Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark is a third-person shooter in the Transformers franchise. The game has a new developer and bridges the gap between the Transformers movie universe and the game Transformers: Fall of Cybertron. It acts as a prequel to both Fall of Cybertron and the movie Transformers: Age of Extinction . The story takes place before the Ark is launched in the Aligned continuity, but also deals with one of Lockdown's schemes in the Age of Extinction part. At the start of the game an object flies towards Earth, destroying an orbiting satellite and it is spotted by the mercenary Lockdown. The player starts as the Autobot Drift, sent to a burning city to investigate the attack.
The gameplay involves various characters and locations based around the Dark Spark, with the story taking various forms through thirteen chapters. The game does not offer a choice in transformers or a specific faction side. Characters players get to control are Bumblebee, Drift, Grimlock, Jetfire, Optimus Prime, Sharpshot, Sideswipe, Soundwave and Swindle. There are about 20 guns in total, including regular firearms and unique attacks.
The online multiplayer mode is called Escalation, where up to four players work together cooperatively to destroy waves of enemies on eight maps. In multiplayer there are over 40 characters to choose from, with the experience and leveling system shared between single-player and multiplayer modes.