Reviews// Bastion

Unfortunately there's scope to feel a bit burned by this level of strategy. As you play you'll pick up a number of melee and ranged weapons, as well as special abilities. However, you can only carry one at once and you can only swap them around in Arsenal buildings which, unfortunately, are not easy to come by. In fact, you'll pretty much only come across one in the Bastion the game's named for – your hub, basically.

While it would be nice to arm yourself appropriately for the level ahead, you have no way of knowing what's in the level ahead so you'll just end up sticking with whatever you feel comfortable with.

Another annoying trait is that any new doodad you pick up in-game will be automatically armed. I appreciate that developer Supergiant wants you to try everything out rather than just sticking with what you know, but sometimes you want to pick up a new weapon or ability and not be forced into using it right away.

There is, however, quite a lot of depth to be had in terms of customising your weapons loadout and ability set. There's a surprisingly deep level of customisation available, from new moves to weapons upgrades to increased abilities. You can even customise the difficulty level thanks to various shrines. Frankly, I could spend the bulk of this review going over the customisation on offer, but instead I'm just going to tell you that there's a f*ckton of it.

Bastion is also quite pretty. Yes, it's all retro and whatnot so it's not groundbreaking or anything. It also comes with a warm palette and cutesy art style that's quite appealing. Occasionally it's too busy and you struggle to make out what's kicking your head in, but it's mostly pretty.

Then there's a plot. Now that I think about it, it's maybe a bit odd that I got this far into the review and didn't mention it. It's there, you know? The way it jumps about through events and time is kind of interesting, but mostly it's a little forgettable. You initially feel like maybe it's a bit more intriguing and original than it actually is because it's delivered in the dusty tones of the narrator, but it's really the same fantasy muck-a-muck you'll find all over the place. But, it's serviceable.

Conclusion
So. Yes, Bastion is basically a retro game that seems like it's trying to pass itself off as novel thanks to some funky narration and a twangy score. Once you come to terms with the fact that it's really just a nostalgia trip with an ever-so-slight modern twist, however, you'll discover a well-executed nostalgia trip with a surprising amount of depth and a fair amount of charm.

SPOnG Score: 77%