Parents' Guide to

Transistor

By Chad Sapieha, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 13+

Cryptic story hinders cyberpunk RPG.

Game PlayStation 4, Windows 2014
Transistor Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this game.

  • Transistor Game: Screenshot #1
  • Transistor Game: Screenshot #2
  • Transistor Game: Screenshot #3

Community Reviews

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age 14+

Based on 4 parent reviews

csm-r101
csm-r101 Adult
September 13, 2019
age 17+

Awesome Game, but the ending...

This game made me make an account on common sense media to write this review. I've been using csm to check out ratings for games for my 11-year-old for a while, but after playing this game myself I felt I had to add my voice to the reviews. As others have said, this game is beautiful, the music is amazing, the play style unique. It is one of the best RPG games I have played, and there is no gore or blood in the game. The fact that you can stop the action and think about what you want to do makes it much more approachable to younger kids. Then, unfortunately, you get to the ending. The ending is NOT appropriate for kids, I as an adult was shocked by the actions of the heroine at the end. See zachs1 review for the spoiler. I am very disappointed in this ending, as I would have loved to have my kid play this game (instead of Fortnight, for example) but boy did the ending not work for me.
nuenjins
nuenjins Parent
August 22, 2017
age 10+

The PS4 "must have" RPG.

First, the ability to play this as a real time hack and slash or... hold the trigger to stop time and strategize, thereby mapping out your moves via a pre- plan, board game scenario is nothing but "brilliant". I wish bigger budget RPGs would adopt this approach. You can battle like a classic action game or stop time to fill up an action meter with pre -planned moves that are executed after you release the trigger. It's truly the best of both worlds and interchanging between them as you like in whatever situation gives the player options that most games don't. This, along with a fantastic and experimental skill tree that allows you to mesh abilities together, makes trying new strategies exiting with often very effective payoffs. The story is a jazzy and oscure mix of somewhat avant garde elements but is somehow soothing and likeable. Your sword talks to you which you can choose to speak through the speaker inside your controller, which seems trivial, but adds an element of immersion that's just a nice touch. The mixture of turn based and real time strategy and the hand drawn look and detailed touches all lend to a truly unique but quickly familiar experience that is fairly easy to grasp, fun to play, and enjoyable to witness. The action is challenging, rewarding and paced well, so even if you DO get somewhat frustrated or interrupted, the frequent check points will bring you back to where you left off. All in all, dollar for dollar, this was the best digital download I ever bought.
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What’s It About?

The hero of TRANSISTOR is Red, a famous musician in a cyberpunk city who carries a sword possessed by the soul of her recently slain lover. In this downloadable action role-playing game, available for PlayStation 4 and PC, Red uses the soul-imbued weapon to hack apart hordes of robots under the control of something called "The Process." She needs to find out what this artificial entity is, who's behind it, and why the once-thriving techno-metropolis she called home is now almost completely devoid of life. On her journey she'll acquire and master various "functions" -- abilities, upgrades, and passive powers -- that enhance her fighting prowess. Transistor was designed and written by the same folks who created Bastion, a critically acclaimed and award-winning RPG released in 2011.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (4):
Kids say (2):

Transistor gets off to a fast start, thrusting players into an engaging story without so much as even a title screen. Set in a beautifully rendered quasi-futuristic world complemented by a lovely score driven by soft, meandering vocals, it makes for a memorable sensory experience. And it has action to match, thanks to an innovative time-stopping mechanic that lets players occasionally pause the real-time combat and plan out their attacks in advance, adding an appealing element of strategy.

Unfortunately, this promising and original adventure is partially undone by the story's stubborn resolve to remain cryptic. Although it's captivating to start, the narrative proves obstinately vague and even confusing, relying too much on the player to search out and read long blocks of text buried within the game's menus to learn crucial plot and character details. Complicating matters is the techno-babble dappling the combat system. It forces players to wade through layers of unintuitive jargon-laden terms and descriptions. Luckily, battles are generally easy enough that most players should be able to push through without too much trouble, even if they're having difficulty understanding it all.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about technology and how it's used in the world around them. What was the world like before computers, phones, and mass communication? How do you think technology will change our world in the years, decades, and centuries to come?

  • Families also can discuss loss and heartbreak. If someone you loved died, would you like it if his or her consciousness remained and could speak to you from within an inanimate object? Would that be fair to the person you loved?

Game Details

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