Supergiant Games is no stranger to beautifully-illustrated, emotionally compelling, fun-to-play productions; they are the studio behind the indie hit Bastion, after all.
So you can imagine that there was already a considerable buzz surrounding their new project, Transistor, from the time it was first announced– particularly (for me) because it features a woman protagonist fighting assassins in a noir cyberpunk metropolis. Check out the video to see for yourself, and look under the cut for some more details.
If you want to skip the intro, 1:53 is where the gameplay starts.
The story of Transistor as we know it goes something like this: Red (the heroine) is a famous singer in Cloudbank– a colorful, futuristic city reminiscent of Blade Runner. A string of missing cases targeting the important voices of Cloudbank sets its sights (and five assassins) on her. As Red fights back she finds an incredible weapon, the Transistor, which transports her across the city. After wrenching the Transistor from out of a man’s body (who he is and how she knows him are a part of the mystery of the story), she runs all across the sprawling metropolis fighting to survive when all else wants to take her out.
If you played Bastion, expect to hear a familiar voice similarly narrating your actions throughout the story. This time, however, it advises you on where to go– which, as Red, you are free to disobey (considering the way this video ends). The battle gameplay looks fascinating also in the way it melds active hack-n-slash with careful tactical planning.
It’s also worth mentioning that the soundtrack is most likely going to be fantastic. If it’s anything like the industrial-percussive-cowboy-stringed music of its predecessor, it will be as much a work of art as anything else in this game.
Though there is something problematic to be considered with regards to the Chell-esque silent heroine Red being told what to do by an (apparently) male voice coming from her sword (if this was a literary analysis, words like “phallic symbol” would be thrown around), from what I can tell of the game it treats Red largely the same way it treated the Kid from Bastion–they may not say anything, but their story does get told, and you do learn who your character actually is. In this regard, Red seems to be more akin to a female Gordon Freeman than the ever-anonymous Chell. Also, the sword’s voice seems to be more of a secondary character (with his own agenda) and less of an authoritative figure, which evens the playing field in some ways.
All in all, this game looks amazing. Look out for it on the PS4.
(via rockpapershotgun)
Featured image from Indie Game Insider
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