Warning: Spoilers Ahead

Supergiant Games’ first project was a simple little game called Bastion. In a lot of ways, Bastion is deceptively simple, if not outright minimalist. The story, combat, and characters all leave a lot to the imagination–mostly for the better. The music, on the other hand, is a dominant force, as it establishes tone, creates foreshadowing, and reinforces themes. I’d even go so far as to say Darren Korb’s soundtrack is the best part of the whole game, which is no mean feat in a title filled with so much fun and beauty.

The plot of the game involves a character known only as The Kid as he attempts to rebuild the world in the wake of a cataclysmic event called The Calamity. To do so, he traverses the shattered remains of a once vibrant land, collecting shards and crystals to power the titular Bastion. Despite having a technically post-apocalyptic setting, the world is lush with colors, flora, and fauna. This transforms what could have been a dreary slog into a fascinating journey into a kaleidoscope of biomes, all held together by an American Western vibe. The track “Slinger’s Song” is a good example of the tone for much of the instrumental work.

Quality tunes for atmosphere are all well and good, but what really sets Bastion‘s soundtrack apart are the instances in which it employs vocals. This is surprisingly somewhat rare in the realm of video game music, presumably because of the skewed priority to cost ratio of original music in game development. The most popular and widely acclaimed cut from the album is just such a piece, as Korb’s gentle acoustic guitar reaches its most poignant alongside the voice of Ashley Barrett in “Build That Wall (Zia’s Theme). The song was even the recipient of the 2011 Video Game Award for Best Song, beating out Portal 2‘s “Want You Gone.”

While the song is undeniably heartbreaking with no context whatsoever, it’s the implementation of the track in the game that makes it a masterpiece. At about the halfway point of the game it comes to light that The Calamity was actually caused by one of Caelondia’s own weapons being used against it by a disgruntled scientist from the neighboring nation of Ura. The Caelondians and Urans had a history of warring, and the weapon was supposed to be a genocidal preliminary strike against the technologically inferior rivals to the East. Naturally, some nuclear proliferation subtext can be read into all of this, but the more disturbing thing is that this backstory paints “Build That Wall” in a whole new light.

The Uran girl Zia is first heard singing the song, which is referred to as a traditional tune of the nation. It’s only later that you realize the terrible implications of the lyrics. At first, “I dig my hole/you build a wall” seems to express some sort of emotional distance between the singer and a subject; a common device of tragic love songs. But then it’s revealed that the Urans invade enemy nations by tunneling into them, while Caelondia is infamous for its impenetrable “Wailing Wall.” Then come the lines, “One day your wall is gonna fall/So build that wall and make it strong/cuz we’ll be there before too long….” What may seem like a heartrending ballad is actually an imperialist war-song taught to children to engender sentiments of militarism against their enemies.

What’s even more fascinating is that this revelation doesn’t diminish “Build That Wall” as a song about emotional alienation. Bastion as a whole can be read as an allegory for some terrible kind of self-inflicted loss, whether it be a divorce or some other interpersonal misstep. Even within the context of the game, optional side-missions reveal that every main character carries some burden of guilt, even if the game’s ambiguous characterization leaves most of it up for interpretation. From the fractured remains of a life that once was to the insurmountable distance between the mysterious characters, Bastion reflects a distance between people that is perfectly encapsulated in the simple refrains of an achingly simple song.

The theme of guilt and blame continues in “The Pantheon (Ain’t Gonna Catch You).” The narrator, Rucks, sings, “Gods ain’t gonna help ya son/You’ll be sorry for whatcha done/Them gods gonna hurt ya son/When you play with a loaded gun.” Of course, the reference to the “loaded gun” also recalls The Calamity, and the fact that it was actually self-inflicted. Interestingly, the very notion of gods in the Bastion universe is an established fact, as deities can be evoked to very tangible effect. Unfortunately, the gods are cruel and spiteful, which plays very much into the game’s motif of punishment.

Since it is revealed that Rucks himself had a hand in the project, his condemnation of a third party in the song is either a deflection of his own guilt or a round-about admission. This lays bare the narrative conceit of the game, as everything the player does up until the end of the game is simply Rucks’ telling the story of The Kid’s adventures. His unreliability as a narrator casts even more doubt over an already nebulous experience. At the end of the game, you are given an Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind-esque choice: Go on living with the memory of what has happened, or erase it all and hope you can avert the seemingly-inevitable disaster? Rucks seems to support the latter, yet his final words are in a song about callous gods and a self-destructive child. Even if the nature of the New Game+ didn’t imply it, the soundtrack makes it hard to believe that there is any hope for the world as it was.

While trying to convince The Kid to restore the world, Rucks says, “Think of all those times that didn’t go your way. All life’s little setbacks, imagine you could could have another go at ‘em. All the mistakes… anyone you’ve ever hurt… everything you’ve ever done… you could do it over. Now, wouldn’t that be grand?” His final song, after the implied futility of turning back time, is a bitter surrender to the consequences of his actions. Even if the game never comes out and says it, the soundtrack is perfectly willing to sum up the game’s message: There’s no going back.

You can buy the whole OST for only $10 right here.

Music Mondays is a weekly column by Austin Yorski and Robert Heck dedicated to discussing the most interesting audio experiences in electronic interactive media. Tune in every week for more original game soundtracks that you need to hear. Feel free to disagree with, add to, or question everything. I welcome your feedback. Also, follow me on Twitter @austinyorski (please).

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