When I completed Bastion I was left momentarily speechless. It's just that breathtaking. In fact, it's difficult for me to write this review without simply blurting out a load of spoilers. I won't though. I want you to experience the full impact of it yourself.
Bastion is a new Hack'n'Slash RPG released by first-time studios Supergiant Games. Considering this is just their first game I can see them becoming very strong developers in the future. Sadly, this also means that Bastion probably won't be noticed by the majority of people. That is a very sad thing. Bastion's central plot revolves around an event called the Calamity. Obviously, this is a bad thing. The Calamity has claimed hundred of lives (you can see the people that have been turned to dust) and has totally reshaped the world. Large sections of land have been torn up and the wildlife has been made even more ferocious. The only thing that can return the world to what it was before is the Bastion (hence the name). And so we enter our Hero, a young man waking up to find his world all but destroyed. One thing that struck me about the protagonist is that he is never explicitly named; instead he is just referred to as The Kid. This is actually very effective as it emphasises the fact that he is just a young man thrust into a broken world. What makes the story very unique, from my view, is the narrator. Now many games have narrators, but Bastion's is special in that he narrates things while you are playing. It gives the sense that the game is being told as a tale. As an example, when I got my first weapon (a large hammer) I went about smashing all the crates and barrels I could find. The narrator commented on my smashing skills. If you seem to prefer a certain weapon more than the others; he'll comment on that as well. It's little touches like that which give a game much more depth. In fact, I would hold Bastion's story up as a shining example to other games. Without spoiling, let me say that the choice at the end of the game caused me to stop and think about the implications of my decision. Not many games can claim to do that.
Another important aspect of Bastion is the customisation. Bastion does away with things like Strength and Dexterity that often go along with RPGs and instead focuses on new methods of customisation. There are a wide range of weapons to be collected (my favourite being a set of bellows that acts as a flamethrower), all of which can be customised with a range of different attributes. In order to upgrade them you need to build a forge, find the necessary components and pay the right price. Along with weapon customisation, you can also employ various potions and tonics that give you passive bonuses. There's a massive variety of these potions, available to find and buy, meaning you can shape your hero exactly how you want. They are also all named after alcohol. Apparently being drunk improves your fighting ability. What's more, Bastion also sports a massive library of skills, either general or unique to a certain weapon. These can be anything from throwing a grenade to bouncing an arrow off a target to hit another. Skills require something called 'Black Juice' to use, which can be found quite easily, but means that Skills are best used when in a bit of a tight spot. Another thing that Bastion seeks to reinvent is the difficulty settings. Instead of just selecting a preset difficulty of Easy, Medium or Hard (or Nightmare if you're really creative) Bastion employs the use of Idols and Gods. If you choose to invoke a certain God it will make all the enemies stronger but also gives you more rewards. This basically means that you can tailor the difficulty to exactly how you want. If you're finding it a bit too easy, worship a God and off you go. The combinations of Weapons, Potions, Skills and Gods give Bastion a sheer depth of customisation that seems to be lacking from most games these days.
One kid against the world.
If Customisation and Story were not enough to convince you to buy it then the graphics may well do so. In a time of dull Brown and Grey games, Bastion stands out as being truly colourful. The environments are all hand painted, so they look beautiful. They are also deliberately painted in bright colours, which reflects the often bright colours of the enemies you'll face. The bright colours of your surroundings also link into the idea of the Calamity. You are travelling across what are essentially floating islands torn out of the world. The colours therefore are a reminder of the past as they are set against the blackness that surrounds you. They are also useful for helping you to stay on the islands. As you really don't want to fall off. What really sold me on Bastion's graphics, however, is how you see the world building around you. As you walk, the landscape drops down in front of you, fitting together like a jigsaw. This strengthens the idea of your journey being told as a sort of tale, as you see it all being constructed before you as the narrator describes your path. Together with the beautiful graphics, Bastion also supports a beautiful soundtrack. I felt it deserved a particular mention as some of the music it employs is quite hauntingly beautiful.
As brilliant a game as it is, Bastion is not without its problems. These problems are quite small, however, and are more in the way of slight annoyances. Firstly, the combat can get very repetitive at times. Many fights descend into the old formula of: block attack and strike while the enemy is stunned. The game also has a habit of throwing waves of similar enemies at you, many of whom are quite easy to kill. Most of the time the combat just felt in the way of the main story. This is not a fault of the mechanics, which are all very well done (it's nice to see a dodge roll that actually allows you to dodge) but rather the enemy variety. There is actually quite a bit of variety, but once you've been introduced to a new enemy it gets thrown at you so often you soon become tired of it. Nevertheless, there are some very well done boss fights in there as well, which keeps things fresh. Constantly finding new weapons also allows you to experiment which also keeps things fun. Another slight problem is with how easy it is to simply fall off of the islands, losing a chunk of health. This is particularly annoying when some enemies smash holes in the floor and it is often very difficulty to pick out the holes. The game is also very linear, with your character being forced to traverse very narrow corridors. There is nothing wrong with linearity in games, of course, but I would have liked to see a bit more emphasis on exploration. With a world as beautifully drawn as Bastion's I would have liked to have gone off the beaten track a bit more.
Ultimately, however, Bastion has stolen my heart. I love it. I recommend this to anyone who wants their games to have a proper moving story. It's a game that partners fluid controls, proper RPG customisation and a very well told story. With a little bit more capacity for exploration it could have been perfect. As it is, it's damn near close.
Score: 9/10
Bastion is Available on the Xbox Live Marketplace for 1200 Microsoft points. [http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-GB/Product/Bastion/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d80258410b66] It is coming to PC later this year.
Bastion is a new Hack'n'Slash RPG released by first-time studios Supergiant Games. Considering this is just their first game I can see them becoming very strong developers in the future. Sadly, this also means that Bastion probably won't be noticed by the majority of people. That is a very sad thing. Bastion's central plot revolves around an event called the Calamity. Obviously, this is a bad thing. The Calamity has claimed hundred of lives (you can see the people that have been turned to dust) and has totally reshaped the world. Large sections of land have been torn up and the wildlife has been made even more ferocious. The only thing that can return the world to what it was before is the Bastion (hence the name). And so we enter our Hero, a young man waking up to find his world all but destroyed. One thing that struck me about the protagonist is that he is never explicitly named; instead he is just referred to as The Kid. This is actually very effective as it emphasises the fact that he is just a young man thrust into a broken world. What makes the story very unique, from my view, is the narrator. Now many games have narrators, but Bastion's is special in that he narrates things while you are playing. It gives the sense that the game is being told as a tale. As an example, when I got my first weapon (a large hammer) I went about smashing all the crates and barrels I could find. The narrator commented on my smashing skills. If you seem to prefer a certain weapon more than the others; he'll comment on that as well. It's little touches like that which give a game much more depth. In fact, I would hold Bastion's story up as a shining example to other games. Without spoiling, let me say that the choice at the end of the game caused me to stop and think about the implications of my decision. Not many games can claim to do that.
Another important aspect of Bastion is the customisation. Bastion does away with things like Strength and Dexterity that often go along with RPGs and instead focuses on new methods of customisation. There are a wide range of weapons to be collected (my favourite being a set of bellows that acts as a flamethrower), all of which can be customised with a range of different attributes. In order to upgrade them you need to build a forge, find the necessary components and pay the right price. Along with weapon customisation, you can also employ various potions and tonics that give you passive bonuses. There's a massive variety of these potions, available to find and buy, meaning you can shape your hero exactly how you want. They are also all named after alcohol. Apparently being drunk improves your fighting ability. What's more, Bastion also sports a massive library of skills, either general or unique to a certain weapon. These can be anything from throwing a grenade to bouncing an arrow off a target to hit another. Skills require something called 'Black Juice' to use, which can be found quite easily, but means that Skills are best used when in a bit of a tight spot. Another thing that Bastion seeks to reinvent is the difficulty settings. Instead of just selecting a preset difficulty of Easy, Medium or Hard (or Nightmare if you're really creative) Bastion employs the use of Idols and Gods. If you choose to invoke a certain God it will make all the enemies stronger but also gives you more rewards. This basically means that you can tailor the difficulty to exactly how you want. If you're finding it a bit too easy, worship a God and off you go. The combinations of Weapons, Potions, Skills and Gods give Bastion a sheer depth of customisation that seems to be lacking from most games these days.
One kid against the world.
If Customisation and Story were not enough to convince you to buy it then the graphics may well do so. In a time of dull Brown and Grey games, Bastion stands out as being truly colourful. The environments are all hand painted, so they look beautiful. They are also deliberately painted in bright colours, which reflects the often bright colours of the enemies you'll face. The bright colours of your surroundings also link into the idea of the Calamity. You are travelling across what are essentially floating islands torn out of the world. The colours therefore are a reminder of the past as they are set against the blackness that surrounds you. They are also useful for helping you to stay on the islands. As you really don't want to fall off. What really sold me on Bastion's graphics, however, is how you see the world building around you. As you walk, the landscape drops down in front of you, fitting together like a jigsaw. This strengthens the idea of your journey being told as a sort of tale, as you see it all being constructed before you as the narrator describes your path. Together with the beautiful graphics, Bastion also supports a beautiful soundtrack. I felt it deserved a particular mention as some of the music it employs is quite hauntingly beautiful.
As brilliant a game as it is, Bastion is not without its problems. These problems are quite small, however, and are more in the way of slight annoyances. Firstly, the combat can get very repetitive at times. Many fights descend into the old formula of: block attack and strike while the enemy is stunned. The game also has a habit of throwing waves of similar enemies at you, many of whom are quite easy to kill. Most of the time the combat just felt in the way of the main story. This is not a fault of the mechanics, which are all very well done (it's nice to see a dodge roll that actually allows you to dodge) but rather the enemy variety. There is actually quite a bit of variety, but once you've been introduced to a new enemy it gets thrown at you so often you soon become tired of it. Nevertheless, there are some very well done boss fights in there as well, which keeps things fresh. Constantly finding new weapons also allows you to experiment which also keeps things fun. Another slight problem is with how easy it is to simply fall off of the islands, losing a chunk of health. This is particularly annoying when some enemies smash holes in the floor and it is often very difficulty to pick out the holes. The game is also very linear, with your character being forced to traverse very narrow corridors. There is nothing wrong with linearity in games, of course, but I would have liked to see a bit more emphasis on exploration. With a world as beautifully drawn as Bastion's I would have liked to have gone off the beaten track a bit more.
Ultimately, however, Bastion has stolen my heart. I love it. I recommend this to anyone who wants their games to have a proper moving story. It's a game that partners fluid controls, proper RPG customisation and a very well told story. With a little bit more capacity for exploration it could have been perfect. As it is, it's damn near close.
Score: 9/10
Bastion is Available on the Xbox Live Marketplace for 1200 Microsoft points. [http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-GB/Product/Bastion/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d80258410b66] It is coming to PC later this year.
