Transcender is a more-art-than-game "walking sim" art installation that's derived from watching too many sci-fi films while under the influence of drugs... there's a lot of 2001: A Space Odyssey and a little bit of The Matrix: Reloaded thrown in as you start with a clicker/idler game that powers up a terraforming station, then you get catapulted into a surreal third person asset-flip looking walking sim for the second half of this short (~20m most) demo/game that forgets that while pretentiousness makes things seem artistic, true art is in storytelling... which they forgot to include with Transcender. Oops. So it's just bumbling through a small number of surreal scenes trying to work out what's going on (Spoiler... you don't really find out because the storytelling is half-baked).
The game is very badly optimised, with low framerates and janky gameplay even on a high end rig. Developers must take the time and polish their games and ensure they are optimised and will play well on any potential customers system. The graphics menu looks like it should fit all the right check boxes but a lot of the settings don't work right... the 4K support option is missing, it's unclear if this is a bug or a defect, either way, no good. The game looks blurry, too, probably a result of mismanaging the postprocessing and other filters etc.
The game is completely free. This is noble a gesture that shows dedication to both gamers, and the gaming industry. Nothing speaks more to a developers belief in themselves and their product than making their game available for everyone without remuneration. It's a shame in this case that the implementation is below the minimum standards a dedicated PC game should offer to enthusiasts. There's no "maybe" option in Steam, unfortunately, but I hope to see more work from this developer, perhaps as part of a professional game development company that can make full use of their talents without needing to make budget/quality compromises (like not hiring a software tester).
