Rebel Transmute

Rebel Transmute is probably the best Metroidvania you’ve never heard of. Though its visuals are just okay, its skillful blend of high difficulty, obscure narrative, and rewarding exploration all make for a thoroughly great entry that no genre fan should miss out on. New Metroidvanias are certainly a dime a dozen, but releases like Rebel Transmute demonstrate that there’s always room for one more good one. We’d recommend you pick this game up if you’re a big fan of the genre, particularly if you want something that scratches that Hollow Knight itch—Rebel Transmute has got it where it counts and is certainly worth your time and attention.

74%Game Brain Score

gameplay, story

grinding, stability

73% User Score Based on 236 reviews

Critic Score 80%Based on 1 reviews

Platforms

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About

Rebel Transmute is a single player platformer game with a science fiction theme. It was developed by Fatal Fawn Games and was released on March 11, 2024. It received mostly positive reviews from both critics and players.

"Rebel Transmute" is a modern Metroidvania game where you play as Moon Mikono, a space scrapper on a mission to uncover the fate of her missing mother. With over 50 unique upgrades, you can customize your playstyle to be aggressive, inquisitive, or summon an army of creatures. Explore a stunning sci-fi world filled with vibrant vistas and over 80 unique enemies. Challenging and customizable combat awaits.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

73%

Audience ScoreBased on 236 reviews

gameplay26 positive mentions

grinding12 negative mentions

The game features beautiful pixel art and a nostalgic atmosphere reminiscent of classic Metroid games.
Exploration is rewarding, with a large map and various upgrades that enhance gameplay and encourage backtracking.
The combat mechanics are engaging, with unique abilities and boss fights that provide a satisfying challenge.

Excessive backtracking and unclear progression can lead to frustration, making it difficult for players to know where to go next.
The short range of the main weapon and knockback mechanics can make combat feel tedious and unbalanced.
Several mechanics and abilities are not well explained, leading to confusion and a lack of guidance for players.

gameplay
84 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
31%
64%
5%
The gameplay of the game has received mixed reviews, with players appreciating its nostalgic Metroid vibes and engaging combat mechanics, but criticizing excessive backtracking and a lack of clear explanations for core mechanics. While some found the exploration enjoyable and the controls generally tight, others noted frustrating imprecision in movement and mechanics, leading to frequent softlocks and a sense of wasted time. Overall, the game offers a blend of original ideas and familiar elements, but suffers from design choices that can detract from the overall experience.
- “It's an awesome metroidlike with a fair share of original ideas and overall nice atmosphere and quite polished gameplay.”
- “Smooth platforming, good gunplay, really good enemy and boss movements, and most importantly, seems to have the minimum required gameplay content of 15 hours, in an era where indies just don't do enough and produce metroidvanias that are too small to qualify for the genre.”
- “Tons of perks and unique abilities help Transmute separate itself from what's already out there, hitting that nostalgic sweet spot while dishing out a fresh mix of modern mechanics to keep you hooked!”
- “With there also being mechanics/abilities that were not explained to the player, like the bomb bounce and the 'red dash', it can make the player feel like they are missing something in order to progress.”
- “Water movement and its associated momentum mechanic are infuriatingly imprecise, and the slightest mistake means losing all your momentum and having to start over. Death runs from the way-too-distant rest points drag things down further.”
- “It really starts to feel less like a challenge and more like a waste of time because gameplay ends up hamstrung by the clunky movement, imprecise controls, and a few questionable design decisions instead of my lack of skill.”
story
76 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
53%
39%
8%
The game's story has received mixed reviews, with some players praising it as competent and engaging, particularly for a metroidvania, while others find it clichéd and lacking depth. Many appreciate the exploration and character development, though some criticize the story as an afterthought or too predictable. Overall, it seems to provide a decent narrative experience, but it may not be the main draw for all players.
- “And it actually has a competent and interesting story, which is a rarity in the metroidvania genre.”
- “The story is engaging and interesting as more is revealed throughout the game... or it was to the point I got, anyway.”
- “Story and characters are very well thought out and make me want to learn more about what happened in this world and how I fit into it :) 10/10 would recommend!!”
- “Oh, and there's random 'capitalism = galactic war crimes to those who support it, so let's destroy everything, while patting ourselves on the back for caring too much' messaging in there, but the story's such a minor part of the game, I doubt anyone would care by that point.”
- “The plot really isn't anything to write home about either.”
- “Boring and uninteresting story and objectives.”
music
54 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
56%
11%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some praising its atmospheric qualities and ability to enhance the overall experience, while others find it repetitive and forgettable, particularly due to short looping tracks. Sound design is generally well-received for effects like hits and explosions, but certain enemy sounds are criticized as annoying. Overall, while the music contributes to the ambiance, it often plays it safe and lacks standout moments.
- “This game had me hooked from the start, with its gorgeous 8-bit style, metroid-inspired pixel graphics, cool atmospheric background music, and engaging gameplay.”
- “A stunning and vibrant game with beautiful music.”
- “The atmospheric music and beautiful pixel art draws you in, and the crunchy gameplay keeps you going!”
- “The basic pixel art lacks any charm or personality and the soundtrack is repetitive to the point of me muting it in certain areas.”
- “The sound design of some enemies is downright awful (like ear-piercing screeches), and the music ranges from boring and mundane to decent.”
- “Music/sound - really bad overall, in my opinion.”
graphics
38 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
53%
39%
8%
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their beautiful pixel art style, evoking nostalgia and drawing strong comparisons to classic titles like Super Metroid and Axiom Verge. Players appreciate the colorful visuals and atmospheric design, although some note that the graphics can become confusing during intense enemy encounters. Overall, the art style enhances the gameplay experience, making it feel authentic and engaging for fans of retro aesthetics.
- “The graphics are really cool and colorful, and you get that sense of exploring an unknown and hostile place, so it is exactly what I signed up for.”
- “This game had me hooked from the start, with its gorgeous 8-bit style, Metroid-inspired pixel graphics, cool atmospheric background music, and engaging gameplay.”
- “Top quality controls, excellent music, great graphics, and that overall Metroid modern feel.”
- “When there are numerous enemies in an area, the graphics become confusing, making it easy to collide with an enemy.”
- “These games are more than about the graphics or even what the power-ups are, but how the game feels.”
- “I find this game quite fun, it reminds me a little of Gato Roboto, but with improved graphics and deeper gameplay mechanics.”
atmosphere
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
88%
12%
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its captivating 8-bit style, engaging pixel graphics, and atmospheric music, which together create an immersive experience. Reviewers highlight the solid level design and overall polish, noting that while it may not be groundbreaking, it effectively checks all the right boxes for an enjoyable metroidlike experience. Despite some technical issues, the game's charm and aesthetic appeal leave a lasting impression on players.
- “This game had me hooked from the start, with its gorgeous 8-bit style, metroid-inspired pixel graphics, cool atmospheric background music, and engaging gameplay.”
- “The atmospheric music and beautiful pixel art draws you in, and the crunchy gameplay keeps you going!”
- “This game has atmosphere out the wazoo and is brimming with cool stuff.”
grinding
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessively tedious, with poor design choices leading to frustrating combat and exploration. Despite drawing inspiration from Hollow Knight, the game fails to deliver enjoyable mechanics, resulting in enemies that feel like bullet sponges and movement that detracts from the overall experience. Many reviewers express disappointment, feeling that the game could have been much better with a more refined approach to its grinding elements.
- “This game could've been great, and while it clearly takes a lot of inspiration from Hollow Knight, it took all the wrong lessons from it, including some horrible design choices and the stacking of already tedious environmental effects with the worst possible enemy types (which of course aren't affected by these environments).”
- “Altogether, I hate not to like this, but this feels so massively and unnecessarily tedious when it could be 'Hollow Knight, but with a sci-fi setting.'”
- “Even with a weapon upgrade or two, enemies became bullet sponges and getting lost became tedious instead of fun, because even with multiple upgrades, movement just kind of sucks.”
stability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
At launch, the game experienced notable stability issues, particularly with the map functionality, where markers would fail to place correctly and players were occasionally shown in incorrect locations. Overall, users reported a buggy experience that affected gameplay.
- “Played it at launch, so it was a little buggy.”
- “The map is pretty buggy; markers will randomly not place, and it sometimes shows you in the wrong spot.”
- “The map is pretty buggy; markers will randomly not place, and it sometimes shows you in the wrong spot.”
emotional
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional aspect of the game is highlighted by a touching story and writing, despite some clichés. While some players find enjoyment in the boss tracks, there are criticisms regarding gameplay mechanics that detract from immersion. Overall, the narrative elements resonate with players, adding depth to the experience.
- “Some of the boss tracks are fun, though the story and writing, despite the clichés, were touching at moments.”
optimization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game has faced notable optimization issues, including frequent crashes linked to specific doors and softlocking scenarios, particularly in the early game. While some of these problems have been patched, players still report occasional framerate drops in various areas.
- “There were crashes and performance issues too: a specific door, early game and since patched, caused a crash every single time. In one instance, I was pushed through a door by a bloodcast and softlocked, with the game looping between rooms until I ended the task and restarted. Additionally, a few areas of the game saw inexplicable drops in framerate.”