Bastion Makes Me Wish there was a Narrator in My Life Too

While Indie studio Supergiant Games generated a lot of buzz for their game by showing it at almost every industry event possible, the thing that brought Supergiant onto my radar was Greg Kasavin's involvement. As a youth that frequented video game websites, I always eagerly anticipated Kasavin's reviews on Gamespot. After contributing writing to a few of the Command and Conquer games at EA, Greg has ventured into the uncharted territory of Indie game development. After so many years critiquing games, can Kasavin and his team create a game that is not only well written but also fun to play and good-looking?

The answer is not just yes, but a resounding "abso-freaking-lutely".

The writing here is a standout not for the text itself, but for the way in which the text is narrated. Bastion is the first game where I felt like my actions directly influenced what the narrator said.

Shortly after starting up Bastion I stopped my character, the Kid, in the middle of a town square and started smashing everything. Most of Bastion’s set dressing is destructible, so it was pretty fun. As I finished smashing the last barrel, the narrator playfully interrupted, “the Kid just raged for a while”. Bastion’s narrator always has something witty or interesting to say that is directly informed by what you are doing.

This dialogue all feeds directly into a deep and intriguing fiction.  The gradual reveal of the game universe and all the factions at play is masterfully done. The narrative builds in tension and complexity until you reach the one-two punch of a couple difficult decisions at the end of the game that will ensure a second playthrough from just about anyone. In an industry where games are increasingly deciding to include a "codex" with reams of text about the game's universe, Bastion's simple approach is refreshing and exciting.

You might be thinking that a good narrative isn’t all you need for a good game, and you'd be right. Then I would tell you to stop talking and listen to me, because Bastion plays wonderfully.

It turns out that beyond the character progression and story, RPG might be a misnomer for Bastion. The gameplay ranks among the finest caliber of character action games. I think 2009's Bayonetta was the last time I was so totally satisfied with the simultaneous depth and visual badassery of a game’s combat system. A typical fight can have you try to hit an armored enemy with your hammer only to cancel out of the animation, roll around behind him, and blast him in the back with a shotgun. My thumbs were satisfyingly sore after many of my play sessions.

The RPG systems are all handled between missions at your home base, the titular Bastion. You erect a variety of buildings in the bastion as you progress.  Besides the item store, arsenal, and upgrade buildings, there is also a building that lets you evoke the spirits of certain gods to make enemies in the world more difficult in exchange for an XP and money bonus. That last building is a great move by Supergiant to  spice up your new game+.

And new game+ you shall! Not only because the story is great, or the controls are amazing. Also because this game is damn beautiful. All of the environments in Bastion are hand-drawn, which reminded me of the SNES classics of yore. Icy mountain ranges, forests, bogs and town squares alike are lush, colorful and rich in detail.

This art style actively contributes to both the gameplay and narrative as well. Due to the apocalyptic "calamity" that kicks off the events of Bastion, the world of Bastion is always rising up to meet you. Hand-drawn squares constantly interlock at your feet, teasing you to explore the world and find all of the hidden areas.

The audio of the game is beautiful to boot.  Southern guitar twang joins glitched-out hip hop beats to make one of the most unique soundtracks in recent memory. Animal calls and cannon booms make up a great soundscape that suggests a world in turmoil.  All of this on top of the hand-drawn visuals makes Bastion a feast for the senses.

Bastion is not without a few faults though. There are proving grounds that you can visit anytime during the game to master skills with a certain weapon. The challenges are all well-designed and strike a good balance between upgrading the weapon properly and just plain skillful play. However, if you want to try one of these proving grounds multiple times, you have to wait until after your attempt to see the criteria for the top prize. These proving grounds also kick you all the way back to the Bastion when you are finished, instead of to the world map and allowing you to go straight to another area. Finally, while falling off the world of Bastion is funny the first few times, it gets plain annoying further along in the game.  These are super minor nitpicks though, and didn’t hamper the incredible amount of fun I had over the course of the game.

Between its groundbreaking incorporation of narrative, challenging combat system, and incredibly artful production, Bastion doesn’t need the, “for a downloadable game” qualifier.  It is simply one of the best games you will play this year.

Grade: A

This review was written based on playing through the game one time while also completing a few of the challenge areas, totaling about 6 hours of gameplay. After this is posted, I plan on doing a new game plus playthrough and completing all of the challenge areas.