What I love: Very responsive combat. So many games want to be a Souls-like but miss this important aspect. When you click the button, you character begins the animation immediately. There's no lag built into the game. It might seem like an easy thing but so many games miss this crucial aspect. The game is fun to play. There are guns that change up the usual pace of combat. You can whack away till your stamina is dry, pelt enemies with your gun, then recharge with melee. The gameplay loop is very satisfying. The major reason I love this is that it gets the atmosphere down pat. You have very differently designed areas even though it's all one space station. You're constantly having to explore but with the trepidation that the next enemy could whoop your behind. This game is as relentless. And the entire place is in a state of decrepitude. Its haunting. What I don't love: Overused boss models. The bosses run from great to boring but the thing is that if you do the harder area first then you'll have seen the boss models and attacks as this follows the script of bosses becoming regular enemies. Just for that reason I'd suggest going to Ikari Walkways then Alma Mater when you get that option. Graphics are so-so but it didn't really matter too much to me. I could live with it.
And that is why you might have a little difficulty adjusting to the pace of the game. This game is more of a FPS-stealth hybrid and if you keep that in mind the game immediately becomes more fun. A lot of people mention re-spawning guard posts and that will be a problem if you try to destroy each one. Until you realize, like I did, that you can breeze through them on a vehicle 8 times out of 10. The other two times some reinforcements will block your way and test your skills :). Also if you are having a hard time on the road you have the option to either fast travel or use a boat and this game has some very well developed waterways. This game is open enough that you can change from stealth to commando just as soon as you switch your weapon. And you can try different tactics in multiple replays. The AI is maybe a bit too smart: If you use an un-silenced weapon, enemies will converge on you. If you kill someone with a silenced weapon and an enemy sees the body, they will raise the alarm. And if you stand near a light source, well the bullets will fly :) The story is done well enough that it remains enjoyable throughout and the unique buddy system allows you to increase your history with friendly NPCs. All in all this is a great game if you are willing to give it little time to work its magic.
A story told in the rich and intense city of Cloudbank. A story of a singer who has lost her voice and whose only companion is stuck inside a sword. Like any good story it takes time to develop. It will not rush out expositions and explanations but will pace you perfectly as you learn about the world from interacting with yourself and the scattered remnants of your peers. This is not a story about a epic fight of good and evil; it is a personal story, a quest, if you will, for normalcy in a world going haywire. Transistor has many good parts that combine to make this a great game: a haunting and breathtakingly beautiful soundtrack, a gorgeous art design, accessible yet deep and varied combat and last, but not the least, a protagonist with a poignant silence. A few of my friends found the story a bit slow but they stuck through the end and came away impressed. The combat is a mix of real time and turn based gameplay with a bar that determines how many actions the player can pull off in a turn. Each action uses up a portion of the bar which must be filled over time. While the bar is being filled the player cannot take any offensive actions unless they apply relevant strategies. There a number of variations that you can try with different abilities and enemies are also constantly changing and updating which keeps the combat fun. Buying this is highly recommended as you will get your money' worth and will enable Supergiant Games to make more games like this.
