5/3/2023 0 Comments Bastion reviewShowing that you don't alway need revolutionary in order to be outstanding. The developer's vision is so distinguishing that you don't feel the familiar qualities of the genre while playing it. It's never actually doing anything new, but you almost can't tell. What makes Bastion so impressive and worthwhile is how it presents its world, plot, and gameplay mechanics in original ways. Not a huge flaw I suppose and easily fixed, but irritating nonetheless and directly affects one of the best aspects of the experience. Subtitles won't pop up either so all you can do is close out the game and open it back up before reaching another autosave. There's a recurring bug where audio won't play sometimes during cutscenes or when talking to another character. Which makes the one issue I could with it so frustrating. Make no mistake, the narrative and how it's told plays a big role in what makes Bastion so special. The tale starts off interesting enough with a colorful, myterious take on the classic post-apocalyptic setting that's brought to life by the art-like graphics, but quickly grows into something powerful and even a little emotional at points. I haven't even mentioned the game's story or distinctive style yet. Allowing it to feel like a complete package despite the fact that a single playthrough will only take a few hours. However, things like collectibles, two endings, a new game + mode, weapon upgrades, and a plethora of challenges to overcome in order to reach 100% completion give it a lot of depth and replayability. Now, there are only a handful of relatively brief levels in Bastion. Experimenting with all the different combinations to find the one best suited to your playstyle is a blast and further amplifies the game's lite RPG elements. You can only carry two at a time along with one special ability that requires elixers to use. As you progress you'll gain access to new weapons. Certain enemy types require specific strategies to defeat, which forces you to do some quick thinking on your feet as encounters grow more complex and greater environmental hazards get thrown into the mix. The combat is more than just simple hack 'n slash. Your paths through the levels often form right before your eyes and combined with the creative approach taken for the narration-driven story it sometimes feels like you yourself are creating the adventure as you're playing it. By implementing just a few unique ideas the developer managed to make Bastion feel like something entirely new despite it never actually breaking away from top-down dungeon crawling conventions. By implementing just a few unique ideas the Supergiant Games might have pulled off one of the most impressive tricks in video game history. Supergiant Games might have pulled off one of the most impressive tricks in video game history. The faults of the game (which by the way are very few) will sink into perfect insignificance as you find yourself engaged in wonder at what The Kid's mission truly is. If you give Bastion the chance, you WILL walk away having had a moving interactive media experience. Put on headphones, sit in a dark room without interruptions, and allow yourself to be transported to the Bastion. But truly - there is no other way to express what Bastion has to offer than to just say you MUST play this game, if you ever play any game at all. The combat is slightly repetitive after a while, and the weapons seem to do increasingly less damage as the enemies do frustratingly more. The player is led carefully along through little thoughts and single sentences delivered at timely intervals by the narrator and the story is very carefully woven around you as you play. The voice acting is sublime, and the music perfectly captures the mystery of the story. In this case, the music and the unique narrator delivered story telling combine to create an immersive experience that is usually not attained in an overhead action RPG. It is one of those few games that contain elements that transcend what most people think of as a game. It is one of those few games that contain elements that transcend what most people think of Bastion is simply more than a sum of its parts. Bastion is simply more than a sum of its parts.
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