The ending of a video game should bring together all aspects of the game’s story that players engaged with throughout their time playing, close most of the open story elements, and give a satisfying conclusion to the narrative. In most cases, this means giving the protagonist a happy ending where they have defeated whatever evil of the week is their focus, but other games take it in a different direction.
Particularly in recent years, video games have embraced the sadder side of endings, focusing on the fact that, in the real world, not everything works out in the end as we would like it to, which has resulted in some true tear-jerker conclusions to our favorite games.
10 Superliminal
A fairly recent surprise hit and a great puzzle game in the same vein as Portal or Quantum Conundrum, Superliminal sees the player traverse through a series of increasingly bizarre levels where perspective is key in beating each puzzle. It’s not until the end of the game that players are made aware of what is actually going on: you are playing an unnamed patient of an experimental treatment for depression and anxiety, where you are made to engage with these bizarre puzzles to force you to change your perspective on life. It is a surprisingly uplifting monologue, but it also makes players realize that the person they are controlling has some very real and personal issues that can be easily related to and that their only way out was to be locked into a dream world.
9 Bastion
Hades may be the game that comes to mind when Supergiant Games is mentioned, but it all began with Bastion. The game has two endings, depending on a few factors and choices The Kid takes throughout his adventures, though they are both equally bleak. You are given the choice of either rewinding time, giving The Kid a chance to prevent the destruction of the world, or embracing the new world knowing you couldn’t do anything to stop it. Many players would pick the rewind option, though this has no effect on the events of the story and it is clear that, no matter what option players take, the world will always be doomed.
8 Link’s Awakening
The Legend of Zelda isn’t exactly known for having deep and impactful endings to their stories, though Majora’s Mask and the Deku Butler are a clear exception to this unwritten rule. Another game that has quite a depressing ending for a Zelda game is Link’s Awakening.
Towards the end of the game, many of the bosses are begging Link to stop his quest, as killing each Nightmare will bring ruin to the island of Koholint. After the final battle, Link manages to wake the Windfish and rescue himself from the island, but at the cost of everyone he has grown close to, including the innocent Marin, being erased from existence due to his actions.
7 Shadow Of The Colossus
The opening moments of Shadow of the Colossus are quite somber, as Wander appeals to a dark god to bring his love, Mono, back to life. After killing the final Colossus at the cost of his loyal horse, Agro, Wander returns to Dormin for his prize but is instead turned into a vessel for the god to wreak havoc on the world. In the end, Wander and Dormin are sealed away before he can see Mono come back to life, and is reborn as a horned infant who may or may not go on to become the horned child in Ico, who is locked away due to his appearance.
6 The Walking Dead Season One
The Walking Dead isn’t known for pulling punches when it comes to main characters, and this game is no exception. After escorting Clementine to find her parents for the bulk of the game, Lee is bitten by a walker while trying to find a kidnapped Clementine and becomes infected. After finding that her parents have been turned, which was bad enough, Lee succumbs to the infection and asks the girl far too young to have to deal with such a daunting task to take his life before he becomes a walker himself.
5 Brothers: A Tale Of Two Sons
Following the quest of two brothers, Naiee and Naia, as they search for the cure to their father’s illness, Brothers was full of highs and lows throughout the story, but the ending was a gut punch that very few saw coming. After falling victim to a spider disguised as a girl, the brothers manage to obtain the healing water needed for their father to recover, but not before Naia sustains a fatal injury. Sending his younger brother onward, Naia succumbs to his injuries and dies before he is able to see his father healed again. Naiee even desperately tries to revive his brother using the healing water meant for their father, but it doesn’t work and he is forced to bury the sibling that accompanied him throughout his journey.
4 Heavy Rain
Heavy Rain is a hard story to work through, particularly if the player has children themselves, but of the many endings that players can reach at the end of the story, few are as hard-hitting as the “worst” ending. With Shaun and many other characters dying along the way, Ethan is framed as the Origami Killer while Scott escapes imprisonment.
After the loss of both of his children and his subsequent arrest, Ethan’s pain and guilt becomes too much to bear, hanging himself in his cell while Norman overdoses on Triptocaine and Shelby continues on as a free man.
3 To The Moon
This indie gem has a heartwarming premise, but the resulting payoff is one of heartbreak. To fulfill the wish of a dying man to go to the moon, doctors Rosalene and Watts enter the memories of Johnny Wyles to figure out how best to implement the memories of going to the moon, as they need to do so without causing too much conflict. The resulting story reveals the death of Johnny’s brother, which his mother made him forget through the use of beta-blockers, as well as forgetting the first meeting of his eventual wife, the marriage feeling unfulfilled though he doesn’t know why. The game ends with Johnny having new memories implanted into his brain, but he never learns of his brother’s death or the first meeting with his wife.
2 Marvel’s Spider-Man
It wasn’t expected that, of all the recent superhero games that have been released, that the fun-loving Marvel’s Spider-Man would be the one to bring tears to the player’s eyes. After the Devil’s Breath toxin is released in New York, many people are infected and dying, including Aunt May. After defeating Dr. Octopus and retrieving the antidote, Peter has to choose between saving just his Aunt or using the antidote to help save everyone else. In the end, he chooses to save everyone else, but not before Aunt May reveals that she knew he was Spider-Man all along shortly before dying. For someone like Peter Parker, who has very few people in his life he is close to, losing his Aunt and mother figure was a huge gut punch.
1 Ghost Of Tsushima
Ghost of Tsushima has two endings, dependent on whether players choose to reclaim or cast away their honor. After fighting with his uncle throughout most of the game, Jin is confronted by Lord Shimura, who reveals that he has been asked to kill his nephew by the Shogun, as he is now seen as a liability. With both men forced into a battle neither wants to win, Jin is given the option to let Shimura live and force him to live with the dishonor and guilt of his actions, or kill the man who has been his father figure for the majority of his life. While both options are equally as heartbreaking, taking Shimura’s life is easily the most hard-hitting ending in recent gaming.
