Bastion is an ambitious new action RPG from Supergiant Games, the company has announced. Featuring a hand-painted graphical style (similar to games like Odin Sphere or Muramasa: The Demon Blade) and running commentary from the games narrator as you play, the game has definitely caught attention.
Shown at PAX Prime 2010, former GameSpot Editor-in-Chief Greg Kasavin is handling Creative Director duties. And from the early footage shown so far, the game looks to be getting everything right at this early stage.
Right off the bat, the most interesting aspect is the games running commentary. As you make decisions and make your way through the game, the narrator will chime in. From small things, like picking up a gem (or “something shiny” as the narrator will say) to bashing enemies with one of your various weapons (a hammer, a bow, a shield and a “repeater”), it’s an interesting idea that actually helps establish the style and tone that the game is going for (just watch the trailer and you’ll understand).
Here is the official trailer.
Since the game is an action RPG, you’ll battle enemies as you come across them. You can roll to bash objects or escape damage, and can roll straight into an attack with your weapon of choice. Time button presses correctly with your shield button and you can deflect attacks, sending them back to the attacker. Meanwhile standing still makes your attacks stronger than if you are moving. So the combat will have some depth and skill to it.
There will be a myriad of weapons to find in the game, and they can be swapped out at specific points, with certain weapons giving you unique special attacks. You’ll also be able to equip different evasive techniques, the roll is default, but you’ll get others like a rolling leap.
There is a building aspect of the game as well, as you can see in the trailer above. The main character, called “The Kid”, is heading towards the city of Bastion at the outset (a destination that the people of his demolished city were told to escape to in case of an emergency) and when you get there, you’ll be able to rebuild it by placing structures how you wish. You’ll be able to add structures from parts that you’ve collected on your journey, and they range from Weapon Upgrade and Weapon Swap bases, to a Beverage Bar that allows you to purchase drinks with different properties as items to help you on your journey (one such beverage allows you to carry more health potions).
Apparently co-op may be built into the final game as well, which would definitely be interesting.
The game will be fully unveiled on September 9th as part of GiantBomb’s “Big Live Live Show: Live”, where more solid details on the game will be released.
So far the project is an Indie fare, so will only be released on the PC presumably, but hopefully it’ll also hit other downloadable services like Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network, WiiWare or Steam.
Now here is four minutes of extensive gameplay footage of Bastion.