14 DAY TRIAL // Bastion is like no other video game you have played or will play this year and it is highly likely that even if someone plans to copy the game, the product of their work will not have the same impact as this game had.
The concept behind Bastion is simple: a kid with obvious abilities explores a world that has been destroyed looking for companionship and for a chance to put right something that went very wrong with the causes still shrouded in secrecy.
But the mechanics of the game cannot be separate from the graphics style, with bright colors and simple, clean lines, and from sound, specifically a free form narration from the perspective of one character.
These three elements combine to create a game experience that is almost magical because Bastion trades a lot in mystery, one which is never completely explained even after the game is completed from a gameplay standpoint.
The concept manages to be simple and very effective at the same time, something that often eludes much bigger releases, those who become so concerned with variety that they forgot to stay focused on what makes them unique.
Bastion should serve as an example of how simplicity can make it easy for players to get into a game experience while also allowing the development team to extract feeling from the smallest of events, like a chance meeting or a boss fight.
Bastion is not too long of a game and that means that everyone should take it out for a spin and experience the rather incredible moments it can deliver, from the very first time the narration devices from the actual on screen actions to the song that I mention in my review as being very emotional.
The game is available both on the PC through Steam and on the Xbox Live Arcade service from Microsoft.