10 Pointless (Yet Awesome) Character Abilities In Video Games
2. Humming - Transistor
Supergiant Games
Supergiant Games are something of a juggernaut, when you realise how many exceptional titles they’ve put out with Bastion, Pyre and the wonderful Transistor all receiving rave reviews and mainstream love.
Most of this comes from how much care the developers put into their worlds and how they tackle gameplay in interesting ways, combining in ways that make universes feel incredibly alive. Bastion had its narrator, Pyre had its heartfelt promotion mechanics, and Transistor? Well Transistor let you hum.
Yes, though the game was primarily about tactical placement, dodging and striking enemies in combat, the game knew when to take its time and let players indulge in the rich soundscape it had created. And so, if you fancied, you could stop and make Red hum to herself. It provided next to no impact on the game, but when the music was this beautiful and the emotional levels raised this high, it didn’t have to.
Josh has over 11 years of experience as a published writer, having worked full time as a content producer at WhatCulture for nine years. In that time he has created hundreds of articles, videos and podcast episodes for multiple channels, specialising in subjects such as gaming, horror and film & TV. He now primarily works as a senior content producer and presenter on WhatCulture Gaming where he co-hosts the WhatCulture Gaming Podcast, a top 3 most listened to gaming podcast in the UK that he co-created in 2018. Over the years he has reviewed several high-profile gaming releases, covered industry events with on-site reporting, covered breaking news, and even kicked off his interviewing career by chatting to childhood hero, Tommy Wiseau.
WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well.
In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.
Born in Theatre, sits at a Computer. After over a decade of tinkering with Video Editing software, Rich gets to spend his precious time editing whatever's thrown at him. Also the go-to for Doctor Who, and could tell you why Sans Serif fonts are better than most. Still occasionally tap dances under the desk.
Video Editor and recent addition to the madness of the Gaming team, when she's not chatting about games, thinking about games, or playing games, she's streaming them on twitch. Tweet her pictures of dogs @DontRachQuit
