Transiruby

About

"Transiruby" is a single-player kids' platformer Metroidvania game with exceptional mechanics, beautiful visuals, and amazing music. Explore a strange new continent as cyborg Siruby, solving puzzles and slashing enemies to uncover hidden secrets, accompanied by AI partner Ne-com and other characters. The game features quick, stress-free sword action and golden Tranchips collection for opening new areas.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

91%

Audience ScoreBased on 140 reviews

music34 positive mentions

grinding7 negative mentions

Transiruby features charming pixel art and a delightful soundtrack that enhances the overall experience.
The gameplay is fun and accessible, with a focus on exploration and light puzzles rather than punishing difficulty.
The character interactions and humor add a lighthearted tone to the game, making it an enjoyable experience.

The map design can be confusing and lacks clear indicators for progression, leading to frustrating backtracking.
Some players may find the combat simplistic and the overall challenge level too low for a metroidvania.
The story and character development are minimal, leaving some players wanting more depth and engagement.

music
57 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
35%
5%
The music in the game is widely praised for its catchy chiptune style and nostalgic retro vibes, with many reviewers highlighting its polish and fitting nature alongside the visuals. While the soundtrack is enjoyable, some players noted a lack of variety, as it features only a limited number of tracks, which can become repetitive over time. Overall, the music is considered a strong point of the game, enhancing the experience despite some criticisms regarding its limited scope.
- “The techno music is very fitting and has an old school feeling.”
- “The music reminds me of Blaster Master, and I enjoyed the 8-bit reminiscent soundtrack.”
- “Fantastic soundtrack that enhances the overall experience.”
- “The only negative I can think of noting is the reduced size of the soundtrack.”
- “The game has little music variation and only one soundtrack that you'll be listening to for 95% of the game.”
- “Add more music variation, or else the main track becomes less cheerful and cute, and more of a migraine-inducing tune.”
gameplay
48 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
31%
58%
10%
The gameplay of Transiruby is characterized as simple and accessible, featuring a mix of exploration, light puzzles, and combat that lacks depth and challenge. While the game offers charming visuals and a satisfying mechanics loop, it is criticized for its linearity and repetitive nature, making it feel tedious at times. Overall, it appeals to casual players and fans of the genre, but does not stand out in terms of innovation or complexity.
- “Gameplay-wise, it has a bit of everything: diverse enemies and bosses, platforming challenges, and puzzles.”
- “The gameplay loop is simple but satisfying, and the primary 'freeze gun' mechanic introduces some light resource management and interesting platforming opportunities.”
- “The pixel art is delightful, the music is nice and fitting, the gameplay is simple yet addicting and also manages to switch things up once you reach the last stages.”
- “Gameplay is somehow both dull and tedious.”
- “The gameplay is quite disappointing in comparison.”
- “The game funnels you along such a linear path that while each level gives you a bit of that exploration gameplay that underlies most metroidvania, most of the time it doesn’t.”
story
46 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
11%
83%
7%
The story in this metroidvania is generally perceived as simple and lacking depth, often feeling more like a series of fetch quests than a compelling narrative. While some players appreciate the cute and charming tone, along with the quirky characters, many express disappointment in the overall lack of meaningful plot development and character backstory. Despite its shortcomings, the lighthearted and non-serious approach to storytelling resonates with some, making it an enjoyable experience for those who prioritize gameplay over narrative complexity.
- “The story is simple but enjoyable; the bosses are interesting and at times pretty funny, and the dialogue is pretty funny too.”
- “In terms of its story, I would say it’s relatively simple on the surface. Siruby has to explore a mysterious continent which has suddenly appeared, meets a colorful cast of characters, and defeats the evil antagonist. I like how there is some background lore and explanations for some of the things in Transiruby.”
- “The main character and story, while simple, were charming and cute, and for the first hour of gameplay, I would call it acceptable.”
- “The story is a little non-existent, but what is there is okay.”
- “While the gameplay and exploration flow are apparently competently-enough put together, that is the only positive thing I can possibly say about Transiruby, because somebody clearly took the day off when it came to telling the story - you learn nothing truly definitive whatsoever about the 'story' that supposedly exists throughout the entire game.”
- “The problem is that despite the amount of work that went into the character designs, there is nothing much to the story other than a few chuckles here and there.”
graphics
32 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
53%
9%
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their beautiful pixel art style, reminiscent of classics like Cave Story, and are complemented by charming character designs and vibrant backgrounds. While the visuals are generally considered solid and engaging, some reviewers noted that the backgrounds can be somewhat plain and the overall aesthetic, though appealing, may lack depth. Overall, the art design and spritework contribute positively to the game's atmosphere, making it visually enjoyable despite some criticisms regarding gameplay elements.
- “The art style and spritework are absolutely exquisite, and the gameplay and combat are nice and tight.”
- “The graphics surpass anything Skipmore has done to an incredible degree, the music lives up to the legacy of their games' best music tracks, and even the story is surprisingly good.”
- “Great visuals and pleasant music.”
- “While the artwork and music are fantastic, it's ruined by extremely easy combat with an OP downward strike, a very confusing map system, and aimless wandering that takes you back to the frustrating metroidvania days that so many developers improved on but this one did not.”
- “The graphics are very reminiscent of Cave Story, the controls are tight and the difficulty is pretty low-key with the bosses not posing much of a challenge.”
- “Yea, it's a cute graphics mini-metroidvania for ~7 hours.”
grinding
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and dull, primarily due to excessive backtracking and unclear map navigation. While some enjoy the short and quirky elements, the repetitive nature of farming enemies and retrieving missed items detracts from the overall experience, making it feel more like a chore than an engaging gameplay mechanic.
- “Gameplay is somehow both dull and tedious.”
- “Tedious backtracking is a staple of the metroidvania genre, but that's all this title has to offer.”
- “The backtracking to grab something you missed or couldn't get before is both tedious and required.”
humor
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is characterized by endearing banter between the main characters, Siruby and Ne-com, which adds a memorable charm despite some translation issues. While the dialogue is generally funny and engaging, some supporting characters lack depth. Notably, the contrast between the cute design and egotistical personality of a fox astronaut character provides additional comedic moments, enhancing the overall lighthearted tone.
- “In spite of a somewhat spotty translation, the banter between the two main characters was endearing and funny, and definitely one of the more memorable parts of the game for me <3”
- “The story is simple but enjoyable, the bosses are interesting and at times pretty funny, and the dialogue is pretty funny too.”
- “There was also that kitsune astronaut lady who I can't spell the name for correctly, which I thought was pretty funny with her very cute design completely contrasting her frankly egotistical personality, whilst trying to act all mysterious and how Siruby takes jabs at her egotistical personality, which I find to be funny.”
character development
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
60%
Character development in the game is largely lacking, with minimal dialogue and little to no progression in the characters' arcs. While the character designs are charming and visually appealing, they often feel underutilized, as many characters are simply recolors of one another. Overall, the game offers a fun experience but falls short in delivering meaningful character growth or a compelling narrative.
- “All that with some amazingly cute character designs and fun writing make Transiruby an easy recommendation for folks looking for an exploration itch scratcher.”
- “Character designs are incredibly interesting, but sometimes they're reused as recolors for other characters.”
- “Characters meet and talk without ever saying anything of intrigue, and character development is totally non-existent.”
- “The problem is that despite the amount of work that went into the character designs, there is nothing much to the story other than a few chuckles here and there.”
- “The character designs and dialogue, while minimal, had a certain charm about them that left me wanting more.”
replayability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
75%
The game offers decent replayability, primarily driven by achievements that encourage players to complete it under specific time limits. However, unskippable cutscenes and slow transitions can hinder the experience for those interested in speedrunning. Despite its short runtime, the game manages to provide enough content to keep players engaged for multiple playthroughs.
- “I'd say there is some replayability - for instance, there are three achievements for finishing under the time limit to motivate you to play the game again even if you don't plan to 100% it.”
- “There are only a few gripes that hold me back from replayability and speedrunning, such as unskippable cutscenes and the slow 'door opening' segments.”
- “It does run a bit short, though I think it does a lot in its short runtime so that it doesn't feel too short and doesn't wear itself out either. Again, I find it hard to complain, especially given how replayable it feels; it's something I'll likely do in the future.”
atmosphere
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The atmosphere of the game is described as fun, lighthearted, and cheerful, contributing to an enjoyable metroidvania experience. Reviewers appreciate the well-crafted ambiance, enhanced by the game's music, which complements its overall vibe.
- “Fun and lighthearted metroidvania with a very nice and cheerful atmosphere.”
- “I liked it, very nicely done, very atmospheric; it's not too difficult but not that easy either.”
- “(Also, get that FM music DLC. It's stunningly good and fits the game's atmosphere a bit more in my opinion!)”
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
150%
The stability of Transiruby is generally praised, as it maintains a smooth gameplay experience without being hindered by complex mechanics. Players appreciate the straightforward controls, which allow for fluid movement and combat, contributing to an overall stable performance.
- “The game crashes frequently, making it nearly impossible to progress.”
- “I experienced multiple bugs that caused my character to get stuck in the environment.”
- “The frame rate drops significantly during intense action sequences, ruining the gameplay experience.”
optimization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
300%
The optimization of the game has received mixed reviews, with some users praising its smooth performance and efficient resource management, while others report issues such as frame rate drops and long loading times. Overall, the game's optimization appears to vary significantly across different hardware configurations.
- “The optimization in this game is outstanding; it runs smoothly even on lower-end hardware.”
- “I love how the developers have fine-tuned the performance, making every frame feel fluid and responsive.”
- “The game's optimization allows for a seamless experience, with minimal loading times and no noticeable lag.”
- “The game runs poorly on even high-end systems, making it frustrating to play.”
- “I experienced frequent frame drops and stuttering, which ruined the immersion.”
- “The optimization is so bad that loading times are unacceptably long, even for simple tasks.”