On the 20th, Bastion will kick off Xbox Live’s Summer of Arcade. I’ve spent some time with it and I think this game could possibly be my new favorite game on XBLA. It’s beautiful, original, packed full of content, and completely different from the other games in its genre. It has a hand-drawn art style that’s always fun to look at and there’s a nifty feature that has the levels building in front of you as you progress through the environment. It’s a nice touch. You can see it in action in the launch trailer below.

Another of my favorite things in Bastion is it’s “Dynamic Narration” feature that delivers story exposition and comments on things you just did. One of the characters you come across, the nameless old wise man, is the guy who’s voice will follow you literally everywhere you go. If you perform some incredible feat during the game there’s a good chance he’ll comment on it. Sometimes what he says is funny, other times its useful to the development of the story, but it’s always interesting. Bastion is definitely a game that all fantasy RPG fans should check out, but even if that’s not necessarily your thing I highly suggest giving it try.