A New Project: Why Aren't You Playing This?

I'm dedicating a new series to the games that I love, but never see anyone playing. And it's not just that I love them, but that they are so well-received by people who do play them that it baffles me why these games are so unknown.

These are games that are expertly crafted, amazing examples of what you can do in a genre (including making a whole new genre altogether).  Yet for some reason, if you bring them up to someone in a regular conversation, odds are they've never heard of it.  This isn't about being a "hardcore" gamer vs a "casual" gamer.  This is about sharing video games that have left you in awe, wanting to be able to talk to your friends about it, just to ask, "What's Bastion?"

I want to make a couple things clear: this is not indie games only.  In many cases, I find that some big studio games get just as neglected as overlooked indie titles.  And secondly, that this isn't just about me. If you have a game like this, I want you to tell me about it.  Send me your feelings about a game like this, or give me a title and I'll try to find it myself.  I want this to be a place where we can share these experiences that can fly under the radar all too easily.

I'd love feedback from you guys!  E-mail me at freddiemalcomb@gmail.com!  Even if the game is popular (we all know that guy that won't play it if it is too popular), send me your suggestions and share your experiences!

B is for Bastion

Holy crap you guys.  Bastion.

So there was another Steam Sale where both Dustforce and Bastion were offered for about $5 and $7 respectively.  I was interested in both games, but as I believe I have established before, I am broke.

So broke I can't even afford to show this guy's face.

So I asked Facebook about which one I should get, and anybody who was even remotely interested in indie games recommended Bastion.  A couple people even chimed in that they heard the game was amazing from people who played it.  I remembered it getting some hype when it came out, but I had no idea if it was good or not.  So with my friends' recommendations, I bought the game.  I figured that I've spent $7 on worse things, so what was the risk of buying a game that is by all means critically acclaimed?

So the game is a kind of top-down action RPG, but angled so you have a diagonal perspective.  That sentence is a nightmare, so here's a picture:

You control a kid who has survived a disaster we only know as "The Calamity."  The world is in shambles, but something draws up leftover pieces of ground to make a path for you.  It's a very interesting take on linear gameplay, and you really know the limits of what you can explore.  This was nice for me, since I have that little voice that demands I explore every corner of the world for hidden items in every game I play.

But what really sold me on Bastion was the way they created their world.  As you play as The Kid, a voice narrates your every move.  It's not The Kid's voice, but a removed one, telling your story as it happens.  So as you come up to that plaza in the picture above, that voice asks, "That another survivor?"  Then as you enter, you meet that blue ghost and the voice answers its own question, "No ma'am, it's a Gasfella," naming the creature you just met.  The whole game is narrated like that, as if you were listening to an old man telling you a story by a campfire.  The narration goes on, even including tidbits of the war between the two nations of the game, Caelondia and the Ura.  It's really gripping, and I've never seen or heard anything like it.

The action part of the game runs very tightly, too.  The game features many weapons which support different playstyles, and are found throughout the game.  On the first level you play, you gain access to three: a hammer, a repeater, and a bow.  They have unlimited ammo, but you have to worry about reloading and making your shots count (except for the melee weapons, but duh).  So right off the bat, you have this chance to maybe not carry any melee weapons and fight a ranged battle.  Or maybe you like to get up-close and personal, so you bring a hammer and your fancy new machete to a fight.

This game is just polished to a mirror shine.  The music is incredible (you can get a taste of it here), and I bought the download for it just to be able to take it with me.  The art is beautiful, and it really brings this new world you're exploring to life, even in the throes of its death.

I really can't recommend this game enough.  You can buy it on Steam (for Mac and PC), directly through Apple through the App Store, on Xbox Live Arcade, through the Google Chrome web store, and a bunch of other options you can find here.   Take my word for it: this game is worth buying.