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Transient

The game's excellent presentation goes wonderfully with its surprising amount of variety. Transient might not be scary, but it is thought-provoking and unique, which makes it more than worth a look from narrative adventure fans.
67%Game Brain Score
story, graphics
optimization, replayability
66% User Score Based on 167 reviews
Critic Score 69%Based on 7 reviews

Platforms

PCPCPlaystation 4Playstation 4WindowsWindowsXbox OneXbox OneXbox Series X|SXbox Series X|SPlayStationPlayStationXboxXbox
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About

"Transient is a single-player Horror Action game with a good story, fabulous game mechanics, and excellent graphics. In a post-apocalyptic cyberpunk world, investigate a Lovecraftian-inspired mystery, solve puzzles, and explore other dimensions in this immersive, atmospheric thriller."

Genres & Tags
Play Modes
Transient screenshot
Transient screenshot
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+9

66%
Audience ScoreBased on 174 reviews
story48 positive mentions
optimization5 negative mentions
  • The game features stunning visuals and a unique blend of cyberpunk and Lovecraftian themes, creating an immersive atmosphere.
  • The puzzles are engaging and provide a satisfying challenge, with some mini-games adding variety to the gameplay.
  • The narrative, while complex, offers intriguing lore and encourages exploration of the game's world.
  • The story feels disjointed and ends abruptly, leaving many plot threads unresolved and players confused.
  • Character animations and models are poorly executed, detracting from the overall experience.
  • The game suffers from technical issues, including bugs and a lack of polish, which can disrupt immersion.
  • story
    173 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The story of the game is a polarizing aspect, with many players finding it intriguing yet convoluted and poorly executed. While some appreciate its ambitious blend of Lovecraftian themes and cyberpunk aesthetics, others criticize it for being disorganized, linear, and lacking depth, often leaving players confused and unsatisfied by the abrupt ending. Overall, the narrative is seen as a missed opportunity, overshadowed by gameplay issues and a lack of coherent storytelling.

    • “The story, in my opinion, was fascinating and I'm looking forward to more games from this developer.”
    • “Great atmosphere, interesting story, a must if you're looking for something that is an 'experience' more than a game.”
    • “To summarize, this is a very interesting, story-driven, Lovecraftian, atmospheric, cyberpunk adventure game, with great locations and attention to detail, that will appeal to any Lovecraft fan, and may just win over anyone who is not one already.”
    • “The story is a convoluted mess that makes absolutely no sense and much of the dialogue is laughably bad, but there is still an eerie atmosphere around the whole thing.”
    • “However, this was really difficult for me to get through because it was just really boring; story-wise, character-wise, and only a few areas I found to be visually appealing.”
    • “The story just piles up dramatic events without actually making any sense.”
  • graphics
    70 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics of the game are generally praised for their stunning art direction and atmospheric design, effectively blending cyberpunk and Lovecraftian aesthetics. While many players find the visuals impressive and immersive, there are notable criticisms regarding character models and animations, which detract from the overall experience. Overall, the game's graphics stand out as its strongest feature, despite some inconsistencies in quality.

    • “The world it builds, the art style, and the music are its best aspects.”
    • “The graphics and atmosphere are amazing; however, it is a shame the gameplay and puzzles are so difficult to try to figure out what to do next.”
    • “The visual presentation is excellent, the blending of cyberpunk and Lovecraftian visuals goes well, and they've gotten a good handle at making bizarre, otherworldly areas with some creepy set pieces.”
    • “Graphics are okay, but the controls are clunky, the UI is ugly, the writing is bad, and the voice acting is cringe.”
    • “No atmosphere; aesthetics and graphics are poor and flat; they look too old.”
    • “Visuals, however, are a mixed bag. While the environments look decent and creature designs are suitably strange, one design in particular is amazing in its grotesque glory - things fall a little flat on the humanoid characters, and especially the animations during cutscenes are very lackluster.”
  • atmosphere
    53 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its immersive and visually stunning environments, effectively blending Lovecraftian and cyberpunk elements. Many reviewers highlight the game's ability to evoke a strong sense of tension and intrigue through its art direction, sound design, and unique locations, although some note that gameplay interruptions, such as mini-games, can detract from the overall experience. Overall, the atmosphere is considered a standout feature that enhances the narrative and gameplay, making it particularly appealing to fans of atmospheric horror and adventure games.

    • “Fantastic art direction with at times very immersive atmosphere.”
    • “The game is filled with unforgettable locations to traverse, from the forgotten wastes of Kor Shehr to the mean streets of Providence, each one beautifully rendered and filled with atmosphere.”
    • “The stunning visuals, music, and sound effects create a sense of immersion within the vast array of atmospheric scenes, and the non-linear way in which the player traverses them creates a real sense of intrigue.”
    • “The atmosphere in the beginning reminded me a bit of Soma, which I thoroughly enjoyed, but from the moment the protagonist 'woke up' in their apartment, the experience felt like a slog.”
    • “Lovecraftian atmosphere - check, cyberpunk - check, science fiction - check, but none of these aspects seem explored in depth.”
    • “No atmosphere; aesthetics and graphics are poor and flat, they look too old.”
  • gameplay
    50 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay in the reviewed titles is generally criticized for being linear and lacking depth, often resembling a walking simulator with minimal interactive elements. While some players appreciate the atmospheric visuals and occasional puzzles, many find the mechanics underwhelming and poorly explained, leading to a repetitive experience. Overall, the gameplay is described as forgettable, with a few engaging moments overshadowed by a lack of meaningful choices and a disorganized structure.

    • “But unlike Transient, Magrunner is loaded with gameplay: agility puzzles like in Portal.”
    • “When it comes to gameplay, Transient is mostly comprised of searching & investigating, but it does include short combat sections during a couple mini-games, and some interestingly designed (if not very difficult) puzzles.”
    • “The extended edition of the game also comes with additional gameplay, a brand-new ending and an assortment of quality of life improvements.”
    • “There is little actual gameplay.”
    • “The core gameplay aspect is frequent mini-games that aren't properly explained or are obvious but not stimulating.”
    • “The gameplay is forgettable, mostly a walking simulator with some minigames mixed in; nothing you'll remember once the credits roll.”
  • music
    20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some praising its haunting and immersive qualities that enhance the atmosphere, while others criticize it for being repetitive or underwhelming. Many players highlight the soundtrack as a standout feature, noting its diversity and ability to complement the game's environments and mood effectively. Overall, the audio design is generally regarded as high quality, contributing significantly to the game's immersive experience.

    • “The game's presentation is also top-notch, with a haunting original soundtrack that perfectly complements the immersive environments.”
    • “The music is actually impressive for a title like this, with plenty of diversity in sound and style to match the corresponding environment or mood.”
    • “The stunning visuals, music, and sound effects create a sense of immersion within the vast array of atmospheric scenes and the non-linear way in which the player traverses them creates a real sense of intrigue.”
    • “I get that a small team made the game, but the repetitive soundtrack also didn't help the boring factor.”
    • “- below average soundtrack”
    • “Either the game stutters and freezes every few minutes or the music is stuttering.”
  • optimization
    10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Overall, the optimization of the game is mixed; while many users report smooth performance with no frame drops or stuttering on various systems, others experience significant issues such as overheating and frequent stuttering, particularly when engaging with in-game mechanics. Some comparisons to previous titles highlight that while it may run better than its predecessor, it still suffers from notable optimization problems.

    • “Performance: no frame drops or performance-related issues noticed.”
    • “Game is also very optimized for every system, I'd say. I had no FPS or stuttering issues, even though my system is powerful to some extent. Performance problems are common with titles like this.”
    • “Performance: no frame drops or performance-related issues noticed.”
    • “Unfortunately, it still has the same optimization issue as its prequel, where your computer will sound like an F-16 about to take off; even on the lowest settings, my GPU and CPU were approaching 90 Celsius, so I had to turn on my coolboost fan (which I rarely ever have to use).”
    • “Either the game stutters and freezes every few minutes or the music is stuttering.”
    • “Trying to explore or use either the in-game computer or puzzle mechanics are made impossible by this stuttering.”
  • replayability
    5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's replayability is generally considered average, with some players noting the presence of two endings and unlockables that encourage multiple playthroughs. However, many reviewers feel that the short length of the game—around 5 hours—limits its overall replay value, making it more appealing for those who appreciate its art style and ideas rather than challenge or extensive content. Overall, while there are elements that can entice players to revisit, the lack of significant replay incentives may deter some from playing again.

    • “Two endings, so there is replayability!”
    • “If it were a larger release, it could have been the next Cyberpunk (by that I'm referring to the scale and depth of the game, not the original bugs). This is a very specific 'yes' only if you like short games for art style and new ideas more than replayability or challenge.”
    • “Replayability is average due to scoring and unlockables.”
    • “I finished the game in just over 5 hours and there doesn't seem to be any replayability aside from chasing down achievements.”
    • “For the people who like the genre, there is enough good stuff to see here to be worth a playthrough, but in my opinion, the full price of this game is just simply too high for such a short experience with no replay value.”
  • character development
    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Character development in the game is criticized for its low-detail character design, which detracts from the overall experience, despite the strong environmental art and atmosphere. While the character designs are initially disappointing, the compelling visuals and soundscape help to create an engaging setting.

    • “On the one hand, there's a ton of awesome environmental art, very compelling atmosphere, great soundscape, and neat character designs.”
    • “It takes 4 minutes to overcome the initial disappointment of seeing the abysmal character design.”
    • “Visually, the low-detail character design is unappealing.”
  • stability
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game generally maintains stability without crashing, but players report numerous small glitches and unpolished design choices that detract from the overall experience. Issues such as stuttering, freezing, and audio problems occur frequently, impacting gameplay enjoyment.

    • “It works, it doesn't crash, but it contains a ton of small glitches and weird design or programming choices that made the game feel unpolished and sometimes not very pleasant to play.”
    • “Either the game stutters and freezes every few minutes or the music is stuttering.”
  • humor
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The humor in the game is characterized by its clever spoofing of retro action games, complete with intentionally poor controls that evoke laughter rather than fear. Players and spectators alike find the experience amusing, transforming potentially tense moments into comedic ones.

    • “The internal optional retro action games were a hilarious spoof on the history of those kinds of games, right down to the bad game controls.”
    • “For the people watching me play the game, it was so bad that the feeling of the game became humorous instead of the feeling of impending evil.”
  • grinding
    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be clunky and tedious, leading to a frustrating experience that detracts from overall enjoyment.

    • “I had forgotten how clunky and tedious the actual gameplay was.”
    • “The grinding feels endless and becomes a chore rather than an enjoyable part of the game.”
    • “It takes way too long to level up, making the experience feel more like a job than a game.”

69%Critics’ scoreBased on 7 critic reviews

Buy Transient

4h Median play time
4h Average play time
2-5h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 3 analyzed playthroughs

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