Cover artwork I generate from the game data. I do not use publisher artwork.
Game profile
Bastion
After a catastrophe, a shattered world literally builds itself beneath the hero's feet while a distinctive narrator comments on every action. Hand painted scenery and a haunting soundtrack carry the melancholic story.
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What kind of game this is
At its core this is Action / RPG, set in a fantasy world. Visually it is deliberately stylised rather than photorealistic, and the overall tone stays somewhere between light and heavy. The structure is guided rather than open, so you are moved along instead of dropped into a map. Sessions of an hour or two sit at the sweet spot here.
The difficulty is moderate and fair, demanding attention without punishing you for it. The narrative carries the whole thing, and the mechanics serve it. It is a single player experience from start to finish. It is available broadly, on 5 platforms. It sits in the budget bracket.
What stands out
- dynamic narrator
- world builds as you play
- hand painted art
This fits you if
- you want to live through a story, not just play a system
- exploring for its own sake is the point for you
- the writing matters more to you than the mechanics
- you play alone and want a complete experience without other people
- you are watching your budget
- you want to actually finish something for once, 7 hours and done
Look elsewhere if
- you skip cutscenes and want to get to the gameplay
- you want something that lasts, this is over after 7 hours
- you specifically want an open world to roam
- you want to play it side by side with someone
What it costs you in time
About 7 hours in total. At two hours per evening that is around 4 evenings, so about a week of casual play.
How the rating ranks
Critics settled on 90 out of 100, which puts it above 85 percent of the 1206 games here and at rank 126 overall. That is a strong score, comfortably above what most releases manage.
For comparison, Action averages 83 points across the database, so this one sits 7 points above its own genre. The figure rests on 759 collected ratings.
Released in 2011, which makes it 15 years old. A genuine classic, and worth checking how the version you buy holds up today.
The facts
- Release year
- 2011
- Genres
- Action, RPG
- Playtime
- approx. 7 hrs.
- Difficulty
- Moderate, fair
- Story weight
- Carries the whole game
- Play with
- Solo
- Setting
- Fantasy, Post-apocalyptic
- Visual style
- Stylised
- Price bracket
- Budget
- Platforms
- PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, Mobile
- Critic rating
- 90 / 100
Direct comparison
| Genres | Release year | Playtime | Critic rating | Price bracket |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bastion | 2011 | approx. 7 hrs. | 90 | Budget |
| Wuthering Waves | 2024 | approx. 60 hrs. | 77 | Free-to-play |
| Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist | 2025 | approx. 20 hrs. | 87 | Mid price |
| NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139... | 2021 | approx. 30 hrs. | 82 | Mid price |
If you liked this, try these
- Wuthering Waves Shared: Action, RPG, Fantasy, longer
- Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist Shared: Action, RPG, Fantasy, longer
- NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139... Shared: Action, RPG, Fantasy, longer
- Realm of Ink Shared: Action, RPG, Fantasy, longer
- Avowed Shared: Action, RPG, Fantasy, longer
- Dust: An Elysian Tail Shared: Action, RPG, Fantasy, longer