Bastion review

The proliferation of download-only games, on both PC and games consoles, has allowed developers the freedom to create titles that may not have fared well as fully-priced retail products. Bastion costs just £12 on Steam, but despite its low price, the production values for both graphics and audio are of the highest order.

Essentially an isometric dungeon-crawler, in the vein of Blizzard classic Diablo, this lightweight RPG romp is heavy on combat and light on plot. You play as The Kid, a mute protagonist, who is trying to rebuild his unnamed world after The Calamity, which seems to have wiped out almost every other inhabitant.

The Kid slept right through The Calamity, but it’s time to wake up and rebuild this world

Most of Bastion consists of small winding trails that fly together from the depths of the screen as you progress. This lends an uncertainty to your exploration, as you can’t tell where the path will lead till you explore it, it also means that such paths are liable to break up and fall away just as quickly. All this is rendered in luscious, hyper-coloured, hand-painted graphics – making it one of the prettiest and charming games we’ve seen in some time.

This beautiful world is then laden with depth and ambience by The Stranger – whose gravelly voiceover is the perfect counterpoint to the The Kid’s silence. Without breaking the flow of the game, he poignantly introduces each new area, expounding on life before The Calamity. Better still, his comments react dynamically to your in-game actions, with a dry wit, yet he never repeats himself. You find yourself trying out things just to see what he says. It’s probably the finest piece of audio design we’ve seen since System Shock 2 first used audio logs to fill out a backstory.

The structure of the game is simple enough, with the titular Bastion providing a hub level – from which to strike out and find crystals to rebuild its own capabilities. Most levels contain such a crystal, but you have to battle through a range of bizarre denizens to retrieve it. To defeat them you carry two weapons, usually one long-ranged and one melee, plus you can select a single smartbomb-style special with limited uses. In addition, you also have a sturdy shield which can reflect attacks and a handy roll to dodge out of the way.

The Anklegator erupts from the ground with little notice

In terms of pacing, Bastion sits somewhere between a combat RPG and an arcade shooter. The gameplay sounds straightforward, but is brilliantly executed. Each of the weapons, from the huge hammer to the duelling pistols, is a joy to use. You’ll find your favourites, but that won’t stop you wanting to experiment with them all.

As you upgrade the Bastion itself, you’ll be able to upgrade your weapon’s capabilities. Each upgrade level is a choice of two options, say faster reloads or higher damage. However, you can always swap all these about later, effectively refining that weapon for a different use. You’ll also unlock new specials, some linked to specific weapons, along with tonics which upgrade your own abilities.

We found that a gamepad was the best way to play. Bastion first made its appearance on Xbox Live, and using Microsoft’s gamepad will give you all the correct context sensitive button prompts. More importantly its analogue stick provides a more sure-footed way to navigate the world’s treacherous paths – something the WASD keys struggled with.

At around 10 hours long, the gameplay doesn’t overstay its welcome – though there’s a beefed up version for those who want to replay it. The plot doesn’t interfere with playing the game, yet it’s still a key element, being both intriguing and engaging. If you’re looking for something easy to get into, and simply satisfying to play, then Bastion provides that, plus a whole lot more.