10 Saddest Video Game Endings of All Time

Games can make you cry, not just during your playthrough but toward the end, too. The idea is to leave a lasting impression in your heart and mind. And while a happy ending can do the job just fine, sometimes developers choose to go with a heartbreaking ending just because they can. Seriously, though, it’s a work of art to come up with ways that can make grown folks shed a tear or two. And these saddest video game endings of all time are the top story arcs to get the job done. 

10. BioShock Infinite

BioShock Infinite hits many birds with one stone with their dark, twisted ending. Players don’t see any of it coming, as one shocking revelation comes to light after another. It turns out hero Booker DeWitt is the same person as villain Zachary Hale Comstock, thanks to parallel dimensions. Comstock is also unveiled as Elizabeth’s father, who must drown him across all the dimensions to stop her own torment.

9. Marvel’s Spider-Man

Heroes often have to make sacrifices for the greater good, and Peter Parker is no different in Marvel’s Spider-Man. As always, the city is in trouble, this time thanks to a deadly toxin that has been unleashed on New York. Peter Parker acquires the antidote, but he has to choose between saving the city or his Aunt May, who has also been infected and is dying. Peter decides to save the city but has the chance to say goodbye to his aunt, who tells him she’d known he was Spiderman for a while. 

8. Red Dead Redemption II

When you spend as much time as you do with Arthur Morgan, the primary protagonist of Red Dead Redemption II, you begin to care about him. So much so that when the game reveals that he will soon die from tuberculosis, it shatters your heart. To put salt to injury, you have the freedom to explore multiple endings. But all of them lead to the same fate. Arthur is either stabbed to death, betrayed by his loved ones or sacrifices himself to save John Marston and his family, all tragic ends.

7. Halo: Reach

Halo: Reach makes you aware off the bat of the hopeless campaign it’s about to tag you along on. You join the Noble Team, surviving an alien invasion. As you spend time bonding with the characters, you also break a little when they begin to die one by one. Eventually, the gut-wrenching tale builds up to the climax of the death of the last Spartan left standing (you).

6. Life is Strange

Some choices are simply too tough to decide, and Life is Strange is perhaps the best game to thrive on tough choices. As Max Caulfield, you must choose between saving your childhood friend Chloe Price or your hometown, Arcadia Bay. It seems simple, perhaps, but the game lets you witness Chloe’s death first. Then, time rewinds to allow you to save Chloe. But as you save Chloe, over and over again, it destroys Arcadia Bay. So, finally, you can either choose to save Chloe or your hometown.

5. Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons

Throughout your playthrough in Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, you follow two brothers on their way to save their sick father. They bond on the journey, both onscreen and in co-op, with two players controlling either character. You face hardship and encounter hostile enemies. Along the way, you meet a young girl who helps you on the brothers’ journey. But in the end, the young girl turns into a gigantic spider that attacks the brothers. The elder brother, Naia, is killed, devasting the younger brother, Naiee. He mourns his elder brother, but at least he manages to save his father and mourn Naia together. 

4. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater

CIA Agent Naked Snake has to kill his mentor and boss, whom he thinks turned to the enemy’s side. But it turns out that she was a double agent loyal to the cause through to the end. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater holds that fact till the ending when a flower blooms where The Boss died. In the final scene, Naked Snake salutes his mentor, a true patriot who died for the cause.

3. Ghost of Tsushima

Ghost of Tsushima also crafts a similar ending to Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. It pits the samurai Jin Sakai against his uncle and guardian, Lord Shimura. The Shogun asked Lord Shimura to kill his nephew, who had become a liability, forcing Jin and Shimura to fight against their will. When Jin wins the duel, you’re forced to make the impossible choice between taking your mentor’s life or sparing him, keeping in mind that the samurai code dictates that you choose the former. What’s worse? It doesn’t matter what you decide because the Shogun will hate your guts either way. 

2. The Last of Us: Part II

The Last of Us: Part II continues the themes of loss and grief from its predecessor. After Joel’s death, Ellie decides to embark on a path of vengeance. But she loses loved ones in the process. When she runs into Joel’s killer, Abby, everything she has lost up to that point seems too huge in comparison. In the end, she tries to strum a guitar to honor Joel’s memory but is unable to.

1. Telltale’s The Walking Dead: Season One

Telltale’s The Walking Dead: Season One hit the jackpot as far as gut-wrenching endings are concerned. As an eight-year-old child, you’re faced with the tough call of shooting your own father to prevent him from turning into a zombie. In addition to witnessing the death of your father, you now have to survive the apocalypse all on your own. 

So, what’s your take? Do you agree with our saddest video game endings of all time? Are there more sad video game endings we should know about? Let us know over on our socials here.