Transistor Torrent is an action game developed and published by Supergiant Games. Transistor isn’t the initial game to infuse its essence into its blade, but it is the first to be so overt about it. Numerous action RPGs have previously made it evident that the weight and sensation of a sword are the central points for many affectionate adjustments and harmonizations, yet Transistor also permits its titular weapon to articulate the narrative and play a pivotal role in how it transpires. In the metropolis of Cloudbank, muted vocalist Red looms over the figure of a man whose existence has been moved into the transparent skewer that protrudes from his torso. Unsheathe the sword and commence the journey. Numerous games execute these actions as well, but none do so in precisely this manner.
Conventional notions delivered from an atypical standpoint? That was the philosophy of Supergiant’s debut, Bastion, and it has altered very little here. Bastion interred an old-style hack-and-slash beneath artistically rendered visuals and a structure of narration conveyed in whiskey-soaked, secretive tones. It presented, during this process, a meticulously managed action game that somehow felt like it was racing to catch up with you.
In comparison to such roughhousing, Transistor Torrent Magnet is a conscious exploration of refinement, yet it still operates within an established genre while introducing additional concepts. We are entrenched in the realm of action RPGs, complete with the expected skill bars and cooldowns, but the narrative takes daringly indirect paths in its presentation, and the combat oscillates between real-time and a resourceful twist on turn-based skirmishing, continually teasing, never resolving, and deriving its dynamic spirit from an inherent system that fosters experimentation.
Technology has never assumed this appearance before, though. The Transistor Torrent’s realm is an exquisite and assured conception. Brass and stained glass swirls guide your gaze across isometric battlegrounds teeming with fantastical skyscrapers; occasionally, the shimmering urban expanse seems as if observed through a lens smeared with smudges. Cloudbank feels akin to a city enclosed within an antique fragrance bottle, and Red serves as a captivating protagonist.
She exhibits both determination and vulnerability as she propels her sizable blade into combat, the point emitting sparks as it dashes across the ground. Her adversaries encompass the Jony Ive turrets and Process’s greyhounds to the Schiele-esque aristocrats, displaying bruised cheekbones and arthritic knuckles, who constitute the manipulative crew.
And if the storyline wavers beneath the burden of insinuations and maneuvers and the sheer abundance of distinctive terminology, the commentary never does. The stratagems that sustained Bastion’s momentum are employed with even greater finesse here; they no longer seem like stratagems at all. Despite the primary events materializing gradually, the moment-to-moment action is enriched by the essence confined in that sword – once again voiced by Bastion’s actor Logan Cunningham – guiding you through the odyssey, pondering on what’s imminent, and occasionally expressing astonishment at your actions.
He highlights aspects of the environment that might have escaped your notice and wryly comments on ill-fated choices made in combat. “That’s one method to handle it,” he’ll dryly remark after a notably inelegant exchange of blows. It’s subtly instructive to have him in your company, yet he never succumbs to the destiny of so many other video game companions. He never transforms into the animated paperclip from MS Word.
Transistor Torrent System Requirements
- OS: Windows 7/8/10/11 32-bit
- Processor: Dual Core CPU – 2.6ghz
- Memory: 4 GB RAM
- Graphics: 1GB of VRAM: Intel HD 3000 GPU
- Storage: 3 GB available space
