Intrinsic motivation is a hard trait to judge in gaming because it’s one of the most subjective things out there: what one person finds inherently fun may differ from their compatriot, and vice-versa. Thus, in constructing a reward system, it should come as no surprise that developers often opt for extrinsically-prescient tangibles to supplement their product’s activities, whether it be gold, power-ups, or any myriad of collectibles.
And yet, in creating Bastion, Supergiant made the interesting decision to go with the former: that is, to back the majority of their utilities under the incentive of personal enjoyment over physicality, a choice that, in turn, makes this a very hard title to review. While we, as gamers, will always have differing opinions on how the story and lore should’ve gone, giving justifiable reasons for conducting an activity tends to coalesce around a central axiom- you know, do this quest to get that item, finish B excursion to unlock C skill, partake in the latest chain to earn more money, etc….
Bastion operates slightly differently -- you’re charged with rebuilding this citadel in a post-apocalyptic world via gathering magic crystals from various provinces, each locale boasting its own unique weapon in addition to the aforementioned crystal. As you can imagine, these tools require their own upgrades, but what’s interesting is how unnecessary the lion’s share of them are. While a diversity of armaments have been crafted to fit many playstyles, it soon becomes clear which ones hold the least amount of drawback, meaning the vast majority of upgrades are ultimately rendered pointless and not worth pursuing.
With a story about 6 hours long, Bastion of course throws in side content to encourage extended participation, but again, none of it has any purpose. First you’ve got proving grounds wherein you have to complete miscellaneous trials using a specific weapon- sounds fine till you discover the awards are literally useless trinkets; next up is the Memorial, boasting its own challenges in exchange for cash….something you’ll never need in light of the aforestated point about upgrade prioritization (and, you know, cash being easily generated from smashing everything around you). And finally there are god effigies, perhaps the dumbest things ever conceived in gaming, wherein you can make the combat harder for…..reasons?. All cards on the table, I didn’t buy most of the totems, so it’s very well possible some had benefits like spawning more money or experience, in which case they’d either way fall prey to the usual suspects: money can be acquired through simpler means and you’ll get sufficient exp from the story missions. In fact, I easily beat Bastion at only level 5, and while there is a NG+ mode, I sincerely doubt it offers a significant struggle that can’t be overcome through old tactics.
Of all the gameplay components, potions are left as the sole objects with merit given their numerous special effects (increased speed, auto-retaliation, spontaneous resuscitation, etc…), but because they’re unfortunately tied to your level, you’re unable to experiment much unless you waste time grinding away to increase slots (which, as I made clear, is unnecessary due to the game being a cakewalk).
What all this fundamentally means is that, if you want to enjoy Bastion, you need to come into it with a congenital mindset: you should be capable of concocting inner fantasies that instantly justify your actions and pathways. Cause without that, you’ll find Bastion a relatively-forgettable affair, a facet not helped by its lackluster plot. I noted before how it’s a dystopian tale set after a great calamity; however, despite this interesting premise, you’re never really left invested in the world at hand. Part of that has to do with 90% storytelling being relegated to a single narrator, and though Logan Cunningham gives a fantastic performance, you can only go so far with a solitary director: there’s no optional material to read, no cutscenes to speak of, very basic environmental storytelling. Cunningham’s words are often intersected with the goings-ons of your unnamed protagonist, their movements and encounters perfectly elocuted by the gruff drawl, and it’s unfortunate that such tight narrative direction couldn’t be complemented with extra support. While the idea of rebuilding a broken world remains a great concept, Bastion fails to do well by it.
Credit where credit is due, the writers do do a solid job divulging the extensive backstory of their city, and I feel a strong part of that success derives from Cunningham’s acting. Depending on how Hades goes, this man may very well end up in my Top 10 most talented VAs list as his range is extraordinary, with Bastion serving him an opportunity to indulge in that classic Clint Eastwood-type hoarseness that made The Man With No Name so iconic. From his enunciation to controlled speed of speech, he more-than-manages to envelope you in the history of Caelondia.
To be clear, his voice isn’t a pure imitation; in fact, I detected a note of Latin America in his accent, a trait that extends to the score by Darren Korb. Flamingo guitars, electric frets, thinned violas; stringed instruments galore dominate his compositions, transporting you into a society dominated by half-spaghetti western/half-Americana beats. As you get into the later sections of the game, you even get a few beautifully-sung tracks exhibiting some underrated talent in the music industry. That said, the OST was unfortunately brought down by a few recurring tracks heavy on high-strung notes that, for me, were more grating than pleasant -- if they were one-offs, it’d be one thing, but I’m confident one of them was a recurring habitual battle theme.
On that note, let’s flesh out the gameplay as Bastion is an experience based solely around battles. Your goal is to enter each area, clear out any enemies in your way, and retrieve the gemstone at the end. Honestly, there’s not much more I can say other than this is a solid framework- you got two weapons with unlimited ammo, a dodge button, and even an unbreakable shield, meaning no cheap deaths. The biggest issue, rather, comes from the lack of enemy variety: everyone is either CQC or a ranged annoyance, and the limited number of unique designs prevents any from standing out. Heck, some feel outright rehashed from popular games of the past, such as the urchins from Super Mario World, Mets from Mega Man, and the Lemon Drops of Yoshi’s Island.
That diminished visual flare sadly applies to the graphics as well. Bastion has been praised by countless publications for its storybook aesthetic, and while I do agree it’s a gorgeous game, there was something structurally unmemorable about the whole scheme that I just couldn’t pinpoint. The stages you travel to are composed of erratically-forming blocks that bring to mind the round tiles of HeroScape (anyone remember that baby?); however, not only does this gimmick get old fast (it’s haphazardly used in most video games for a reason), but the slabs themselves are incapable of sprouting a distinctive visage to the point where, even when fully-assembled, I rarely felt like I was being transported to an unfamiliar plane. It’s not that no work was done to change-up the environmental composition, but more-so the developers were unable to get much mileage out of the geometric slates they opted to use as building elements. Combine this with an isometric camera and minimal lighting work and you have a world that’s technically beautiful, yet artistically inadequate ... .the exception being the dream dimensions. These are optional zones the Kid can venture into, and they were absolutely stunning to fight in, their success largely deriving from the flamboyant colors flashing amidst the ground.
In the end, though, it’s not the graphics that have to keep you hooked onto Bastion, but your own personal spirit. If you’re someone (like myself) who prefers to be driven by the prospect of a payoff, you’re going to be disappointed here as this isn’t that kind of game. Bastion wants you to progress in the world because you’re inspired by the handcrafted mythology on-display: make your purchasing decision purely on that basis.
NOTES
-Didn’t speak about SFX in the review because it’s a pretty basic set-up with a singular tone/per weapon. I don’t even think enemies had programmed cries.
-I can’t be the only person who thinks the text at the bottom of the loading screens resembles the Elven runes from Artemis Fowl?
-Two female actresses, Ashley Barrett and Kristin Wilson, are credited with doing all the female vocals in the game, and they’re definitely good no matter their small screen time.
-Noticed some aspects that were carried over into Supergiant’s follow-up game Transistor: the proving grounds (the training dimensions), the effigies (the Limiters), the reliance on intrinsic fillips to try out the different combat options. While all are marginally-improved there, it's a shame the overall storytelling fell down the drain.
And yet, in creating Bastion, Supergiant made the interesting decision to go with the former: that is, to back the majority of their utilities under the incentive of personal enjoyment over physicality, a choice that, in turn, makes this a very hard title to review. While we, as gamers, will always have differing opinions on how the story and lore should’ve gone, giving justifiable reasons for conducting an activity tends to coalesce around a central axiom- you know, do this quest to get that item, finish B excursion to unlock C skill, partake in the latest chain to earn more money, etc….
Bastion operates slightly differently -- you’re charged with rebuilding this citadel in a post-apocalyptic world via gathering magic crystals from various provinces, each locale boasting its own unique weapon in addition to the aforementioned crystal. As you can imagine, these tools require their own upgrades, but what’s interesting is how unnecessary the lion’s share of them are. While a diversity of armaments have been crafted to fit many playstyles, it soon becomes clear which ones hold the least amount of drawback, meaning the vast majority of upgrades are ultimately rendered pointless and not worth pursuing.
With a story about 6 hours long, Bastion of course throws in side content to encourage extended participation, but again, none of it has any purpose. First you’ve got proving grounds wherein you have to complete miscellaneous trials using a specific weapon- sounds fine till you discover the awards are literally useless trinkets; next up is the Memorial, boasting its own challenges in exchange for cash….something you’ll never need in light of the aforestated point about upgrade prioritization (and, you know, cash being easily generated from smashing everything around you). And finally there are god effigies, perhaps the dumbest things ever conceived in gaming, wherein you can make the combat harder for…..reasons?. All cards on the table, I didn’t buy most of the totems, so it’s very well possible some had benefits like spawning more money or experience, in which case they’d either way fall prey to the usual suspects: money can be acquired through simpler means and you’ll get sufficient exp from the story missions. In fact, I easily beat Bastion at only level 5, and while there is a NG+ mode, I sincerely doubt it offers a significant struggle that can’t be overcome through old tactics.
Of all the gameplay components, potions are left as the sole objects with merit given their numerous special effects (increased speed, auto-retaliation, spontaneous resuscitation, etc…), but because they’re unfortunately tied to your level, you’re unable to experiment much unless you waste time grinding away to increase slots (which, as I made clear, is unnecessary due to the game being a cakewalk).
What all this fundamentally means is that, if you want to enjoy Bastion, you need to come into it with a congenital mindset: you should be capable of concocting inner fantasies that instantly justify your actions and pathways. Cause without that, you’ll find Bastion a relatively-forgettable affair, a facet not helped by its lackluster plot. I noted before how it’s a dystopian tale set after a great calamity; however, despite this interesting premise, you’re never really left invested in the world at hand. Part of that has to do with 90% storytelling being relegated to a single narrator, and though Logan Cunningham gives a fantastic performance, you can only go so far with a solitary director: there’s no optional material to read, no cutscenes to speak of, very basic environmental storytelling. Cunningham’s words are often intersected with the goings-ons of your unnamed protagonist, their movements and encounters perfectly elocuted by the gruff drawl, and it’s unfortunate that such tight narrative direction couldn’t be complemented with extra support. While the idea of rebuilding a broken world remains a great concept, Bastion fails to do well by it.
Credit where credit is due, the writers do do a solid job divulging the extensive backstory of their city, and I feel a strong part of that success derives from Cunningham’s acting. Depending on how Hades goes, this man may very well end up in my Top 10 most talented VAs list as his range is extraordinary, with Bastion serving him an opportunity to indulge in that classic Clint Eastwood-type hoarseness that made The Man With No Name so iconic. From his enunciation to controlled speed of speech, he more-than-manages to envelope you in the history of Caelondia.
To be clear, his voice isn’t a pure imitation; in fact, I detected a note of Latin America in his accent, a trait that extends to the score by Darren Korb. Flamingo guitars, electric frets, thinned violas; stringed instruments galore dominate his compositions, transporting you into a society dominated by half-spaghetti western/half-Americana beats. As you get into the later sections of the game, you even get a few beautifully-sung tracks exhibiting some underrated talent in the music industry. That said, the OST was unfortunately brought down by a few recurring tracks heavy on high-strung notes that, for me, were more grating than pleasant -- if they were one-offs, it’d be one thing, but I’m confident one of them was a recurring habitual battle theme.
On that note, let’s flesh out the gameplay as Bastion is an experience based solely around battles. Your goal is to enter each area, clear out any enemies in your way, and retrieve the gemstone at the end. Honestly, there’s not much more I can say other than this is a solid framework- you got two weapons with unlimited ammo, a dodge button, and even an unbreakable shield, meaning no cheap deaths. The biggest issue, rather, comes from the lack of enemy variety: everyone is either CQC or a ranged annoyance, and the limited number of unique designs prevents any from standing out. Heck, some feel outright rehashed from popular games of the past, such as the urchins from Super Mario World, Mets from Mega Man, and the Lemon Drops of Yoshi’s Island.
That diminished visual flare sadly applies to the graphics as well. Bastion has been praised by countless publications for its storybook aesthetic, and while I do agree it’s a gorgeous game, there was something structurally unmemorable about the whole scheme that I just couldn’t pinpoint. The stages you travel to are composed of erratically-forming blocks that bring to mind the round tiles of HeroScape (anyone remember that baby?); however, not only does this gimmick get old fast (it’s haphazardly used in most video games for a reason), but the slabs themselves are incapable of sprouting a distinctive visage to the point where, even when fully-assembled, I rarely felt like I was being transported to an unfamiliar plane. It’s not that no work was done to change-up the environmental composition, but more-so the developers were unable to get much mileage out of the geometric slates they opted to use as building elements. Combine this with an isometric camera and minimal lighting work and you have a world that’s technically beautiful, yet artistically inadequate ... .the exception being the dream dimensions. These are optional zones the Kid can venture into, and they were absolutely stunning to fight in, their success largely deriving from the flamboyant colors flashing amidst the ground.
In the end, though, it’s not the graphics that have to keep you hooked onto Bastion, but your own personal spirit. If you’re someone (like myself) who prefers to be driven by the prospect of a payoff, you’re going to be disappointed here as this isn’t that kind of game. Bastion wants you to progress in the world because you’re inspired by the handcrafted mythology on-display: make your purchasing decision purely on that basis.
NOTES
-Didn’t speak about SFX in the review because it’s a pretty basic set-up with a singular tone/per weapon. I don’t even think enemies had programmed cries.
-I can’t be the only person who thinks the text at the bottom of the loading screens resembles the Elven runes from Artemis Fowl?
-Two female actresses, Ashley Barrett and Kristin Wilson, are credited with doing all the female vocals in the game, and they’re definitely good no matter their small screen time.
-Noticed some aspects that were carried over into Supergiant’s follow-up game Transistor: the proving grounds (the training dimensions), the effigies (the Limiters), the reliance on intrinsic fillips to try out the different combat options. While all are marginally-improved there, it's a shame the overall storytelling fell down the drain.