Listen to a Story While You Play! (Bastion)
That’s a dig at Bastion‘s story-telling, yes, but more like a jealous back-handed complement. It works well. It works so well. I’m not a writer by trade, so I feel I’m at liberty to express myself here by means of “OMFG“.
I honestly wonder what the experience of Bastion would be like on mute. For those not in the know, one of the things that sets Bastion apart is its use of an ever-present narrator. What initially seems like a gag (albeit an excellent one) turns into a remarkably deep voice (literally and figuratively) that serves to characterize what otherwise could be considered fairly repetitive environments and encounters. And by characterize, I mean I’m holding back tears here, man, please, I’m trying to fight a bunch of blue guys.
So we’ve established that it works (I know it doesn’t work for everyone, so if you disagree, please comment as to why!)