History YMMV / Transistor

** Void() is overpowered by itself, causing a defense-reducing debuff that you can stack three times for 3.25 times the normal damage (if you upgrade with Spark(), it only takes two), it has a low Turn() planning cost, and it has a wide area of effect. You can even tack Crash() on as an upgrade to give it a second debuff on top of its normal effect. Alternatively, upgrade with Flood() or Purge() to turn Void() into an area of effect damage-over-time bomb. Finally, when used as an upgrade or a passive skill, it either increases that skill's base damage by 50% or every skill's base damage by 25%.
** Void() + Cull(). This combo, guaranteed, can kill almost every single enemy in the game in one Turn(), provided you do some scratch damage with Crash() or another attack function. Anything that gains temporary protection will survive one combo, but rarely two (only the Spine, FinalBoss, and MirrorBoss can survive more than two). Even in its base form, it's deadly. The Crash() upgrade for Void() and the Mask() upgrade for Cull() to increase backstab damage makes it downright excessive, dealing upwards of ~2500 damage a pop. Only the Spine has more health than that. This combo can beat the FinalBoss in four uses of Turn().
*** For extra fun, upgrade Void() with Get(), then Cull() with Load(). Void() will draw enemies in, and Cull() is now an AoE attack. You can wipe out whole enemy groups with ease.

** MAN, the final enemy type. Despite being the final one, it isn't terribly dangerous on its own, since its only attack is to spit out ActionBomb Haircuts. The Haircuts, however, can knock off all but a sliver of your health bar if they connect, and do a fair amount of damage if you're anywhere in the blast radius. Though a single hit will destroy them, they get faster the longer they manage to survive. If you don't have a quick counter-attack with some knockback, they can be deadly, and they're even worse if you have to fight them off when dealing with other, more immediate threats. It gets even worse if you don't have an attack that can be used during Turn() cooldown, because those four seconds are enough for them to catch you.
** Cheerleaders. They do nothing except shield other enemies, but that shield stops ''everything'', and this can be fatal if certain enemies are free to attack you without fear of retaliation. Unless the battle area is large enough to get out of their reach, you have to destroy them first, all the while getting harassed by the things they're shielding. Higher versions also come with a periodic shield that protects them from attack, so you're basically forced to wait them out.
** Bad Cells. A weak little cell that fires a weak beam. It's also very fast and may come with a shield, so you have to waste at least a little time taking them out. Younglady spawns these things in packs when she dies.

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** And now there's a new track for the mobile release and Apple TV. It's just as awesome. Ladies and gentlemen, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGTkAVsrfg8 She Shines.]]

** And now there's a new track for the mobile release. And it's just as awesome. Ladies and gentlemen, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGTkAVsrfg8 She Shines.]]

** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGTkAVsrfg8 And now there's a new track for the mobile release. And it's just as awesome.]]

** Void() in general. In its standard form, you can stack it 3 times for 3.25 times the normal damage, it has a low Turn() planning cost, and it has a huge area of effect that gives it a very respectable range; add in Crash() and Spark() as upgrades and now you get a second damage-increasing effect and a second use of Void()'s original effect every time you use it, respectively. If you have trouble with huge swarms of enemies, you can simply add Flood() or Purge() to turn Void() into an area of effect damage-over-time bomb. Finally, when used as an upgrade or a passive skill, it either increases that skill's base damage by 50% or every skill's base damage by 25%. Combined with Cull(), a finishing-blow skill, and a player who enters Mask() before entering Turn() can wipe out the final boss in a single volley of 3 Void() commands with Crash() as an upgrade, add around ~50 damage provided by any variety of upgrade or short Turn() cost skill (such as simply adding Purge() to Void() as well), and a single backstabbing Cull() command ([[spoiler:Well, one of his chances anyway.]]).

** The very first function you gain, Crash(), is deceptively overpowered because of it's 1.6 second long Stun effect when it is applied as an upgrade (in addition to the more obvious effect of increasing damage received for a bit, which is pointed out by the game's testing challenges). Players may be tempted to combine this with Ping() for rapid-fire permanent stun-locks, but the stun effect is not applied... Enter Purge(). While Purge() has clear weaknesses in projectile speed and finicky homing targeting, it fires incredibly fast even without speed-based upgrades such as Breach() or Ping(). A player can permanently stun-lock a single enemy by spamming Purge() with Crash(), even having time to fire a Ping() in between stun resets.

* ThatOneSidequest: Speed Test 5 pits you against four MAN enemies with a loadout terribly unsuited to killing them. If you lose Cull before you take out at least three of them, it's unwinnable, and losing it is absurdly easy since the Haircuts chase you down during Turn cooldown.

** Fetch. Incredibly fast, high damage, very durable, and impossible to dodge without split-second Turn activation. Then they get stealth mode, where they are also invisible and free to hunt you. And then they get stuns with their basic attack.
*** ...[[HeelFaceTurn and then you get Luna]], a pet Fetch you can summon using the Help() process.

** Creeps' beams have a Get()-like effect that does constant damage in addition to dragging you. Higher-level versions are also considerably tougher and have a three-beam spread, making them that much more dangerous.

** Void() in general. In its standard form, you can stack it 3 times for 3.25 times the normal damage, it has a low Turn() planning cost, and it has a huge area of effect that gives it a very respectable range; add in Crash() and Spark() as upgrades and now you get a second damage-increasing effect and a second use of Void()'s original effect every time you use it, respectively. If you have trouble with huge swarms of enemies, you can simply add Flood() or Purge() to turn Void() into an area of effect damage-over-time bomb. Finally, when used as an upgrade or a passive skill, it either increases that skill's base damage by 50% or every skill's base damage by 25%.
*** Combined with Cull(), a finishing-blow skill, and a player who enters Mask() before entering Turn() can wipe out the final boss in a single volley of 3 Void() commands with Crash() as an upgrade, add around ~50 damage provided by any variety of upgrade or short Turn() cost skill (such as simply adding Purge() to Void() as well), and a single backstabbing Cull() command ([[spoiler:Well, one of his chances anyway.]]).

* BaseBreaker: [[BitchINSheepsClothing Sybil]]'s boundless jealously has contributed in destroying Camerata's plan (''[[DisasterDominoes and boy what a disaster]]'') Some player think she didn't deserve what happened to her, but there are others who think she had it coming.

* TheWoobie: Red and the Man in the Transistor. One lost her voice which is essentially her life's blood and has to somehow deal with [[EverythingTryingToKillYou an apparently endless array of alien-like predators coming after her]] in an increasingly depopulated city and the other's soul is trapped in a weapon and [[AFateWorseThanDeath has to watch helplessly as the woman he loves fights to the death]]. [[spoiler:And then he watches her [[DrivenToSuicide commit suicide out of despair]] of being the last truly living thing left in Cloudbank]]. [[TearJerker Yeah, it sucks to be them.]]

** Creepers beams have a Get()-like effect that does constant damage in addition to dragging you. Higher-level versions are also considerably tougher and have a three-beam spread, making them that much more dangerous.

** Fetch. These are dog-like creatures that chase you down and bite you. It doesn't sound so bad, except that up to four of them will be doing this at a time, they take of a huge chunk of health for every hit, they have a fairly big health pool, and they all run faster than you. In other words, if you ever use Turn() and don't kill every Fetch in the area (not an easy task, considering the aforementioned health pool) you're guaranteed to take some very painful hits while waiting for the recharge. Later on, you also get to deal with some Fetch that turn invisible, and like all invisible enemies, they can't be harmed even if you know where they are until they become visible again.

** Supergiant Games once stated that the first process of making their games is to have each staff bring up their topic of current interest. This coming from ''video game'' developers, especially when the game came out in 2014, you don't have to guess hard about where inspirations came from.

** Supergiant Games once stated that the first process of making their games is to have each staff bring up their topic of current interest. This coming from ''game developers'', you don't have to guess hard about where inspirations came from.

* CentralTheme: Integrity in work and life, and its effect on society.

** Not shown in the linked .gif: if you ''keep going'' after that, it says that "You're just mean."

You're just mean

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* MemeticMolester: If you look at the Camerata's ages, you'll notice that Royce, Asher and Sybil are all young enough to be Grant's children (the oldest of them, Royce, is 18 years his junior). This looks just a touch suspect.

* JerkassWoobie:
** Asher and Grant both veer closer to WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds. Based on their profiles they only ever wanted to help their city, and then when everything starts falling apart [[spoiler: Grant kills himself out of guilt and horror at what they were responsible for, and you get to hear Asher try to tend to the man he loves before going to join him. His last message to Red is completely desolate and grief-stricken.]] And then you have a look at their profiles and note that [[MayDecemberRomance they]] have [[HappilyMarried the same last name...]]
* MostWonderfulSound: Red humming a song. You can make her do it via pressing a button even.

* TheWoobie: Red and the Man in the Transistor. One lost her voice which is essentially her life's blood and has to somehow deal with [[EverythingTryingToKillYou an apparently endless array of alien-like predators coming after her]] in an increasingly de-populated city and the other's soul is trapped in a weapon and [[AFateWorseThanDeath has to watch helplessly as the woman he loves fights to the death.]] [[spoiler:And then he watches her [[DrivenToSuicide commit suicide out of despair]] of being the last truly living thing left in Cloudbank.]] [[TearJerker Yeah, it sucks to be them.]]

** Void() in general. You can stack it 3 times for 3.25 times the normal damage, it has a low Turn() planning cost and when used as an upgrade or a passive skill, it either increases that skill's base damage by 50% or every skill's base damage by 25%. Add in Crash() and Spark() as upgrades and now you get a second damage-increasing effect and a second use of Void()'s original effect every time you use it.

** The very first function you gain, Crash(), is deceptively overpowered because of it's 1.6 second long Stun effect when it is applied as an upgrade (in addition to the more obvious effect of increasing damage received for a bit, which is pointed out by the game's testing challenges). Players may be tempted to combine this with Ping() for rapid-fire permanent stun-locks, but the stun effect is not applied... Enter Purge(). While Purge() has clear weaknesses in projectile time and finicky homing targeting, it fires incredibly fast even without speed-based upgrades. A player can permanently stun-lock a single enemy by spamming Purge() with Crash(), even having time to fire a Ping() in between stun resets.

** Combined with Cull(), a finishing-blow skill, and a player who enters Mask() before entering Turn() can wipe out the final boss in a single volley of 3 Void() commands with Crash() as an upgrade, add around ~50 damage provided by any variety of upgrade or short Turn() cost skill (such as simply adding Purge() to Void() as well), and a single backstabbing Cull() command ([[spoiler:Well, one of his chances anyway.]]).