Bastion

95

"This is going to take a while getting used to"

I believe that is what would go through your mind if you woke up to what the Kid woke up to. His world destroyed, reduced to floating bits and pieces up in the sky. This initial mystery of what has happened drags you into a colorful, vibrant living world. Your actions are narrated by an ever present soothing voice, a mechanic which you would think would overstay its welcome. But instead of ties the game perfectly together.

Gameplay consists of combat in an isometric perspective. You use two weapons at a time, which get its own button, and you can dodge and block. Combat is fast paced and oddly tactical, and it changes dramatically considering what weapon loadout you use. There are enough weapons in there to really change up the way you play if you so desire.

You also have special moves, which you can use as long as you have enough charges. Some of these are tied to weapons, others are more universal. With the upgrade system on weapons and tonics to equip in order to gain special bonuses, the game gives more than enough customization options making it fun to replay several times.

And that is something you really will want to do, as the story is brilliantly told. Somehow they managed to make a game more engaging, touching and downright masterful than most games I have ever played, using what is essentially the voice acting of the narrator and the limited animations you can put on models that size in that perspective. The music also compliments the goings-on perfectly, and there where moments that more or less brought me to tears. This is art, simply put.

Being an indie game it isn't the longest game ever, but it is longer than some shooters these days. You also get the incentive to replay it at least once, and things the narrator say the second time around is in some cases different. With all the possible weapon combinations, tonics, idols to put on to make it harder etc. this game gives more than enough content for the price they ask for it.

75

Story Time!

Remember the days of childhood? The entire your time you play someone is reading your story. You're a young boy who's been giving the task of fixing your world. BGMs and graphics were just the start of the fun.Endless amounts of weapons, upgrades and entertaining comments throughout this legacy. With a measly ~$15 dollars you could enjoy this forever.

85

Awesome game.

Bastion is a huge nod towards classic top down slashers like Diablo and Zelda.

The gameplay will definitely keep you entertained from beginning to end. You'll get a rather large variety of upgradeable weapons at your disposal. The enemies are varied and the boss fights are challenging. The missions are generally the same, getting to the end to get some crystals but it's still very entertaining because the levels are so varied.

The art work in this game is one of the best I've seen and the music and narration is also top notch.

The weapon challenges are some of the best challenges I've seen in any game so far.

Bastion is highly recommended.

The bad thing: The story is over in like 8 hours max.

90

One of the best Indie games of this year

An ARPG reminiscent of some old PSX games (but HD-fied,ofc). Art is fantastic,soundtrack is amazing,gameplay easy to learn,not as easy to master,switchable control schemes with rebindable keys,and what could've turned into the game's gimmick,the narrator,ends up being one of it's greatest strengths.He has an awesome gruff voice, never repeats his lines on one playthrough,and his lines are short,but contextual to the situation at hand,guaranteeing that the story is told without interruption or distractions. Game Is rather short though,lasting between 4 to 6 hours on first playthrough,but with the inclusion of a New Game + mode(where you keep almost everything,and get a few extra toys too),as well as several selectable handicaps to increase the difficulty for greater rewards,the post game content should be enough to keep it going for a while longer,if you so desire.

To sum it up,Bastion is definitely one of,if not THE,greatest indie game coming out this year.Definitely worth the asking price.

90

Awesome game.

A seemingly traditional foundation hides an adorable game with both heart and brains. From start to finish I found my self smashing through scumbags and the like with a joy I haven't experienced in games in a long time. The game-play is both solid and intuitive, but the meat of the experience lies in its presentation: the rebuilding world and its witty and grim narrator. This is what makes this game so hard to put down. The story is presented and played out in such a beautiful and fun way that I can't recall any other game this year - Tactics Ogre aside - that it this well. It may not be my GOTY (Tactics Ogre will probably snatch that one), but it very well could be.

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