I don't want to play Bastion, but I feel so guilty about it. Everything surrounding the gameplay seems novel and/or well-done, but there's just something about actually playing it that doesn't grab me. I played the XBLA trial a while ago and was kind of underwhelmed, if memory serves. I just find myself oddly disinterested in an isometric action game.

So, please somebody sell me on this game. It's been so well-regarded and it's only $5 on Steam today. Is the story itself interactive, or is it only an RPG insofar as you level skills and get loot? If you can make meaningful choices to affect the plot, I'd be much more interested in playing.

So yeah... help! (Or not! Not everybody has to like every game, obviously)

So you didn't work with Greg Kasavin in the past?

There are major plot decisions to be made, yes.

@DevWil:

Why would we need to sell you on the game? You played the trial and it didn't grab you. End of story.

The controls are super tight. The narrative elements go pretty crazy at some points. The art is incredible. It's not the Witcher 2 in its level of choices, but there are a few that affect how the end plays out. Also, as you get deeper into the game, the combat becomes much deeper as you upgrade weapons. The demo does not do a good job with showing the variety of combat scenarios in the game.

Then just don't...

If you don't want to play it, don't play it. Pretty simple.

@Grissefar said:

So you didn't work with Greg Kasavin in the past?

Because only those who have a connection to Greg enjoyed the game. Give it a rest already.

I really like the story. It does a good job of handing you bits of information throughout, giving you a lot to figure out for yourself while also presenting itself in a very nice method. The thing that really made the game amazing was the soundtrack. It does a fantastic job setting the tone of the plot.

Not sure how you feel, but I'd say buy it on Steam. $5 for the potential of playing a game you may come to love is well worth it.

I loved Bastion from start to finish but don't sweat it. You don't need to love and play every critics darling out there.

Personally I liked the story and the narrative and found the gameplay to be old school "challenge myself" -fun (as in something like Gradius or Tetris). If you ever find 8 hours to burn, give a shot.

The demo I played sold me to buy it but if it doesn't for you, then don't buy it. Simple

Give the trial another shot, and if you still don't like it, you probably won't like the full game.

@JasonR86: Bastion is a critically acclaimed game, that everyone but him seems to love. There has to be a good reason for the game to receive such praise.

Also trails don't always show the full potential of the game in question.

I find the combat and the mixing and matching of weapons really fun, I wasn't as captivated by the storytelling as everyone else, but I still had a lot of fun with the game. And for five bucks I think you should get it, if only to see what all the fuss is about.

You don't need to feel obliged to play the game. If it wasn't for you, it just wasn't, no biggie.

How bout just drop it and stop feeling guilty about it? I don't feel great criticizing it either, the art is amazing, but other than that i'd say it got way too much attention and critical praise than it really is worth. The story, narration, world, characters aren't even that mind-blowingly creative and interesting as the crew suggested. I finished it just to see what the fuss was about and I really wasn't impressed. There are many indie games that did better.

@Tomkang said:

@JasonR86: Bastion is a critically acclaimed game, that everyone but him seems to love. There has to be a good reason for the game to receive such praise.

Also trails don't always show the full potential of the game in question.

It's not our place to tell him what he should and shouldn't like. He's put in an effort to enjoy the game by trying out what the publisher and developer felt was representative of the quality of the final product (i.e. the trial). Having played through the game twice and having played the trial if that trial experience didn't catch his attention then, likely, the final product won't either. Plus, it isn't up to him to get the most out of a trial it is up to the developer and publisher to release a trial that will sell the product. On top of all this, he likely understands having read all the reviews what the game is about and why others like it. If that's not enough, then that's that. Having us repeat exactly what has been said in reviews won't change his mind. Further, just because something is critically acclaimed doesn't necessarily mean everyone will like it. For example, I really don't like Final Fantasy 8. BUT, nearly every critic and many, many fans adore that game. That doesn't change the fact that I didn't enjoy the game.

Don't feel guilty about anything that isn't a moral choice.

@Grissefar said:

So you didn't work with Greg Kasavin in the past?

Haha.

@Grissefar said:

So you didn't work with Greg Kasavin in the past?

I didn't like the trial much about 4 months ago, but then seeing it getting so much GOTY recognition I went back and bought it anyway, and I'm enjoying it so far.

Not that I necessarily recommend doing that, you might end up having bought a game you genuinely don't like, but that was my experience.

I bought bastion and I can't get into it.

Knowing what you are in to, you owe it to yourself to finish the game. The ending alone sets a new standard for interactive storytelling.

I bought it on Xbox Live when it came out and played a few hours, but it never grabbed me. I'm still glad I bought it though, I just wanted to support those guys.

When I actually see the game, it does nothing for me. Too bad.

Yeah. If you don't want to play it, then don't. Plus, maybe you will be more interested in the future or something. It's sure to go on sale repeatedly on Steam and be even cheaper.

If you wanna play it, play it. If you don't, don't. There's nothing anyone can say to convince you to play a game that you tried already and didn't like...for fucks sake dude, as far as pointless threads go, this one actually pissed me off.

The narrative and music were really, really good. I highly recommend it.

@aceofspudz said:

I bought bastion and I can't get into it.

Since I wrote this comment I thought I would mention that I bought it again in today's steam sale and played through it start to finish. It's great. I think I just needed to get away from the GB Bastionmania to enjoy it. Just try to forget any expectations that have been created and just enjoy it.

@Grissefar said:

So you didn't work with Greg Kasavin in the past?

Because Giantbomb is the only site to rave about Bastion, right?

@DevWil: For what it's worth, I thought the demo was garbage and just picked it up because it was cheap enough that it wouldn't hurt my wallet, and the possibility that it was just a bad demo. Turns out that the demo is bad. What I ended up enjoying were the things you don't get at the beginning: weapon variety, alcohols, and idols. I ended up enjoying it quite a bit and understand why it was in GB's top 10. As long as the price isn't too much, it's worth the risk.

@DevWil: If you don't want to play the game, save your money for a game that you do want to play. Simple as that.

@DevWil: Like people have said don't feel like it's weird to dislike something everyone else raves about. Happened to me with Limbo and i was disappointed.

That being said, I think Bastion is a fine game. The story has an interesting gimmick, it is well told, somewhat simple, but their is enough there to make you think what this world was like before the events of the game. The combat is also simple but the upgrades you get are meaningful and all the weapons feel different.

I kind of think that there was a better download only game this year... Binding of Isaac, but that's just me. Bastion is fun while it lasts, I just wish their were more interesting enemies and i wish it was a bit longer. The new game plus is just a way to replay the game with the later game weapons. The story has maybe 3 new lines of dialogue for new game plus. Also there are 2 times in the game you make a choice and that just changes the ending. It's a great game, just not this NEW BRAID or anything like that.

is anyone else sick to death of dying in this game? Everyone said it was so easy, but the combat is just awful. It's just mind numbing and takes forever, and if you die too much you lose all progress. I want to love this game but screw this.

Every once in awhile I pick it up because I feel like I should finish it with all the accolades it gets. But every time I play for 20 minutes and just get pissed off and quit.

Bastion is one of the few games that masters both story telling and gameplay in games. The story moves alongside you with the narrator and the building tiles. The combination of playing the game while being told the story is an incredible innovation that Bastion does. Each weapon also feels and plays incredibly differently. You can have a huge number of different weapons in your arsenal and still find a way to play well. The art style is incredible, the music is truly fantastic and the game tells a great tale. It's a near perfect game to me. For a downloadable game to have this much content and polish is still shocking to me. Give it another chance.

Yikes.

I don't get topics like this. If you're not interested then you're not interested. Seems weird to ask to be convinced to play something you clearly don't care for.

Same thing happened to me first time I played it. Second time? Played for a week straight and nearly 100%'d the game.

i never played it and loved every second of it.

I personally didn't care for the game, not any of it really. I am looking foreword to Transitor though.

You do realize that this topic is over a year old?

I didn't want to play Bastion either. Ended up giving it a shot one day on a whim and had a blast. Give it a go if you have time, otherwise don't feel bad/guilty for not playing it. It's just a game and it will always be there.

I know this post was made over a year ago and this guy could be dead by now but it's such fucking bullshit that I have to point it out. What an awful reductive idiotic comment.

Play until you can afford meaningful weapon upgrades; that's the point at which I started liking it. I kind of forced myself through it, but when I started laying waste I was able to get sucked into the story, too.

Weird necro thread.

I wanted to like the game but the mechanics drove me away before the story could grab me.

I also didn't find it appealing. The staff and various people on the site compliment it so much that I can see why a guy would make this thread as not liking it seems to make you this weird man out. I just thought the gameplay was boring.

I know this thread's over a year old but I figured I'd offer up my experience: I played the demo when it came out with a 360 controller and hated the game. Thought it played like ass and didn't enjoy it at all. Ended up buying it when it was like $3 on sale and gave it another try using a mouse and keyboard and ended up beating it in three or four days and loving it.

So yeah. Maybe give it a try; game is regularly like a dollar at this point.

I know you are but what am I.

Game is fine.