Ahead of the Game – Transformers: Eternal War brightens up the idle RPG genre with Hasbro’s OG OST

• Retro music for Transformers fans
• Add your favourite Autobots and Decepticons to your collection
• Idle RPG with offline rewards

Hello and welcome to Ahead of the Game, a series where we tell you all about an upcoming game that, despite not being out yet, is available for you to play at the time of publishing. Through this series, you can grab a chance to play games well ahead of their release date, be that through Soft Launch, Open Beta, Demos, or more.

They lured me in with the music.

Basically, Transformers: Eternal War is an upcoming idle RPG where you collect Autobots and Decepticons to fight against the growing Chaos Legion. And while the visuals are lovely and the gameplay is cool, it’s the music that really sold me on this nostalgic little gem. And if you’re a fan of things that are more than meets the eye, you’ll likely enjoy it as much as I did.

Yes, the music from the original animated series makes a glorious comeback here, which only goes to show how much Hasbro has had a hand in crafting this officially licensed strategy RPG. The way the Transformers transform also looks wonderful, and even the way they sound – either in calling out their special attacks or during a few of the voiced cut scenes – feels very, very familiar.

As for the gameplay, it’s standard idle RPG fare – you collect characters from the gacha, level them up, plot out your formation, then deploy them onto the battlefield in auto-combat. There are AFK rewards aplenty, and you can auto-equip your characters with gear (as well as pick the top five for the rest of your squad to level up with) too.

There’s a roguelike mode and an Ark you can walk around in, which adds a nice touch to the overall narrative (in that Autobots and Decepticons have to team up – albeit reluctantly – to fight a common threat). And while I do find the core gameplay loop fun enough as it is, it’s really the way things look and sound that appeals to me.

I mean, I actually spent a good chunk of my time transforming Sludge and rotating him around just to marvel at how adorable his chunky Dinobot body looks, and I regret nothing.

So, how do you play Transformers: Eternal War?

It’s currently running a Closed Beta Test in select regions, with the test period ending on May 20th. It’s going to be a data-wipe CBT, but if you’re eager to join in and be part of the development process with your valuable feedback, you’d best download before the test ends!