Rambling Into The Void

Transiruby is a game I'd been meaning to play for a while. I stumbled upon it when my wife was commissioned to draw something inspired by it for a vtuber, funnily enough. I downloaded the demo, enjoyed it, and made a note of it on my wishlist. Then I just sorta... never got around to buying and playing the full game. Until now!





Transiruby is a short metroidvania about a robot girl investigating a "dimension fall" incident and the small but rich cast of characters she meets along the way--most notably the sort-of-antagonist(?) Yamato. The setting and characters are incredibly charming, but the overall writing and story feels a bit disappointingly shallow. I would love to see these ideas expanded upon at least a little bit more. What exactly is a dimension fall? What was Douglas's deal? Who exactly was the fortune telling AI? I'm utterly charmed by all of them but left dissatisfied because it ultimately doesn't really go much of anywhere. Granted, I have only completed the game once and have not yet gotten the "slightly different ending" that is also available... I'm in the middle of that now, but I really think that this kind of game needs to provide a narrative that is more or less fully realized in a single playthrough. I love games that turn the act of replaying into a mechanic, but I don't think that works for a game like Transiruby.



The controls are simple and intuitive. The game feels pretty good to play. My only complaint is the constant, very unintuitive backtracking. I feel like the goalposting could've been a lot clearer, and as it was, I spent more time than I should've wondering where exactly I needed to go. If you go into this game blind, you'll spend a lot of time on the map screen trying to figure out what route to take to get to that one area that has the one chip you're missing to open the door.



I certainly didn't mind collecting dramos--they're cute and fun to track down--but that whole sidequest seemed kind of tacked on as an afterthought. Why collect them? What are they exactly? Don't worry about it.



The number one draw of this game for me is its absolutely impeccable aesthetic. The designer clearly has an understanding of how to use color and detail to guide the player's eye. The sprite for Siruby herself is very simple and clear, which contrasts wonderfully with the chunky, detailed, and vibrant environments she must navigate. The world of Transiruby is gorgeous and fun to explore.

Unfortunately, I was a bit disappointed by this game, though. I feel bad saying that because the reason is simply that I want just a little bit more from it. I loved what it gave me, but it just wasn't quite enough. It's a solid game and I enjoyed my time with it, but it would be a truly amazing game if it dug just a little bit deeper and didn't leave me wanting more in the most unsatisfying way. I ended up feeling like Transiruby was just an aesthetic wrapped around a core of solid gameplay, which is fine, but a bit too hollow for my liking.

My score: 6.5/10
Recommended?: Yes

I'd like to start keeping a proper blog, so here I am. I'll be mainly using this to keep a media log, review stuff, document and ramble about stuff I'm making or collecting, etc.

Content to expect here:

• anime
• vocaloid
• jpop
• video games
• nendoroid and other collectibles
• dolls and toys
• doll customization
• arts and crafts

I'll be making some Actual Posts soon, but for now, here's a nothingburger of a post to test layout stuff and break the paralysis of having an empty page.