Video game endings often play crucial roles in their overall success. and some can make you emotional. Regardless of the flow of the storyline, endings decide whether the game will have a long-lasting impact on the player’s mind. While good endings successfully serve that purpose, tragic endings do that even more.
Many remarkable games have tragic endings that sometimes even make players cry for the characters. Here we will discuss some of the most tragic video game endings of all time, so heavy spoilers follow.
9. BioShock Infinite
If you’re looking for some emotional video game endings, BioShock Infinite is the perfect title to try out. The BioShock games are some of the finest titles that blend first-person shooter and role-playing elements incredibly well, and BioShock Infinite is an addition that heightens the thrill of the series.
Set in the year 1912, this story follows the journey of Booker DeWitt, but at the end of the game, players face a twisting yet saddening ending where they get to know that DeWitt, the lead character of the story, is actually the primary antagonist of the game, Zachary Hale Comstock.
As the story progresses toward the end, players will realize that Booker must die to save Elizabeth from the torment. Therefore, the game ends with multiple Elizabeths drowning Brooker to end the reborn cycle. This is how players bid goodbye to the most important in-game character. Furthermore, it’s shocking for players to believe what just happened to them.
8. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater presents players with one of the most unexpected video game endings. If you are a fan of this franchise, you must be aware that multiple installments offer dark endings, but Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater has the darkest one possible.
Released in 2004, this game is often considered to be one of the greatest creations of Hideo Kojima because of the twists and turns in the plot. In this game, Naked Snake is on a rescue mission, and toward the end of the storyline, he gets to know that his mentor, The Boss, has defected to the Soviet Union and proven to be a traitor.
The duel between Naked Snake and The Boss is already heart-wrenching. But the most heartbreaking part comes when, after the death of The Boss, Snake discovers that his mentor wasn’t a traitor but a true patriot who played the role of a traitor to serve her country secretly.
After learning this, Snake’s salute to The Boss’s grave will always be an unforgettably sad moment in gaming history.
7. That Dragon, Cancer
When the game already has Cancer in the name, you can’t expect a fun ending from it. So, from the very beginning, players must be prepared for a devastating ending. The most unfortunate part of experiencing this game is that That Dragon, Cancer is based on Amy and Ryan Green’s real-life struggles to raise their son Joel, who was diagnosed with terminal cancer at twelve months old.
The game will let you mingle with the happy and disheartening moments of the Green family, where you will see the kid growing up, playing with his parents and toys, etc. Throughout the storyline, you will face a roller-coaster ride of different emotions.
That Dragon, Cancer is an extremely traumatizing and depressing game that portrays the pain and struggle when a family member is going through a terminal disease. As you reach the end, you will likely shed a considerable amount of tears.
6. The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening
The Legend of Zelda has multiple successful installments, and a lot of them make players emotional. However, even among the dark entries, Link’s Awakening is the saddest one.
The story of the game centers around Link and his attempts to return to Hyrule while exploring Koholint Island. In this installment, the game abandons the good vs. evil fight and focuses on the quests of Link to reach his homeland.
As the story unfolds, players gradually get to know that waking the Wind Fish up will bring catastrophe to the inhabitants of the island, but Link is completely unmoved by the consequences and sticks to his plan. Eventually, the islanders, including some who were close to Link, are all washed away. The feeling of emptiness will almost instantly fill players with a burden before they realize it was all a dream.
5. Marvel’s Spider-Man
It goes without saying that Marvel’s Spider-Man has created a massive fanbase across the world. Gamers love the adventures of Spider-Man, but as a hardcore Spidey fan, you must be aware that the stories of Spider-Man are built through sorrows, sacrifices, and great losses.
In Marvel’s Spider-Man, most of the time, players love the gameplay and the storyline, but as the story approaches its ending, harsh reality becomes prominent, where Peter needs to sacrifice his only family, Aunt May, for the sake of humanity.
This decision is not only heartbreaking for Peter but also equally devastating for players. The final words of Aunt May, that she was aware of Peter being Spider-Man for a while already and is proud of him, will surely make players shed some tears.
4. Final Fantasy 10
While talking about the most tragic video game endings, it is hard to miss Final Fantasy 10. The story revolves around Tidus and Yuna. While Tidus was trying to find his way home after he was transported to Spira, Yuna was looking for the Final Aeon to defeat the malicious Sin that threatened her world.
Throughout the game, these two young leads try to achieve their respective goals together, but in the end, it is revealed that Tidus is the physical manifestation of a fayth’s soul, and him sacrificing himself is the only way to stop the rebirth cycle of Sin.
In the final scene when Yuna bids a tragic goodbye to Tidus as he is fading away, hardly any player can stay without having tears in their eyes.
3. Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons was a masterpiece by 505 Games released in 2013. The storyline of the game follows the journey of two brothers, Naiee and Naia, who set out on an adventure to find the cure for their father’s illness. Their mother is already dead, and the game reveals that at the very beginning. Therefore, their desperate attempts to get the cure for their father are easily understandable.
As the game approaches its ending, players will see that the father will be cured but at the expense of his elder son’s life. The final scene of the game shows the younger brother and the father standing in front of the elder brother’s tombstone with tears rolling down from their eyes.
2. Life Is Strange
Now that we are almost at the end of the list, Life Is Strange deserves a mention. The story follows the experiences of Max Caulfield after she encounters the death of her friend Chloe Price in her hometown, Arcadia Bay. This traumatic experience enables Max to use her superpower of rewinding time.
Max, this time, saves her friend, but while doing so, she brings doom to Arcadia Bay. Therefore, as players reach the end, they have to choose between saving Chloe or the town. No matter what Max chooses, heartbreak is inevitable.
1. The Walking Dead
The Walking Dead has one of the most tragic video game endings ever. The traumatic ending of this game will cast a long-lasting impact on players’ minds for sure. The episodic adventure game shows the emotional bonding between a criminal named Lee Everett and a young girl, Clementine.
Set in a post-apocalyptic world, Lee becomes a shield for Clementine, guiding her safely in the zombie-filled world. With every passing obstacle, the relationship between these two characters becomes stronger, like a father and daughter. But the ending they receive is heartbreaking.
At the end of the game, a zombie bites Lee, and as he starts transforming, he asks Clementine to kill him to prevent him from becoming a zombie. At that point, players can either kill him to save him from the pain of becoming a Walker or spare him. No matter what you choose, it’s pretty gut-wrenching.
For more Thumb Wars Gaming coverage, check out the games that you should try if you enjoyed STALKER 2, or take a look at some of the hardest bosses in gaming who will give you a tough time.
Antara is a gaming writer with three years of prior experience in gaming news and guide writing. Antara is an avid gamer who finds her passion, leading her to cover everything about games. She thrives on the challenge of transforming ideas into compelling narratives that captivate and inspire. You can mostly find her battling on the fields of Fortnite or COD. When not writing or playing games, she is mostly at the library, buried between the pages of a book.
