History YMMV / Bastion

* NightmareFuel: The MushroomSamba sequence in Jawson Bog. Especially [[spoiler: the scenes that call back to the opening of the game, as those scenes twist every line in the opening narration into a cruel IronicEcho.]]
--> [[spoiler: '''Rucks''': The dead welcome him with open arms. Kid pops them good. That a Survivor? No ma’am. It’s a lonesome ghost of a Gasfella. What do you say to a Kid who’s seen too much? I’m Zulf of the Ura. Pleased to make your acquaintance.]]
--> [[spoiler: '''Rucks''': Kid wakes up... nah, I'm just foolin'. He sees what's left of the Rippling Walls, years of work ''undone'' in an instant. He sees what's left of Pyth, the bull. The gods...they're all ''undone.'' He sees what's left of his [[MirrorMatch lifelong friend]]. His friend...he's come undone, too. He ''sees.'' What's ''left.'' Undone. ''[[MadnessMantra Undone.]]'']]

* EnjoyTheStorySkipTheGame: Most of the game's critical attention was focused on its art style, storytelling and narration. The gameplay received a more mixed reception.

* IronWoobie: The Kid, as the narration in Who Knows Where reveals. [[spoiler: He never knew his dad, and had to take care of his mom growing up instead of the other way around. He takes a five-year turn on the Rippling Walls, only to arrive home and find that his mom died while he was away. He volunteers for a second tour, during which the Calamity happens. And all that is just the backstory!]]

%%* TheWoobie: Zia.

* AnticlimaxBoss: The [[spoiler:Ura leader]] is extremely powerful and hard to kill... in the Stranger's Dream, where you're stuck with normal weapons and weathered 30 waves to get to him, plus he's got Queen Anne and a poison archer for backup. In the game proper, he's a pushover because you've got the insta-kill Battering Ram which murders him in one shot. Even in the Stranger's Dream, though, once you take down the archer, the strategy to kill him is as simple as "block, attack, roll back to keep Anne at a distance, repeat."

** For example, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlfUcnSbKDA Zulf's Theme]] or [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8cELTdtw6U Zia's Theme]] and those are just the ones with lyrics.

** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0ujkPqwzqc Spike in a Rail]]

** Lunkheads, leaping enemies with an armored face that do extreme damage if they hit you. The strategy to beat them is simple enough, getting them to obey a consistent leaping pattern to implement it is not. They're much easier once you get armor-piercing weapons, but a nightmare otherwise.

** The hammer-spinning Gasfellas. They're tougher than all but the biggest gasfellas, have a huge hit radius because they spin, and you can't counter them like other enemies, just block them. They also give you very little time to use melee after they stop spinning.

** The Galleon Mortar. The game places it as the second-to-last weapon, but you are far less likely to blow yourself up with it than you are the Calamity Cannon (even ''with'' the increased blast radius upgrade), you can lob the projectiles ''over'' the enemies instead of the projectile exploding on the first thing it hits, and with the right upgrades you can fire off shots rather quickly. It does enough damage that most things will die in two hits, usually one hit for a lot of common enemies, and that's ''without'' upgrading its damage. It's basically an infinite hand grenade that takes a sec or two to set up. With a little practice, you can run'n'gun and nothing will touch you whatsoever, and if you get good at lobbing the projectiles in just the right way, you can lead enemies so that they get the thing right on their heads while they're chasing you.

%%* IronWoobie: The Kid.
%%* JerkassWoobie: [[spoiler:Zulf]].

** When The Kid [[spoiler: returns to the Saloon]], we even get a moment where Rucks [[spoiler: [[MissionControlIsOffItsMeds seemingly turns malevolent]]]]: [[spoiler: He has the nerve to flash the Shield he stole. He’s a petty thief. The Security’s just going to have to straighten him out.]]

** If you fall off into the abyss during this sequence: Kid can't fall no matter how hard he tries.
** And if you die: [[spoiler: There ''is no way out.'']]

* {{Earworm}}: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8cELTdtw6U I dig my hole, you build a wall...]]

* NightmareFuel: The MushroomSamba sequence in Jawson Bog. Especially [[spoiler: the scenes that call back to the opening of the game.]]
--> [[spoiler: '''Rucks''': Don’t know where he’s gone. Might be gone for good for all I know. Wherever he is…It’s somewhere I’ve never been. Somewhere I never want to go.]]

--> [[spoiler: '''Rucks''': Kid wakes up... nah, I'm just foolin'. He sees what's left of the Rippling Walls, years of work ''undone'' in an instant. He sees what's left of Pyth, the bull. The gods...they're all ''undone.'' He sees what's left of his [[MirrorMatch lifelong friend]]. His friend...he's come undone, too. He ''sees.'' What's ''left.'' Undone. ''Undone.'']]

** If you fall off into the abyss during this sequence: "Kid can't fall no matter how hard he tries."
** And if you die: [[spoiler: "There ''is no way out.''"]]
** there's also a dark touch added to the final weapon's upgrade material. Every other weapon's material is described as "Something greasy" or "something stringy". [[spoiler: What's the Calamity Cannon's material? ''Something Wrong.'']]

** When The Kid [[spoiler: returns to the Saloon]], we even get a moment where Rucks [[spoiler: seemingly turns malevolent]]: [[spoiler: He has the nerve to flash the Shield he stole. He’s a petty thief. The Security’s just going to have to straighten him out.]]

** When The Kid [[spoiler: returns to the Saloon]], we even get a moment where Rucks [[spoiler: seemingly turns malevolent]]: [[Spoiler: He has the nerve to flash the Shield he stole. He’s a petty thief. The Security’s just going to have to straighten him out.]]

* HilariousInHindsight: Zia's theme, Build That Wall, becomes darkly hilarious with the 2016 American election cycle with presidential nominee Donald Trump promising to build a wall.
** HarsherInHindsight: Now it's less funny "Ha Ha" and more funny...awful.

** And if you die: [[spoiler: "There's no way out."]]

* ThatOneBoss: Queen Anne, the Anklegator.

* ThatOneSidequest: The Proving Grounds vary widely in terms of difficulty. Some, like the Galleon Mortar, you can conceivably pass on your first try. Others are only tricky (Breaker's Bow) or nearly impossible (Fang Repeater) until you get the appropriate upgrades or learn the right trick (War Machete). Then there's the Bullhead Shield trial. There's no upgrade that will help significantly, no trick to make it easier. Just your timing and luck. You'll need plenty of both.
** However, clever use of Spirits can make some of the more difficult Proving Grounds much easier; notably, the Bullhead Shield trial can be made easier using Lunkhead Liqueur (to return more damage when blocking with the shield), and any trials where dealing damage is an integral key to success (such as the Fang Repeater or Dueling Pistol trials) can be beaten more easily by equipping Werewhiskey and purposefully dropping to less than 33% health.

* TheWoobie: Zia.
** IronWoobie[=/=]StoicWoobie: The Kid.
** JerkassWoobie: [[spoiler:Zulf]].

** The hammer-spinning Gasbags. They're tougher than all but the biggest gasbags, have a huge hit radius because they spin, and you can't counter them like other enemies, just block them. They also give you very little time to use melee after they stop spinning.

* GameBreaker: Werewhiskey, which gives 100% critical hit chance at 33% health. Combine this with Lifewine and Bull Brandy to maximize your survivability and it doesn't matter that you're constantly at critical health, because almost nothing in the game will live long enough for it to matter. This is especially true in the weapon challenges, which become much easier simply by falling off the edge enough to activate Werewhiskey's effect.

** The Scrap Musket with increased knockback and double tap mods becomes a wonderful tool for knocking any damn thing that isn't rooted to the ground off the nearest ledge. Perfect for the Who Knows Where challenges.

* EightPointEight: Jim Sterling's infamous review, which gave it a 6.5, a stark contrast with the game's otherwise positive reviews.

** On the flip side, once you've gotten good at counter blocking, Mender Mead becomes an excellent secondary method of regaining health, especially when you start doing idol runs with Roathas invoked, which makes Health Tonic drops much rarer (and flat-out non-existent in Who Knows Where.)