Most exclusively PlayStation gamers may not have even heard of Bastion–or if you’re like me, you vaguely remember it as the critically acclaimed predecessor to Transistor that never came to your console of choice. Well, it’s finally come to PlayStation after four years and while it doesn’t come with any new bells and whistles, it’s a game worth playing, nonetheless, for any of us that never got a chance to try it when it first launched.
Bastion is a beautiful Action-RPG that excels most in its presentation. The art design is fantastic, and feels like a mixture of characters painted in pastel tones of watercolor aesthetics against a vibrant palette of luminous environments that are always changing, moving in a way that makes them feel alive, and anything but dull. Bastion was praised for its visuals upon its initial launch, and even years later it stands out as overwhelmingly pretty. Every aesthetic detail is deeply refined–and that’s not limited to only what you see; the sound design is excellent as well, with an epic soundtrack and smooth narrator describing nearly every action you make throughout the experience. The more you play it, the more you wonder why narration isn’t used more in games. The voice actor does an incredible job and like the talking sword in Transistor, it gives you a real sense of camaraderie and companionship. You’ll hear the narrator describe or comment on nearly everything you do, and it adds such a welcome cohesive element between you and the world you’re exploring.
The story itself is enough to pull you along, but is otherwise a little stale and generic; you are a boy piecing together a world thrown into chaos and overtaken by monsters. It works, but what really sells it is the suave voice in your ear, narrating every step through that journey. The game begins with the protagonist, always referred to by the narrator as “the kid,” waking up and seeing his world destroyed with no memory of how or why. You make your way to the Bastion, a safe place that acts as your hub world throughout the game. While I wasn’t completely hooked on the story or gameplay by this point, it quickly builds on how you explore the world and upgrade your character in smart ways. Before you know it, you’re in this feedback loop of exploring new areas that are constantly assembling around you, fighting new enemies, finding new weapons and items, and returning to the Bastion to regroup and buy items or alter your build.
What honestly surprised me the most about Bastion is how many strong layers are revealed as your dig through the experience. It very well could have had its greatest strength as an aesthetic powerhouse with otherwise trite mechanics, and be worth playing for that alone. What you get instead is a game that reveals an almost jarring amount of depth and replayability the deeper you plunge into its world. I was enjoying, but largely unimpressed with the initial combat mechanics of a hammer, bow and repeater rifle–but not only can you customize and build on each of those weapons as you go, but there is a downright staggering array of weapons and tactics to choose from.
Don’t get me wrong, most of it plays as you would expect from the top-down isometric view–lots of rolling to dodge and timing your projectiles or hack and slashing–but you’re given an immense freedom in your choice of arsenal. You can rely on a strong melee choice and a shield for defense, or carry multiple long-range weapons and buffs to your weapons of choice, and even your character itself in a form of leveling up. I would have been perfectly happy with a mechanically sound Action-RPG with spectacular visuals and a powerful soundtrack–but it’s so much more than that.
Bastion is a must play if you have any interest in this genre of game, in stunning visuals, or just because it is one of those games that will forever hold a place on the mantle of gaming excellence–it’s just worth knowing about and having it under your belt of games played. The story itself is the biggest weakness, but only because it’s at worst just okay, and that pales in comparison to every other strength this game flaunts at every new turn. While the story has a few strong moments, it’s the narration and gameplay mechanics that really shine and make this game worth experiencing from start to finish. On top of the main game, you’ll find a ton of special challenge areas, and a New Game+ mode with additional content from your first playthrough.
Bastion is a stellar game that really shouldn’t be missed if you didn’t get your hands on it the first time. It’s beautiful inside and out, brimming with hours of replayability and is just one of those games that belongs in your library–whether the genre is your bread and butter or just because it’s worth playing though as a piece of gaming culture. If you’re like me, and you’ve let this one slip passed you all this time, it’s time to sink yourself into this beautiful world; because late is always better than never.