Title: Bastion
Publisher: Warner Brothers Games
Developer: Supergiant Games
Platform: XBLA (PC Aug. 16th)
Release Date: July 20th
Price: 1200 msp, $15
Rating: E10+
For the past several years Microsoft has been running their “Summer of Arcade” sale. It’s debatable if the majority of the games are worth the price of admission, however every year there is always one shinning gem in the bunch. This year that one bright spot happens to be “Bastion” from Supergiant Games. It’s not often to get a lead-off home run, but to continue that metaphor, Supergiant Games definitely hit this one out of the park.
Bastion is the story of “The Kid” and his efforts to rebuild his world, Cealondia, after it was destroyed in “The Calamity”. It would be simple enough to say that is all the story is, but that would severally take away from just how much the story itself is as much a character as anyone else in Bastion. As the kid wakes up to find Caelondia literally ripped to pieces, he soon realizes that it is up to him to rebuild and restore everything around him. From the very outset of his journey, he meets others that will help, and sometimes hinder his progress. The Kid must find mystical rocks scattered around the ruins of Caelondia and bring them back to “The Bastion”. The Bastion itself was created as a safe-haven for the residents of Caelondia in case of an event just like the Calamity. In the end “The Kid” is solely in charge of decisions that will greatly effect himself as well as everyone and everything around him.
From the very start of Bastion, you will be treated to several key features that set it apart from most every game on the market right now. Bastion is the story of a post-apocalyptic world. That’s really is not all that unusual. The big difference is that it’s not a grimy, dusty, wasteland of death and devoid of color. Bastion is bright, colorful, and full of life all around the player. You will visit places that are overgrown with trees, covered in ice as well as the usual burned and broken cities. It’s a delightful change from games like Fallout and Gears of war where everything is destroyed, decayed or just bereft of live. As The Kid traverses the broken world of Caelondia the ground around him will literally rise up to meet his feet, or fall way leaving gaping holes. It’s a trick that could have become very gimmicky, but in the end it was one of the more visually impressive perks of the game.
Secondly, and probably my favorite part, is the narration. The story’s narrator literally tells you the story as you go. Actions, movements, even equipment are all queues for lines of dialog, read in a smokey deep, yet comforting voice of the narrator. It sounds like it would get old very quick, but I enjoyed everything that he was telling me. None of the lines sound like they are out of place, and you can tell that Supergiant Games took the time to perfectly place each queue. As far as I know there is no option for subtitles. If there is I would highly suggest leaving it off. This is not a story that you want to read, it is one that should be told to you the way the creators intended. The first time the narrator informs your that you fell off the world, was enough to hook me, and have me laughing.
Finally the soundtrack for Bastion is among the best that I have heard in some time, and if you could see my collection of soundtracks you would understand how big a deal that is. Each song fits the setting it is played in perfectly. Not only do the tracks lend themselves well to keeping the mood and overall tone of the game, but they sometimes are the jumping off point. The latter part of the game is basically nothing but the soundtrack and manages to add more character and feeling to an already emotionally charged story.
If there was one weak point in Bastion, I would point to the combat. It’s not that it’s broken or even really bad at all, it just sometimes feels a bit hard to manage. This could be because I haven’t finished leveling up all my weapons and attacks but to me it just felt like I was just overwhelmed. That could very well be the point to the combat, but for an isometric “hack and slash” game (which Bastion is far more than that) combat really needs to be tight and super responsive. Again, this is such a small factor that I am nitpicking to find, it really doesn’t detract anything from the rest of the game.
Even after playing through the game, there is still a ton of things to do and be discovered. Playing through Bastion once you would probably be hard pressed to get, or discover all that the game hides with in. Luckily Supergiant Games has learned from other games mistakes and allows the player to play through again with the same weapons and skills in “New Game Plus”. This will allow you to continue to level up your character as well as your weapons. There is also a lot more back story to be fleshed out in what are called “Who Knows Where” levels. These are areas where the objective is to complete a set number of “reflections” while the narrator tells you more of the history of the people that inhabited Cealondia. You can also get more from your weapons by completing each “Proving Ground” for each weapon. The better your time, the better your prize.
Bastion was a game that I had watched (literally) develop over the past year. Each time I saw more about it, I grew more and more excited about being able to play it myself. By the time I was able to play it, it had become a foregone conclusion that I would enjoy the hell out of this game. I can honestly say that Bastion sits very high on the list of my favorite games I have played this year. It is a fine and welcomed addition to my own personal “Game of the Year” lists. It’s not often that I recommend to readers that they buy a game, but this could be the exception to that rule. If you own a 360 and enjoy the Action-RPG genre in the slightest, Bastion is a game not to be missed.
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