Transference Xbox One X Review

Transference doesn't have intense combat or elaborate bosses. Instead, the adventure is about the experience of being in an unknown world that feels wrong. This uncomfortable tone of fragmented memories, environments, and many jump scares creates a surreal horror experience. For so much Transference does well it length and expensive price tag will bother a lot of gamers.

Transference has players jumping into a fragmented mind where memories blink in and out quickly. Set into a corrupted simulation created by a scientist named Raymond you'll piece together the troubled lives of his family, learning their deepest secrets and true desires.

Much of the game focuses on exploring a tiny apartment, locating items of significant, and solving a handful of standard puzzles. The puzzles range from common "search for clues" to switching lights on and off to jump between the 2 different time periods. Many of these problems can be solved by locating particular items by jumping between the 2 periods or triggering specific cutscenes. It's nothing too taxing and those who've played enough video games will blow past 90% of the roadblocks in this title.

The information that you gather throughout adds to the overall narrative while the nervous feeling that something can pop out at any moment that makes the experience tense. The story between each of the family members adds layers this these dark stories. Benjamin is a young, yet gifted, child who looks up to his father and mother, Katherine is a talented musician who is going through depression and Raymond, as the father, is shown as a thuggish father but brilliant scientist. 

The only enemy you'll encounter in this adventure is a pixeled demonic figure. This dark figure usually stalks the player, diving headfirst with terrifying speed that serves as the primary threat. While nothing in this world can kill you seeing the figure hiding and then charging will still send chills down your spine.

Exploring this broken mind full of unnerving moments offers a lot of jump scares and moments of anxiety. However, the primary issue of Transference is the length. The adventure can be completed in less than 2 hours and about 1 hour on the second playthrough. There are interesting collectibles and items that offer narrative explanations about Raymond's family but for $25 this is an expensively short adventure. It also doesn't help that you cannot run and walk at an extremely slow pace.

Transference is a short but unnerving experience that horror fans will appreciate. Exploring the memories of Raymond and his family provides insight into how this troubled family eventually broke down. The atmosphere and the jump scares do offer some excitingly scary moments. However, the short campaign will leave players expecting more for $25. 

Adam Siddiqui, NoobFeed
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