Transistor (video game)

Gameplay

Transistor utilizes an isometric point of view. The player controls the character Red as she travels through a series of locations, battling enemies known collectively as the Process in both real-time combat and a frozen planning mode referred to as "Turn()". Using Turn() drains the action bar, which refills after a short delay. Until it is full again, Red cannot use Turn(), or any other ability (without a specific upgrade). Red earns experience points after each battle, and may collect new powers (called Functions) from fallen victims of the Process. Functions may be equipped as one of four unique techniques, as an enhancement on another, equipped technique, or as a passive, persistent effect during battle. For example, the Function Spark() may be used to fire a wide area attack, equipped on another Function to increase its area of effect, or used as a passive effect to spawn decoys of Red. Red can also collect and activate Limiters, which serve as optional debuffs during combat, but in turn increase experience gained. Both Functions and Limiters reveal minor parts of the story if used for a long enough time.

For the PlayStation 4 version, the DualShock 4 light bar flashes in sync with the Transistor's speech.

In June 2015, the game was released on the iOS App Store with default tap controls configured for the iPhone and iPad touchscreens. In addition, the iOS version of the game includes optional gamepad support.

Story

Red, a famous singer in a city called Cloudbank, is attacked by the Process, a robotic force commanded by a group called the Camerata. She manages to escape and comes into possession of the mysterious Transistor—the great sword-like weapon she was to be assassinated with. The Transistor is buried into the chest of a man, now slumped over and dead; though his consciousness and voice seems to have been absorbed into the Transistor itself along with Red's voice. The Camerata continue to track Red and the Transistor down with the Process, wanting the weapon for some yet-unknown cause.

Plot

The game opens with the player character, Red, kneeling by the body of an unknown man who has been killed with a glowing great sword—the titular Transistor. Red is a singer, and the attack which killed the man has also stolen her voice, sealing it inside the Transistor. The dead man's consciousness has also been absorbed into the sword, and through it he is able to speak to Red and act as the game's narrator. As Red makes her way out of the district in which the game starts, she comes into conflict with an army of robotic intelligences known as the Process.

Red makes her way to her former performance stage, in Cloudbank's Goldwalk district, where it is revealed that the Process is being controlled by the Camerata, a sinister group of high-ranking officials. They were the ones who attacked Red, though the attack was thwarted when the man in the Transistor stepped in front of the blow. As Red travels, she discovers several Cloudbank citizens who have been "integrated" by the Process and absorbs their trace data into the Transistor, expanding the weapon's functionality. Upon reaching the stage where she performed that night, Red encounters Sybil Reisz, the Camerata member who had befriended her before the assassination attempt, in a corrupted Process-like form. It is revealed that Sybil was in love with Red, and that she arranged for the attack in an attempt to cause the man's death and have Red to herself. After defeating Sybil and absorbing her consciousness into the Transistor, Red uses Sybil's knowledge of the Camerata to locate their leader—one of the administrators of Cloudbank, Grant Kendrell.

As Red enters the Highrise district, the Process become more aggressive in their actions, attacking the entire city; this leads to the Process becoming public knowledge. Asher Kendrell, another member of the Camerata, publicly apologizes for the Camerata's actions and reveals their involvement in the Process invasion, going so far as to contact and apologize to Red for all that the Camerata has done to her, the mysterious man in the Transistor, and the dozens of other influential figures who have been Processed and destroyed. It becomes apparent that the Camerata are no longer in control of the Process, and that the current situation is very different from their intended vision. After fighting past numerous Process enemies, including a massive creature referred to as the "Spine" whose mere presence severely affects the man in the Transistor, Red reaches the hideout of the Camerata in Bracket Towers only to find that Grant and Asher have committed suicide.

After resolving to hunt down the final member of the Camerata, Royce Bracket, and then escape the city, Red and her companion find themselves traveling back through the starting portion of the game which has now been "Processed" into a blocky, white facsimile of its original form. Upon reaching the starting point of the game, Royce approaches Red through a robotic proxy and offers a truce in order for them to work together to stop the Process. Royce reveals that the Transistor is a "remote-control" to manipulate the changing landscape and environment of Cloudbank. It is the central part of the apparatus used by the city's administrators, including the late Grant, to change the city to fit the whims of the people. After fighting through the completely Processed district of Fairview, in which the Process has evolved a humanoid form and the laws of physics only loosely apply, Red arrives at the Cradle, the system that the Transistor powers in order to manipulate the Process—which is suggested to be an integral part of the system to rearrange and change Cloudbank—and stop the invasion. After Red places the Transistor in the Cradle, she and Royce are absorbed into it. In the Transistor's virtual realm, now armed with a Transistor of his own, Royce informs Red that only one of them can escape back to Cloudbank and repair the city. He apologizes to Red for this and the two clash.

After defeating Royce, leaving him trapped inside the Transistor-world, Red is transported back into Cloudbank, where she begins the task of rebuilding Cloudbank's Processed areas. Upon un-processing the mysterious man's body and learning he cannot be restored from inside the Transistor, she sits down beside him and—despite his protests and pleadings otherwise—impales herself with the Transistor, committing suicide. In the closing credits sequence, it is shown that the man is reunited with Red within the virtual world of the Transistor. At this moment, a heartfelt embrace reveals that her voice has also been restored.

Music

Transistor's soundtrack was written and produced by Darren Korb. It was released simultaneously with the game on May 20, 2014. Ashley Lynn Barrett, who was the female vocalist in Bastion's soundtrack, returned to provide vocals for "The Spine", "In Circles", "We All Become", "Signals", and "Paper Boats". The musical style of the soundtrack has been described by Korb as "old-world electronic post-rock". To fit that genre of music, the instruments used includes electric guitars, harps, accordions, mandolins, electric piano, and synth pads. Additionally, an EQ filter is overlaid over the music during the pause and "TURN()" menus to have a distant, blurred sound.

The soundtrack sold 48,000 copies within the first ten days of release.

Reception

Transistor has been well received by game critics; receiving an 8/10 from GameSpot, 8.5/10 from Destructoid, 9/10 from IGN, and an 8.5/10 from Polygon. It also has an 83 out of 100 on Metacritic based on 47 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

As of January 2015, the game has sold 600,000 copies.