LogFAQs > #936352391

I considered commenting about the TWD vs. Bastion match beforehand, but I didn't want the actual results to make me look foolish a la Hollow Knight > Berseria. Now that Bastion's neck-and-neck with TWD, here's my two cents about what happened:

A majority of the Crew write-ups talked about how TWD was the more respected and beloved game in this match, but I don't think that was actually true. We all (should) know about how much of a splash it made on release, of course. It was probably the mainstream breakout game of 2012, complete with the lion's share of GotY awards back then, and it arguably legitimized both the episodic release format and narrative-centered video games with minimal conventional gameplay in general.

That's just the trick, though - mainstream Western games tend not to maintain their strength (which was low to begin with in this case) through the years here as they slowly but steadily slip from voters' memories. TWD in particular had it worse than most primarily due to Telltale's collapse, and specifically because of how Telltale precipitated said collapse by saturating the market with TWD sequels, spinoffs, and reskins. In the process, the narrative impact of choice TWD was sold on turned out to be an illusion, which devalued the game as a whole for many voters. The megahit TV show following a similar arc didn't help matters.

On the other hand, there's Bastion, which was a key contributor to the indie boom but didn't have nearly the impact of TWD at the time. However, Supergiant has since become the single most consistent big name in the indie sphere, which has of course exploded since Bastion's release almost nine years ago. Bastion itself doesn't quite seem to have the love and respect of something like Hollow Knight, but if nothing else, many voters still remember it fondly for everything it represents within the sphere of indie gaming.

To put it simply, TWD is probably more remembered, but Bastion is certainly better remembered, which really seems to matter when voters are tasked with determining which of the two deserves to be called the Game of the Decade more. That's why I (as a TWD picker myself, granted) was baffled when the entire Crew, and most Oracle pickers to boot, seemed to have OH YEAH TWD WILL WIN NO PROBLEM confidence about this match.

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