I got the bundle too, mostly to get Bastion. I’m a bit conflicted about it though. It’s got a really unique, consistent and beautiful visual style, the dynamic narrator is great use of multimedia, and the soundtrack is moody and good. There’s interesting worldbuilding and the writing works.
Then there’s the game itself about a guy running around in a maze smashing and blasting shit to pieces and collecting loot. None of the neat stuff really ties into this in any significant way. It’s just smash, shoot, kill boss, beat level, with the occasional fancy setpiece like a barge ride. Beyond one or two hints about how to beat specific enemies, even the dynamic narration seemed to have minimal impact for what you try to accomplish during gameplay. It’s fun, but the exact same gameplay would fit right in in some utterly tired and horribly written space-marine-must-kill-all-aliens story. So many games succeeding by having a top-notch quality in the non-interactive window dressing feels a bit like if the board game enthusiasts would keep going crazy over things that slightly rehash Monopoly, but come packaged with a really compelling thematic graphic novel.
Maybe I’ve just been reading too much KeithBurgun, or am cranky because I can code minimal games but can’t do music or digital painting.
I got the bundle too, mostly to get Bastion. I’m a bit conflicted about it though. It’s got a really unique, consistent and beautiful visual style, the dynamic narrator is great use of multimedia, and the soundtrack is moody and good. There’s interesting worldbuilding and the writing works.
Then there’s the game itself about a guy running around in a maze smashing and blasting shit to pieces and collecting loot. None of the neat stuff really ties into this in any significant way. It’s just smash, shoot, kill boss, beat level, with the occasional fancy setpiece like a barge ride. Beyond one or two hints about how to beat specific enemies, even the dynamic narration seemed to have minimal impact for what you try to accomplish during gameplay. It’s fun, but the exact same gameplay would fit right in in some utterly tired and horribly written space-marine-must-kill-all-aliens story. So many games succeeding by having a top-notch quality in the non-interactive window dressing feels a bit like if the board game enthusiasts would keep going crazy over things that slightly rehash Monopoly, but come packaged with a really compelling thematic graphic novel.
Maybe I’ve just been reading too much Keith Burgun, or am cranky because I can code minimal games but can’t do music or digital painting.