Bastion Catch-all (now coming to iPad)

cyrax wrote:
Clemenstation wrote:

Anyone have a favourite secret skill? I used grenades for 90% of the game, and was wondering if I missed out on anything spectacular. I found the decoy and squirt to be borderline worthless.

I always bring grenades with me, but if I find them to be less than useful I'll change my load-out later. The shotgun's close range assault has been my number two, but that has a pretty negative side-effect in that you are basically defenseless from ranged attacks. So yeah, grenades are the bombdiggity.

How do you aim the grenades? It said how to shortly after I got them but I accidentally closed the dialog box before reading it.

iaintgotnopants wrote:
cyrax wrote:
Clemenstation wrote:

Anyone have a favourite secret skill? I used grenades for 90% of the game, and was wondering if I missed out on anything spectacular. I found the decoy and squirt to be borderline worthless.

I always bring grenades with me, but if I find them to be less than useful I'll change my load-out later. The shotgun's close range assault has been my number two, but that has a pretty negative side-effect in that you are basically defenseless from ranged attacks. So yeah, grenades are the bombdiggity.

How do you aim the grenades? It said how to shortly after I got them but I accidentally closed the dialog box before reading it.

LT aims everything!

I want the soundtrack for this game to show up for sale online. Now.

I mostly counter ranged attacks, which is especially useful with the spirit that heals you when countering. I love Final Warning, as it'll annihilate almost anything on screen. My Musket is ranged-focused, so Final Warning complements it quite well. Pike Vault is a lot of fun, too. Actually, the Pike in general is awesome.

I roll with the spear and the repeater (fully upgraded with mob seeking bullets) as well as the grenades. I may switch it up for the weapon specific challenges but thats my go to.

OK, finished, and I can honestly say, I have no idea what GameGuru is talking about, which makes me think theres a flaw in this game somewhere, if we can have such different experiences, because I respect his opinions a LOT. I ran with the hammer on melee most of the way through, and once I got the mortar, really never looked back unless there was a story reason too.

I was changing weapons and tactics literally until the final conflict, including whole new skills and modes of movement being openned up. I played fairly straight through, with maybe half the proving grounds attempted and those to maybe silver on average.

I know I'm known for hyperbole, but this is one of my favorite game experiences of all time, honestly. I'm as intrigued by the world and the unfinished pieces of the story as I was the first time I played Myst.

I finished it up tonight. I think it was a great first game from a new development house. That's not meant to be a backhanded compliment. My criticisms would circle the combat mechanics mostly. So many weapons introduced with no big change between enemy types and behaviors to really feel like it matters. When you have a pool of dozens of weapon combinations, it makes more some interesting choices, but you have to design every level and encounter to work with every variation. You end up with samey gameplay across the board. On the balance of things, I think I'd have preferred fewer weapons and more opportunity to use them contextually within a given level. Like a boomerang or bombs in Zelda.

But I really enjoyed the journey none the less. I won't make plot spoilers here, but there was plenty to like. Not just in what was told, but what was left unsaid. All the other stuff I mentioned on the podcast stands now that I'm done.

Certis echoes much better my feelings... but again in the context of the price and budget of the game its perfect. These are the kind of gaming experiences I really look forward to.. low price and between 4-8 hours of gameplay.

I suspect you (Rabbit) were really drawn to the aspect of "less is more". Not a few developers could learn some lessons from these guys on how to tell a compelling story with very few words/cut-scenes. Setting mystery and imagination is a tough thing to do and these guys really nailed it.. I wanted to learn so much more about this world as I played.

I believe I'm on the last part since I was warned that there is no turning back.

Yep, thats the home stretch. Note, once your done, you can choose to go back to that "gate" and try a different way, until you go into the "Game+" mode which is basically your second play through.

I think I understand your criticisms of the combat, they just didn't get in the way of the fun at all for me.

We're likely having Greg Kasavin on the show this week, so feel free to toss good meaty design/authorship questions here in this thread, and we'll layer them into the conversation.

Can I say something about the Game+ without any spoilers.

The narration subtly changes during that playthrough to reflect your choice at the end of the first playthrough. To me that was amazing, though I probably wouldn't have noticed if i hadn't decided to just start over right away. The changes aren't in your face, just little nods every so often to the fact that......... well, you will see.

looking forward to this when it comes to the pc...

cheesycrouton wrote:

looking forward to this when it comes to the pc...

I was kind of planning on that myself. However, after playing the demo, and reading all the chatter, good and about I kind of want to play it now, just to see what the hubbub is about. Whether it's good or not, it seems interesting.

It's pretty chill. Fun experience. I agree with Certis' criticism, but it doesn't sink the game. The gear situation falls into the same sort of trap as Costume Quest, where you acquire a ton of great stuff at the end but aren't left with much to do when you get it.

Spoiler:

The jumping mechanic, in particular, felt very tacked-on.

It's been ages since I've purchased anything on XBLA. Do I still need to buy points cards? Or can I use Paypal or something right in the store?

El-Producto wrote:

It's been ages since I've purchased anything on XBLA. Do I still need to buy points cards? Or can I use Paypal or something right in the store?

You can use a credit card to buy points. I haven't seen anything about paypal, but I haven't really looked either.

El-Producto wrote:

It's been ages since I've purchased anything on XBLA. Do I still need to buy points cards? Or can I use Paypal or something right in the store?

You can use PayPal ...to buy points.

They enabled Paypal payments earlier this year. Unfortunately you still have to buy spacebucks with it though.

Edit: Gravey beat me by seconds!

Favorite combo so far:

Pike, Pistols & Mines

Least favorite weapon:

Fire bellows. Is there a way to use this that doesn't hurt you?

I'd guess I'm about halfway through (just got said bellows), and I'm really enjoying the ride. All things aside, it's just good fun.

Count me among those that were surprisingly drawn in by this game. At first the combat didn't quite click with me, but over time the necessity of blocking (especially when invoking certain gods) and the sheer variety of weapons won me over. I finished the game, went back for the second ending, and I'm now playing through the Game+ mode. I haven't done this with a game in a very long time. Maybe its the art style, or the excellent soundtrack, or just sheer 16 bit game nostalgia, but I want to see more. A sequel perhaps, but which ending would it build off of? I guess theoretically it could say both happened.

Thin_J wrote:

I want the soundtrack for this game to show up for sale online. Now.

I don't know if it's been linked yet, but the soundtrack on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...
Rucks outtakes (don't worry, no spoilers):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0X3Ih...

juv3nal wrote:
Thin_J wrote:

I want the soundtrack for this game to show up for sale online. Now.

This.

Please ask Greg about purchasing the soundtrack if you get him on the show.

http://www.youtube.com/user/outphase52

Bastion Music, better listen now in case it gets pulled.

I can't wait till this is released on the PC. Dammit.

Count me among those who normally can't hack this kind of game, but are surprisingly in love with Bastion. Not too far into it, but can't wait to sit down and pick up the controller again.

I love the way all the character "upgrades" can be customized to support your particular kind of gameplay (or particular suckage, in my case). I die a lot, so was pleased to see the drink you can slot which adds +1 life and zaps your enemies when you die. But I can see a more skilled player picking the +damage or +critical upgrades instead.

It's nice for a moron like me to feel in control of your character advancement in such a direct and transparent way, and not obscured behind a bunch of stats like Agility, Strength, etc..., where you have to take the time to parse them all and figure out all the "hard maths" to decide which stat will support your playstyle the best.

The double-blast final upgrade for the shotgun musket turns it into an absolute beast -- you get crowd control and good close-range damage both. Pair with the pistols or repeater (with enemy-seeking upgrade) for ultimo destruction.

While I want to play this now, and could get it for my 360, I'm waiting for the PC version. I know I will always have a PC and might not always have a 360. Plus, if I don't have to buy space bucks, all the better.

Finally beat the game, since I was taking my time. One of the endgame choices makes a lot more sense if you're planning a second playthrough on newgame+ (the choice should be obvious), I dig how they made that flow. What an amazing game, looking forward to upgrading some more weapons, trying some new weapon combos, and some different tonics.

I dig a hole, you build a wall.

Wow. I tore through that game. Some of the most fun I've had gaming in a while. Supergiant got a lot right. Setting, music, tone, pacing, weapon variety, upgrade paths, special powers.

Speaking of the specials, I was a bit hesitant to "waste" my black tonics through a lot of the game. Some of the powers were fairly mediocre, and others were no use in the situations that seemed to give me the most trouble, e.g. swarms of peckers. But once the Fang Repeater is fully upgraded with the seeking ability, the spiral blast becomes utterly devastating. In fact, it starts to feel cheap using it in my mind (without having a lot of the god idols invoked).

Finished last night.. overall I was very satisfied with the game...and I immediately want the sequel!!!