Bastion
I played this game to the end twice for a total playtime of 12 hours.
Bastion is an action RPG that tells the story of a post-apocalyptic world. Unlike other games that tackle this subject on a nuclear level (Fallout, RAGE, Borderlands), Bastion credits the destruction on an event known as The Calamity.
You are The Kid and it’s up to you to find out what the hell happened to your home country Caelondia.
The game is narrated from beginning to end by Rucks, a survivor of The Calamity. Through him, you learn how to restore order to the world and the secrets that lie within The Bastion. His voice adds a goose-bump-inducing intensity to an otherwise innocent looking game. He will comment on your every move and every encounter against the game’s enemies. For example, when The Kid find his trusty hammer, I took a minute to smash everything in the surrounding area with the new weapon. I was surprised to hear the narrator state, “Kid just rages for a bit..” Comments like these add lots of much-needed context to the game and helps the player realize the intense gravity of the situation—the world has ended.
Bastion begins with The Kid waking up to a broken Caelondia; apparently The Calamity caused the world to literally fall apart, leaving The Kid stranded on a floating piece of rock. Luckily, a path forms before his feet, allowing him to explore his country after mass tragedy struck. These physics-defying levels are never explained; they just are, and they fit perfectly with the game’s visual style.
Ultimately, it is your goal to retrieve Bastion’s scattered cores and restore order to the Bastion. Maybe then, just maybe, you could restore order to the world.
Visually, Bastion is eye candy. Playing the game is like watching a lively watercolor painting. Colors are ultra-vibrant and graphics are crisp. Characters and enemies have a nice 3D-model-meets-2D-sprite kinda feel. My favorite levels to look at were the “Who Knows Where” scenarios. These dream-like sequences are presented in black and white with a rainbow tint, and are a great way to gain extra Fragments of the Old World, the accepted currency at The Bastion.
Collecting fragment pieces allows the player to upgrade and customize The Kid and his weapon layout. The player can also customize and upgrade the weapons themselves. These upgrades come at a hefty cost, but you can easily max out all weapons with a couple of playthroughs. Additionally, The Kid can equip one special attack (based on the weapons he is currently using) and up to ten different alcoholic beverages at The Bastion’s Distillery. This is my favorite aspect of the game since each drink (i.e. Stabsinthe) adds certain statistical advantages to The Kid’s attributes.
Battle is basic and easy to pick up if you haven’t played an action RPG before. The Kid can equip one close ranged and one long ranged weapon. With a push of the button, the Kid can attack, roll away to evade, block, jump, etc. I didn’t have a problem with the controls at all; all actions were responsive and fluid.
Without giving away more of the story, Bastion is an amazing game. It’s colorful and family-friendly, but it also has a lot of mature themes for the adults to enjoy as well. I loved every moment I played this game and actually wished it was a bit longer, but multiple endings make for great replayability already. If you’ve got some space on your hard drive, download this game and save it for a rainy day. Thanks for reading.
If you liked BASTION you might also want to check out:
1. Deathspank
Dom's Games 