Is a 33-second teaser trailer enough to get fans excited for a game by a virtually unknown game studio? Outright Games (who have published other licensed games for properties such as Jumanji and How to Train Your Dragon) is hoping so.

The footage shows a tableau of cartoony buildings, with Cyberverse-styled Transformers zipping through the environment. We catch glimpses of Starscream and Bumblebee – who transforms, letting the flying Decepticon literally overshoot his target. Grimlock can be glimpsed as the camera pans, roasting a foe.

We then briefly see Arcee firing at Soundwave from behind a wrecked SUV. He teleports away and she crouches behind the vehicle, indicating that there might be some sort of cover mechanic. Then Optimus Prime rolls onto the scene, knocking aside scenery in a very rudimentary way before he transforms, manifests melee weapons, and squares off against Megatron (who has done the same).

The animation is smooth, but it reminds me of the “on-rails” animation of Transformers mobile games like Transformers: Earth Wars. It looks pretty, but you’re not really taking an active part in combat. For a console and PC release, it doesn’t look like Battlegrounds will be testing the limits of any of the platforms it’s available for, not even the Nintendo Switch Lite.

Slipstream and Windblade (Image: Outright Games)

If you’re a fan of  Transformers: Cyberverse, you’re going to want to pay close attention to this game. It’s definitely based in that universe, and the stills show other characters from the show such as Slipstream and Windblade.

The models are faithful to the show, which is a big plus. Cyberverse has produced some excellent designs as the show has matured. Arcee in particular looks loads better there than her “collector line” figures coming out later this year. Hopefully, she’ll be able to ride Grimlock into battle.

The problem, ultimately, is that we know practically nothing about how the game actually plays. Will you be controlling multiple characters in tactical combat? Will you simply be fielding bots, who then face off against each other automatically? It’s a distinct possibility, but a disappointing one, given that nearly every other Transformers game available right now (all on mobile platforms) are auto-battlers of some sort.

Especially with multiple characters being fielded at once, it seems most likely that you’ll have a limited amount of control over their fates.

Those hoping for a return to the superb adventure RPG, real-time combat of Transformers: War for Cybertron will have to look elsewhere. Fingers crossed that further details and expanded gameplay videos coming this summer reveal something with a bit more substance.

Transformers: Battlegrounds launches on October 23 of this year. You can preorder right now from the Outright Games site.