Transistor, the visually stunning sci-fi action RPG from Bastion developer Supergiant Games, is making its way to the PC and PlayStation 4 in North America on May 20, Supergiant announced.
Enter Red; a young redheaded singer who stumbles upon a magically powerful sword named, you guessed it, Transistor, in a back alley next to the body of her slain friend. Once in her possession, Transistor begins speaking to Red in her lost companions voice. Enter our narrator (think similar to Bastion).
We continue to follow Red and Transistor as they find and fight their way through a breathtaking futuristic metropolis in search of Transistor’s former owners, all while being chased by mysterious foes. The souls of the vanquished are absorbed by Transistor, harnessing them to garner new powers for Red.
There are several similarities you’ll notice between Transistor and Supergiant’s 2011 game Bastion. For example, both feature a colorful, cartoonish world, a moving soundtrack and an innovative combat system.
In Transistor, combat is comprised of two different styles: turn and real-time. You can run along hacking and slashing freely or if you find yourself in need of a second to breath, you can step into the Turn mode – something similar to VATS in Fallout 3 – where combat is paused and your are able to choose and perform various actions, be it movement, firing your weapon or swinging your sword. Resume into real-time and Red will carry out the designated tasks.
“We wanted to leave it up to the player how much they use that system. There’s certain abilities that work just as well, if not better, in real-time,” Creative Director Greg Kasavin said. “We want you to want to use it, but we’re not going to force you to use it constantly.”
The title will be available to download on PC from either Steam or Supergiants’ website, and on PS4 from the PlayStation Network to the tune of $20.
Keep your eyes peeled for new info surfacing about Transistor, as it will be demoed by Supergiant Games at this weekends PAX East convention in Boston. And yes, it will be playable.