“The kid gets up,” intones the omnipresent narrator, just as I nudge the control stick to stir my character from his bed. It’s the once-upon-a-time that will begin this unique story: one that I am writing as I play. I can already tell that Bastion will be something special.
A product of fledging developers Supergiant Games, on paper this action RPG looks wholly unremarkable, even abhorrent to a gamer who’s sampled the genre before. A mute boy (strike one) must journey through a shattered land populated with monsters (strike two) utilising a variety of weapons including a sword, a hammer and a bow (strike three). However Bastion overwhelmingly proves that a story truly resounds in the method of its telling.
Indeed, “story” is the key word here. Every movement, every choice you make – every accomplishment and every failure – is narrated as it happens. When you arrive at a crossroads and pause for a second to debate which direction to go, the narrator calmly observes that “The kid ponders a spell, to get his bearings”. When you do start off on your way again, it’s to the tune of “The kid decides to head north first”. It’s startlingly effective, and it feels like every choice you make is the way it always had to be. It doesn’t bear thinking about what would have happened if you had simply run straight through that junction: the actions that you naturally took as a player created this story that is ongoing even now. In this way, Bastion truly shines, offering a world that’s just as governed by action and reaction as our own. No choices are punished, and that just makes it even more rewarding to proceed as you see fit, rather than choosing x response or going to y place first just because it’s beneficial. What’s more, the narration never tires or grates, and never becomes intrusive. Like the rest of the game, it feels natural – just another part of this world you’re in.
The technicalities of the game are no less impressive. Calling the visuals “graphics” feels almost insulting to their level of quality. Each piece of scenery has been meticulously hand painted to a phenomenal standard. You would hardly imagine that this is a world post-apocalypse, so vibrant and bursting with life are the backdrops and vistas that construct themselves around you with every step you take. This stylistic choice not only gives a sense of natural direction to the game, ensuring that the player is never lost or overwhelmed; it also reinforces the idea that this is a story in the process of being told as buildings and trees literally spring from nowhere as the narrator describes entering a deserted city square or muck-flooded swamp.
The gameplay is as smooth and polished as the art, with not-overly complicated combat making up the bulk of the interaction. However, it’s in the eponymous Bastion that the designers and writers really flesh out the “role play” in this role-playing game. Trinkets and mementoes from your travels can be examined with companions, offering windows into the rich backstory. Cleverest of all is the manner in which standard features such as the difficulty level of the combat or achievements are disguised as part of the game world. Take a god as your patron at the pantheon, for instance, and the hostiles all get a little a bit stronger. The more gods you worship, the more augmentations your enemies will receive, but the same applies to your experience and monetary rewards. Because Bastion never loses its sense of verisimilitude then neither does the player, and it makes for an incredibly engrossing and rewarding experience.
Bastion is without a doubt one of the best gaming titles in recent memory – it’s innovative, fresh, and bursting with new ideas in a slightly stagnated market. But it stays true to its roots of classic top-down 16-bit titles with its quirky designs and straightforward combat mechanics. It’s destined to be a classic in years to come. I’ve told you how the story begins, but I wouldn’t dream of telling you how it ends. It’s far too much fun discovering it for yourself.
