Transference

Transference combines a fantastic story with great acting and smart puzzles for an experience that manages to really stand out from the crowd.

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"Transference" is a single-player horror adventure game that offers a fabulous story and phenomenal gameplay in a mind-bending psychological thriller. It combines the tension of a suspense film with the interactivity of a game, allowing players to explore a corrupted digital simulation of a troubled scientist's family. While it has masterful visuals and a splendid atmosphere, the game is unfortunately full of bugs and requires a lot of grinding.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

Reviews

67%

Audience ScoreBased on 216 reviews

story39 positive mentions

stability6 negative mentions

The game features a captivating story with psychological depth and intriguing themes, reminiscent of titles like SOMA and Layers of Fear.
Visually stunning with excellent sound design, creating a creepy and immersive atmosphere that enhances the overall experience.
Offers a unique VR experience with engaging puzzles and a mix of exploration and narrative elements.

Requires Ubisoft Connect to play, which can lead to frustrating setup issues and crashes, detracting from the overall experience.
The game is very short, taking only about 2-3 hours to complete, which many players feel does not justify the price.
Controls can be clunky and unintuitive, particularly in VR, leading to discomfort and motion sickness for some players.

story
128 mentions
30 % positive mentions
65 % neutral mentions
5 % negative mentions
The game's story has garnered mixed reviews, with some players finding it engaging and atmospheric, while others criticize it for being vague, confusing, and lacking depth. Many appreciate the optional lore elements and immersive presentation, but feel that the narrative could benefit from more clarity and development. Overall, while the story has potential and intriguing concepts, it often leaves players wanting more in terms of coherence and emotional impact.
- “The story is immersive, and while the game may be short, it is worth your time.”
- “Fantastic game, well acted, gripping storyline with many twists and turns along the way!”
- “The story is interesting and the game looks great, but the controls are quite badly optimized for the HTC Vive.”
- “The story is mid; in my opinion, the mother's depression being framed as one of the reasons the family broke didn't sit well with me as someone with depression.”
- “The story is basically what you expect it to be and it's told very confusingly, as all the lore bits are presented out of order.”
- “Honestly, I am writing this review over a month after completing the game... I remember little to nothing of the story, as it was odd to follow in the first place.”
graphics
43 mentions
51 % positive mentions
42 % neutral mentions
7 % negative mentions
The graphics in the game are widely praised for their beauty, crispness, and effective use of lighting, contributing significantly to the overall atmosphere and horror experience. Many reviewers highlight the impressive digital glitch effects and simulation aesthetic, although some note inconsistencies in object scaling, particularly in VR. Overall, the visuals are considered a standout feature, enhancing the narrative and immersive qualities of the game.
- “The graphics are beautiful.”
- “Creepy for sure, and graphical presentation is top notch.”
- “The graphics, lighting and sound effects are AAA.”
- “The glitch horror aesthetic is promising, but the execution here is barebones and unexplored.”
- “Bad visuals in VR with objects having wrong real-world scaling; some look tiny, some look huge.”
- “So a lot of the assets are just there for the visuals.”
gameplay
38 mentions
21 % positive mentions
71 % neutral mentions
8 % negative mentions
The gameplay is characterized by a slow-paced exploration and puzzle-solving experience, often described as repetitive and lacking complexity. Many players find the puzzles too easy and the overall gameplay duration disappointingly short, typically around one to two hours. While the horror atmosphere and narrative themes are appreciated, the mechanics often feel underdeveloped, leading to a lack of engaging challenges and replayability.
- “The gameplay consists of solving a few not too complicated puzzles, listening to audio and video logs, while searching for the three crystals powering the machine that's the cause of everything and getting a few minor jumpscares in the process in a tense, aggressively toned environment, and enjoying the well-made sound effects while doing so.”
- “I have an avid love and appreciation for the walking-simulator-horror genre, as well as games that are willing to try something unique, through design, gameplay, sound design, or visuals.”
- “Using the game's main mechanic of switching between the different viewpoints of the characters you're looking for, you enter their apartment to search for clues and piece together what happened.”
- “Great concept, horror ambience, and decent graphics, but the gameplay is very short, taking about 1 hour or less, and the puzzles are too easy with super slow movement in a small environment.”
- “There isn't really much to do in terms of gameplay; you basically search around for the next checkpoint to progress with some minor puzzles.”
- “The gameplay consists of mostly hunting for the next item to progress the plot along.”
atmosphere
26 mentions
58 % positive mentions
31 % neutral mentions
12 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its spooky and immersive qualities, enhanced by effective sound design and graphics. Many players appreciate the tension and eerie ambiance, which allows for exploration and personal interpretation, despite some critiques regarding the overall gameplay and story depth. Overall, the atmosphere is described as a compelling blend of dread and intrigue, making it a standout feature of the experience.
- “The atmosphere and tension in the game is great.”
- “The sound design is spooky, overwhelming, and atmospheric.”
- “The whole work is like an extended metaphor in terms of its mechanics and environment, and while I didn't find it overwhelmingly terrifying, I did find the atmosphere pretty awesome and at times near-overwhelming because of the narrative themes.”
- “A lazy, unresolved story, lousy gameplay, no challenges, constant spooky atmosphere without any real scares and way too short.”
- “Sure there were some hidden video clips to find and watch, some atmosphere to take in, and some neat visuals to enjoy, but the truth of the matter is that the game just isn't quite as interesting as it thinks it is (nor is it as scary as it thinks it is).”
- “The atmosphere is spooky and the jump scares are not too bad.”
stability
6 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
The stability of the game varies significantly among users; some report no bugs or glitches, while others experience severe issues, particularly on the Valve Index, including tracking problems and teleportation glitches. Minor glitches have been noted, potentially linked to hardware changes during gameplay, but overall performance seems to depend on meeting the minimum specifications for VR.
- “So buggy on the Valve Index -- moving the sticks on the controller causes the player to teleport halfway down into the floor, constant issues with tracking, just a huge mess.”
- “You're exploring a digital recreation of an apartment, which is made hard to navigate because of glitches and missing data.”
- “From what I’ve gathered, you’re an ultra-smart scientist who’s managed to merge/digitize the consciousness of yourself and your family, though bugs in the code are causing glitches that need to be resolved.”
optimization
5 mentions
40 % positive mentions
40 % neutral mentions
20 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's performance is generally praised for its smooth graphics and impressive optimization, particularly in VR. However, some users note that the controls are not well-optimized for the HTC Vive, which detracts from the experience.
- “Great VR game, graphics are really good and run smoothly.”
- “+ unbelievable performance optimization.”
- “The story is interesting and the game looks great, but the controls are quite badly optimized for the HTC Vive.”
grinding
4 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
Players generally find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and repetitive, particularly in activities like apartment exploration and transference. While some acknowledge that a few enjoyable elements exist, the overall sentiment leans towards frustration with the monotony of these tasks.
- “I found transference very boring and tedious.”
- “Almost every VR game does this just fine; it's really annoying and tedious when they don't.”
- “So that's a little annoying, but they at least threw in a few good ones, unlike inside where they were all just tedious.”
replayability
4 mentions
25 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
75 % negative mentions
Overall, the game has been criticized for its lack of replayability, with users noting that thorough exploration diminishes the incentive to replay. Many feel that the experience does not justify its price, as there is little to encourage multiple playthroughs.
- “No replay value here.”
- “A little pricey at $33 for an experience that doesn't have much replayability, but definitely wasn't disappointed.”
- “Not much replay value.”
music
3 mentions
33 % positive mentions
-33 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
The music in the game is described as disorienting and simplistic, likened to an "escape room when you're on acid," which detracts from the overall experience. While some players appreciate the thematic connections to concepts like superstrings and resonating frequencies, many feel the music lacks depth and sophistication, making the game feel more like a demo than a fully realized experience.
- “I'm a science professional, and I love all the little tidbits and clues referring to superstrings, resonating frequencies, cymatic music connection, and a matrix-meets-Stranger Things dissolution of perceptive reality.”
- “It's like an escape room when you're on acid and musically illiterate.”
- “Story, puzzles, music, characters, environment, everything could be 1000 times more profound than this... this game is naive, it feels like playing a demo and it lasts far too soon. I'm not a guy who loves to write bad reviews.”
- “The music feels disconnected from the gameplay and lacks any real emotional impact.”
emotional
2 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The game is noted for its emotional depth, delivering a heartbreaking experience through the exploration of a dysfunctional family's dynamics. Players find the subtle hints throughout the narrative both disturbing and poignant, contributing to a short yet impactful emotional journey.
- “The subtle hints that are given to you throughout the game as you explore the household of this dysfunctional family—through all three members of the family—are, on all counts, disturbing and heartbreaking.”
- “Interesting, but very short, heartbreaking, and a bit spooky game.”
monetization
2 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
The monetization strategy of the game has been criticized for relying heavily on ads, which detracts from the overall experience and leads to a perception that it is more of a promotional tool than a genuine game. Users feel that the ad-driven model oversells the product, suggesting it would have been better presented as a movie instead.
- “Calling it a 'game' is overselling it; the ads keep saying it's like a movie, and honestly, it would have been better off as one.”
humor
1 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
Players appreciate the humor in the game, noting that it effectively immerses them to the point where they feel compelled to capture funny moments, such as clever references to popular culture like "Rick and Morty." This level of engagement highlights the game's ability to blend humor with immersive gameplay.
- “At one point, I started to reach in my pocket for my phone to take a picture of a funny little Rick and Morty reference before remembering I'm in a VR game. Any time the immersion is to that point, that's pretty great.”