The video game side of the Transformers brand has been quite the drought overall. While there is no shortage of forgettable mobile phone apps, the actual console stuff has felt quite small since 2015; Devastation was a blast, but smaller games such as Battlegrounds based on Cyberverse and that Earthspark game written by Simon Furman do exist, but I doubt people would want to seek after those titles compared to the Triple-A quality the franchise used to have. Reactivate was going to finally break that curse, but the lack of news even according to Hasbro should come off as a major concern. So why don't we take a look at two tie-in figures in one set? So put your hands together for the Evergreen-looking ass Soundwave and an Optimus Prime that feels weirdly reminiscent of the older CHUG days.
Here we have both figures in their vehicle modes. As you can tell, they have Reactivate's post-apocalyptic aesthetics given how the game revolves around the invasion and war of the Legion. Optimus now has additional gray pieces added onto the front to represent that bit of urgent patchwork, including a spikier bumper than usual. There is even a more raised roof segment in addition to a third headlight to go with the remaining sets of two on top. The gray pieces are accurate to the game model, but I wish they weren't left in bare gray plastic. Soundwave, on the other hand, turns into an armored SUV with off-road capabilities. While a similar altmode has been present for the character in the Evergreen aesthetic, Soundwave now feels more unique with the windshield guard, the bigger tires, and the front section also including a guard, which is fitting given how so much of Earth now went to waste after the Legion's attack. I really like how they made these designs more interesting than they usually are. Optimus feels like a reverse homage to Rise of the Beasts, while Soundwave has a more unique altmode I'd like to see more often.
In terms of comparisons, Optimus here feels like an amalgamation of Earthrise Prime and Classics for some odd reason or two. Hear me out: this Prime on the middle feels reminiscent of an earlier design that the character had in the IDW comics, basically, the one that inspired the Thrilling 30 Legends figure. While it isn't exactly 1:1 with that, this toy feels like it has 50% of the Classics spirit and 50% of the more traditional flat-nose look G1 Prime is known for. If you made this non-post-apocalyptic, it could almost be the 30th-anniversary CHUG Optimus Prime I always wanted. More details for that when we get to the robot mode.
As for Soundwave's alt-mode comparison, here he is next to the Cyberverse Deluxe. More of a night-and-day difference due to the overall aesthetics but the main point is that the Cyberverse figure isn't good at making a convincing altmode thanks to its proportions. I believe the Authentics figure does a decent job at its altmode, but this figure makes for the best iteration of the character we could ever get in this Evergreen look. Not like there's any competition, really.
Transforming Optimus Prime is not unlike any other Optimus Prime transformation we've seen before, with the front becoming the chest and arms while the back becomes the legs. However, parts of the truck's side segments go onto the back along with the wind vane while the legs don't utilize the waist swivel this time around. It's neat seeing how HasTak can do something in the latter step since G1 Prime doesn't really transform with a waist swivel. As for the robot mode, it looks fairly reminiscent of Optimus's look in the IDW comics from 2009 to 2011, having more of a modernized look before it was replaced during the Dark Cybertron arc. Between the broader shoulders, the wider chest windows, and the more segmented grille stomach, this feels more like one of the few ways someone could have done a CHUG-style Prime before we got the gimmicks of the Prime Wars and de facto G1 in the WFC Trilogy. I'm sure some will say that there is an Evergreen aesthetic, specifically the way he looks in Cyberverse, and while I could sort of see that, it's one of those cases where it's going for its own thing overall. I appreciate it that way, though I still wish that the biceps were red as well as the hands and backs of the lower legs being blue. One detail I do like is that the backpack appears to have thrusters for possible flight capabilities. Overall, a strong reimagining of the G1 Prime design.
Head sculpt is reminiscent of how stylized the classic head sculpt would get depending on whichever comic artist drew him, especially with the big mouth plate and tiny eyes, on top of the more flared out antennae. Is it weird if it feels like a Legacyfied version of OG Trilogy Movie Prime? Anyways, the articulation on this figure consists of a ball-jointed neck, rotation at the shoulders, outward shoulder hinges, bicep rotation, elbow hinges, wrist rotation, waist rotation, hip movement front and back as well as in and out on universal joints, thigh rotation, 90 degree knee bend, and ankle pivots due to transformation. His two weapons are the Energon axe with gunmetal gray paint apps and a mostly good Ion Blaster. The former's aforementioned paint apps make it more brutal than the original solid orange version, though the latter has a design flaw where its post is too short for the hand to hold properly.
He comes with a Matrix of Leadership, as a lot of G1-styled Primes do. Its core is gray like the windows are, perhaps a reminder that things are quite grim for the Transformers race in Reactivate? It's colored similarly to the Netflix version from 4 years ago.
And here he is sandwiched in-between the two more common CHUG-style Prime figures fans are more than familiar with. And this is where I feel that Reactivate Prime feels like the CHUG Optimus I always wanted in the early 2010s. While I'm happy to have something more G1-accurate like Earthrise Prime and something pretty chunky yet fun like Classics Prime, the new Voyager in the middle feels like an amalgamation of the two, with more deviated aesthetic choices added onto the vintage template. To my surrprise, Reactivate Prime is taller than both Voyagers, a beneffit from an added budget and quality step-up missing in the Gamer Editions. As expected, Optimus Prime is a great toy for fans to get, even if it's in a 2-pack based on a yet-to-be-made game.
As for Soundwave's transformation into robot mode, I like how compact it manages to fairly be for the legs, having the wheels embedded within them while the rest of the altmode is stuffed into the back. It's not quite shellformer town, but I wish there was more mass to distribute throughout the limbs in order to bulk them up, especially in the legs. The backpack is thankfully better than how it is in the Cyberverse Deluxe, and the rest of the robot mode looks cool from the front at least. I love the paint apps the figure received, something that the average Deluxe Class figure wouldn't get in the mainline. The arms, lower legs, waist, and the torso are painted throughly in red, black, and silver, with the torso having a gold trim on what was once the tape deck door. The sculpted details also go well with the post-apocalyptic look, even if the skinnier limbs make him look more like a younger Soundwave given his height and altmode of choice. And yes, he still has his shoulder cannon on the right side.
His head sculpt is meaner and smaller than the G1 version, though it is interesting that the visor is red on the toy versus the yellow on the box art. It's like the WFC game vs the 2010 Deluxe Soundwave as well as Siege's yellow visor vs Netflix's red visor. His atticulation is similar to Optimus's for everything except for the shoulders, which are now on ball joints. The hips are surprisingly able to kick forward likely due to where the joint is placed, especially given how they sculpted the waist piece on. His gun is the same as it has been since 1984.
Here he is with his fellow Evergreen-design user in the Cyberverse line. Once again, it's not 1:1 given the different aesthetics, but they are both themed after the Evergreen design. Reactivate Soundwave at least manages to look more original given the heavy-duty sculptwork as well as the post-apocalyptic look of his altmode. Cyberverse Soundwave wasn't that great of a toy, but to his defense, he comes with a Laserbeak that the new guy is missing.
Overall, this set is a solid one for fans who are either interested in cooler reimaginings of the G1 designs or are still clinging onto hope for the Reactivate game to come out. For me, Optimus Prime feels like a weird gap filler in my younger days of being a TF fan where he was a newer CHUG Voyager that Thrilling 30 should have had. As for Soundwave, he makes me realize that making Evergreen aesthetics isn't a bad thing if you make them less corporate-artstyle-approved and more badass and original. If you believe that Optimus is the better toy out of the two like many believe, then I recommend that you wait for a sale to pop up for the set in some capacity.
Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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