14 DAY TRIAL // 
Transient Extended Edition is an ambitious, yet very confusing game. It was developed by a team with experience in working with the cosmic horror created by H.P. Lovecraft, but even for them is a bold leap into uncharted territories. Mixing the classic Randolph Carter storyline with a futuristic, sci-fi setting is a great idea that shows a lot of potential.
Developed by a small yet overly ambitious team of just 3 developers, Transient Extended Edition is supposed to be the improved version of the original game released two years ago. It brings some new content, including a new ending and some improvements that should make easier the player’s life. At least in theory, since the game itself is still a technical mess on both PS4 and PS5.
On PS5 actually is unplayable due to the random crashes that occur anywhere between 30 seconds and 3 minutes. So, if you plan on playing the game on the current gen, you better wait for a patch. Things are a bit better on PS4, but the random crashes are still present. Not being able to manually save makes things even worst, since the checkpoints are not quite generously placed. It is very frustrating to see the Transient Extended Edition crash just as you managed to solve a puzzle, that has a different solution each time, forcing you to try again.
So is it worth to go through all this trouble for this psychedelic adventure? Well, if you are the type who enjoys the journey more than the destination, than maybe. Even after finishing the pretty short game, you will be left in the dark. Without the crashes, Transient Extended Edition should not take longer than 90 minutes. In reality you will spend several hours redoing again and again the same tasks.
The hero of the game is Randolph Carter, who lives in a future where our planet became uninhabitable. The civilization lives on as a digital construct in the virtual space, controlled by a mega corporation. Together with his fellow hackers Randolph steals something valuable that will make the players question the nature of reality at every step. In a world where dreams are mixed in to virtual and physical reality it is pretty hard to figure out where fantasy starts and where schizophrenia ends.
Just as Carter you will have to question everything the story throws at you, often feeling that you run around in circles. According to one of the several storylines, you are a meta-shaman, a hacker that uses perception altering substances to improve his hacking abilities. Apparently, he is the only junkie able to do this in his little hacker collective, and the only one who could have discovered the alien cult trying to provoke different apocalyptic scenarios.
The story gets more convoluted than this, and the different endings do not help to make sense of the things thrown at you. Gameplay wise though the things are not complicated at all. Transient: Extended Edition, remains an interactive narrative experience aka walking simulator with adventure game elements aka puzzles. Some of these have to be completed against the clock, but the developers have been generous, and you always have more than enough time to figure things out.
The difficulty level is below average, and you even have navigation system you can activate in case you get lost in the linear world. There are quite a few collectibles, most of them hidden in plain sight, so your only challenge is to be curious about your surroundings. The developers made sure you will not be distracted by gameplay elements so you can focus on the mix of horror and cyberpunk. Apparently, they did not consider the technical issues a distraction.
The atmosphere of the game is completely alienating, psychedelic and bizarre. Conceptually and visually Transient remains a piece of art. Love it or hate it, you cannot remain indifferent to it. The atmosphere is cold, depressing and the combination makes you feel isolated and even paranoic. You cannot say if you meet another soul or just digital avatars, you cannot trust your senses or even your thoughts.
If the art style is breath taking, the graphics themselves are outdated. Despite the stunning concept, Transient Extended shows its indie limitations. Next to the random crashes, there are framerate issues and in some cases the characters fail to show up on their cues. The animations are lacking in detail, and in the face of our main hero remains strangely underwhelming compared to the other characters shown in different cutscenes. The music of the game does a great job amplifying the atmosphere, but the eerie tunes are not exactly memorable.
The Good
- The atmosphere and the game world are something else
- The new HDR system improves the lightning dramatically
- Countless hidden easter eggs
The Bad
- A technical mess on every level
- The story is a confusing mess
- Way too short and no real challenge
Conclusion
Also, this new edition does not make the game more user friendly. Yes, some of the previous issues have been fixed, but there are plenty of new ones. Even with the new ending, Transient remains a mystery that will make you wonder what exactly happened – if you are curious or masochistic enough to brave through the countless crashes.
Review code provided by the publisher.
