Quick Review - Bastion

Game Name:    Bastion

Developer:    Supergiant Games
      Engine:              XNA

Platform:     PC (Steam), XBLA, Mac OSX, iOS, Linux, Chrome

Genre: Action RPG, Single player

Release Date: July 20, 2011

Preamble:
I was a little late to the show on this one. I had started it when it first came out, loved it, but then got pulled away from it by something else. This past week I decided to go back and play it from start to finish. Man, I am so happy I did, this game is spectacular in every respect.

Short description:  
Action RPG where you play as "The Kid" in an isometric, floating, western/fantasy setting, narrated by "Rucks", a cowboy sounding elderly fellow that helps The Kid along his journey.

The Good:

• The art style in this game is awesome. The colors are vibrant, the way the ground tiles float up to your feet as you walk in a particular direction is beautiful.
• The music is great. It's exceptionally atmospheric and fits perfectly with the setting and pace of the game. There were numerous times in the game that I just sat back and enjoyed the music.
• The voice acting is spectacular. Rucks narrates the game, describing what you, as The Kid, do, and it is incredible. Again, this is a huge factor in what makes the atmosphere of this game so awesome.
• The story is creative and interesting, and leaves you guessing to the very end.
• The gameplay is exciting and fun. There are tons of weapons and abilities to choose from, each with their own upgrade trees that provide new and interesting mechanics.
• Combat is as smooth as butter. It feels great, and there's plenty of variation in the enemies that you face.
• You’ll find Idols throughout the world which allow you to customize the level of difficulty, providing a nice amount of replay value.

The Bad:

• I cannot come up with a single gripe about this game.

All in all, should you play this?

• Easily one of the best, if not the best, independently developed video game I’ve ever played. Anyone who considers themselves even a partial gamer should play this as soon as possible. Pure gold!

Here's a little gameplay footage to whet your appetite...