The Game Boy: Why Bastion Succeeds Where Most Games Fail Miserably

Posted 09/21/2011 at 12:02pm | by Nathan Grayson

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So, which of those interpretations is right? Simple: both. I originally wanted to write a big analysis of Bastion, but instead, I wrote two. They're both equally valid for me, though, and that's key. For many reasons (narration, innovative usage of music, etc), Bastion is the type of story only a videogame can tell. However, the biggest of them – in my eyes – is that it can so effectively put me in two entirely different, largely opposite states of mind. Bastion can shift the ideals and motivations behind every action I perform, and – more importantly – it can make me believe in them.

Plenty of other games provide multiple paths, moral choices, and all that  – and some of them even let you be a freaking Jedi. So what makes Bastion better? Well, foremost, those other games do a remarkably bad job of making me feel like both sides of the coin are viable. BioShock's “saintly savor versus Hitler mixed with Satan mixed with Hitler again” approach to saving Little Sisters is the most infamous example, but other big names are equally guilty of choice-based laziness in their own ways. I mean, don't get me wrong: I love Mass Effect. But sometimes, it's a bit too easy to see BioWare in the background, tugging on the strings to make conversations and plot threads go in a certain direction regardless of your choices.

What reallly makes Bastion work, I think, is its consistency. The game's by no means perfect, but I reached the end of both playthroughs, and everything added up. There was no “Now waitaminute...!” moment. Generally with these things, the devil's in the details. Something stands out as nonsensical or completely glossed over. Here, though, there was no devil – just tons and tons of attention to detail.

In such a young medium, there's a lot to be said for that. Too many games hastily scrawl “consistency” at the bottom of their priority lists before breaking out the fancy calligraphy set for things like “bigger explosions” and “more totally rad slow-mo during the first level.” So we end up with games that are frontloaded with mind-blowing moments – mostly to draw players in – only to lose steam en route to typically miserable non-endings. (Think BioShock, Bulletstorm, Knights of the Old Republic II – the list goes on.)

Bastion, on the other hand, feels as though it's been carefully crafted. It's deliberate and smart in almost everything it does. Narration's perfectly placed and almost never repeats, the game ends exactly when it needs to, and it leaves just enough open to interpretation. On top of all that, Supergiant avoided the temptation of throwing in a bunch of tiny, superfluous choices just for choice's sake in favor of two incredibly meaningful – and therefore, powerful – moments. So I guess what I'm trying to say is...

Bastion is about restraint. Modern game design is frequently about throwing in everything, the kitchen sink, and a moral dilemma that ponders whether or not the greatest kitchen sink of all... is man. More guns. More powers. More characters. More choices. More sequels. More, more, more. Bastion, though, does exactly what it needs to. Then it ends. Really, though, for all the time I spent on this article, I don't even think it comes close to doing Bastion justice. Go play it. Experience it for yourself. Love it or hate it, I guarantee that you won't find anything else quite like it.