Retro Game Review: Transistor

Back in May of 2014 I wrote a post about 4 games I wanted that caught my eye the 4 lil games... and one was Transistor. I finally got around to playing it and I loved it! A very fresh game with a cool art deco aesthetic and a refreshingly unique story and game play!
On the surface the game is about a weapon that absorbs the "souls" of it's victims and how a lounge singer named Red is saved by a mysterious dude "a fan". Red acquires the Transistor and seeks revenge on the group called the Camerata  that tried to "end" her. Along the way Red battles mobs known as "The Process". Defeating these processes you earn XP which help level up Red and in turn level up the Transistor.
As you and the Transistor level up you gain access to new abilities called Functions such as Crash, Breach, Spark, Jaunt, Bounce, Load, Help, Mask, Ping, Switch, Get, Purge, Flood, Cull, Tap and Void.
Each of these functions require a certain amount of Mem from 1-4 and as you progress thru the game you unlock additional Mem and additional slots; Active, Passive and Upgrade Slots to attach a Function to, and depending where you place the function determines the Functions purpose. So each of the 16 functions can be utilized 3 different ways. And later in the game you can actually earn multiple of the same function so in essence you can use Void in an Active Slot AND a Passive (sub) Slot.
There is alot of flexibility with how you fight the Process with the Transistor and tooling around with different combinations of Functions adds a great deal of depth to this game.
Once you get the gist of the game there are also Process Limiters that alter the effects of defeated processes adding a higher level of difficulty.
One of the most interesting aspects of the game is the story in my opinion, The whole story takes place in the city of Cloudbank, and the main antagonist is the "Process" that seems to corrupt high profile personalities in Cloudbank that when integrated into the Transistor become functions that compliment that personality.
The whole story feels very familiar, it reminds me ALOT of the original Matrix, where all these citizens of Cloudbank, Lillian Platt, Wave Tennegan, Henter Jallaford, Farrah Yon-Dale, Olmarq, Sybil Reiz, Asher and Grant Kendrell and Royce Bracket all exist in this reality but I believe their whole reality is artificial or with in a computer or perhaps in a cloud. And the transistor, unbeknownst to any of them is a gateway to another reality...our reality. The outro also somewhat supports my theory.
Great little game, definately worth the price!
8/10 

The 4 lil games that could...........make me get a PS4 sooner.

I plan on getting a PS4 in February, but the wait is beginning to become a challenge, if my PS3 still worked it wouldn't be as hard but since JAnuary I've been stuck playing my PS2. Which isn't the end of the world, I still enjoy playing my PS1 & 2 games, but I still have many PS3 games I have yet to start and or finish.
But there are a couple PS4 games that have caught my attention that would  justify me buying the console earlier than I intend to.

Child of Light 

Child of Light looks breath taking, the fluidity of Aurora's hair and the gracefulness of her movement is stunning. The world of Lemuria is gorgeous and the watercolor art style lends itself to this fairy tale fantasy RPG.



  Transistor

Another disk-less title, Transistor looks interesting, again the art style caught my eye. And like Child of Light the city of Cloudbank is beautiful.


Lily Bergamo

I hope we see more of this game at this years E3. From the little I know of it it looks interesting.





Rime

I haven't heard much about this game since last years GamesCom.  Yet another game that I was instantly drawn to by it's gorgeous visuals! It reminded me of Myst for some reason but obviously not a point and click style game. Hopefully we hear more about this one at this years E3.



These aren't the AAA titles that move consoles like MGS, CoD, Madden and FF, these are the gems that fly under radar of Joe gamer, the gems that shine and really leave a lasting impression on gamers that go down the path less traveled like Okami and Journey.
Sure when I get my PS4 I'll definitely be picking up MGS V and FFXV but these are fresh IP's with new experiences and isn't that what we all crave not the same thing year after year?