Bastion Review - The Kid Reached The End, Gives His Opinion

It's been a long time comin'... but the kid never gave up... always trucking along...always eating away at the obstacles... The Bastion calls to him like the fireflies that are attracted by the light... but he ain't about to get burnt by it... oh no Sir! The Bastion beckons...



Bastion is the début offering from Supergiant Games, made up of former EALA staffers that worked on Command & Conquer Red Alert 3. And it's an absolute cracker! It's a 2D action game with an interesting narrative and a unique approach of presenting itself to you. As you probably already know, Bastion makes use of a dynamic narration gimmick, which while sounding rather gimmicky, works amazingly well.

Bastion is set in a child like fantasy world of Caelondia(it looks childish, but turns out to be a lot more darker than the game's aesthetics implies). A world that has been ravaged by an apocalyptic event called 'the calamity', it is now populated by wild beasts gone mad(such as those pesky squirts). The Bastion is the only remaining bastion(no pun intended) of civilisation and life.

A good scumbag is a dead one!

You play as the protagonist simply called 'the kid'. You aren't given much to grasp on with the story in the beginning... who is this kid? and who is this narrator that is encouraging you on? What scheme do they play in the Bastion and in Caelondia? This is the beauty of Bastion, it drip feeds you little by little of the story, thanks to the narrator and some of the bonus levels that give you extra lore. Challenge and reflection levels give you more experience as well as new lore as the narrator narrates to you a new bit of info at every wave you've defeated(these levels take on the shape of a gauntlet style, waved based mission where you defeat wave after wave of enemies).

"Bastion's world is like a mix between fantasy and western stylistic themes. It is further enhanced by the twangy rhythms of a western/cowboy music fused with world music and eastern styled beats"

Bastion's world is like a mix between fantasy and western stylistic themes. It is further enhanced by the twangy rhythms of a western/cowboy music fused with world music and eastern styled beats(imho.... one of the best soundtracks in a video game to date).  They've managed to craft a world that you would want to learn more about as it is so unique and at many a times, unpredictable and surprising. It will keep you on your toes most of the time. I just can't stress how much of an impact the narrator makes on the storyline.

The kid has a selection of fine beverages that pack a punch at the distillery

This Kid Ain't No Ordinary Cowboy


Bastion plays like pretty much most 2D(isometric) action games. You control the kid with WASD(movement with keyboard) and use the mouse for aiming and attacking. This gets a bit of getting used to as you will be whacking away at the wrong direction lots of time in the beginning(as you get used to the fact the kid only attack in the direction you have you mouse pointed towards). Bastion is quite playable using the mouse and keyboard combo, although, I would highly recommend the use of a gamepad.

The kid can carry any two weapons at any time, with the Cael Hammer and the Fang Repeater being the more popular ones(from what I've read from other peoples weapon combo). The Cael Hammer is a DPS dealing heavy weapon that strikes slower but harder(melee weapon of course).

The Fang Repeater is a ranged crossbow that shoots fangs, you'll have to reload when you've used up a clip(there is no ammo count in Bastion, but reloading will often put you in a precarious situation, so you'll often have to time when to reload and when to fire these weapons).

You have one special move that you equip in the armoury. The use of these special moves use up one black tonic(you pick these up in the game) and they range from trip mines, hand grenades to even a spinning attack for the Cael Hammer.

The Kid can travel all across Caelondia from the Skyway

You select missions by accessing the skyway in the Bastion, which acts as an over world where you get to upgrade your weapons, build structures on building plots, and generally get all your crafting and upgrading done. Some of the buildings you get to build includes a distillery, in which you get to pick from a fine collection of beverages(alcoholic I might add) that act as a modifier when equipped. It can often mean endless frustration in repetitive defeats or successfully finishing a level.... just with the right selection of spirits.

The Forge allows the kid to use collected weapons upgrade items(such as bow strings for the fang repeater) to upgrade his weapons. What is interesting is the fact that you have a choice, a branch of upgrades to chose from. It is often a compromise between giving off some negative attribute for one improved one. It's not a straight up improvement as so many other games often just carelessly rig a game up with an upgrade mechanic that often seems fluff. Upgrades, like in so many aspect in Bastion, truly is a moment that requires much thought and reflection on its advantages and disadvantages before taking the plunge.

The Kid is able to forge more deadly weapons with the right items

This is just one of the many indications of just how much thought and care went into the crafting of this game. While it might have been a passable action game with good combat and decent story and an okay mechanic, Super Giant Games instead lovingly fine tuned every aspect of the game to offer more depth, intricacy(in the narrative) and playability that takes it above and beyond any other average action game...Bastion is by no means average... In fact it is quite a stupendous feat.

"Bastion joins a pantheon of classic must have indie games that elevate the art of video games to new heights than your regular old joe 'Call of... generic shoot person press X countless number of times' does for the industry"

Conclusion


The mark of a special... classic game is one that makes you reflect on it even after you've completed it, or when you're not playing it. It elevates gaming to more than just a mere form of entertainment about pressing buttons and testing your motor coordination. Bastion does this... and it will remain in your mind as one that is exceedingly rare in pushing forth narration in bold new ways in video games.

Bastion's narrative is one that will call upon discussions long after the completion of the game. It's dynamic narrative will never cease to catch you off guard, offering brief new commentary even in repeated playthroughs. Bastion joins a pantheon of classic must have indie games that elevate the art of video games to new heights than your regular old joe 'Call of... generic shoot person press X countless number of times' does for the industry. Bravo Supergiant Games for such an exquisite debut title!

Genre	2D Action RPG/Action
Similar games	Quake 4, Serious Sam 3: BFE
DRM	Steam
Price	USD$14.99
Best Moment	Point Lemaigne, the kid fell many a times, but never got his spirits down

Pros:

• A visual style that is beautiful and unique
• Possibly one of the best music soundtracks in video gaming history
• Dynamic narration fits in perfectly to the action.
• Challenge and reflection missions give more lore to the game and adds replayability
• Branching ending with different outcomes
• Narrative is a little abstract, which leaves room for lots of different interpretations.

Cons:

• Some of the challenge levels tend to go on for just a bit too long
• Keyboard mouse combo takes some getting used to(I'm nitpicking here)

Verdict: The Kid was blown away at the end of it!