Transience Review: The Critic Finally Steps Into The Ring (And Trips A Little)

Review
Written By NLM Team

There is a massive target painted on this game's back, and the developer put it there himself.

For years, YouTuber BigfryTV has built a career tearing apart broken indie shooters, scammy Early Access titles, and lazy asset flips. He built a brand on demanding better standards. So when he announced he was making his own tactical shooter, Transience, the entire internet grabbed their popcorn and waited for him to fail.

The good news? He didn't fail. Transience is a competent, often fun tactical shooter with some serious style.

The bad news? It suffers from the exact same "first game jank" that Bigfry usually roasts in his videos. It is a game with excellent bones, a fair price tag, and an AI system that seemingly flips a coin to decide if it wants to be a potato or John Wick.

The "Yap" Trap: A Slow Start

The game starts on the wrong foot. You play as Eli Reed, an accountant-turned-killer who loves the sound of his own voice.

The first hour of Transience is a test of patience. It is a slow, walking-heavy introduction filled with monologues that try desperately to channel Max Payne but end up feeling like an audiobook you can't turn off.

This is a dangerous design choice. Several players have noted that the intro is so slow it almost pushes you past the 2-hour Steam refund window before you get to the real meat of the combat. It sets a sluggish pace that betrays the "tactical shooter" marketing.

The Boom Stick: Where It Shines

Once the game actually lets you off the leash, things improve drastically.

Resurgent Games clearly spent the bulk of their budget on the weapons and the animations. The "NWS" customization system is legitimate. Guns feel weighty. The recoil is punchy. The ragdolls when you drop an enemy are satisfying in that old-school F.E.A.R. kind of way.

You can swap attachments on the fly, turning an SMG into a mid-range carbine or silencing a pistol for wet work. When everything clicks, and you are clearing a room with controlled bursts, Transience feels like a $40 game masquerading as a $20 indie.

A close-up cinematic screenshot from Transience showing a rugged, intense-looking male character dramatically illuminated by warm, high-contrast light against a dark, rainy backdrop.

Schrödinger's Guard: The AI Problem

Unfortunately, the things you are shooting at are a mess. The AI in Transience has a bipolar disorder.

Sometimes they are "Window Lickers." They will stand next to a dead body, stare at a wall, and let you execute them without flinching.

Other times they are "The Oracle." They will spot you through three layers of drywall in pitch darkness and one-tap you instantly.

This inconsistency kills the "tactical" vibe. You can't plan a breach if you don't know if the enemy is deaf or omniscient. It forces you into a "save scumming" loop where you try to be smart, get spotted by a psychic guard, and then just go loud because it is easier.

The "Cooldown" Stealth

The stealth mechanics also feel half-baked.

There are no dedicated stealth takedown animations (a huge miss for this genre). Instead, you rely on gadgets like sleep darts. The problem is that these operate on a cooldown timer.

Waiting for a meter to refill so you can take out a guard isn't tactical gameplay. It is just waiting. It creates a stop-start rhythm that feels more like an MMO ability rotation than a fluid stealth shooter.

Tech & Visuals

Visually, the game punches above its weight. It uses a slight cel-shaded aesthetic that helps mask the indie budget while giving it a comic book vibe. The lighting is moody, and levels like the nightclub look fantastic.

However, the tech stack is missing some modern comforts. There is currently no DLSS or FSR support, which is baffling for a UE4/UE5 title in 2025. Controller support is also basic, lacking deadzone settings which makes aiming feel clunky on a stick.

First-person screenshot from Transience showing a sniper rifle pointed toward a foggy, blue-lit environment with a large, illuminated dam structure in the distance.

The Verdict

Transience is not an asset flip. It is a passion project made by people who clearly love the genre. The gunplay is rock solid, the price is fair ($17-$20), and the atmosphere is thick.

But it is also rough. The AI needs a brain transplant, the story tries too hard, and the level design often devolves into linear corridors rather than tactical playgrounds.

If Bigfry was reviewing this game, he would probably say it has "great potential" but needs six months of patching. And honestly? He would be right.

6.3/10 A solid debut with excellent gunplay and style, held back by bipolar AI and a protagonist who needs to learn the value of silence.

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NLM Team
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