Bastion.
“Proper stories are supposed to start at the beginning. Ain’t so simple with this one.Here’s a kid who’s whole world got all twisted, leaving him on a rock in the sky.
He gets up.
Sets off for the Bastion where everyone agreed to go in case of trouble. Ground forms up under his feat, as it point the way, he don’t stop to wonder why…”
Just imagine for a second - in a deep husky voice, somewhere between; old westerner and learned documentarian - your narrator. Your companion and loyal friend in a world stricken by the Calamity, an event so cataclysmic, as to shatter the world like glass, and sprout bestial creatures from the earth.
You’ll only find a few lines of text in Bastion, there’s an almost symbiotic blend between gameplay and narrative. Every word from the narrators mouth, dynamically captures the moment; from switching weapons, to falling as the land beneath your feat crumbles away.
On occasion these dulcet tones will be the driving force behind you, as you realise you’ve set the difficulty too high and the game is going to punish you, brutally for it. Though you’ll push through, just to hear his commentary, as you fight on, possibly in vain, to turn down the difficulty and try again.
Difficulty: as with pretty much every aspect of Bastion is more than a little bit special. You won’t set it outright, nor will you ever get into the game and have to start over because it’s just too punishing. You control the difficulty, with idols. Want to make enemies; reflect your attacks, have increased vigour, cripple your speed, regenerate health, or a myriad of other effects, you can. Bastion can turn from; a walk in the park, into walking into Mordor, all under your control, though as logic dictates, higher difficulty does earn greater rewards.
Idols play their greatest role outside the main storyline. In the game’s combat arenas you’ll fight against waves of enemies, horde style, as the narrator’s omnipresent voice fleshes out the characters backstories. Not only will these arenas have you coming back over and over again, as you add more idols and try to climb the leaderboards, but the narration will touch your heart, as you hear of past hardships.
Gameplay at its core offers an ever common array of passive spirits, in addition to a single selected special ability and two weapons. There’s more than enough variety here to satisfy any style, from close combat with the Cael Hammer and War Machete, to range, carrying Duelling Pistols and Army Carbine. Each weapon comes with its own brief tale, and a proving ground. An area to show off your proficiency as you level your weapon: a perfect minute long taste of pure combat if you don’t fancy diving into an arena.
Though what’s the point of combat diversity if you have dull cannon fodder? Bastion more than holds its own, every enemy feels satisfying to despatch, and in tow with the world that Greg Kasavin (of former Gamespot fame) has created, is beautifully realised. As is rare in smaller downloadable titles everything feels intertwined, enemies and characters feel like they belong in this expansive, colourful world. As you move away from the safety of the Bastion and into the wild unknown you’ll see a shift in enemies and tone.
That’s what Bastion does as well, if not better than any game so far this year… tone. It’s staggering to think, that this game, with a score so captivating as to be completely able to hold its own, with several tracks that’ll cause you to stop fighting, and just stand there as you soak up the atmosphere. A game like this shouldn’t come from a small team, in a home office. Gameplay this fluid shouldn’t be the first game from an unheard of developer.
Sure its not perfect, one section descends randomly into platforming - fiddly, unnatural platforming at that - and animation sometimes shows the constraints of Bastion’s budget. Though you won’t care. Not one bit. You’ll find Bastion as a time filler in the summer months… you’ll stay for the experience… and hope with all your heart that this little indie game with so much flair, and charm spawns a sequel.
