Bastion is an Action RPG point and click type game that was released on the PC about two years ago. It has been released on a couple of different platforms since then, including the Xbox and a browser game for Chrome. Of course, the logical next step for this type of game is a touch screen. There have been a couple of iPad Action RPG’s but none have been very good. Bastion is a bit different.

Controls

First, the controls work very well. That is to say, they work as well as any of this type of game that I’ve played before. Now, I don’t have very much experience with Action RPGs, but this game does definitely work as well as Torchlight. Basically instead of clicking the mouse in the direction the character needs to move in, I just tap in the direction I want to go. Attacking works the same way, largely automated, controlled by tapping the enemies. The most annoying thing that is in this game, is how easy it is to walk off the edge of the map. It shouldn’t be so easy to walk off a cliff because the character keeps walking in the same direction instead of stopping at the edge. It even makes the narrator angry! Trust me, the game is worth it, but walking off cliffs over and over again gets a little annoying after a while.

Story

So far the story is pretty basic, but interesting. It’s the story of a boy who gets separated from all of the people he knew, and has to find his way to the Bastion, a place where he can start to rebuild civilization. The narration is crazy. It’s really funny, and one of my favorite parts of the game. It’s all told in third person, and in past tense, like someone is telling a story, except for its talking about what the character happens to be doing. So the story is very simple, but it’s really cool, like Portal!

Graphics and Soundtrack

The soundtrack is really good in this game. It’s really hard to describe, apart from that it’s slightly bluegrassy. Like most modern games, it has that cool thing where the soundtrack gets more frantic during fighting. The music playing during the fights is probably the best part of the music.

The artwork and styling of this game are really pretty. They aren’t incredibly high resolution, like Infinity Blade, but they don’t really need to be. It is optimized with the retina display, and the whole game looks really pretty, although nothing terribly incredible is happening.

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Overall I really like this game and recommend it highly. While it isn’t as good as any of its PC counterparts, it is definitely the best iPad Action RPG out there right now.

iTunes Store