Note: I only rate the soundtrack of the game! (￣▽￣)ノ

Favorite track: Paper Boats
Composer: Darren Korb
Vocals: Ashley Barret and Darren Korb

It took about an hour or two to really get the hang of Transistor's hybrid real-time/turn-based gameplay, but once I had enough skills unlocked to really experiment with functions, I loved the combat. For a short time, I was convinced that a breach + load or a bounce + switch setup could take me through the whole game. However, new enemies and abilities were continuously popping up, so always creating different strategies was the ideal route to go. Similarly, the Limiter system is a great way to keep the difficulty at just the right level since what's hard about a game can be so specific to an individual's unique playstyle. I played with as many turned on as I could, but I always felt that I could fine-tune the challenge if needed.

From the story side, I didn't feel like I really understood enough of the setting (as uniquely beautiful as this world is), but the character biographies to go with the upgrades were nice quick lore reads. The narration was 50-50 split on whether I found it annoying or relaxing, but as it went along, I definitely connected more to his dialogue when it directly involved the protagonist. Since I already have a huge interest in Greek mythology, my delightful experience I had with Transistor makes me want to play Hades very soon.

When I talk about games with a pure focus, like in my A Short Hike review, this is so close to what I'm talking about. It's got a tight runtime, and nearly every part of the experience informs every other part of the experience. I think in this case the one loose end for me is the combat.

That's not to say the combat is bad, in fact, I think it's kind of awesome and impressed me in a way that I did not think this team was capable of from my exposure to their other work. Moreso that so much of the game is combat, with another huge chunk of the optional content dedicated to it as well, that it almost seems to detract from everything else the game is doing with its narrative and setting. I don't know that the style of combat, real time action with a pause where you can queue up commands, really links back to everything else in a meaningful way that helps enrichen the experience, it just seems like it's there cuz it's cool. Which to be fair, yes it's cool, and in most other games I don't think this would bother me, like most turn based RPGs don't really say much of anything by having turn based combat, but it really stands out here just due to the cohesion of everything else. It also feels as though it means to be saying something (and yes I'm aware it could be going over my head, so please reply if it is!) especially due to the nature of the final boss, but it just never really clicked for me.

I think I also take issue with the fact that I never really connected with the emotional core of the game. There is absolutely an emotional throughline that permeates the story here, but it's told in a really detached, cold way, especially considering the silent protag, that it never quite hit for me. That approach to telling the story is absolutely intentional, and I think works exceedingly well in setting up this world in the midst of collapse, but not being able to make that personal connection does hamper it a bit in my eyes.

Overall, while I do think that Transistor falters in a couple ways in pursuit of that all-encompassing focused vision, I still think it's a really thoughtful work that deserves to be experienced. The art, music, world, and combat system are all wonderfully executed even if they don't all coalesce into something truly incredible. If nothing else, I do think this is the most interesting thing that Supergiant has put out, even if it's not quite as fun as Hades, there is just so much raw creative energy on display here it's hard not to be endeared to it.