I remember the end of Bastion being really powerful for me. There was the choice to either leave Zulf and be able to defend yourself, or carry him. I chose to carry him, though it didn't feel like much of a choice, how could I leave him behind? The result was your character moving a lot slower, unable to fight back against the endless barrage of enemy fire. Eventually they stop attacking and you trudge on, the path lined with your enemies.
The last moment of the game, you are again presented with a choice: Revert the world to a previous state, before the calamity, or go on living in a broken world with your friends by your side. It's been a while since I played so I am a little fuzzy on the details, but I believe the first option will mean all the characters will forget what has happened. It's genuinely the hardest choice I've had to make in a game. I had to walk away, give it a lot of thought, then come back to make my decision. Save the world but lose your friends, or forsake the world for your memories and your relationships.
Thinking back, it touched on a few issues I've thought about a lot. Would I chose to give up my bad decisions, mistakes I've made, hurt I've experienced, those memories that come at night and make you cringe at the person you were back then? Who would I be if I didn't have those things? Would I be a happier person? Probably. Would I be a better person? Who can say? I would speculate no, that hurting makes us more empathetic to others, that we avoid doing or saying things because nobody should feel how we have felt, which ultimately increases the amount of 'good' in the world.
Is that important? Do the emotions of others have more weight than our own? Can the selfish decision be the right decision? At this point I am only asking questions I can't answer, so I'll stop.
You should probably play Bastion, it's pretty good.
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