Striking the perfect balance between story and action can be a tricky proposition; but even in these far-flung future times of 2011, developers still force players to sit patiently during lengthy cut-scenes as these tortured souls wait patiently for the chance use their controllers as God intended. While Japanese games can’t seem to shake this problem, in the past decade we’ve seen companies like Valve give their players agency at all times, even as the talking heads surrounding them spout paragraphs of Sci-Fi exposition. Supergiant Games’ Bastion approaches this specific issue in an innovative and unobtrusive way: throughout the game, a narrator describes your every action on the fly, commenting on the surroundings, enemies, and even your weapon choice. While Bastion’s method of delivery could easily come off as a cheap gimmick, the narration is written with a sense of economy and sincerity, adding another layer of quality to an already stunning game.
Of course, there’s more to Bastion than just a well-told story; the game itself plays like an old-school Zelda clone with a deceptive amount of depth. Bastion’s silent hero (simply known as “the Kid”) awakes to find the world around him annihilated without explanation; from here, the game tasks him with retrieving crystal cores from each of the ruined lands and returning them to the titular Bastion, a safe place that may help our hero — and the Stranger, the game’s narrator — restore the life they once knew. To assist the Kid in his journey, Bastion gives him access to an array of melee and projectile weaponry ranging from hammers to dual revolvers, as well as a variety of special skills for some of the trickier enemy encounters.
