Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark (PS4) Review

I just recently got my PS4 and played Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark for the first time. To be 100% honest, I haven’t played the previous games and didn’t know what to expect. From the reviews all over the internet, one would think it was the most horrible game ever made. While I do not believe that is even close to the truth, it does have its faults so I would not recommend paying for it until the price drops.

Basically, this is one of those games I purchased at the spur of the moment, without reading reviews first. It wasn’t until I got home and looked it up that I realized people hate this game, claiming its the worst Transformers game yet.

The narrative is horrible, so don’t expect to get much of a story out of this game, it does not compliment the movies at all. However, I am not playing a game for that, I bought this Transformers game for the multiplayer action!

Graphics and Visuals

Out of all the PS4 games I own, this one has the worst graphics and reminds me of an Xbox 360 game (not that bad, a little better). It is not horrible enough to ruin the game itself, but it does not help make this a good game. High Moon Studios is the maker of the previous games and fans of the series say they were much better, so if you liked a previous Transformers game then this one might disappoint you.

Gameplay and New Upgrade System

Even though I did not play the previous games, I know that there is a new upgrade system in this game and I actually like it. The gameplay is fun, but this is easy for me to say since I am not spoiled on the previous Transformers games. It’s good to get prize boxes after beating challenges and gaining more experience points. If you play the game long enough then you will find that they come easily, and it makes the action more entertaining. Basically, if you kill enough enemies you can get one, if you level up you will get one, and if you complete optional challenges you can get one. For example, there are bronze boxes, iron boxes, etc…

Co-op Action with Escalation mode

Escalation mode is basically the only reason why I still play this game. Four-player co-op is extremely fun, fighting off waves of enemies is always fun to begin with. Even though the critics have ripped this game apart and gave it bad ratings, they almost all recognized that Escalation mode is a great feature on this game. When playing in Escalation mode you can upgrade your base with automated defenses, making it easier for you guys to protect each other and fight off the incoming enemies.

Conclusion

This game was intended to be a tie-in with the movie series and I don’t feel like it did a good job at that. Overall, I have to give this game a 2.5/5 simply because I know it’s not much of an upgrade from the previous games. From my experience alone, I would give it a 4/5 because Escalation mode and the non-stop action involved in this game. Also, Escalation mode is not available on the Wii U version of this game.