Double clicking the Transistor.exe file in the game folder always crashes the game.

Try using the shortcut 'Launch Transistor' in the same folder. It adds " /c ./" to the 'Target' field. I don't know what it means, but that way it launches without crashing. If you're starting it from Steam, add " /c ./" to the target field in the shortcut properties, outside of the quotation marks. Then you can start it whithout crashing.