Transference

Standing in a dimly lit room you notice a brightly lit light switch and walk over to press it. The moment you do the house you stand in begins to deconstruct itself. Everything is dark for a time, and then the world rebuilds itself from the ground up. It is the same house you stood in a moment ago, and yet, it isn’t. The colors are different for one, and the objects adorning the house have changed too. The moment you turn around a man appears in front of you.
“Have you seen my wife?!”, he asks in alarm.
And just like that, he winks out of existence, his body breaking apart in a way similar to the house only moments ago. This is the story of the Hayes family. This is the story of Transference.
Transference is a psychological thriller looking to bridge the gap between video games and movies. It definitely has the feeling of something you might see on the big screen next summer. You play as an unnamed protagonist diving into the virtual world to try and uncover the fate of the Hayes. From the get-go, you understand that this is no Resident Evil. You walk at a sluggish pace as you uncover clues and solve puzzles. The focus of the game is clearly on the story.
And what a story it is. The moment you walk into the house you understand that something is deeply wrong. There are pieces of the house that are corrupted as if in a bad computer program. Lines of red code glare angrily at you as you attempt to repair the damage. Your brief run-ins with the family give you scraps to the tragedy that unfolded on their grounds.
The house itself tells you a story, three stories to be precise. Pressing a light switch grants you access to the home as seen from the eyes of each of the family members. Each a different perspective from one of the family on the ongoing plight in the Hayes Boston home.
Naturally, a big theme of the game is perspective. Benjamin Hayes the cheery child of the family seemed to see the house in a soft, almost warm orange glow. Scattered around are games and toys with vestiges left over from his recent birthday. His father Raymond, on the other hand, had the house bathed in a cool clinical blue. There are computer-like objects with wires going everywhere and several hastily written calculations all over the walls. Last is the perspective of the wife and mother Katherine whose view is a deep red with spots of melancholic purple suggesting some kind of emotional turmoil. But you get the point, everyone sees things differently.
I’m a big fan of games like this because it’s always interesting to see just how well an in-game story can be crafted. Some do it better than others and Transference does it’s best to get its point across. The atmosphere is heavy and the music is suspenseful as you explore the house. There is a feeling of foreboding and sorrow as you traverse the ever-changing halls of the Hayes family home.
The game isn’t very big on jump scares like traditional horror games or movies. It does it’s best work in the slow-burning suspense as you slowly uncover the fate of the Hayes family. I think the biggest takeaway from the game was the short run time of the game clocking in at an underwhelming 2–4 hours. And I would say the fourth hour is pushing the total game time. Although a longer game time wasn’t really required for a game that at its core is trying to tell you a story. All in all an enjoyable experience for those looking to play something akin to an interactive movie.
Transference is a game made by developers SpectreVision and published by Ubisoft. It was released this past September, for the PC, Xbox One, and PS4. The game was made for VR but can be played in Non-VR mode as well. You can pick it up off Steam for $25.

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