Bastion
Playtime: 6h, easily replayable another 6h.
Genre: Adventure
Rating: 8/10

Such a great game, with such an awesome narrating. Story and art comes together to form something very well.

The levels are beautiful, and said to be hand-drawn. The levels feature a lot of detail, and an unique style. As you play, the world forms around your character, which makes it that much more interesting when it comes to exploring the map. You don't know if you can walk a certain path, until you've tried.

Talking about art - the music is great. It blends very well in with the rest of the game. You can listen to the soundtrack out of the game, and really enjoy it. At times you might hear the same track over and over, but it really doesn't matter.

So yeah, it's a great view, but what about gameplay? Well, Bastion features nothing unique here, but it performs very well. You have a primary and secondary weapon (select and mix as you want) together with a "secret skill", which is some kind of combat ability. You want to use that shield of yours a lot, and time it well, as you can counter incoming attacks and retaliate. Fights are fast-paced and requires skill in order to be efficient.

I appreciate the story and how it's being told. Throughout the game you'll hear a stranger narrating what's happening as you go along. You are, in a way, experiencing the story as it's being told. It's a great approach, and Bastion does it exceedingly well. Without this, Bastion would be just another 3rd-person adventure game.

Positive:
Great art and music.
Challenging levels.
"Proving gounds" testing your abilities.
Replayable (you can even bring all your previous gear with you into a new game!)
Great story.

Negative:
The optional reflection-levels might get a little repetitive.

Bottom line: An amazing single-player experience.