Transformers: Battlegrounds

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Transformers: Battlegrounds
Good luck, Commander. We will be watching.
Developer	Coatsink
Publisher	Outright Games Bandai Namco Entertainment (Europe)
Platform	Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
Release date	October 23, 2020
Ratings	ESRB: E10+ PEGI: 7+

Transformers: Battlegrounds is a video game by Coatsink, released October 23, 2020. It is the first new Transformers game released for a home console since Activision's previous game development license expired. Described as a "tactical warfare adventure" game, Battlegrounds is based on the Cyberverse franchise, featuring the character designs and voice actors from the accompanying animated series.

Synopsis

Act I

During a Decepticon attack on Central City, Bumblebee saves a random human. When asked to move the human to safety, Teletraan-X takes them into the sky to Bumblebee's complete confusion. Afterwards, he takes the fight to the Decepticon forces, relying on the human's guidance to navigate the suburban landscape. Along the way, he links up with Windblade, fights Shadow Striker, and rescues Grimlock from a unit of Seekers led by Slipstream. After the trio reunite, they deal with Soundwave and Starscream before heading off to locate Optimus Prime.

Act II

In the desert, Arcee and Wheeljack are in hiding, hoping to delay the Decepticons when Teletraan-X arrives. After complaining about the drone's lack of clarity and bemusement at the new commander, they set out to find Optimus, regrouping with the other Autobots. They find an injured Windblade after battling a group of Deceptions, then team up with her to face Shockwave and a trio of his drones. With Shockwave defeated, Bumblebee and Grimlock arrive. The Autobots locate the AllSpark, but Megatron reveals that this was his intention all along, saving time and resources by letting the Autobots find the Allspark for him. Optimus Prime arrives to debate Megatron over the AllSpark's true purpose, but they remain at odds. Megatron leaves with the Allspark, forcing Optimus to remain behind and protect his injured friends from Battletrap. Slipstream and the Seekers arrive to delay the Autobots even further.

Act III

The Autobots pursue the Decepticons to a base camp in the Rocky Mountains. Megatron's forces build a Space Bridge to return to Cybertron and use the power of the AllSpark to their advantage. The Autobots attempt to stop him, but Megatron passes through the Space Bridge and Offroad destroys the machinery, leaving the Autobots unable to follow. On the edge of final defeat, the Autobots prepare to return their human companion to Central City when the human drops a flier. An old, outdated Space bridge has apparently been on display at the Central City museum all this time. With a new route to Cybertron open, the Autobots converge on the museum and defeat Slipstream one final time.

Act IV

Bumblebee travels to Cybertron first through the unstable space bridge. He is confronted by a powered-up Shadow Striker while trying to stabilize the bridge for the others to follow. He succeeds, and the other Autobots help him defeat Shadow Striker. Megatron plans to use Vector Sigma to reprogram the AllSpark and produce a new generation of Decepticons. The Autobots advance on the Vector Sigma chamber, fighting Decepticons and avoiding energon storms along the way. They defeat Shockwave and then confront Megatron and his forces outside Vector Sigma. A wounded Megatron takes down all the Autobots except Optimus Prime. A final battle occurs between the two weakened arch-enemies, but Optimus is protected by the power of the Matrix and defeats Megatron.

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Quotes

"You Autobots. You never had the courage to strive for true greatness. Except one... Windblade. We're the same. We live for combat. It surrounds us. It defines us. You have no allegiance to their cause. Join me and command Cybertron as Captain of the Seekers."
"...Orders, Optimus?"

— Starscream gets shut down by Windblade.

"After countless cycles, it's mine."
"Enough."
"What? The AllSpark — it SPEAKS!"
"No, Megatron. I am Optimus Prime."

— Megatron's supposed talk with the AllSpark prior to Optimus Prime revealing himself.

Gameplay

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Downloadable content

Several pieces of downloadable content were released for Battlegrounds:

• A "Nemesis Prime and Goldfire Bumblebee" pack was offered as a pre-order bonus for the game, later becoming available for separate purchase on April 19, 2021. This pack adds skins based on Nemesis Prime and Goldfire for Optimus and Bumblebee respectively.
• Four different packs containing new cosmetic skins for each of the six Autobots were released at launch, available individually or as part of the Deluxe Edition. These include the "Energon Autobot Skin Pack", the "Gold Autobot Skin Pack", the "Battle Autobot Skin Pack", and the "Neon Autobot Skin Pack".
• A "Cube Arcade Mode Add-on" was released at launch as part of the Deluxe Edition, later becoming available for separate purchase on April 19, 2021. This adds a Cube game type to the Arcade mode, allowing up to two players to compete against one another in the sport.
• A full expansion, "Shattered Spacebridge", was released on February 26, 2021. The expansion adds a new mini campaign in which the Autobots are trapped in a spacebridge hub, forcing them to travel the multiverse and win randomly-generated encounters to recover the pieces of their own spacebridge and return home.

Achievements

When completing various goals and tasks during the game, the player will be rewarded as part of their console of choice's meta-goal system. Players can earn up to 21 Trophies on PlayStation 4 and 20 Achievements on Xbox One, plus an additional 13 via the "Shattered Spacebridge" DLC. The PS4 version's trophies come in four types: Bronze, which represent easier tasks and are worth the least experience; Silver, which are awarded for challenges of mid-level difficulty; Gold, which are given for harder tasks and worth more experience; and Platinum, the highest-level trophy unlocked only after earning all of a game's other trophies (excluding DLC). On the Xbox version, each achievement has a Gamerscore value that adds to the player's total Gamerscore across all games played; up to 1000 Gamerscore can be earned in Battlegrounds, plus another 195 via DLC for a total of 1195 Gamerscore. These achievements can also be earned in the PC version as part of the Steam interface, but lack the individual values and weights from the console versions.

Base game

Icon	Achievement/Trophy name	Achievement/Trophy description	Gamerscore	PS Trophy
	Central City Secured!	Complete Act I on any difficulty.	30
	Is a Hotdog a Sandwich?	Destroy a hotdog stand in each mission of Act I.	30
	Together... As One	Complete Act II on any difficulty.	30
	To Me...	Use Arcee to heal Wheeljack in "Deserted".	15
	To You...	Use Wheeljack to heal Arcee in "Deserted".	15
	An Impossible Task	Complete Act III on any difficulty.	30
	Squad Get-Together	Position the entire squad around the same Energon container.	30
	The Future of This Planet...	Complete Act IV on any difficulty.	30
	Nature is Cruel	Shove a Decepticon into an Energon Storm.	30
	Our Salvation	Complete every mission on Easy difficulty.	90
	Tactician and Scholar	Complete every mission on Medium difficulty.	90
	More Than Meets The Eye	Complete every mission on Hard difficulty.	100
	Two 'Cons, One Stone	Shove a Decepticon into another Decepticon.	90
	The Greater Good	Use explosive cover to damage an Autobot and a Decepticon in the same explosion.	30
	Move It!	Shove an ally into the target region of a Destination objective.	90
	Energon Aficionado	Perform fifty Ultimate abilities.	90
	From the Brink	Repair an ally with 1 HP.	30
	Throwback Thursday	Deactivate a Decepticon using Optimus Prime's Throw Back ability... on a Thursday.	30
	Fighting Spark	Reduce Megatron's HP to 50% or less in "The Well of the AllSpark".	90
	Borrowed Tech	Equip Arcee's Black Hole Grenade ability for three missions.	30
	'Til all are one	Unlock and discover every secret.

Shattered Spacebridge

Icon	Achievement/Trophy name	Achievement/Trophy description	Gamerscore	PS Trophy
	Untangled	Complete your first run	15
	Rough Journey	Complete a run with a very unstable Spacebridge after finishing 5 missions or less	15
	Certain Side-Effects	Complete a run with an unstable Spacebridge after finishing 7 missions or less	15
	Arrive in one piece	Complete a run with a stable Spacebridge after finishing 9 missions or less	15
	Supercharged!	Complete a run with a fully functional Spacebridge after finishing 11 missions or less	15
	Unlimited Power	Fully upgrade one Autobot during a run	15
	Optimus Primed	Unlock all abilities for one Autobot during a run	15
	Multiverse Multitasking	Capture 6 bonus Fragments in a run	15
	No rest for the weary	Complete a run without having any Autobot recover at all	15
	With one hand behind my back	Complete a run without using a single Ultimate ability	15
	Insatiable	Complete 5 runs	15
	Big Spender	Spend 50 Fragments on refreshing rewards	15
	I can do this all day	Complete 3 hard missions while on 1 life	15

Notes

Continuity notes

• Battlegrounds is set in an alternate version of the Cyberverse cartoon continuity; although it picks up where "Eruption" left off, it is otherwise largely irreconcilable with the events of that show's second season. A conversation between Arcee and Wheeljack suggests that this game takes place in one of the many alternate universes that the Cyberverse cartoon repeatedly alluded to from its second season onward.
• Windblade mentions Ratchet fixing Bumblebee's voicebox during her first transmission; Bumblebee spent the first season of the show unable to speak due to his damaged voicebox.
• Wheeljack mentions his force shield blaster, which he constructed in "The Visitor".

Transformers references

• Dead End is one of three individuals whose design is a recolor of the Decepticon Scouts, rather than his Combiner Wars-inspired design from the cartoon. The other two Scout recolors are new versions of Generation 1 Micromasters Blackjack and Hyperdrive.
• Of the three individuals whose design is a recolor of the Decepticon Bruisers, Offroad retains his G1 namesake's color scheme. The other two Bruisers are new versions of Roadtrap from Power of the Primes and classic G1 character Battletrap.
• Megatron channels his predecessor by saying "Such Heroic Nonsense."
• The final phrase of the end credits reads "Till all are one".

Other notes

• None of the Autobots understand why Teletraan-X kidnapped a human to be their commander. Somehow, the Decepticons never notice them despite the amount of Seekers fought during the game.
• All the named Seekers outside of Skywarp appear in the game, despite the ending taking place on Cybertron where she is stationed.
• How did no one notice a space bridge in the middle of Central City?
• The character portraits used during the campaign are all colored versions of the original expression sheets created for the show.

Errors

• In the ending credits, at the end of the Italian dub credits is a dedication to Optimus Prime's Italian voice actor Stefano Thermes...who was actually still alive. Presumably the dedication was supposed to be for Roberto Draghetti, the Italian voice of Megatron, who died before the game's release.
• The credits also incorrectly list some of the Belgian dub actors as part of the French voice credits. Indeed, Pierre Bodson, Jean-Marc Amé, Ludivine Deworst, Alain Eloy and Fanny Dreiss are all credited in their roles from the series, despite the fact that none of them are present in the game.
• Ramjet and Dirge are depicted as redecoes of the female Seeker design, rather than their distinct conehead designs used in the show itself. Likewise, Thrust is presented as female (as is actually the case in the Japanese dub of the cartoon).