Transformers: Earthspark Expedition Review (PlayStation 5)

by Jim Smale · Published October 18, 2023 · Updated October 18, 2023

For our Transformers: Earthspark Expedition Review, we battle and explore as a courageous Autobot, Bumblebee, in an exciting action adventure to stop his nemesis, Mandroid, from becoming the ultimate evil cyborg. With Optimus Prime’s guidance and you at the controls, Bumblebee will grow strong enough to take on an army of robotic enemies in bare-metal combat, speed into boss battles with some of Transformers’ greatest villains, and unlock devastating new attack combos and abilities along the way!

Transformers: Earthspark Expedition Review Pros:

Decent graphics.
5.86GB download size.
Platinum trophy.
You get the PlayStation 4 and the PlayStation 5 versions of the game.
Three save slots.
Action adventure gameplay.
Three difficulties – Easy, normal, and hard.
Based on the Netflix show.
Animated cutscenes.
Fully voiced characters.
Opening tutorial section with movement, driving, and shooting quests.
A full 3D world with 360-degree camera control.
Open world.
Main missions with optional events like racing, collecting things, and combat arenas.
You play how you want.
A full map with all missions and points of interest is shown.
Auto targeting for both melee and ranged attacks.
Your hub is called G.H.O.S.T and houses unlocks of new abilities, passives, and attacks.
Your car form can be edited and customized with different color trails and horns.
Uses the original transformers transform sound. the controls are good, and the driving feels like a twin-stick arcade racer.
Breakable objects for bolts.
Boosts can be activated to improve your health strength etc and they can be assigned and used from the d-pad.
Your goal in an area is to clear out enemy camps and Epic camps to fill the bar and unlock the big main base and boss.
Many hidden rooms and alternative routes.
Speed ramps help you clear chasms when in car mode.
Cards can be found and collected with them split into Autobots, Deceptions, and Miscellaneous.
Glyphs are found in the world and all link together in the hub so you can view messages.
Exploding barrels are used for damage and unblocking doorways.
You can see enemy health bars.
Boss encounters.
The hub is vast and will house defeated bosses in holding cells, find the shops, etc.
Cool-looking locations.
You can replay areas whenever you want once you unlock them.
An overall completion percentage on each location.

Transformers: Earthspark Expedition Review Cons:

Open world but hardly any enemies and when they do appear, the game hangs a second then they appear.
Cannot mark the map to help with collecting collectibles.
No mini-map.
The combat is very mashy.
The gameplay loop repeats over and over.
Simple quests are dragged out.
Cannot rebind controls.
The map is not that clear and it is really hard to work out where stuff is.
The upgrades are slow and you have to follow particular paths.
Its just a slow game overall.

Transformers: Earthspark Expedition:

Official website.

Developer: Tessera Studios

Publisher: Outright Games

Store Links –

PlayStation

7/10
Graphics - 7/10
7/10
Sound - 7/10
7/10
Accessibility - 7/10
7/10
Length - 7/10
7/10
Fun Factor - 7/10

7/10

Summary

Transformers: Earthspark Expedition offers decent graphics and action-adventure gameplay. It’s based on the Netflix show and features fully voiced characters, animated cutscenes, and an opening tutorial section. The game provides a full 3D world with 360-degree camera control and an open-world environment. There are main missions with optional events like racing, collecting things, and combat arenas. The game allows for a lot of player freedom, letting you play how you want. Your hub is called G.H.O.S.T and houses unlocks of new abilities, passives, and attacks. Your car form can be edited and customized with different color trails and horns. The controls are good, and the driving feels like a twin-stick arcade racer.

Transformers: Earthspark Expedition uses auto-targeting for both melee and ranged attacks. Boosts can be activated to improve your health strength etc., and they can be assigned and used from the d-pad. Your goal in an area is to clear out enemy camps and Epic camps to fill the bar and unlock the big main base and boss. There are many hidden rooms and alternative routes, speed ramps help you clear chasms when in car mode. Cards can be found and collected with them split into Autobots, Deceptions, and Miscellaneous.

Despite its strengths, Transformers: Earthspark Expedition has some issues. The open world has hardly any enemies, and when they do appear, the game hangs a second then they appear. The map cannot be marked to help with collecting collectibles, there’s no mini-map, and the combat is very mashy. The gameplay loop repeats over and over, simple quests are dragged out, controls cannot be rebound, and the map is not that clear making it hard to work out where stuff is. The upgrades are slow and you have to follow particular paths.

Overall, while Transformers: Earthspark Expedition has some impressive features such as its graphics, gameplay mechanics, and customization options, it also has some notable drawbacks including its repetitive gameplay loop, unclear map, slow upgrades, and lack of enemies in its open-world. It’s okay for the younger gamers as it won’t overwhelm them and lets them play how they want but older gamers will tire of its gameplay loop and ridiculous game map.