Transference

A game that proves what VR is capable of achieving... despite that fact that it's still a great game played as a traditional game.

One of the best VR games we played this year. A tribute to Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Charlie Kaufman's work. It uses everything in its hands to tell us a story (graphics, sound!!, art department, colours, real actors, dialogue, plenty of secrets in the level), and it does it wonderfully, without making us feel stupid. Oh, and its scary as hell (aka PT).

Plucking inspiration from several unsettling sources of entertainment, Transference delivers a creepy, cerebral virtual reality tour through a broken family dynamic that is unimpeded by taxing puzzles and relishes in immersing players in a haunted house of tragedy.

Transference is an extremely interesting experiment and it succeeds in mixing the movie and videogame components. The use of audio will keep you on the edge, and a few jump scare work very well. However, the constant feeling of tension ends up holding the narrative back, as a greater variety of emotions would have benefitted the overall experience. Transference is remarkably short for a videogame, which might disappoint many players.

Short and horrifying, it’s worth coming home to your PS VR headset for this family reunion. These walls talk, and you’ll want to immerse yourself in what they have to say. [Issue#155, p.87]

Transference is confrontational and uneasy. It makes you feel unsafe in places that are usually perfectly fine. It is not just a scary game, it is the story about the scattered family which really stays on the mind.

Beautiful on a normal TV, amazing in virtual reality, Transference is an experiment that only a few will appreciate. Difficult to understand, enigmatic and complex, it proposes thematic that make you reflect. Poor in terms of play, fascinating in terms of art design.

The strange mix of video, gameplay and horrifying effects works really well. The atmosphere is great and the story is captivating enough to follow - especially in virtual reality because that's where this game truly shines. The major drawbacks are its current price and the playtime which is limited to only two hours.

Ultimately, Transference weaves an effective, but grim tale of one man’s descent into the madness and the horrific fate that he has sealed for his family. The puzzles aren’t particularly challenging, but their difficulty works well within the pacing of the story, engaging your brain enough without dragging the story to a halt.

A clever, creepy refashioning of familiar ideas that will make your head spin - in a good way. [Issue#336, p.78]

Halfway between graphic adventure and walking simulator (but with the plus of VR), Transference is not a game for everyone, but its atmosphere is priceless.

Transference is a particular piece but, besides its lack of content and its abrupt final, it also is an interesting experience. With a compelling story, great sense of atmosphere and astonishing graphics, we recommend it to everyone who likes titles that go beyond being just a videogame.

Transference exceeds the expectations. A first-person horror game, which every fan of the genre must play. The debut of the film production company SpectreVision with Ubisoft, in the videogames industry, is a breath of fresh air for the VR games. Original, complex and adult plot that encourages the audience to reflect about what has actually happened. We only need to know if the film company intends to keep developing videogames or if this title has been only a narrative resource.

It won't be a defining PS VR title, but it has interesting ideas and shows the potential of Spectravision on the VR medium. As their first game, its a decent offering that leave us dreaming with what they can achieve in the future. As an adventure it's a little bit simple, but if has "something" that, we hope, will grow on future productions.

Transference is a good walking simulator, with a great story. There's not much interaction, but who appreciates a great story will find what he searches.

Transference’s subtlety is meant to create additional depth, but keeping the player at arm’s length only works if you eventually let them in. Unfortunately, Transference never fully shows its narrative hand and that’s the game’s biggest detriment. Gameplay-wise, the game is easy but satisfying to navigate.