Bastion is a game which will capture you and make you intrigued instantly; mainly through the outstanding narration which follows you and details your every move. When Bastion was released, narration was a brand new concept for an isometric action-RPG and it pulled it off magnificently. The narrator (Logan Cunningham) only refers to you as ‘The Kid’, but while your character isn’t actually given a proper name, per se, the game does a fantastic job of making you incredibly attached to the protagonist.
Beautiful Environments
Caelondia is the name of the world where Bastion takes place; it’s a beautiful, alluring city in the skies with a multitude of different areas and environments.
‘Skyways’ are the mode of transport used to link each area together as the world is made up of tiny islands. One of the most fascinating things is how the world appears to build around you. Most of the time you’re only able to see a few tiles ahead of you and it really gives the impression the game is being crafted as you progress.
Character Bonuses
Customisation in the game is similar to what you’d find in a deep RPG: you can choose up to four bonuses for twelve different weapons, plus for each level you gain you have the choice of applying character bonuses in the form of spirits.
The level cap is 10, and you have a choice of 20 spirits which all do a variety of effective benefits. These are all vital as the difficulty of the enemies and the amount of them you have to face increases as you progress
The Calamity
The actual idea of the game is that the world is ending due to a catastrophic event known as the ‘Calamity’ and survivors are few and far between. You have to attempt to fix this by rebuilding the ‘Bastion’ which serves as a safezone and hub between each different area. You build and upgrade various buildings which all serve different purposes, for example: the Forge which allows you to apply weapon bonuses, the Lost & Found which is like a shop where you can buy a variety of things, and the Memorial which hosts a list of challenges (which upon completing you are rewarded with varying amounts of Fragments – the in-game currency used to buy and upgrade items).
Outstanding Soundtrack
Accompanying the fantastic narration in the audio department is an absolutely outstanding soundtrack. Every single area of Caelondia has it’s own perfectly crafted soundtrack all composed by Darren Korb and he did an amazing job with it.
Nine out of Ten
At the end of the day Bastion is one of the best isometric games available. Supergiant Games have done everything absolutely beautifully; my only complaint with the game is that I wish it was just a little bit longer. While there is a lot of replayability trying to perfect your scores in some of the training zones and enabling ‘idols’ which make the game harder (similar to skulls from Halo), it’d be improved just that tiny bit by being a little bit longer.
If you’ve never played Bastion and are a fan of games sculptured to near perfection, then definitely pick it up. I think Bastion is worthy of a 9/10, one of the best indie games of this generation. A must-play experience, especially for just the £12 asking price on Steam.
