Transistor is a well-made action RPG presented from an isometric perspective. One of the first things you will notice about the game is the gorgeous art direction; the main character and the enemies (called "The Process") are represented as cel-shaded 3D models that blend perfectly with the 2D backgrounds, which depict the colorful futuristic environments of the game's setting, a city called Cloudbank. The music fits the atmosphere very well, and will change appropriately depending on what kind of a place you're wandering through. Your actions throughout the game will be narrated by your sword, the titular Transistor (or rather, the person trapped inside of it), much like how there was a narrator in Bastion (the developer's previous game). While the narrator's voice can occasionally be difficult to understand due to the sound filtering, the voice acting is still very much on key.

The biggest strength of this game, however, is certainly the deep battle system. Throughout the game, you will acquire "functions" for the Transistor. These functions can be placed and switched around into various slots to serve three different purposes: adding a new attack, upgrading an existing attack, or adding a passive effect. Each function represents a different type of attack, and you can have up to four. Each of these attacks also has one or two upgrade slots (depending on your progression), where you can attach another function to add its own unique effect to that attack. You can also place a function in a passive slot, which will have a different effect on the player depending on the function; for example, the player may gradually recover health, or all attacks may become stronger. Not only is it very interesting to experiment with the endless amount of different combinations of functions for the Transistor, you are basically forced to experiment because whenever your life bar depletes, one of your attack functions is disabled for the next two save points (you die if you lose all four). This game also has a fair amount of replayablility due to the option to start a New Game+ after you finish, which increases the difficulty and preserves all of your functions and other sorts of progress (including your progress on the bonus challenges, which you will likely not complete in one playthrough).

I would say that the biggest drawback of Transistor is the story. While it can sometimes be interesting, at other times it can be rather difficult to understand what's going on. Maybe some people might think that parts of the story are open to the player's interpretation, but there's a point where this openness to interpretation just becomes a bunch of flat-out plot holes, and unfortunately this is the case in the game's plot. However, I believe that Transistor is one of those games where the story takes a back seat to the gameplay, so this should ultimately be a minor nuisance. This game is definitely worth a purchase, and I'm glad I played it.

Transistor is a well-made action RPG presented from an isometric perspective. One of the first things you will notice about the game is the gorgeous art direction; the main character and the enemies (called "The Process") are represented as cel-shaded 3D models that blend perfectly with the 2D backgrounds, which depict the colorful futuristic environments of the game's setting, a city called Cloudbank. The music fits the atmosphere very well, and will change appropriately depending on what kind of a place you're wandering through. Your actions throughout the game will be narrated by your sword, the titular Transistor (or rather, the person trapped inside of it), much like how there was a narrator in Bastion (the developer's previous game). While the narrator's voice can occasionally be difficult to understand due to the sound filtering, the voice acting is still very much on key. The biggest strength of this game, however, is certainly the deep battle system. Throughout the game, you will acquire "functions" for the Transistor. These functions can be placed and switched around into various slots to serve three different purposes: adding a new attack, upgrading an existing attack, or adding a passive effect. Each function represents a different type of attack, and you can have up to four. Each of these attacks also has one or two upgrade slots (depending on your progression), where you can attach another function to add its own unique effect to that attack. You can also place a function in a passive slot, which will have a different effect on the player depending on the function; for example, the player may gradually recover health, or all attacks may become stronger. Not only is it very interesting to experiment with the endless amount of different combinations of functions for the Transistor, you are basically forced to experiment because whenever your life bar depletes, one of your attack functions is disabled for the next two save points (you die if you lose all four). This game also has a fair amount of replayablility due to the option to start a New Game+ after you finish, which increases the difficulty and preserves all of your functions and other sorts of progress (including your progress on the bonus challenges, which you will likely not complete in one playthrough). I would say that the biggest drawback of Transistor is the story. While it can sometimes be interesting, at other times it can be rather difficult to understand what's going on. Maybe some people might think that parts of the story are open to the player's interpretation, but there's a point where this openness to interpretation just becomes a bunch of flat-out plot holes, and unfortunately this is the case in the game's plot. However, I believe that Transistor is one of those games where the story takes a back seat to the gameplay, so this should ultimately be a minor nuisance. This game is definitely worth a purchase, and I'm glad I played it.