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usernamenumberFinished Bastion tonight.
First, for people who haven't played...
The short and non-spoilery review is this:
To start with the negative points, while the game is exceptional in some ways (most notably the art, narration, and overall game design), it is primitive in others, which hold it back. Most notable of these to me was the lack of that same graphical flair in many of the cutscene/exposition parts of the game. There are bits where they try to do things in-engine that should (budget allowing) have been done in another medium, like an animation, and while I can usually see what I think they're trying to do, it loses something in the translation. Another gripe is that, depending on the weapon you're using, some of the (xbox) controls can be downright nonsensical (I'm supposed to hold down X and aim with the right stick to fire??). Finally, there are some thematic elements of which I find myself a bit... dubious. More on that under the cut.
But here's the thing: Other than what I mentioned up there, this game is fantastically well done. It was something I could pick up for 30-60 mins here and there, it had tons (and tons) of ways to customize things, such that you could change your equipment around and almost feel like you were playing a whole new game, and despite its failings I found myself invested without the game ever feeling like a chore. I've never, ever bothered to play through a game on "New Game Plus" mode before (hell, I rarely even finish games), but this one I plan to. Looking forward to it, even.
Also, whether you have any intention of playing the game or not, the soundtrack is maybe my favorite album of the year so far.
Now, for people who have played...
1) Anyone have thoughts on the way the game treatsUSA/Japan (or the western world/everyone else)Caelondia/Ura vis a vis atomic weapons (or colonialism)The Calamity? I... Idunno, I think I have to digest this more. I go back and forth between finding the brutal practicality of "ok yeah we caused the apocalypse, but now we're trying to fix it, and they're getting in the way by fighting us so we have to stop them" compelling in a "what other choice do we have?" way and just, well, brutal. There are these sort of colonialist overtones of "we fucked it up, but remain convinced that we're also the ones best qualified to clean up the mess"... and yet that's not necessarily false, as the western worldCaelondians have unique resources to put toward the goal when they're not using those resources for destructive purposes... and yet, isn't it about time everyone elsethe Ura had a say one way or the other? So it's a complicated issue, and the way the game seems to give the Caelondians a pass in dismissing the outrage of the Ura in the name of the greater good is troubling... especially since I can't tell if it's being intentionally provocative, or just kind of... narrow.
2) Which ending did you choose and why? I literally spent about a half hour debating this with myself, and I'm still not sure I approve of my own choice. That, more than anything else I could say about this game, speaks to its quality. I ended up choosing Evacuation. On the one hand I felt a duty to choose Restoration because who was I to decide that all those people, especially the Ura, should remain dead. But ultimately I decided that there was too much of a risk of becoming trapped in a loop if I restored the world. Who knows, maybe this was the zillionth time that this decision had been made, always in favor of Restoration, and always doomed because it's easier to learn from a mistake than to convince people who haven't yet made the mistake that it's a bad idea. And yet... I'm still not sure that reasoning sits right with me (Edit the conversation with![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
fennel below articulates this a bit more). I am sure of only one thing: I have over-thought this game way too much.
3) Ok, the fun one: what weapon/skill combos did you enjoy the most? I became nigh unstoppable with the Gallean Mortar and the Scrap Musket, especially once I got both maxed our or near maxed out (as Rucks observed, I aint subtle). I used the mortar's special skill, which lets you spawn friendly turrets, and it got even better. I also <3 <3 <3 the shield and wish it was upgradeable. I think the game designers did not have my ranged-centric playstyle in mind, because in the last level I guess they thought they were doing me a favor by giving me the battering ram, but... no.
Aaaand you know it's a good game when it has me up this far past my bedtime. To bed with me.
First, for people who haven't played...
The short and non-spoilery review is this:
To start with the negative points, while the game is exceptional in some ways (most notably the art, narration, and overall game design), it is primitive in others, which hold it back. Most notable of these to me was the lack of that same graphical flair in many of the cutscene/exposition parts of the game. There are bits where they try to do things in-engine that should (budget allowing) have been done in another medium, like an animation, and while I can usually see what I think they're trying to do, it loses something in the translation. Another gripe is that, depending on the weapon you're using, some of the (xbox) controls can be downright nonsensical (I'm supposed to hold down X and aim with the right stick to fire??). Finally, there are some thematic elements of which I find myself a bit... dubious. More on that under the cut.
But here's the thing: Other than what I mentioned up there, this game is fantastically well done. It was something I could pick up for 30-60 mins here and there, it had tons (and tons) of ways to customize things, such that you could change your equipment around and almost feel like you were playing a whole new game, and despite its failings I found myself invested without the game ever feeling like a chore. I've never, ever bothered to play through a game on "New Game Plus" mode before (hell, I rarely even finish games), but this one I plan to. Looking forward to it, even.
Also, whether you have any intention of playing the game or not, the soundtrack is maybe my favorite album of the year so far.
Now, for people who have played...
1) Anyone have thoughts on the way the game treats
2) Which ending did you choose and why? I literally spent about a half hour debating this with myself, and I'm still not sure I approve of my own choice. That, more than anything else I could say about this game, speaks to its quality. I ended up choosing Evacuation. On the one hand I felt a duty to choose Restoration because who was I to decide that all those people, especially the Ura, should remain dead. But ultimately I decided that there was too much of a risk of becoming trapped in a loop if I restored the world. Who knows, maybe this was the zillionth time that this decision had been made, always in favor of Restoration, and always doomed because it's easier to learn from a mistake than to convince people who haven't yet made the mistake that it's a bad idea. And yet... I'm still not sure that reasoning sits right with me (Edit the conversation with
fennel below articulates this a bit more). I am sure of only one thing: I have over-thought this game way too much.3) Ok, the fun one: what weapon/skill combos did you enjoy the most? I became nigh unstoppable with the Gallean Mortar and the Scrap Musket, especially once I got both maxed our or near maxed out (as Rucks observed, I aint subtle). I used the mortar's special skill, which lets you spawn friendly turrets, and it got even better. I also <3 <3 <3 the shield and wish it was upgradeable. I think the game designers did not have my ranged-centric playstyle in mind, because in the last level I guess they thought they were doing me a favor by giving me the battering ram, but... no.
Aaaand you know it's a good game when it has me up this far past my bedtime. To bed with me.
