…
Hi Red… Hey

One of my favorite games of all time, and still my favorite Super Giant game. One of the first games I played when I got my first gaming PC. Something about the world just struck me so much at the time, maybe how unique it feels, it still has that feeling over a decade later. And somehow they made turn based combat more palatable, which is in my opinion Supergiant's greatest strength: They make genre's you would not usually like playable!

TL:DR
You should buy all games of "Supergiant Games" and play them all. They are well crafted, story wise ultra deep and it is always refreshing to play something new that hasn't been done before. Get a good pair of headphones and enjoy the story. While the combat may be lacking a bit, this game is all about the story. All games of Supergiant have a deep and engaging story. I advise you to buy all their games when on sale and enjoy the whole bundle. I recently played Pyre, which I am unable to rate somehow and "Pyre" may be one of the best games I have ever played. It is a mix of a graphic novel and Basketball. You wouldn't believe it to work, if you haven't tried for yourself.