Recursion (shown in-game as "Begin Recursion" after the credits) is a "New Game Plus" option provided to the player at the end of Transistor. In a Recursion, the game restarts from the beginning, but the player keeps all Functions, levels, and assorted achievements earned in the previous playthrough. Additionally, the content within the game is altered in minor ways, most notably with the opening line from the Transistor ("Hey Red... We're not getting away with this, are we?"), spoken by Royce Bracket, instead of the usual narrator.
Differences from "Normal" Mode[]
- The work of the Process (turning Cloudbank into the White Canvas) starts out far more advanced than it was on the game's first run. For instance, the room where the first Jerk is fought is already heavily distorted, almost two-thirds of the room already painted white.
- The Process retains all upgrades (e.g. Jerk 3.0) which it acquired in the previous run of the game.
- All types of Process can and will spawn from the start of the game (e.g. Man will spawn as early as the game's first encounter).
- All previously unlocked Functions and Limiters remain unlocked and are available at the start of the Recursion, equipped in the same configuration as they were when used in the previous run's final fight. As the player progresses, eventually Functions can be upgraded with copies of themselves.
- If Red's life reaches zero before she reaches the first available Access Point, a "Transistor Overloaded" message displays but Red's health bar is restored without overloading any Functions.
- In the Process encounter which normally starts the Turn() tutorial, the tutorial appears to glitch, spamming the "Recommended Move" Arrow across the screen before a short "restart" of the Turn() flashes and alows the player to independently plan the Turn() without scripted suggestions.
- The Den and Luna are present in the Sandbox the first time it is used. The Sandbox also provides three new Recursion-exclusive Agency Tests; beating all three earns the Agency() achievement.
- There are a number of minor differences in the game's dialogue, including:
- The game's opening line is spoken by Royce instead of Unknown.
- When Sybil appears at the Empty Set, she sings the words to We All Become instead of only humming.
- Unknown has an additional line of dialogue while meeting Royce's Proxy in Goldwalk.
- A number of other lines from Unknown throughout the game are replaced with alternate dialogue.
Trivia[]
- When Royce Bracket speaks the opening line, the screen jumps towards the Transistor and the colouring of the image overall is a little darker.
- The encounters in which Red collects the Traces of deceased individuals throughout the game proceed as before, with the same dialog, even though the player already has access to their Functions and Function Files.
Related Achievments[]
| Icon | Name | How to Obtain |
|---|---|---|
|
Goodbye() | Recurse through the story. |
|
Self() | Upgrade a Function with a copy of itself. (Only available in Recursion.) |
- List of Achievements