Common Sense Media Review
By Chad Sapieha
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Fun action RPG has mild violence and a memorable narrator.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 11+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Play
Videos and Photos
Bastion
Privacy Rating Warning
Privacy Rating
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Pass
Meets our minimum requirements for privacy and security practices.
Warning
Does not meet our recommendations for privacy and security practices.
Fail
Does not have a privacy policy and should not be used.
Privacy Rating
Our expert evaluators create our privacy ratings. The ratings are designed to help you understand how apps use your data for commercial purposes.
Pass
Meets our minimum requirements for privacy and security practices.
Warning
Does not meet our recommendations for privacy and security practices.
Fail
Does not have a privacy policy and should not be used.
What's It About?
A downloadable game for Xbox 360, Bastion is an action RPG that puts players in the shoes of a boy who wakes up to find his world destroyed by an unknown calamity. Accompanied by a raspy narrator who succinctly describes his activities at every juncture, the boy navigates a seemingly never-ending series of winding, gap-filled platforms suspended in midair, battling enemies and picking up collectibles along the way. His goals are to discover what happened to the world and also to slowly restore it, using discoverable \"cores\" to rebuild essential buildings, including an armory and a distillery. Along the way, players find better weapons and abilities, as well as items that can be used to upgrade their equipment.
Is It Any Good?
The heart of Bastion is its constant, soulful, and occasionally witty narrator, who never fails to comment on even the smallest of our hero’s actions. Defeat a tough enemy? He’ll sing your praises. Find a new path? He’ll describe it. Fall off a ledge? He’ll step in with a funny little explanation. His calm commentary and reliable presence give the proceedings an almost storybook-like atmosphere that’s wholly original to the world of games.
The action is fun, too. Colorful, magical platforms spring into existence in front of our hero with each step forward, and the enemies he faces force players to constantly shift tactics, switching between ranged and melee weapons, using a shield when necessary, and remaining wary of the often shifting, dynamic environments. If you’re looking for an inexpensive, light, and inventive interactive entertainment, Bastion is a good bet.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the use of alcohol as a booster or restorative in games. What sort of message does this send to younger gamers? Do players view potions labeled as tonics, elixirs, or poultices differently?
Families can also discuss violence in games. How do you determine whether a game is too violent for your kids? Does it matter if the game’s enemies are human or fantastical? Whether players use guns and grenades or swords and magic? What do your kids think?
Game Details
- Platform : Xbox 360
- Subjects : Language & Reading : following directions
- Skills : Self-Direction : achieving goals , self-reflection , work to achieve goals , Thinking & Reasoning : applying information , logic , solving puzzles
- Pricing structure :
- Available online? : Not available online
- Publisher : Warner Bros. Games
- Release date : July 19, 2011
- Genre : Action/Adventure
- ESRB rating :
- Last updated : November 11, 2020
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