4.5/5 ★ – arnoldzone's review of Bastion.

Oh boy, I came at this came from the weirdest possible angle. So, I played this for the first time this year, in 2021. The only other Supergiant game I've played is Hades—my game of the year for 2020. The evolutionary through-line is so very, very clear from Bastion to Hades that I couldn't help but compare them (which is pretty unfair), and Hades comes out on top pretty much on all counts. I felt there were too many weapons in Bastion—Hades has fewer, and they felt more fully realized. I also really didn't care for the "ground building up to meet your movement" mechanic in Bastion; it looked cool, but I just hated falling off the world. The movement in Bastion felt painfully slow, and the framerate sluggish, after the quick, smooth action of Hades. The bits of lore and voice acting were strong in Bastion, but all that narrative stuff was massively bigger and better in Hades. The upgrade and progression system in Bastion is tight and well-thought-out, but there's so much more flexibility, strategy, and interconnectedness in Hades' systems. The music in Bastion is really nice, but Hades has some all-time bangers. If I had played Bastion first, I'm sure I'd appreciate it more—let alone if I'd played it when it came out back in 2011, in which I'd probably declare it one of the best games ever. But still, considered on its own terms, Bastion works great in 2021, my unfair comparisons to Hades notwithstanding.