Transistor is much more than the simple picture my words can paint, it's not built around one single idea or an absorbing premise but it does the job of pulling you in. Red is a very popular nightclub singer who lost her voice and is hunting the people who have done this to her, who also happen to have released a destructive digital virus 'the process' on her futuristic digitally controlled city of cloudbank. She's not alone though, she is accompanied by the sword 'Transistor' she pulls from a dead guy's body at the beginning. The narration presents a fresh perspective it's not just about a talking sword but one voice speaking for two, the storytelling is not straightforward or conventional in any manner, you discover what happened through material found all over the game like recorded messages, mails, and biography's of the citizen's of cloudbank which are unlocked when you use your skill set. Personally I think transistor is more about piecing the story together than the sense of accomplishment after finishing the game.
The gameplay has really interesting elements and a way of pulling them all together in perfect harmony. I've always loved turn-based strategy and am a huge fan of sword slashing, some may say Fire Emblem would be a better choice but it doesn't give the satisfaction of hacking through your enemies like transistor does. Red has special moves called functions installed on the Transistor which are acquired by levelling and sometimes from dead citizens, these functions are the essence of accomplished people and are related to their speciality. Functions behave differently depending on the slot you use them in, they can be used directly or used to enhance another function or just enhance the ability of transistor as a whole. The player can move around freely and attack the enemies but there just isn't enough time for that, he/she has to initiate a Turn which lets him/her plan out a series of attack's and movement patterns and performs them with extraordinary speed and precision. The Process has a few trick's up it's sleeve as well but this still doesn't make the game more of a challenge but I wouldn't want it any different, the easy gameplay let's you slide through the game without a hitch and focus more on the the beautiful world of cloudbank and what happened the night before.
The music, the art, the mystery it all comes together and pulls you in like no other. The little things Transistor has to offer whether it's the way Transistor tries tells her it's feelings or the way Red drags it around with sparks flying off the ground don't seem so little when you realize they're what give the game it's human touch. The musical score of Transistor is one of the best till date and the world of transistor is nothing like any other, the way the game manages to maintain the human touch throughout even through the battles is really amazing. This tale of two hearts doesn't fall into any stereotype and is one of a kind experience, I really hope more games like this are encouraged.