Transformers: Devestation developer video shows off gorgeous visuals, fast-paced combat

By Gabe Gurwin September 26, 2015

TRANSFORMERS: Devastation Behind the Scenes with PlatinumGames

Activision already has a huge fall season lined up, with games like Destiny: The Taken King and Skylanders Superchargers, but there’s one more title that you may want to keep on your radar — PlatinumGames’ Transformers: Devastation — and a new behind-the-scenes video shows that the acclaimed developer knows exactly how to handle the license.

Ditching the more third-person-shooter approach to Transformers of the Cybertron games and the horrendous Rise of the Dark Spark, PlatinumGames’ take on the robots in disguise is just what you’d expect based on the developer’s past releases: extremely fast combat and a ton of style. Transforming abilities are used on the fly to move you from enemy to enemy, creating a more consistent combat loop.

“Transformers feel so at home — in their own skins — in this game. They move just like I imagined they would, and it just feels like the Transformers that I played with as a kid,” says producer Robert Conkey. “And the fact that PlatinumGames has achieved that is truly incredible.”

Of course, the most obvious change from past Transformers game is the cartoon-inspired art style, but PlatinumGames is confident that the visual shift is “more than meets the eye.”

“For the game’s visuals, we heavily referenced the classic nostalgic look of the TV show,” says producer Atsushi Kurooka. However, the team used “modern animation techniques” as well, creating something that can (hopefully) keep up with the frenetic gameplay that PlatinumGames is known for.

Transformers: Devastation hits PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, and PC on October 6, and following Star Fox Zero’s delay, it will be the only title PlatinumGames releases this year. The studio is also developing the Xbox One-exclusive action-RPG Scalebound, scheduled to arrive next holiday season, which offers a much more methodical combat system.

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Gabe Gurwin has been playing games since 1997, beginning with the N64 and the Super Nintendo. He began his journalism career…

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