Every great story has a memorable beginning and in the case of indie darlings Supergiant Games, that's Bastion. Created over the course of two years and with a team of just seven people, Bastion, among Super Meat Boy, Braid, Spelunky and World Of Goo, to name a few, opened the gates for modern indie gaming. All of them are highly regarded but Supergiant's work pops up especially often during discussions online so that, Hades' recent success and spare time finally led me to start off my Supergiant journey and I'm here to report the results.
First thing that immediately grabbed my attention is how the game wastes absolutely no time in establishing anything and how it simply thrusts you in this magical, fractured world. The story is quite simple, you play as the Kid who awakens and finds himself floating above the skies on a platform of sorts. As you begin to move you'll notice how additional platforms start appearing in front of you in a seamless fashion. Another thing worthy of note is the fact no one is around and that's because of the Calamity, an apocalyptic event that suddenly fractured your hometown of Caelondoia and as it turns out, the rest of the world.
However, your loneliness does not last long for you find Rucks, an elderly man who built THE Bastion which you'll be renovating as well as searching for more survivors. Interestingly, Rucks is also the narrator of the game but unlike most of them, he actively comments your actions and the events you're currently experiencing but he does so in past tense because the story you're experiencing right now became a well known story.
Extremely cool if I can say so myself and a very welcome change of pace as it leads to a much more immersive experience.
Of course, this can seem as a bit of a risk which is why the team did the smart thing and started writing early in the game's development. This way they ensured that the narration would be fluid and serve the game and more importantly, you the player, instead of being a tool for expositions dumps. Logan Cunningham, the voice actor, did an incredible job in making Caelondia feel that more alive as well as making this journey feel more personal.
Granted this may sound like this is viable for only one playthrough and while it kinda is, the dialogue and writing are so good that I did not mind it the second time around. If nothing, it only proved how well written everything is and allowed me to test how fast the game would respond to me rushing through or taking it extremely slow and guess what, the team prepared for that as well.
You see, Rucks does not say all that much. He instead relies on short, expressive phrases and longer pauses during which you battle or explore.
This in itself is enough of a deviation in the ARPG genre but Supergiant went a step further and decided for an unusual aesthetic. Everything you see is in fact hand-painted and this, when paired with an isometric point of view achieved two things: visual splendor and embellished the otherwise bleak setting. The enemies you face and weapons you use are also colorful and add extra charm to an already extremely charming package.
Things are also looking good on the auditory side of things, the main one being the wonderful soundtrack, courtesy of the über talented Darren Korb.
It mostly walks the lines between rock and electronica and uses elements from said genre that best fit the mood the game is going for. The results vary from brooding, twitchy ambient to gnarly, hard rock. Interestingly, the atmosphere is more similar to westerns placed in an oriental setting which is something I never knew I needed.
The team refers to the OST's genres as "acoustic frontier triphop" which is the coolest description I've heard in a while.
Personal favorite is unsurprisingly Zia's theme, a gorgeous acoustic piece that oozes with melancholy but simultaneously feels reassuring, like the character it portrays. The best of the rest include "The Sole Regret", "Slinger's Song", "Pale Watchers" and "Setting Sail, Coming Home", the latter being a stunning combination of Zia and Zulf's theme. Not only is this an extremely effective and moving song but it also perfectly summarizes the core struggle of Bastion which is why you hear it at the end. Won't spoil who Zulf is and what he represents but let's just say he is an extremely important part of the story.
From a gameplay perspective, Bastion is a tight, well-rounded ARPG with enough depth and customization to suit multiple playstyles. Wanna spam roll and play the ranged game? No problem. Wanna ignore that and just go in and smack some Gasfellas with your hammer or slice them up with ze machete? Go for it, both strats are more than viable but certain enemy types have a clear weakness to fire which is why I used the flame bellow and Brusher's pike during my first playthrough. At a certain point I felt strong, too strong in fact and to combat this feeling of overwhelming power, the team decided to implement the idol system.
When you're at the Bastion (pictured above), you have access to all these buildings. They represent your standard hub world where you upgrade your gear, pick the loadout you're gonna roll out with or shop for upgrades. However, the Shrine uses these idols I mentioned and they basically get you more experience points but there is a twist. They buff your enemies by giving them deflection, extra HP, removing Tonic drops which you use for your specials and many more.
Moreover, each idol is named after a god that was worshipped before the Calamity which adds lore and more importantly context which makes their inclusion feel much more organic than simply tacking it on like most games do. The idols are also instrumental to the game's replayability and I had a lot of fun experimenting with it. It's no wonder Supergiant used it for their latest game Hades where they also polished it to perfection.
All this warrants a memorable experience, which Bastion absolutely is and even after almost 10 years, the game is still beloved by many and it holds up extremely well, even by today's standards. Sure there is some slight jank here and there but as a whole, Bastion is an extremely competent debut made by an extremely passionate and persistent theme and my respect for them only grew after finding out how they made the damn thing. I am sure my enthusiasm would be larger if I played it when it came out but I still had a blast playing it. It's far from the best game I played but its character, immersive approach to narration and unique art style will stay with me for a long time and I absolutely recommend it. I have no idea what I can expect from Transistor but I am very excited! Still, that can wait because I have a slight detour to make and you'll find exactly what type of it is soon enough.