Transcendence

About

"Transcendence" is a single-player Role Playing Game set in 2419, where humanity is threatened by a hyperintelligence compelling people to travel to the Galactic Core. Players must navigate through randomly generated star systems, acquiring weapons and powers to survive and uncover the secret threatening the galaxy. With stunning replayability, the game offers an open-world experience of space combat and exploration, featuring compelling music and intense battles against various alien races.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

88%

Audience ScoreBased on 324 reviews

story34 positive mentions

grinding2 negative mentions

The game offers a lot of depth and variety in gameplay, allowing players to choose different playstyles such as mining, trading, or combat.
It has a strong sense of nostalgia for fans of classic space shooters like Escape Velocity, with engaging combat and exploration mechanics.
The developer has been actively updating the game for many years, adding new content and features, which enhances replayability.

The game suffers from a lack of basic options, such as no sound settings, no control customization, and a frustrating 30 fps cap.
The user interface and inventory management are clunky and poorly designed, making it difficult to navigate and manage resources effectively.
There are significant issues with mission design and difficulty spikes, which can lead to frustrating gameplay experiences, especially for new players.

story
198 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
78%
5%
The game's story is often described as lacking depth and engagement, with many players finding the writing dull and the missions repetitive, primarily revolving around generic tasks like "fetch" or "kill." While there are elements of lore and some interesting side quests, the main narrative feels sparse and is only partially developed, leaving players wanting more. Overall, the game is better enjoyed as a combat-oriented experience rather than a story-driven one, with future expansions anticipated to enhance the narrative.
- “Tons of variety in weapons, gear, and upgrades, many hidden missions and quests to fulfill, dozens of systems to explore, smuggling, trading, and fast-paced combat with robust mechanics, framed by a backdrop that includes plenty of mysterious items and interactions that reference deep gameworld lore.”
- “The main story: Stars of the Pilgrim is an amazing piece of work (with 12 years worth of development put into it) with great and addictive gameplay and the intrigues and small discoveries leave you hungry for another hour of playing.”
- “No character seems out of place and the story, if you wish to complete all of the sub-stories, is extremely well written.”
- “However, the entire story consists of like 10 conversations of at best a page of text, so I'd argue that it is not that relevant.”
- “You will get more generated quests like 'kill that', 'destroy this base', 'protect this', and less quests with some interesting backstory.”
- “The main story itself only has the first part of three planned sections released and ends on somewhat of a cliffhanger.”
gameplay
64 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
31%
64%
5%
The gameplay is characterized by a rich variety of weapons, gear, and upgrades, alongside numerous hidden missions and quests, offering players a complex and engaging experience. While the core loop involves trading and combat in a top-down space shooter format, the game excels in player freedom and modding capabilities, allowing for extensive replayability. Despite some unclear mechanics and a steep learning curve, the overall gameplay is praised for its depth, constant updates, and enjoyable progression, making it a standout in the genre.
- “Tons of variety in weapons, gear, and upgrades, many hidden missions and quests to fulfill, dozens of systems to explore, smuggling, trading, and fast-paced combat with robust mechanics, framed by a backdrop that includes plenty of mysterious items and interactions that reference deep gameworld lore.”
- “The gameplay is engaging and enjoyable.”
- “The main story: Stars of the Pilgrim is an amazing piece of work (with 12 years worth of development put into it) with great and addictive gameplay and the intrigues and small discoveries leave you hungry for another hour of playing.”
- “Your core gameplay loop is entering a star system, flying around to different space stations to trade primarily scrapped weapons and usually get a single mission.”
- “Some mechanics are not as clear as they should be.”
- “Gameplay is kinda 'meh', sound is annoying and cannot be turned off, storyline is boring.”
graphics
36 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
72%
11%
The graphics of the game are primarily 2D sprite-based, featuring simple yet clean visuals that align well with the game's theme. While some players appreciate the nostalgic aesthetic, they note the lack of modern options like resolution adjustments and a frustrating 30 fps cap. Overall, the graphics are deemed adequate for casual play, though they may not meet the expectations of those seeking more polished or contemporary visuals.
- “The artwork is clean and beautiful.”
- “The graphics are old and simple but they work so perfectly in the theme of the game that it doesn't even matter.”
- “In short, Transcendence is a good, solid, free (if you go to their website) top-down 2D space shooter that lacks a lot of polish and modern conveniences but still feels really great to play and will run on grandma's WinXP toaster while still looking decent enough graphics and effects-wise.”
- “It's not the most intuitive, not the most graphically intense.”
music
30 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
57%
10%
The music in the game is generally praised for its quality, with many reviewers highlighting a great orchestral soundtrack and memorable themes reminiscent of classic films. However, players express frustration over the inability to adjust the music volume, as it can only be turned off entirely, leading to complaints about it being too loud. Overall, while the soundtrack is well-received, the lack of volume control detracts from the experience for some users.
- “I have played this for ten minutes and it already has one of the best soundtracks I have ever heard in a video game.”
- “+ great orchestral soundtrack”
- “- atmospheric and memorable music”
- “Music is decent too, but far too loud and with no way of turning it down.”
- “They include something like 'sound lower' and 'sound louder', which is the only way of changing effect volume (music volume is unaffected by this and can only be turned off).”
- “No option to toggle the music in-game?”
replayability
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
25%
15%
The game boasts exceptional replayability, primarily due to its roguelike elements, including random system layouts, quests, and permadeath options, which keep each playthrough fresh and engaging. Additionally, a wealth of mods enhances the experience further, although some players feel that certain mechanics may detract from the overall replay value. Overall, it is highly recommended for fans of procedurally generated games seeking varied gameplay experiences.
- “The roguelike elements in Transcendence - random system layout and contents, random quests, and the permadeath (if you want it) - all give it an amazing degree of replayability.”
- “Excellent action, good variety of choices on how to play out your adventure, 10-20 hours of play with incredible replayability thanks to the plethora of mods available.”
- “Every roguelike procedurally generated game since has not matched the endless replayability of Transcendence.”
- “I suppose that's okay, but it kills replayability. If that too was intentional, why do systems regenerate with every new save?”
- “Every rogue-like procedurally generated game since has not matched the endless replayability of Transcendence.”
- “This is a strong recommendation if you are in the mood for a rogue-like top-down space game like Escape Velocity Nova or Star Control 2 (sans planetary landings), with plenty of replayability given the random nature of each game.”
grinding
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
Players note that grinding in the game is extensive and often tedious, requiring significant time investment in hunting and looting to accumulate credits for better equipment. While the game offers depth, the initial grind can feel overwhelming and repetitive.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “There is a lot of depth to the game; however, beware that you will have to do lots of tedious low-key hunting and looting at the start to get enough credits to buy the 'good stuff'.”
atmosphere
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is praised for its immersive atmosphere, characterized by engaging gameplay and memorable music, making it one of the standout titles in the roguelike genre.
- “One of the most atmospheric and engrossing roguelikes out there.”
- “- Atmospheric and memorable music”
humor
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is characterized by its quirky and absurd elements, such as the amusingly exaggerated concept of "space std" and the comical "beeping timer of death," which adds a lighthearted touch to the gameplay experience.
- “Catch space STDs from sapiens rad-heads for that extra funny beeping timer of death!”