Bastion

As the very first title to be released from Supergiant Games, Bastion is certainly a great way to make a first impression. Everything from the visuals to the music to the story are very well done. The game has great media elements but it also tells a good story, and to make it better the entire game is narrated by a stranger and he tells the story as it unfolds before your very eyes.

It is plain to see what sets Bastion apart from other games from the very second that you begin to play. A strange voice comes overhead and begins to tell your story and as you move forward he continues to tell the story based on what you do. There was even a time when I was wasting time by smashing objects around me and the narrator commented on how I was wasting time. The environments are all “floating” and, as you walk around, the ground assembles itself in front of you. This creates a very unique visual element that not only looks good but allows for some good challenges later on.

The beginning

you play the role of “The Kid” who wakes up only to find out that the precious Bastion is falling. After the Bastion falls you set out to rebuild the Bastion by collecting cores from different areas. As you locate the cores you get to rebuild the Bastion on piece at a time. Each core allows you to create a structure. The various structures allow you to do certain tasks such as upgrade your weapons or change your weapon loadout. eventually you will start collecting shards as well and the shards allow you to upgrade the structures you’ve already built to get more advanced benefits out of them. Here is a quick rundown on the structures:

The Bastion

Forge: The forge is where you upgrade and spec your weapons. Every weapon has five tiers of skills to unlock and each tier has two different specs. Once you purchase a tier then you can re-spec at any time for free.

Distillery: The distillery is where all your brews are kept. You can equip a potion for each level you’ve gained. The brews provide unique traits such as the ability to hold more potions or an increase in max health. Finding the right combination of brews is crucial for combat.

Arsenal: The arsenal is where you choose your loadout. You can have two weapons equipped at any time as well as one special skill. One weapon is equipped to the X button and the other is equipped to B. Your special skill can be triggered by pulling the right trigger.

Memorial: The memorial allows you to complete certain vigils by doing certain things such as killing one of every type of enemy. When you complete a vigil you get a pretty large chunk of cash so they are worth it! Better get good with that bow so that you can kill three enemies with one shot .

Shrine: The shrine is where all your idols can be found. The concept of idols in this game is very cool and allows for some players to challenge themselves and get the reward of additional experience and cash. For example, if you activate Hense (Goddess of Pain and Pleasure), your foes are more ferocious and quick to attack but you get more experience and cash from every enemy that you kill while it is activated. You can activate several (or all) of the idols if you wish, but don’t expect to live long if you do. Skilled players can use this to rake in money and xp, or simply just to make the game more challenging.

Lost and Found: The lost and found houses random items. Every once in a while you can check in and find some useful items for upgrading weapons at the forge or even some special skills and brews for the distillery.

Fighting a large monster

As you find new weapons, this will unlock the proving grounds for each weapon where you can go and prove your skills. Every weapon has a proving ground where you will have to show your skills with that weapon (and only that weapon). Every proving ground has a unique challenge and three different rewards for first, second, and third place. The third and second place prizes are usually easy to obtain, but you will find yourself pulling out some hair for that first place prize. I found that when I left each proving ground with the first place prize I actually felt like I knew the weapon better than I did coming into it. They did a really great job at challenging you with each weapon.

When you are on the Bastion you can also spend some time practicing with certain weapon combinations in one of the three available dreams. These dreams can be induced by either smoking the pipe, eating from the cauldron, or sleeping in the nap sack. In these dreams the narrator usually spits out some vital bits of the story as you fight waves of enemies. The dreams can also be nice if you need to earn a few extra bucks.

Overall I am completely blown away with Bastion. I haven’t been so captured by a game in a long time. Even now, after beating the game, I want to go back and play some more! Visually Bastion is a leader with it’s intuitive level design and breathtakingly gorgeous art. Audibly Bastion will grab your attention with it’s unique soundtrack. Bastion doesn’t sound like any game I’ve ever heard before and I really enjoyed that while I played. There are a few songs that have real vocalists in them and they were able to place it perfectly into the game to really capture you emotionally. I can’t comment enough on how good the music is in Bastion. Bastion itself was like a movie. Even though you are the one playing the game it was like it was being told to you as you see it unfold. Great storytelling and great imagination! There is nothing I can say I did not like about Bastion.

Bastion is a unique experience that you really need to try for yourself. You can download Bastion on the Xbox Live Marketplace for $15 and on August 16 you will be able to download Bastion via Steam Client! If you plan on buying Bastion from Steam then you might look into pre-ordering the game on Steam. At very least, give the original soundtrack a listen!

Bastion Original Soundtrack

You can preview all the tracks here and buy the soundtrack for $10 if you are interested. I thought Bastion was refreshing and I will continue to follow Supergiant games as they bring more unique games into the market.

Bastion