It definitely had problems. Linearity and variety were among them. There were more than enough different weapons and abilities, but not enough varied enemies to use them on. Combat is fun, but lacks any real kind of strategy. Just mash away at the enemies, dodge when they attack. Block/counter if you're feeling fancy and there's nothing about to attack from behind. Oh and use a ranged weapon if the enemy's out of reach. That's...really all there is to it. Special skills can add a little more strategy, but only with certain skills against certain enemies, and you can only equip one skill at a time, so....yeah.
The "follow the path" linearity was a missed opportunity to allow some more explanation and narrator-delivered information about the world that was destroyed, but it's understandable why it's as linear as it is. The dynamic narrator must have been difficult and resource intensive enough to implement as it is.
Still, for all its problems, Bastion really is a special game. In fact, the most celebrated games of all time have more problems than Bastion. Silent Hill 2 and SotC both control like fat, clunky, uncooperative ass, but they're very important games. The same goes for Bastion; the things that make it special excuse and obscure its shortcomings.
