BASTION REVIEW

Bastion mixes elements from two different kinds of games in order to create one interesting and unique experience. The many weapons, creative gameplay, and full narration makes Bastion stand out from most other games of its kind, and it's definitely worth the price you'll pay.



Story - 8/10



The story presented in Bastion is somewhat of a simple one. The town you and everyone else once lived in had been destroyed by an event that most call "the calamity". As you traverse trough each stage, you begin finding people who have been stranded and captured. You free these people, and you are able to talk to them about certain objects you collect trough out the game, and what they say helps to further the depth of the world that you are playing in. Your Bastion, which is your home base of sorts, slowly grows until it's back to the way it once was, before the calamity. Without spoiling any parts of the game, there are two major decisions that must be made in order to further progress the story. The final choice you make is definitely a difficult one, and no matter what you choose it's certainly emotional.



Gameplay - 8/10



Gameplay of Bastion is somewhat of a cross between an RPG and a beat em up. Bastion presents you with a world map that shows all the levels that you can play on, as well as certain additional challenges. For each stage, who are given the goal to find the shard placed in that level. The Bastion (which you use as your base) gets upgraded each time a shard is collected. Every upgrade either unlocks a new building, which allows you to do certain things that you couldn't do before (such as change equipped weapons), or it allows you to choose which building to apply an upgrade to.



Graphics - 9/10



The graphical style of Bastion makes everything look like it was made using colored pencils. This makes the game very visually appealing, and nothing breaks from this style while playing the game that would distract from trying to play. The beauty of the world, characters, and enemies all look amazing with this fantastically unique art style. After beating some levels, large single art pieces show up while the narrator speaks, and they certainly look outstanding. It's clear that the art style of this entire game was made with a lot of work.



Sound - 10/10



Bation has some great tracks that play softly in the background of your game, and these are good. However most importantly is the constant narration that plays telling you more about yourself, the story, or sometimes just whatever you happen to be doing at the moment. The narrator's name is Rucks, an old yet wise man who refers to you as "the kid". This added narration helps to progress the story without directly telling exactly what happens. The voice is also very soothing, and listening to this one man narrate your entire journey really helps to keep everything a lot more interesting.



Control - 9/10



Controls in Bastion are different from most games, though it does of course borrow and take inspiration from other games. While being attacked, pressing L2 will defend you from any incoming attacks, and if timed right then your block will act as a counter attack, damaging the enemy who just attached you. Pressing triangle heals you, restoring life (assuming you have enough health potions). R2 activates whatever special move that you have equipped, which typically damage multiple enemies at once, incase you're in a tough spot. X commands your character to dodge any incoming attacks that you would like to avoid. Circle and square both perform different attacks, of which you are able to choose from.



Replay Value - 8/10



After you complete Bastion and finish the final level, you will unlock a whole bunch more content to play. This includes unlocking new game plus, along with other bonuses and extra content that will keep things much more interesting when playing through the game a second time. Upgrading all of your weapons will definitely take a large amount of time, since you'll need to collect and buy every upgrade. Simply playing through the game using different special powers or weapons will completely change how you play, meaning it's a good idea to do this incase things begin to seem a bit monotonous. Trying to achieve the new high score, and beating your personal record will also keep you playing.



The challenge stages that are also present on the world map provide an extra bonus, and even more content. Beating these unlocks certain items that you can use to upgrade your weapons (based on the time/score you manage to obtain). The many items that you collect throughout the game, in different levels, are all very diverse, and the upgrades that you apply to some of these will allow you to focus mostly on one or two specific weapons that you prefer to use a majority of the time.



OVERALL - 9/10



To conclude, Bastion is a unique, fun, and intriguing game that any PS4 owner should play. Story wise, the game keeps things simple, yet the story still ends up being an emotional ride. Playing the actual game is a ton of fun, and mixes RPG with beat em up to create the perfect experience. The graphical style is absolutely beautiful, and everything looks hand made, not to mention stunning. Music playing in Bastion is good and all, but the narration throughout the game creates a unique experience that also ends up going over very well. Controls in Bastion are pretty simple, though some elements are added to spice things up, and keep gameplay interesting. The entirety of the game can be beaten in a few hours, though once that is done, new game plus is unlocked, along with a whole bunch more content. I recommend picking up a copy of Bastion, seeing as how it's a uniquely fun experience that you won't be able to find just about anywhere else.

Rating: 8

Product Release: Bastion (US, 04/07/15)