Transcender

About

Transcender is a brief interactive experience that takes place in a surreal sci-fi setting. Figuring out how to play and what to do is the main attraction of the experience.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

83%

Audience ScoreBased on 63 reviews

graphics4 positive mentions

gameplay3 negative mentions

Transcender offers a unique and surreal experience that encourages exploration and replayability, with different outcomes in each playthrough.
The game's visuals and atmosphere are strikingly beautiful, creating an immersive environment that captivates players.
Despite its short length, the game is thought-provoking and artistic, leaving players with a sense of wonder and curiosity about its themes.

The lack of clear instructions and storytelling can lead to confusion and frustration, making it difficult for players to understand the game's purpose.
Technical issues such as low framerates, crashes, and unresponsive controls detract from the overall experience.
Some players find the gameplay repetitive and the initial segments tedious, which may discourage continued engagement.

graphics
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
13%
38%
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some praising the beautiful visuals and aesthetic, while others criticize technical issues such as missing 4K support and unclear settings. Although the overall design is visually appealing, gameplay mechanics and clarity in environments are noted as areas needing improvement. The combination of strong visuals and sound design contributes to an engaging experience, despite some players encountering glitches and clunky movement.
- “Fabulous visuals paired with a cool abstract story which is kind of too slow and stretched out at the beginning and the ending.”
- “However, it's a highly entertaining meta video game going on behind the scenes and it all comes together really nicely with the beautiful aesthetic and sound design.”
- “The ambience, scenario, and graphics of the game are all very well done.”
- “The graphics menu looks like it should fit all the right checkboxes, but a lot of the settings don't work right. The 4K support option is missing; it's unclear if this is a bug or a defect. Either way, it's no good.”
- “I advise this: put more work into your gameplay design and less into the over-the-top graphics and special effects.”
- “I ran into a game-breaking glitch that prevented me from progressing. The environments were hard to discern graphically, and movement was clunky.”
gameplay
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
33%
50%
The gameplay is criticized for being poorly optimized, resulting in low framerates and a disjointed experience, even on high-end systems. Players find the core mechanics limited, primarily involving incremental upgrades and aimless exploration, which can lead to a sense of stagnation as interactivity options quickly diminish. Overall, the gameplay lacks depth and coherence, leaving players feeling disconnected from the experience.
- “Perhaps with more replays, coherence will emerge from the ambiguity of the gameplay and the disconnected mix of spaces, painting, and philosophy, but whether players are willing to do this depends on how attractive they find the parts they’ve seen so far.”
- “The game is very badly optimized, with low framerates and janky gameplay even on a high-end rig.”
- “I advise this: put more work into your gameplay design and less into the over-the-top graphics and special effects.”
- “The actual gameplay boils down to an incremental segment where you create and upgrade parts to a mysterious device, as well as walking around a space station aimlessly trying to find a purpose to your avatar's existence, all while a timer is ticking down!”
story
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
60%
The story of Transcender is described as a surreal and abstract experience heavily influenced by sci-fi films, but it ultimately lacks coherent storytelling, leaving players confused and without a clear narrative. While the visuals are praised, the narrative feels half-baked and stretched out, resulting in a dreamlike journey that fails to provide meaningful context or resolution.
- “It's like a dream that continues to unfold and evolve all while a futuristic science fiction story is in progress.”
- “Fabulous visuals paired with a cool abstract story which is kind of too slow and stretched out at the beginning and the ending.”
- “Transcender is a more-art-than-game 'walking sim' art installation that's derived from watching too many sci-fi films while under the influence of drugs... there's a lot of 2001: A Space Odyssey and a little bit of The Matrix: Reloaded thrown in as you start with a clicker/idler game that powers up a terraforming station, then you get catapulted into a surreal third-person asset-flip looking walking sim for the second half of this short (~20m most) demo/game that forgets that while pretentiousness makes things seem artistic, true art is in storytelling... which they forgot to include with Transcender.”
- “So it's just bumbling through a small number of surreal scenes trying to work out what's going on (spoiler... you don't really find out because the storytelling is half-baked).”
- “Unfortunately, the story and explanation around it are almost non-existent.”
music
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The music in the game is generally well-received, with players noting that it complements the gameplay effectively, particularly the sentimental piano pieces. However, there are minor concerns regarding some ambient tracks facing copyright issues, which could affect monetization for content creators. Overall, the soundtrack enhances the gaming experience, despite a few technical hiccups.
- “The music fits like a glove, enhancing the overall experience beautifully.”
- “Small issue with some of the music (ambience actually) receiving copyright claims on the tubes, so be aware that monetization may not be possible here.”
- “This continues for quite a while, until finally a perfunctory text overlay appears and announces that this part of the game will end in seven something minutes, during which time sentimental piano music plays and the player can keep clicking on things, or not, as the scene plays out in front of them.”
- “Small issue with some of the music (ambience actually) receiving copyright claims on the tubes, so be aware that monies are not to be made here.”
atmosphere
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
100%
The game excels in creating a surreal and immersive atmosphere, successfully achieving what many indie walking simulators strive for. Players find the discoverability aspect engaging, with the ability to alter atmosphere controls influencing the landscape's development, enhancing the overall experience.
- “It manages to accomplish what many indie atmospheric walking simulators wish to achieve.”
- “The surreal atmosphere is great, and the discoverability in subsequent playthroughs is engrossing.”
- “Then another change (by the way, if you change the atmosphere controls, you can alter the way the landscape develops) and you find yourself in what feels like a huge space station.”
- “The atmosphere feels sterile and lifeless, like I'm wandering through a vast, empty space station.”
- “Despite the expansive environment, the atmosphere lacks any sense of immersion or excitement.”
- “The atmosphere is so bland that it detracts from the overall experience, making exploration feel tedious.”
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users report that the emotional experience is hindered by a disorienting first-person view, which can induce feelings of nausea during gameplay, detracting from the overall immersion.
replayability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
300%
The game offers a moderate level of replayability, allowing players to revisit it for additional enjoyment.
- “This game offers a significant amount of replayability, keeping players engaged long after the initial playthrough.”
- “The variety of choices and outcomes ensures that each playthrough feels fresh and exciting.”
- “With multiple endings and different character paths, this game invites you to dive back in for a new experience every time.”
- “The game offers minimal replayability, making it hard to justify multiple playthroughs.”
- “Once you've completed the game, there's little incentive to return for a second run.”
- “The lack of varied outcomes and choices severely limits the replay value.”
stability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Overall, while the game is reported to have significant bugs, many users still find it enjoyable and worth playing despite these stability issues.
- “Even given how buggy it is, I'd say it's still worth it.”