Transistor on Steam - User reviews, Price & Information
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Discover the world of Transistor, a sci-fi-themed action RPG from the creators of Bastion.
Transistor is a great soundtrack, female protagonist and indie game
developed and published by Supergiant Games.
Released on May 20th 2014 is available on Windows, MacOS and Linux
in 10 languages: English, French, Italian, German, Spanish - Spain, Polish, Portuguese - Brazil, Russian, Japanese and Simplified Chinese.
It has received 30,592 reviews of which 28,786 were positive and 1,806 were negative resulting in an impressive rating of 9.2 out of 10. 😍
The game is currently priced at 19.50€ on Steam.
The Steam community has classified Transistor into these genres:
System requirements
These are the minimum specifications needed to play the game. For the best experience, we recommend that you verify them.
Windows
- OS *: Windows 7 32-bit
- Processor: Dual Core CPU - 2.6ghz
- Memory: 4 GB RAM
- Graphics: 1GB of VRAM: Intel HD 3000 GPU / AMD HD 5450 / Nvidia 9400 GT
- Storage: 3 GB available space
MacOS
- OS: 10.7.5
- Processor: Dual Core CPU - 2.6ghz
- Memory: 4 GB RAM
- Graphics: OpenGL 3.0+ (2.1 with ARB extensions acceptable)
- Storage: 3 GB available space
Linux
- OS: glibc 2.15+, 32/64-bit
- Processor: Dual Core CPU - 2.6ghz
- Memory: 4 GB RAM
- Graphics: OpenGL 3.0+ (2.1 with ARB extensions acceptable)
- Storage: 3 GB available space
User reviews & Ratings
Explore reviews from Steam users sharing their experiences and what they love about the game.
Playing a studio's games in order is a very interesting experience. I can see in many ways how Supergiant improved since their previous work, Bastion. Transistor struck me right away with how it handles new players to the game. Bastion was very candid about giving you explanations on almost everything, down to the tutorials, mechanics, and lore. Bastion's narrator gave tons of exposition. Although his voice acting was great, it told a little too much, spoonfeeding the player to a high degree. Transistor is entirely the opposite. It explains too little, for better or worse. It doesn't explain almost anything. It does its best at presenting a story without spelling out to you what is going on to its benefit, since I was able to wrap my head around Transistor's plot much easier than Bastion's. As you may expect, the practice of NOT spamming the player with exposition that may or may not be relevant makes the plot easier to digest. On the flip side, you have to figure out Transistor's gameplay aspects and mechanics on your own. The way Functions, the game's rearrangeable abilities slot in, the way you unlock things, what happens when you hit 0 HP, and etc. You inevitably learn things like how Functions can slot into others as Upgrades, or you can slot them into Passive slots to provide different uses. While I respect this decision to have minimal explanations, it was jarring for the first 30 minutes or so of the playthrough. Inevitably I did get used to it, but I do wish some things were actually explained. Limiters for instance add a debuff in exchange for a positive effect, a recurring feature in Supergiant games, also being seen in Hades and Bastion. However, there's no clear explanation on what they do beyond "+x% Player Level". What's that mean? I had to look it up to know that it meant experience. I also didn't know that Functions with a higher load get disabled first until really late in the game when an alert popped up while I was adjusting Functions in my loadout. I... kinda feel like that would've been nice to know earlier?! Though, it's totally possible this was a bug and it should've popped up sooner, it doesn't change my point that Transistor is very reluctant to explain anything to you about its mechanics. The game feels incredibly punishing when a Function you're relying on (Jaunt and Breach in my case) keeps getting disabled. When a Function is disabled, it must be 'repaired' for 1 checkpoint. Meaning once you find a checkpoint after it gets disabled, you need to find another checkpoint before it is usable again. I suppose the idea is to make you change up your loadout and get you out of your comfort zone, but it simply doesn't feel that fun, and feels like more of an annoyance than anything. If I knew that higher load caused Functions to get disabled first, I would've strategized better by slotting upgrades into the Functions I don't mind losing as much. I don't mind that, I think that's kinda cool design, to make the player think about what they slot upgrades into. Slot stuff into your best Function for more power but run the risk of losing it first, or slot stuff into other Functions to conserve your best Functions while neutering the potential of them? Most players I feel will naturally slot upgrades into their favorite Functions so it would've been nice to know, is all I'm saying here. Transistor's combat is not what I expected at all. It's fairly unique and I think that creativity wins Transistor a ton of goodwill in my book. It's a combat system that I struggle finding the words to explain, which I think is a sign that it is indeed unique. What it kind of reminds me of is the VATS system in old-school Fallout (which was also isometric), making the player use some strategic thinking while time is frozen. Red's real-time combat is a bit slow and doesn't feel the best, abilities she uses getting disabled briefly after using a Turn, so it feels like the game is geared towards primarily using Turns. Entering Turns fills an Action Bar for each action you queue up while time is frozen, including movement. When you're ready, you hit a button and Red's actions play out. When I first engaged with the combat, I was surprised that Supergiant didn't just make another isometric Action game like Bastion, but also impressed. Part of me wondered why they didn't just make it a straight-up Tactics game, but the uniqueness of Transistor's combat really works. It's outstanding to me that a studio experimented like this so early in their catalogue, and not only that, but pulled it off with aplomb as well. It's truly commendable, and it's aged well too since Transistor feels charmingly unique even in 2025, over 10 years later. Transistor's story is one I can't spoil but I can easily see that Supergiant has improved in the writing department after Bastion. As stated earlier, not spoonfeeding the player with exposition makes the plot easier to understand. I watched a video explaining the game's plot afterwards assuming I missed something, only to say, "Oh, I knew all that already." at the end of the video. That's a really good sign for a game's storytelling if I'm able to say that. Transistor does the lone narrator thing again here like Bastion, where the narrator is one of the only voices you hear through the game, but making the narrator more personal to the character means it works so much better. It gives you someone to latch onto through Transistor's heart-breakingly bittersweet plot and ending. Red is also an extremely underrated female protagonist in gaming, both when it comes to design and character-wise. Although Red is mute for the entire game, you get bits of her personality whenever she uses a terminal, since she uses the comment section of public terminals to write things to the narrator, giving you bits of her personality and cadence with each one you find. It's extremely clever, and I have to give a lot of credit to that. Despite some enemies that quickly became annoying, especially late-game (Screw you, "Man"), Transistor respects your time. I finished Transistor in only 4 hours total, despite the Howlongtobeat page reading it as 6 hours. I didn't use Limiters and I didn't indulge in the arena side content, so maybe that's why? Am I just good? I don't know - but I don't think this game is that hard without Limiters, since losing abilities acts as a great cushion, allowing you to avoid death multiple times in a row. There aren't difficulty settings either, although there is a New Game+. I have to mention that this game doesn't even have a main menu. It really banks on throwing you in. The game autosaves when you enter new areas or hit checkpoints. You can't manually save or reload, and the settings in the menu are minimal. Even when you beat the game, you're asked if you want to play New Game+. If you say no, the game literally just closes itself for you. It's pretty funny, actually, and I don't entirely know the reason why they don't even have a menu, but maybe it's an artistic vision angle?. I couldn't find any info on this, so I'll have to assume that's the reason. Transistor is a wonderfully unique and bittersweet game. I'm genuinely impressed that Supergiant made something like this as only their second game. I'd highly recommend giving it a shot if you like Supergiant's games in the first place, or if anything I said appeals to you. Score: 87
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My absolute favorite game from Supergiant Games. An absolute masterpiece that aimed high and shot nothing less than a bulls-eye. From the music, to the art, to the art and unique flavor of gameplay, the game won't disappoint at any stage. A must buy for anyone that has played any of their other games.
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Interesting game that really shines on the second playthrough Transistor offers a unique turn-based role playing experience, with a steep learning curve on combat mechanics and a pretty interesting storyline. Set in a futuristic and colourful city called Cloudbank , with a giant sword called the Transistor at your disposal, you start off uncovering the events that led to the desolation of the city. Transistor is more of a casual game, however requiring you to experiment the numerous combination of powers (also known as functions) you acquire for the transistor as you progress. It gets confusing and overwhelming at the initial stages, however it becomes so much fun if you can make out the right combination of functions for your weapon. After that, you can just blaze through the game. On a positive note, the game encourages you to experiment the powers that you acquire during the journey and there are various test levels where you will figure out some great combinations and on your second playthrough, once you have figured it all, you can practically go through the combat sequences without even pausing the game. Overall, I really had a great time with the game, especially on my second playthrough, where I was so overpowered and could go through any number of enemies the game threw at me, without the need for pausing/tactical planning. A Quick Summary 🎲 ASPECT OF THE GAME 📈 MY PERSONAL SCORE ON A SCALE OF 10 🔶 STORY & PRESENTATION New, unique and original. Keeps you interested throughout. 8 🔶 GAMEPLAY Steep learning curve but extremely enjoyable once you master the mechanics and start using some powerful combination of powers. 9 🏆 🔶 GAMEPLAY LENGTH Roughly around 10 hours. Doesn't get boring and there is good replay value, considering the ample number of function combinations for your weapon. 7.5 🔶 GRAPHICS Looks hand drawn, artistic and pleasing. [url=https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3289277546]Screenshot 7.5 🔶 SOUND The environment vibes with the soundtracks being played, which is kind of cool. Plus the Sword speaks. 7.5 🔶 DIFFICULTY/CHALLENGES Fair and enjoyable difficulty that requires tactical planning. You can use limiters to make the game more challenging. Achievements are very do-able. 9 ❗ NOTE: The game does not output 4k resolution. You can manually do it though through the game's launch options on steam: Right click the game icon in your library and select properties. In the General tab you have Launch Options where you can enter: -x 3840 -y 2160. Overall Score: 8/10 Recommendation: ✅
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First off, Transistor is gorgeous. Like, properly gorgeous. Not your typical shoot-em-up with explosions everywhere – it's got this watercolor art style that makes it look like someone's spilled their fancy paint set all over your screen, but in a good way. Cloud Bank, this mad futuristic city they've created, looks like what would happen if you let an art student loose after they've had too many Red Bulls. Now, the combat – Christ, the combat. You've got this massive sword that talks to you, which sounds absolutely ridiculous when you say it out loud. Like something you'd come up with after a night down the pub. "You know what games need? Chatty weapons!" But here's the thing – it actually works. You can freeze time like some pretentious Matrix wannabe, plan out these ridiculously complex moves, and then watch it all unfold like you're some tactical genius. Meanwhile, you're just sitting there thinking, "I can't believe I just pulled that off without dying. The music, fucking hell, the music. It's got this singer that sounds like she's performing a jazz funeral in space. Should be pretentious garbage, right? But it's not. It's hauntingly beautiful, like someone bottled up all the melancholy in the world and turned it into a soundtrack. I found myself just standing still in the game sometimes, letting the music wash over me like some proper art house wanker – and loving every second of it. Now, there are some bits that'll drive you round the bend. The UI's about as user-friendly as an angry badger – especially when you're trying to sort out your Functions (that's what they call abilities, trying to be clever). And it's shorter than my patience at a vegan restaurant – about 8-12 hours if you're not arsing about. But here's the thing that gets me: they've made dying fun. Yeah, you heard that right. When you mess up – which you will, 'cause some of us aren't teenage gaming prodigies – it's not game over. It's more like, "Have another go, mate, see if you can work it out this time." No permanent punishment. Like a really forgiving teacher who actually wants you to learn something. The customization's brilliant too – starts off simple enough but then goes proper mental. You can turn your basic attacks into something that looks like a physics experiment gone wrong. Want to make your death beam split in three directions and bounce off enemies like a drunk pinball? Go for it. Want to turn your sword into a black hole generator? Why not? It's like they've given you all these toys and said, "Go on then, see what you can break." Look, here's the thing: I paid 5 euros for this. FIVE EUROS! I've spent more on terrible coffee that tasted like it was filtered through someone's sock. Sure, the combat areas are more repetitive than my ex-wife's complaints, and it's all over quicker than a Premier League diving controversy, but who cares when it's this good? Should you buy it? Well, if you don't, you're either skint or stupid. And if you're skint, fair enough.
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I'm writing this just after I got the ending. Buy this game. Now. It is worth the full price. The gameplay is unique and fun. The combinations of different modules all feel fun and fresh. For even the last boss, I still had want to mix and match different moves. The game also rewards you for using modules in different slots with lore, which is a plus. The story is pretty simple, but it there are several cool moments, and the ending is fantastic. There is also a lot of lore to discover in the modules and in terminals, But to be real, the Narration is what carries the whole thing with two giant buff arms. Like in Bastion and Hades, narration in this story is really charming, and kept my attention. In this game though unlike the other two, the narrator is constantly talking to you, and they are really sweet and supportive. The narration also gives lot of depth to the world, as they casually commentate about different aspects of the world. It manages to dumb a lot of lore on you without feeling like a exposition. Also, the man is great and sweet and wonderful and light in what otherwise can be rather bleak circumstances. I still feel a little bit of the high from finishing the game, but right now it is one of the best video game experiences I know of. I played the game through in 9 hours, and although I would have been really glad if there had been more, I also was very satisfied with what I got. It was an unique experience, that I shall savor for a good while.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Transistor is currently priced at 19.50€ on Steam.
Transistor is currently not on sale. You can purchase it for 19.50€ on Steam.
Transistor received 28,786 positive votes out of a total of 30,592 achieving an impressive rating of 9.21.
😍
Transistor was developed and published by Supergiant Games.
Transistor is playable and fully supported on Windows.
Transistor is playable and fully supported on MacOS.
Transistor is playable and fully supported on Linux.
Transistor is a single-player game.
There is a DLC available for Transistor. Explore additional content available for Transistor on Steam.
Transistor does not support mods via Steam Workshop.
Transistor supports Remote Play on TV. Discover more about Steam Remote Play.
Transistor is enabled for Steam Family Sharing. This means you can share the game with authorized users from your Steam Library, allowing them to play it on their own accounts. For more details on how the feature works, you can read the original Steam Family Sharing announcement or visit the Steam Family Sharing user guide and FAQ page.
You can find solutions or submit a support ticket by visiting the Steam Support page for Transistor.
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Additionally, we incorporate data from the SteamSpy API, which offers insights into game sales and player statistics. This helps us present a comprehensive view of each game's popularity and performance within the gaming community.
Last Updates| Steam data | 10 June 2025 14:19 |
|---|---|
| SteamSpy data | 10 June 2025 04:56 |
| Steam price | 15 June 2025 12:43 |
| Steam reviews | 13 June 2025 03:45 |
If you'd like to dive deeper into the details about Transistor, we invite you to check out a few dedicated websites that offer extensive information and insights. These platforms provide valuable data, analysis, and user-generated reports to enhance your understanding of the game and its performance.
- SteamDB - A comprehensive database of everything on Steam about Transistor
- SteamCharts - Analysis of Transistor concurrent players on Steam
- ProtonDB - Crowdsourced reports on Linux and Steam Deck Transistor compatibility
Game modes
Features
Online players
13
Developer
Supergiant Games
Publisher
Supergiant Games
Release
20 May 2014
Platforms
Remote Play