Toy Review: Transformers Age of the Primes Megatronus the Fallen (Leader)

Review:  #870

Name:  Megatronus the Fallen

Brand:  Transformers

Allegiance:  Decepticon

Line:  Age of the Primes

Year of Release:  2025

Size Class:  Leader (Wave 1)

Mold Status:  new

TANK MODE:

Primarily based upon his War Within appearance, Megatronus the Fallen transforms into a tank.

At first glance, this looks like a fairly solid and decent tank, and it is, although it does have its own set of flaws and you can tell that the robot mode was prioritised.

This is a decently sized Leader figure, not as big as what Leaders used to be many moons ago, but one of the bigger ones we've had recently.  Above is a comparison against Voyager Siege Optimus.

The turret can rotate, and this is where the flaws kind of come into play, since it's the robot weapon along with the arms.  They're pegged together, but doesn't feel as solid as it could be.  The pivot point is also situated fairly far back.

Given that the cannon is a separate piece for robot mode, it can also tilt up, which is a nice touch.

He comes with a few flame effects, and a spear for robot mode, all of which can still attach to tank mode.  The flames are a nice touch.

There's a splash of yellow here and there, and while it is more obvious in robot mode, this yellow paint is apparently UV reactive!

To be honest, this is still a fantastic tank mode, and one where there aren't many obvious robot parts.  The dark purple highlights used are very nice.

TRANSFORMATION:

Transformation scheme is surprisingly more complicated that you would expect, but in a good way, as it is a fun transformation that isn't overly hard or intuitive.  The turret splits into two for the robot arms, with the cannon being the robot weapon.  The arms are on a swivel joint so there are a few twists to get it into place.  The back extends to form the legs, and the front forms the backpack that satisfyingly locks into place.

ROBOT MODE:

Robot mode is absolutely fantastic, and he is pretty much perfect here.  He has an imposing bulky look to him that's suitable of a character named "The Fallen".

There's little in the amount of kibble either, with only the backpack, but it feels more like a feature than something that's in the way.

The head sculpt continues with the awesome feeling, and is nicely highlighted with the yellow.

As mentioned, he's big and imposing, and he feels really solid and hefty in your hands.  He's actually one of the rare Leader figures that does not feel like it was costcutted to oblivion and is worth the cost.

He has plenty of articulation with joints for his head, shoulders, elbows, wrists, waist, hips, knees and ankles.

He comes with a plethora of accessories, including a big and small gun, a spear, a short sword, and four flame effects.

The flame effects are probably one of the cooler pieces too, and while there are only four, which attach to his shoulders and the back, it's enough to give the illusion of him in flames (like the iconic comic appearances).

Next is the giant cannon, which pegs onto his forearm, similar to Megatron.

The spear isn't as cool, given that he tends to hold it at the tip, rather than the middle.

The short sword is surprisingly painted in silver, and once again, can be held in either hand.

Finally, the smaller gun pegs behind his head as a type of shoulder cannon.

All the weapons can store at once on his backpack.

Megatronus has gigantic feet, so you can be sure he'll be stable in plenty of poses.

He doesn't have many hollow parts.  As mentioned, he feels so solid and hefty, with big chunky parts that's satisfying to move.

You don't usually think about this much, but he uses some nice shades of plastic, the purple in particular is really good, that helps in giving the figure a slightly more premium feel.

Despite all that, he doesn't feel unwieldy at all, and this is a near perfect robot mode.

OVERALL:

Megatronus the Fallen is one of the best figures we've had in a long while, and definitely one of the best Leader figures in many years.  He feels that he is finally worth the Leader class pricing.  The tank mode is solid enough, but the robot mode is amazing, both in looks and playability.  He has plenty of accessories that's fun to fiddle around with and doesn't compromise the figure at all.

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Inside (Switch)

Inside is from the same developers as Limbo, and thus this is a short puzzle game that focuses on the atmosphere, and yes, it has a ton of atmosphere. It’s set in a dystopian world, and the story is told through the player’s inference. The color palette is overly grey and drab, basically just shades of black and grey, so it makes the little color it has from time to time pop out even more. This adds to its setting and adds to the sense of hopelessness and desperateness that the protagonist is feeling as well.

You start off with a boy running through the forest trying to escape his pursuers. This immediately sets the tone, and it has a similar feeling to Limbo. This is a sidescroller where you run from side to side, and the puzzles are built around that. A few of the puzzles are physics based, and they are generally quite intuitive in what you must do. Although it also tended to rely on timing for the solution, not giving you much chance to just stand there and think it through as you’ll have enemies trying to kill you.

Most of the game has the boy running up until you arrive at a puzzle (which may not be obvious at first glance). A lot of the puzzles are designed to kill you, so that you know that you need to try something else. Death is a slap on the wrist, as it’ll just send you back to the closest checkpoint which is usually at the beginning of the puzzle. There are slight annoyances at times where you may have to wait once you’ve reloaded to get the timing correct again.

Given that there are only two actions the boy can do: jump and interact with objects, you can generally work out what you need to do. A lot of the puzzles boil down to interacting with an object after finding another object and moving that first. A unique gimmick that will surprise you at first is how the boy, in certain situations, can control other people and this adds to the creepy atmosphere of the game. A few puzzles have you running away from enemies and having to jump or figure out the sequence of doing things to not have those enemies catch up and kill you. These are probably the less likeable puzzles as they add a sense of urgency, but at the cost of being annoying.

Despite the consistently drab color palette of black and different shades of grey, there is a good variety in the environment. You’ll move through them fast, from a forest to a city to underwater to a mine. The puzzles also grow in scale, as the earlier ones are fast to solve, and everything is in the same room. Later puzzles are bigger in scope, with multiple steps and a few more rooms. They never become too large or too obtuse though. That said, the heavy reliance on time-based puzzles during the middle portion of the game can be annoying.

The game nails the atmosphere though. There is a sense of creepiness, and as the player, you feel vulnerable as the boy has no means of defense except for running away from threats. When a lot of those puzzles involve things chasing you, whereby it’s instant death if it catches up, it instills a sense of dread, fear and urgency. The story is told via the environment and what happens in the background. There is an interesting sense of mystery, although the ending is unusual and completely unexpected. When the credits roll, you have a sense of “what just happened?” and be confused as you try and process it.

Overall, Inside is an okay game. It doesn’t have the same surprise impact as Limbo, given that we have some sort of idea on what to expect. The puzzles are a lot easier, so you will be less likely to be stuck at one puzzle for too long. None of the puzzles are extremely annoying. The game is short, taking around three hours for a first run, with little reason to replay unless you want to find all the secrets and unlock the secret ending (which the game doesn’t hint at).

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Toy Review: Transformers Age of the Primes Slingshot (Deluxe)

Review:  #869

Name:  Slingshot

Brand:  Transformers

Allegiance:  Autobot

Line:  Age of the Primes

Year of Release:  2025

Size Class:  Deluxe (Wave 1)

Mold Status:  new

JET MODE:

As part of the update of the Aerialbots, Slingshots gets a new updated figure and he transforms into a white jet.

It's a chunky jet, especially right behind the cockpit, since he's an approximation of a Sea Harrier.

He is an okay size for a Deluxe class figure.

There is quite a bit of undercarriage kibble, although it is semi well integrated into the fuselage so it is not too obvious.

The robot guns can peg underneath each wing, and this is a fairly decent jet.

TRANSFORMATION:

There's little creativity in the transformation scheme.  It's a simple one, where the back unfolds / extends to form the legs.  The cockpit folds back.  And the arms are from the sides.

ROBOT MODE:

Slingshot's robot mode isn't too bad, although his arms are a little bit skinny proportionally speaking.

He has a ton of kibble, most of the jet is on his back.  The pieces behind his legs stick so far back and they do get in the way.

The head sculpt is nice, and reminiscent of the blocky head of the original toy that doubled as a connector.

Size-wise, he's average in robot mode too.

He has joints for his head, shoulders, elbows, waist, hips, knees and ankles.  So basically the expected amount of articulation for contemporary figures.

He comes with a pair of double barrelled blasters that he can hold in his hands.

Alternatively, they can peg on his forearms, which looks pretty good.

There is no official place to store the weapons, but you can just peg them where they were in jet mode, the wings of which are now on the outside of his legs.

An okay robot mode, albeit like his fellow Aerialbots, a bit generic and bland.

OVERALL:

Basically, you would get Slingshot to complete Superion, because on his own, it's hard to recommend.  Like, he doesn't do anything particularly bad, but is such a boring and generic figure that there are better and more interesting figures to get in the line instead.

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