Bastion

Greetings, Bastion is an action role-playing videogame that was developed by Supergiant Games and was published by Warner Bros in 2011. As it is an indie game, it lacks a notable cast, employing the acting talents of Ashley Lynn Barrett and Logan Cunningham to narrate the story. Both Barrett and Cunningham are relatively unknown actors but they have worked together in Supergiant Games’ previous work, titled Transistor. The small cast suits the story as there are only a few characters involved in the plot and the campaign contains little dialogue. Although I wasn’t overly struck on Bastion, the game was well received by critics who were impressed by the visual effects, the narration and the music.

The plot begins with the protagonist, a silent character named the Kid who wakes up from an apocalyptic event known as the Calamity. The true nature and purpose of the Calamity is explained further in the game but I cannot expand on it in this review as the event is a major plot point that shapes future events. The Kid heads towards the Bastion, a structure that was designed for the people of Caelondia to travel to in the event of an emergency. When he arrives the Kid meets Rucks, an elderly man who instructs the protagonist to collect Cores to power the Bastion.

On his adventures to collect the items, the Kid meets two other central characters named Zia and Zulf. Both of them are Uras, a people who were at war with Caelondians such as Kid and Rucks before the Calamity had occurred. Despite, previous hostilities the four get along while the Kid fulfils his duty to explore dangerous areas and recover the Cores or shards. The characters as well as some animals that the Kid brings back from various areas, mostly hang around on the Bastion and can be interacted with. The peace is broken when Zulf reads a journal that the Kid discovered in his travels and attacks the Bastion before returning to Ura lands.

My main issue with the game is that I didn’t really understand the storyline during the conclusion. I believe this confusion stemmed from the lack of dialogue in the campaign or interactions with the characters. The game also includes various challenges and trials based around the available weapons that are unlocked throughout the storyline. I found some of these to be a frustrating addition rather than a fun exercise because some challenges such as the hammer trial required repetitive, mindless button mashing in order to beat the clock. One thing I did like about Bastion was the unique music style that was composed by Darren Korb. I was especially interested in the vocal tracks such as ‘Build that Wall’, ‘Mother, I’m here’ or ‘Setting Sail, Coming Home’. Overall, I believe it was an interesting game to play but it isn’t an experience that I would consider to be an essential for a gamer to immerse themselves in.

Plot=7/10

Characters=7/10

Graphics=7/10

Overall=7/10

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