This is a bit of an odd request for information, so let me explain. I run a Let's Play channel as a hobby, but I've accidentally run into an issue. Every game I've LP'ed since late October has been dark and serious and grim (Resident Evil 4, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2, and a co-op run of F.3.A.R., in case anyone was curious), and I thought I would mix things up and play something goofy and/or lighthearted to take a break from all that Serious. Since the last game I played was about evil ghosts and hauntings, I thought the most appropriate game I could play from my Steam backlog was the Ghostbusters game from 2009, to use the goofy humour about fighting cartoony ghosts as a nice sort of contrast.

So imagine my surprise when I start playing Ghostbusters and discover that unlike the movies it's based on, the game actually has legitimately dark and grim elements in it. Oh sure, there's plenty of humour, and I've laughed out loud a few times, but along with the silly dialogue and gags, there's also talk of serial killers whose victims are now the ghosts you're fighting, collectible "cursed artifacts" with unsettling pasts that sometimes almost feel like creepypasta, there are even sequences that come across like 'horror lite', where you're stalking through dark corridors to ominous music, interrupted by the occasional jump-scare!

So for the sake of my handful of viewers and myself, I really, really need the next game I play to not have a secret dark side. I wanted to do Bastion because it's bright and colourful and everyone loves it, but I'm aware that it takes place after what is essentially a sort of apocalypse, so I'm a little worried that it might go into super dark or depressing territory at some point as a twist or something.

Basically, here's my question: Preferably without spoiling the storyline, does Bastion's plot get dark and unpleasant at some point? Or will it serve as an appropriate cleansing of the palette after three months of grim, (mostly) serious games? I understand it's kind of a vague question, but I'd still appreciate any help you can give me.

It's a game about the apocalypse. It's grim and serious.

Exactly what I was about to say. Also, race wars.

Play Tearaway! Or something Nintendo-y.

Grow Home looks pretty happy too.

You should definitely stay away from Bastian then...

It gets fairly dark towards the end. It's not overt - it's not suddenly Silent Hill 2 or anything - but it's heavy enough.

I mean, visually the game is largely about an end of the world where most of humanity was wiped out, so it's just nature kinda reclaiming the world, so most of the enemies in the game are animals, plants, and leftover magical constructs. There are two factions that are pretty intolerant of each other, but they're not like, brutal asshole bandits like in The Last of Us.

So the game has some light tragedy in it (in the sense that the apocalypse is a real bummer and you learn a little bit here and there about the way of life they used to have in this one major city), but it's not gruesome or really dark in the same way that some of the actions in Lords of Shadow 2 or F.3.A.R. are just cruel.

I mean, Bastion isn't just super happy fun times like a Mario game, but I dunno, it's about as dark as Ocarina of Time? Like, when you think about it, in Ocarina of Time you let Ganondorf rule as a tyrant for 7 years before Link grows up and by the time you save the day presumably a lot of bad shit went down. Actually, if you've ever played Wind Waker, I'd say there are similarities there as well, but I won't get into them specifically because I think I'd spoil too many cool parts of both games. Anyway, for the game taking place after a cataclysm that almost ended the world, the characters are fairly positive and trying to make the best of it.

You could certainly find cheerier games that are lighthearted affairs, but Bastion is certainly less dark than any of the other games you mentioned.

Transistor is a pretty huge downer, throughout and at the end, so don't stream that.

I would describe the whole tone of Bastion as melancholic, but there's a lot of fun loving stuff in there too. The game can jump between humor and sadness at any moment.

It definitely gets darker and more haunting as the game goes on. It does not have realistic graphics, so it does not get graphic with grim, gore or horror, but the music and the narration makes it sort of melodramatic.

Its a great game, and I would advise you to play it, just not in a channel if you are looking for bright and colorful. If you set the bar with the latest Ghostbusters game, Bastion may not be the lighthearted change of pace you are looking for...

Maybe the latest Rayman games? LittleBigPlanet? Something in the line of Nintendo? Castle Crashers can be played with friends, and its pretty lighthearted as far as those games go...

If you really want to avoid anything that isn't blatant, happy-go-lucky fun then Bastion is not the game you're looking for at all as people have mentioned. Just know that Bastion is subtle, pretty deep and, as @christoffermentioned primarily melancholic tonally. You could probably play it and look past most of it's darker aspects. It's just not gratuitous or graphic about some of the deeply disturbing concepts that can be found in the game's subtext. Then again, Bastion's narrative design is one of its strengths, so why even play it if the main thrust of the narrative isn't your thing? Nothing particularly secret about post-apocalyptic settings frequently being somewhat dark either (maybe you didn't realize this yet but some sort of "end of the world" scenario is at least implied from the very start)!

Thanks for the thoughtful responses, everybody, I really appreciate it. From all the good I've heard about Bastion, I'm definitely going to play it eventually, melancholic and thought-provoking definitely has its place, but right now I think I need something cheerier. Maybe SteamWorld Dig, I seem to recall the Quick Look for that being pretty positive...

Not spoiling the ending but god damn that gets rough in the feels. It's about as poignant as a video game can get at least in my opinion.

Well I didn't find it particulary that sad or dark as you say, tho it is true indeed that the game gets a little ehh at the end. Generally the story is narated on a good pace so you'll hear lots of things about the ex world that was destroyed. I would say that the game is more like a melancholic one rather than dark.