Bastion: A Kid and a Calamity

on

On the title on the top center is a the screen title of the game "Bastion" on a a wooden board, with some stone work on top of it. There is some grass growing on top of the stones. The behind the wooden baord is a broken down bridge with a cracked landscape underneath it with a river of lava flowing through the bottom middle. To the bottom left is a bucket, a lit lantern and a wooden peg placed into the ground, with a piece of rope tied to it. The rope is trailing off the platform, presumably leading towards the broken landscape. To the right, is forest outcropping, with another broken bridge in the bottom right corner as it leads into the broken landscape. To the top right, the sun is shining through thick clouds and the top left has a fog-like haze obscuring the rest of the damaged landscape in the background..

Bastion, is the first game by Supergiant Games, is an isometric, stage-based action role playing game with the player taking on the role of someone known only as the "Kid" as they try to make sense of the world after it has undergone a great "Calamity" while trying to piece some vestiges of society back together in the face of this bleak state of affairs.

An image of the character the player controls, asleep on a piece of rubble on a makeshift bed. This takes place on a platform seemily isolated from the rest of the world. The background shows an area in ruins.
Waking up on a platform, the player is thrust into an environment that feels out place and time, with platforms that seemingly materialise out of thin air as the borders of the world seem suspended high above itself which gives the impression that some advanced civilisation decided to find solace in the skies rather than deal with the world below.

Guiding the player forward is the ever present Narrator who, one can learn will comment on a surprisingly large amount of the player's actions, guides the player forward towards the stage's goal.

It doesn't take long after giving the player a chance to get used to the movement to introduce the player to the combat which, at the early stages, is easy enough to grasp with it being as simple as one button pressing and moving close to the enemy to hit it. The enemies only damage the character on attack and allows one a lot of opportunity to maneuver, dodge or get closer to deliver a blow to enemies.

The Kid, collecting a "Core". An image of the playable character before collecting a core, one of the primary objectives of the stages in Bastion. The core is a totem-like crystal structure. This one is suspended on top of a receptacle surrounded by intricate stone work in a cross--shape.

Eventually, the player will reach a crystal-like object, called a "Core" and upon collecting it does the game step up into a second phase and something that will form the core loop of the gameplay experience.

It follows the idea of heading towards the primary objective and then work on extraction afterwords.

Some stages offering some deviation like beating a boss, meeting a character or, in the case of weapon trials, attempting to meet requirements to collect crafting ingredients, Fragments (which act as a currency) and/ or collecting a trial-specific ability.

Each stage is fairly straight forward with a linear path to the main objective with some smaller side paths, possibly, some light puzzle elements and combat arenas that either have resources or unique items to find which opens up other types of missions or decorative items to commemorate your journey.

The player character has placed one of the Cores into the Bastion. The Core crystal is placed in a special receptacle at the center of the Bastion. The Bastion is still in the early stages and is quiet barren, with only the "Narrator" in the bottom middle corner. The Bastion itself, in the early stage is little more than gear-like platform (as seen from the metal protruding from the outer edges of the platform) that appears to have taken a piece of earth as its ground cover.

The "cores" one collects are used in the hub area, called the titular "Bastion", with every core returned increasing the size of the Bastion and allowing the player to add more buildings to it.

Initially the player does not have much options to choose from but over the course of the game more building options are unlocked and with each building placed opens up a different element to engage with the game's systems.


The buildings are briefly broken up into the following:

  • The Arsenal

    The Arsenal Main Screen. The KId ponders what weapons and ability to take on the left corner. To his side on the floor at the bottom is a "mountain of gear" with weapons and ammunition spewed about which covers almost all the types of weapons and abilities the Kid can use. Taking main stage, is the weapon selection which allows two weapon choices and one ability to bring with on missions. This particular loadout is making use of a "Brusher's Pike and Galleon Mortar" weapons and "Sneaky Decoy" ability.

    • Houses the various weapons and abilities the player picks up on their journey and when one accesses one, either in the Bastion or finding one in the world, can one mix and match any combination of two weapons they have access to.

    • The ability one can choose is either a choice between an equipped weapon enhanced ability or one of the many generalist abilities one can find throughout the game through exploration or as a reward from trials.

      Weapon Selection Screen. On the left is the list of weapons the Kid has access to. On the right side, the game provides a brief description of the weapons strength, any notable abilities it has and a lore entry to go along with the weapon to description its place in the world. The highlighted weapon is "Cael Hammer". It is described as a "well-balanced melee weapon". It makes mention that its stationary attacks are more powerful and its lore entry: "Heavy-duty hammers such as this constructed Caelondia's famous Rippling Walls, and protected them from elements and foes alike."
      Ability Selection Screen. On the left is a selection of various abilities (some linked to equipped weapon) and on the right is a description of the highlighted ability. The highlighted ability is "Pike Vault"", it is mentioned as a "Brusher's Pike Skill"". Its entry is as follows: "A dexterous trick with which the wielder leaps into the sky to crash down on unsuspecting foes. The Brushers adapted this maneuver from great war stories passed down from older generations.". Below that is mention of how many on "Black Tonic"(used as an ability resource) is used when activated

  • The Distillery

    • Distillery Screen, Here the Kid is on a ladder reaching for one of their Spirits in the Distillery Collection, the levels are tied to experienced gained. The screen in the middle shows the spirits equipped by the player. To the right is a description of the highlighted spirit. The text for the highlighted spirit is as follows: "Leechade (in green text- positive) Gain some Health by Striking Foes. (in red text - negative) Side Effect: -66% Health Tonic Potency. Intense sour flavor known for its invigorating effects. Bitter taste lingers for hours."Distillery Spirit Selection. When an available slot is selected, then the player is presented with available spirits to slot for their adventures. On the left is the selection of spirits one can choose, on the right is the description of highlighted spirit when focus is placed on it. The description of the highlighted spirit: "Stabsinthe. Available. (in green text - positive) Automatically Retaliate When Injured. Waxy, thrist-quenching drink refined from ground Stabweed needles. Spitting up the needles is considered rude, but effective." 
    • Allows the player to slot in special tonics called "Spirits" which provide an associated passive benefit that, once unlocked, can be a powerful tool to one's arsenal with it either providing a flat bonus or provide a powerful effect when a condition is met.

  • The Forge

Forge Main Screen. The Kid is sitting on the floor next to an anvil with a hammer on top. He is looking at a wooden board which is shown to the Kid's back what they are looking at. Here the player makes use of the various "Something" items to upgrade the various weapons the Kid has access to. Highlighting one of the options, provides a what it is upgrading and an short lore entry to go along with it. The entry for "Something Heavy": "Something Heavy. An upgrade material for the Cael Hammer. A chunk of a precious alloy, found deep underground. The staple diet of Gasfellas, also used in all manner of industry."

      Forge Weapon Menu.On the left is a selection of upgrades that go down tiers with a choice of one upgrade per tier. On the right is the description of what the selected upgrade will do. When selecting to upgrade, the player is send to this screen where they spend fragments to unlock a tier based off their "Something"-related part. One can only choose one upgrade per tier, but once unlocked can freely swap between options. Highlighting the upgrade provides the player with information on what they are upgrading to. The description of the tier 5 upgrade for the cael hammer highlighted is: "Cael Engravings. (in green text, positive) + 75% damage. Etchings of a traditional Caelondian Song that motivated workers on the Rippling Walls."

    • Here the player makes use of the various "Something-" resources one picks up out in the world and through trial challenges to apply upgrades for their weapons with an associated cost of Fragments to unlock an upgrade tier when they meet the "Something-" resource requirement.

    • The upgrade path is split between two choices over multiple tiers. One can mix and match upgrades from their choice of one upgrade per tier, although it is generally best to stick with one side of the upgrade path as there are skills that can apply synergies to itself and lean towards a specific play style.  

  • The Lost and Found

    Lost and Found Board. The Kid inspects the "Lost and Found" board, here the player can purchase various "Something" upgrade materials to use in the Forge by purchasing it with Fragments. The main part of the screen lists the materials available and to the right provides a description of the highlighted item. The description for "Something Heavy"" is: "Something Heavy. An upgrade material for the Cael Hammer. A chunk of a precious alloy, found deep underground. The staple diet of Gasfellas, also used in all manner of industry."

    • Has a collection of crafting materials for sale between missions that one can buy using Fragments.

    • Also provides a way to purchase missed materials and unique items in their travels.

  • The Memorial

    The Memorial Wall, here the player can take part in challenges and objectives to earn fragments for their effors. Each image has a something to accomplish and by selecting it you are provided with goal, description and progress. The highlighted flyer selected called the "The Valediction" reads as follows: "The Valediction. Construct a Memorial to Caelondia. (In green text - positive) - Vigil Completed. A symbolic gesture at best, nonetheless the Memorial pays homage to the way things used to be. Progress 1/1""

    • Provides an means to track and receive rewards for meeting certain milestones or achievements

  •  The Shrine

    Shrine Main Menu. Here the player can activate various shrines to the gods of the Caelondia. Each one adds a difficulty modifier which increases fragments and experience gained. Highlighting a shrine allows the player to see its effect on the right. The "Bull symbol" above the shrines indicate that the specific shrine is active. The highlighted shrine "Hense" reads as follows: "Hense. Goddess of Pain and Pleasure. (In red text - negative) - Foes shall strike with greater ferocity. They say the Veiled Widow is smiling beneath Her robes, Her body all scratches and scars."

    • A collection of difficulty modifiers that ups the challenge by adjusting enemy conditions with new modifiers.

    • Besides the additional challenge to the game, the increased difficulty also increases the amount of Fragments and experience one receives in relation to how many modifiers are active up to a maximum of 75% more value.


These building can be further upgraded once again after reaching a certain point in the story with the player looking for the upgrade "pieces" throughout the second half of it.



After one has finished with their preparation, the player then moves towards a Bastion "Totem" that acts as the quest marker directing the Kid to travel on a map that has various points of interest - usually containing a Core or some piece of important element that it will unlock upon completion.World Map Travel, The map interface where the player can choose to select a mission from the icons available. Completed areas are marked with a red star (as seen in the top corner). A highlighted location will bring up a dialogue box, to the right, which provides the name of the location, something notable about it and a short description. underneath it is "Fly" which means travel to the location, info provides a short Narrator speach about the area and finally the ability to cancel the selection. The highlighted section says: "The Bastion. (in green text - positive) Home Base. To harness the Bastion's power, seek out Cores across the City and beyond."

Once the primary objective of a map is completed and the player has successfully extracted from the stage, then it is locked off and forces the player to push on with the story. Any unique items the player has not collected will be sent to the "Lost and Found" building and if the player wishes to earn currency then they can make use of the "special challenge" items to attempt to complete the experience for a Fragment reward.

The system is geared towards discouraging grinding though and one should be able to get all the necessary currency with a minimal amount of it if one wishes to unlock everything over, at least two, playthroughs.

Marshal's Badge. When presenting a unique item to a character, it will transition to this screen where the item is placed at the center (in this case, a Marshal's Badge) with the backdrop of a view outside the Bastion.

The story and the world itself can feel vague with its narrative being spread out and dripped fed through the Narrator from general progress, found unique items in the game world that can be further "discussed" with characters in the Bastion and completing challenges with mention to special interactable objects unlocked through story progress.

The special objects that can be interacted within Bastion do a lot to expand on game lore and individual stories as it is told through the process of the challenge.

These special challenge rooms usually work off a system of multiple rounds of escalating combat with each cleared round unlocking more dialogue.

This approach does separate the standard story and gameplay with the deeper lore elements hidden behind having the player go out of their way to look for it.

A " Special" Challenge room. The image is of the Kid fighting in a special challenge room, with the words "10 Reflections left" in the left corner. A reflection is a how many more waves the player will need to complete to hear this arena's full story.

This does come with a negative though as if one fails at any time during these challenges then one will be forced to listen to and play through the whole session again. 

Completing these deeper side stories are not strictly necessary to complete the game and are, at best, considered as something that adds further context to a character's story and motivation.

The story does pick up in the second half after the player has completed their initial primary goal.

This escalation starts to push the narrative into more clarity, with parts of the story working towards a conclusion that leads to an ending that has some limited player choice on how they wish to end it.


The combat is real-time with it taking an approach to be streamlined with its complexity lying within timings being a large part of its skill-based philosophy.

This is seen with most weapons with a single shot mechanic which makes a brief flash,which indicate a "sweet spot" where it will perform a large damage bonus on hit, when one holds and releases an attack at the right time.

This is also extended to the shield, which is generally stronger than the default dodge that the Kid starts with for most enemies. This item is picked up at some point in the story and can, without any timing, block most threats indefinitely with it stunning smaller targets that attack you in melee.

However, performing a well-timed shield block at the moment of impact will cause melee enemies to take damage and have its attack cancelled with a stun from the attempt. When a ranged attack is blocked at the right time, it sends it directly back to the sender.

This adds another tool to the player's bag of tricks when handling enemies in the game.

Combat Encounter. The image depicts the Kid having used a black tonic after using one of his abilities to get an advantage in the combat encounter. The lines running across multiple targets indicate that the Kid's ability hit multiple targets. There are multiple targets moving towards the Kid with ghost like entities armed with clubs moving towards the player. There are also multiple boxes which house enemies that are still to be activated and provides the player the chance to control a fight by removing enemies before that join the battle. This is taking place on a platform which is suspended above a lava chasm with it also raining.

The player also has a limited amount of health and black tonics, in addition to their selected weapons and ability.

The tonics, which are located under the experience bar. are the health tonics (which are the turquoise bottles) help restore lost health while black tonics (located next to the health tonics) are used a resource to make use of the character's ability. Both these tonic types can be found around the stages one explores so while tonic use is encouraged it does also expect the player to be mindful of its use for appropriate moments.

The complexity is layered again once the player starts experimenting with the Distillery Spirits, Forge weapon upgrades and Shrine modifiers. 

These systems when working together evolves the combat with the player needing to create builds that suits their playstyle while trying to find ways to overcome the difficulty that is dictated by player choice.

Fortunately, this experimentation is encouraged as once one unlocks something then it is permanently available for the player to freely modify and swap between the systems to tailor the experience to as hard or as easy as one likes within the confines of what is available to the player.

Victims of the "Calamity". The Kid witnesses the aftermath of the result of the Calamity that fell upon the world with people being turned to statues in the the exact moment of their demise. The image from lower left, moving right and then up has a man talking to a woman who are nearest seen to the Kid, then there is a mother and child who are feeding birds and there is another man with his left hand extended towards to the left side of the map.

On the graphics front, it has an art style that holds up very well with age. The graphics are bright and clean with the visuals being distinct enough that one can identify enemies and objects in stages without much trouble as care has been placed in each environment with its "construction-as-you-move" approach.

There are times when enemies can be hidden in the environment but its visual language is good enough that one can act appropriately to the threats and can identify where danger is coming from. 

Zoomed out view of the Bastion with most of its basic functions restored. The zoomed out image shows the Bastion with most of the buildings restored. From left to right. The completed buildings are the Arsenal, the Forge, the Distillery, a path to the travel station, an empty building slot (miss the memorial), the Shrine and "Lost and Found" building. The Kid is standing near the Narrator in the center by a tent and one of the survivors that was rescued is standing near the device that takes in collected Cores

The Bastion is a nice hub that "evolves" with the player's progress.

The detailing does a good job of being able to tell the story of the player's progress with the evolution of it growing and adding interactable collectables to act as a reminder of the player's exploits.

It also makes extensive use of still shot to convey "video" segments, but where it is used is kept (and at times exceeds) to the same high standard as the gameplay graphics. This consistency works well with the style and makes it not feel out of place in setting.

Bringing a survivor back to the Bastion. In the image is three people, from left to right is a dark haired man, in striped clothing. performing a half bow with a slight smile on his face, the elderly gentleman in the middle is the Narrator who is overseeing the exchange with a focus on the dark - haired gentleman. To the right is the Kid, the player's character, extending a hand of friendship to the dark haired man. This takes place in a near starless night with some stars seen to the right.

Sound design is well done with it sounding appropriate to what is displayed onscreen. The voice work, which is done almost exclusively, by the narrator is also done to a great level as the voice carries a fitting tone and weight to it.

There should also be credit given for how the narrator will have small bits of dialogue that describe not only the journey but also gives commentary on the player's actions and feats.

It is small detail, but something I do appreciate when games add this as it gives it an enduring element that makes it stand out. It is most commonly heard when one finishes up with a weapon loadout from the Arsenal where it will comment on the weapon pairings one has selected. There are also more subtle voice lines one picks up on when on a mission when one receives some reactive comments after completing an action or a section.

The music is quite varied, with sounds that brings life to the areas that the player visits. It has a broad range with it feeling like it settles into this weird melting pot of cultures. According to the composer and producer, Darren Korb, its style is called the an accoustic frontier trip-hop.

Below is one of these songs:


One can find the Bastion Original Soundtrack track on YouTube.

I found the music has been done well and falls into that place where it is complementary to the experience as it, together with the narrator, provides a "voice" that conveys and pieces together the world and the state it is currently in.

 

There are four modes available, two of which are unlocked behind completing the game once.

The options when first starting is a:

Normal mode 

  • Is the standard gameplay experience

"No-Sweat" mode 

  • For those that want to focus on the story with unlimited chances to continue after being defeated. Some achievements are blocked in this mode and is considered an "easy-mode" of sorts.

The modes unlocked after completing the game once are:

"New Game Plus" mode

  • It takes the save from your cleared game with all your weapons, upgrades, Spirits and Shrine options unlocked in Normal mode and allows one to experience the game with some more freedoms when interacting with the relevant building.

"Score Attack" mode

  • Allows one to start a new game with all the systems unlocked (but still requires the player to find weapons, abilities and upgrade resources, but allows the option to choose what buildings to build without having to first find and upgrade it, similar to New Game Plus but allows areas to be repeated after completion and adds a scoring system.

There is also a Leaderboard, although landing anywhere near the top would be a tall order with a game as mature as this, but still something to look towards as an added extra for those that desire to chase a spot on it.

It is a game takes what it knows it can do well and makes that content dense enough that someone can play the same story twice and will have it feel a bit different after being more familiar with its systems.

Overall, Bastion is a game that translates, to me, as a game that has been focused with contained ambitions well. It might not be ground breaking in its execution, but what has been presented is designed very well and with a clear purpose. This translates in a well made game that does its basics well and this solid foundation gives it room to experiment with its own ideas. It is not a perfect game, but the way in which it presents itself allows one to overlook the faults and enjoy it for what it is.

Video and Music Source:

Bastion Launch Trailer

Song: Build that Wall 

Bastion Original Soundtrack



Comments

Post a Comment