Why Bastion is a Masterpiece

Pixels or Death reflects on Supergiant Games' hit Bastion, and what makes it stand out above all other games of its kind...

"Not only is it narratively and thematically mature beyond what would typically be expected from a video game (let alone an arcade title), but it marries these elements so artfully with its gameplay. Playing Bastion and, subsequently reflecting on it, has given me new appreciation for what games made by passionate developers are capable of."

[Ducky]

... At the same time as Steam puts Bastion at $5.

Coincidence? I think not.

[Berserk]

Yea. But this article does push more into buying the game, still not 100 % sure.

[Yi-Long]

... on XBLA for 600MSP. It seems like a fun game, but 1200 MSP was too much for me, and I don't consider 800MSP a good enough bargain.

[fluffydelusions]

Yep and I just purchased too! :)

[patrickwlindsey]

Believe it or not, I wrote this independently of even knowing the game was for sale on Steam. It really, honest to god was a happy coincidence. Though I'm certainly not complaining.

[disturbing_flame]

It's clearly not a masterpiece.

If bastion is a masterpiece. Disgaea 4 on PS3, Fire Emblem on Wii are godlike.

But when you see how those games are rated, you know reviewers know nothing about history of video games.

Bastion is cute, but it has not the depth, the wealth and the length of those games. It's an entertaining game, but it's far from a masterpiece.

[lastdual]

Compared to Disgaea, almost every game is going to look like it "lacks depth", but deep mechanics aren't the only factor that makes a great game.

Sometimes games that do fewer things, but do them extremely well, can be just as memorable.

[-Gespenst-]

Yeah I agree.

Also I felt the whole presentation of the game was pretentious. It just screamed: "Look how unconventional I can be." Very off-putting.

Also it was super short and super easy and not hugely rewarding. I feel like the people who worship this game haven't played so many other games that came before it to which it pretty much owes everything.

[grailly]

your comparisons make me think you didn't play the game... bastion is a action RPG, you're just comparing it with strategy RPGs that have tiles... Bastion masters story telling and sound design. the gameplay is fun, rewarding and changes up quite a bit. It also lets you customize quite heavily the gameplay. One of the best games this year if you ask me.

"I feel like the people who worship this game haven't played so many other games that came before it". I don't think so, people who don't play many video games would surely never get their hands on a downloadable title like bastion.

[Xof]

Bastion is lacking in a lot more areas than that.

Personally, I feel like it only got the reception it did because it was aimed at PC/360 gamers grossly ignorant of the past 20 or so years of Japanese game development. Bastion's mechanics are pretty crude and unpolished compared to decades-old JRPGs.

Basically, like most of the big, overhyped "indie" games of recent years, it doesn't have much depth period--not in terms of gameplay, polish, narrative, etc.--it just has some highly polished visuals.

The emodiement of "all style, no substance."

[Ducky]

... Part of why I liked Bastion was because it reminded me old games like Secret of Mana.

I don't see why current PC/360 gamers would be ignorant of the past JRPGs either. That's just bollocks.

Even then, Bastion isn't trying to be a JRPG, and it isn't just highly polished visuals. It has a pretty good soundtrack, an interesting narration style, and it's fun.

[disturbing_flame]

I played the game. You just found this argument to say that bastion is a masterpiece ? Why would i talk about a game i didn't play ?

Actually it's you that didn't play Disgaea or Fire Emblem, i think.

If you played those games you would know that it is totaly comparable, and Bastion is far from being a masterpiece.

@ -Gespenst- : Thx mate, you know what we are talking about.

[grailly]

I didn't play fire emblem, but I did play all the disgaeas and they aren't comparable at all to bastion! exept eventually for the size of the characters on screen and the tiles on the floor.

"I played the game. You just found this argument to say that bastion is a masterpiece ?"
did you actually read my answer? I do give reasons why I think it's a phenomenal game.

I don't get how people think bastion has no depth, sure, it's no disgaea, but it's at least as deep as any action game out there, plus it has full customization of the gameplay and different difficulty challenges. It's just one of the best games in it's price range.

[El_Barto]

Bastion is probably the best Xbox Live Arcade title I've ever played, very inventive and fun, worth every penny. Microsoft went out of their way with their Summer Of Arcade this past year. Every single one was great!

[Darkfiber]

My personal game of the year. Amazing game. Top notch graphics and artwork, awesome story, awesome combat and mechanics. Not a thing I would change about this game. And it's on sale for $5 right now...that's almost insulting for how good this game is!