by ted2112, HSM team writer

I bought my PS4 a little past midnight on November 15th, and in these eight months I have played six PS4 titles. If this doesn’t seem like much from a guy who writes for a gaming magazine, keep in mind I have also been busy playing PS3 releases as well as Home.

I am really enjoying the obvious upgrade in graphics and technology the PS4 has to offer, but at this point in time it’s not a huge gulf between the platforms. You can tell it’s in the mail, though, that’s for sure. The next wave of PS4 games promises to be showstoppers. However, I would like to focus on two PS4 games in the “first wave” of titles from the new console. One a much anticipated game I stood in line to play at PAX East, called Transistor. The other a total surprise that was a free download right out of the box, called Contrast.

I’m a funny video game player. You can tell how much I love a game based on how fast I play it. If it’s meh, then I will rush through it, collect my trophies and see-ya. If I love it, I go into slow mode. I savor the game and want to see around every corner and soak in the game as long as I can before reluctantly take on the final boss.

Transistor, for me, was this latter kind of game.

Everything about the game was win. The amazingly stylistic deco watercolor look of the game — down to customizable battle system — kept Transistor fresh and in the moment. Full of sadness and determination, the storyline of Transistor is surprisingly unique. The game’s ending further brought it over the top and distinguished it from your ordinary kill the boss/live happily-ever-after ending.

Transistor’s pace was right on the money. You could play the game as you saw fit, and the sandbox element of the personal space was a great way to break up the game. HSM’s Terra_Cide and I stood in line two hours to play it at PAX East, and we both walked away knowing we would buy it. SuperGiant Games made it two great games in a row with both Bastion and Transistor.

On the other hand, Contrast was a game I downloaded not to play, but to test the PS4’s download speed. It was free, and I wanted to compare it to the PS3’s download speed. After downloading it and being amazed at how fast the PS4 is, I quickly moved on to Assassin’s Creed Black Flag. It remained on my hard drive, somewhat forgotten until very recently, when I ran out of games to play.

I love being surprised by games. I had no expectations of Contrast, and hadn’t heard very much about the game. This game is kind of the lovechild of Limbo and Rain, if they met some hot summer night in a Paris bar nine moths earlier. Contrast takes place in a surreal Parisian world of shadow and light, and focuses on the adventure of a little girl determined to help her family swept up in a whirlwind of alchemy, jazz and the fringe of society. The oil-paint feel of Contrast is in sharp contrast with the soft Gustav Klimt feel of Transistor. Contrast won me over with its simple, fun mechanics, and storytelling that isn’t trying to win a Pulitzer prize.

One game looks forward with a technological yet antique-tinged feel; one game looks backwards with very modern storytelling. Both games seem to start at opposite ends of the spectrum, yet pass each other somewhere in the middle. Both games are led by strong heroines, and are delightful and well worth the time to play.

One game from the large California development team, the other from a small Montreal start up. Both very different, yet sharing a spot in helping the birth of the PS4. Two games, but one common great experience.

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