The playlist for the whole thing can be seen here: Transistor playlist
If you find the game at all interesting I recommend checking it out on steam now as it's on sale for 25% off, down to $15 as of 6/28/14.
The game itself is fairly unique in that I haven't played something quite like it before. It does have similarities to Bastion in the overhead style view and how some of the level design works but the battle system was a new one for me.
Controls
At first I thought I would be able to have a basic attack with just the left click (I played it on keyboard and mouse, it has controller comparability) but that was not the case. The way that you attack is through special attacks 1-4. I wasn't the biggest fan of this just because most of them felt very slow and that you would take a hit just trying to execute a "basic" attack and you didn't have something available at all times because of how the "turn" system works. The Turn system is a "planning" stage where you freeze time and plan out your attack with a limited amount of meter and then execute it all very quickly. This in itself is a pretty cool concept but the game basically revolves around this and it wasn't something I was too keen on doing the whole game but it also wasn't too terrible that I didn't enjoy the game because of it.
Gameplay
The gameplay itself is quite good, it doesn't get too repetitive because of how the enemies level up as you progress and have a new ability that you will need to adapt to and if you're like me and "die" as often as I did, you will be switching up your abilities quite often as well. I didn't really go into the side missions/mini games too much and there is a new game + option after you beat it so I can't comment on them. I did have some problems with my character movement, I guess this could go in controls but sometimes I struggled to get my character to go where I wanted or to stop moving because of just how sensitive and I guess precise they are; Nitpicking really.
Design and Music
The whole design is done really well with the levels and just the overall concept of the world. I enjoyed the terms and such that was used for everything (although it took me too long to pick up on what the enemies were and what limiters did.. sigh..) I really like the art style and how some of the more simple parts look so good. Now the music.. Jesus do I love the music. I was a big fan of the Bastion soundtrack and hearing that they were bringing back Darren Korb and Ashley Barrett had me really excited. I frequently listen to the soundtrack on it's own (currently playing it while writing this review). Those 2 really are a great pair.
Story
I'm going to admit that I'm not the best when it comes to following a story so I probably didn't totally understand what was going on at times but I did enjoy the story. Of course I once again enjoyed the narration throughout the game similar to how they did it in Bastion. The way the story is told overall is quite good though and not totally direct in the way that it's spoon fed to you but not so out of the way that you need to search hard to find some more pieces of it.
Overall
The game was shorter than I was hoping it to be. It took me just under 4 hours to complete the story without going into the minigames much at all. That said, it's probably the only flaw of the game I can think of other than not being a fan of the battle system, but that's just personal preference. The game is really well done and polished in a great way that you can tell they put a lot of effort in all the little things to make this a great game. I have no problem paying up $20 for a game that is so polished for a few hours of entertainment and who knows how long the minigames will take me and what other features may be in the new game + part of the game. If you enjoyed Bastion, I can't see why you wouldn't enjoy this game.
8/10
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