The past few years have been huge for the Transformers brand. Beginning again from a simple toyline idea, the franchise has continued to grow in popularity with a new generation. There is now a successful new cartoon series that looks to bring back the Beast Wars franchise. Along with its highly successful comic series that began with Dreamwave Productions, the Transformers are in the middle of a renaissance fueled by its storied past.
Of all the crossovers the franchise has been known for, the Beast Wars have only rarely shared adventures with their G1 ancestors. There have only been a few games and episodes that show them sharing the spotlight. However, it looks like that is about to change with the release of the War for Cybertron Trilogy: Kingdom cartoon. This crossover season is sure to leave many questions for new fans, which is why now is the best time for a new Beast Wars video game.
Transformers: Battle Grounds and Devastation have been the only console releases based on the franchise in the past few years. However, there hasn't been a Beast Wars game since the '90s, and the existing ones haven't aged well. With the features included in next-gen consoles, Beast Wars is the perfect franchise to bring Transformers video games back to the forefront.
As younger fans are introduced to Transformers, it can become tiresome to retell a similar origin repeatedly. With a Beast Wars video game, the opportunity arises to tell a definitive, unique and fun story that will give fans new and old something to enjoy. Modern viewers already know Cheetor as a recognizable figure for the franchise, so telling a story through his eyes would make everything simpler.
Ideally, such a game would come to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S to take advantage of their advancements. However, since those consoles are hard to come by, there is still a high demand for games on the previous generation's hardware. This could work to Beast Wars' advantage, as more fans would be able to enjoy the game while also looking forward to its next-gen update. A transition to next-gen would also give developers time to work out any bugs the game may have.
From a gaming and graphics perspective, the possibilities are endless. By the time the game would reach next-gen, fans could expect some amazing additions. With the DualSense controller's haptic feedback, every metallic step would reverberate through the entire controller. Every time a character transforms, the controller could vibrate throughout a player's palms as a robot becomes a gorilla. Its adaptive triggers could signify a weapon's trigger pull or the bite force while in animal form.
Additionally, the game's environments could truly dazzle the way games like Tomb Raider and Uncharted did. Levels set in a prehistoric jungle would pop and really counter the biomechanical shine coming off of the game's characters. Not only would a Beast Wars game look great, but it could also look like a 4K version of the original series.
Some of the storytelling in modern Transformers properties have left more questions than answers. An airtight script with a compelling story of survival and espionage would help bolster a world explored as a third-person shooter. Its level design could include easter eggs from its G1 counterpart and even some boss levels with their much larger ancestors. With so many characters from the series to adapt, there would be an endless supply of skins and DLC that could be incorporated into an original story or a multiplayer mode.
Beast Wars is long overdue for an update. Hopefully, its return to toys and television will usher in a whole new era of robots in disguise. After these appearances, a video game would only help solidify their return to popular culture and maybe even create a new era of next-gen Transformers games. The timing is perfect for bringing a new world of the Transformers to gamers, and who would say no to being a T-Rex?