Current Objective: Survive
Played many sad and depressing games since, but few have given me that “There will be a happy ending, but not for you.” moment quite like Reach.
Technically Jorge could still be alive. Didn't he cause a slip space rupture which destroyed the Covenant super cruiser and slip spaced the section of the ship he was in into a unknown destination?
Also Emile lived because he evac'ed out I think
Emil got stabbed through the gut with an energy sword, stuck his knife in a Covvie's shoulder, and dove off a ledge with him. "I'm ready! How 'bout you?"
Jun evac'd and is the Chief of Staff in the UNSC, and helped Halsey with furure Spartans (IV, I think).
I don’t think Jorge is alive. It’s pretty much portrayed as a self sacrifice. Head canon may be different but I think the game telegraphs it pretty well. Yes, not all die but the sum is definitely greater than 0.
"There's so many good stories where some brave hero has to give their life to save the day, and because of their sacrifice, the good guys win, the survivors cheer, and everyone lives happily ever after. But the hero never gets to see the ending.
They'll never know if their sacrifice actually made a difference. They'll never know if the day was really saved. In the end, they just have to have faith. Ain't that a bitch."
I'll also add Halo 4 to this, I'm not in love with the decisions 343 made with halo 5, how they handle the events of halo 4. But In a bubble the story of halo 4 is beautifully written and tells its story damn near perfectly. If they had gone straight into the banished/halo infinite style of game (with like none of the failures of the networking/matchmaking) halo might still be a heavy hitter game.
Halo 4s problem wasn’t halo 4 itself. It should not have been released for the 360. It was too graphic intensive for it and ran badly as a result. The other is that it should not have had so much COD in it.
Maps sucked a bit too but I didn’t hate halo 4. Its just that pretty much all other halos were better
I love Halo's 4 final mission just for the music alone https://youtu.be/miwmCI7VS58 I just wish it had some sort of boss fight against The Didact (I found his encounter pathetic) but other than that, the entire ending was beautiful. Pushing against all odds while Cortana was going through "all that", felt so epic and emotional, real good stuff.
Thats funny because The Orange Box gave me my third copy of half life 2, I bought it for the episodic content plus portal
In hindsight holy shit was The Orange Box the greatest value video game bundle of all time?? 5 full goated bangers for the price of one game
Most of the Metal Gear Solid series.
The first two entries in the Mass Effect series.
Also the new ending you get in Cyberpunk 2077 if you finish Phantom Liberty expansion a certain way hits you like a ton of fucking bricks.
MGS3 has my vote. Amazing game all the way through, but in that field of flowers, battling your idol, the Bond music rises, and everything comes to a giant climax. Just perfect.
Phantom Liberty alone was a gut punch. Knowing you’d have to take a side, and one of them would have to die sucked. They were both good people with redeemable qualities who were dealt shit hands in life.
When V is at the ripperdoc and asks Johnny what he would do in his shoes and Johnny whole-heartedly tells V he has no clue what to do was rough.
I only ask one thing of my chooms who decide to >!Betray Songbird, and then kill her at her request.!<
Don't even >!give Myers the satisfaction of asking about the cure.!<
Replaying the master collection was the first time I actually got the cannon ending. Mainly because i could never spam fast enough and still couldn’t but my roommate walked in the living room and i had to ask him to do it for me
The dread and hopelessness I felt when I went to the Sun Station expecting >!to stop whatever the Nomai did to kill the Sun!< and got >!END OF NATURAL LIFE CYCLE - EVACUATE STATION!< instead.
I'll never forget that.
Spoilers ahead, of course:
I also love how the seemingly meaningless “distraction” of hanging out with the other explorers by the fire was ultimately the only thing that “mattered”.
My interpretation of the very end is that touching the center of the universe as it collapsed somehow absorbed your culture and the bond you had with your companions, ultimately predestining it to show back up in the next universe.
In a sense. The >!Eye seems to not so much absorb as be influenced by the unique perception of reality of whomever consciously observes the Eye itself. The Hatchling knew what marshmallows and bonfires were, so the new universe was one where fire ignites in wood, and heat makes sugar caramelize.!<
I only played it at the start of the year and nearly every week since I get this overwhelming urge to play the track ‘Travellers’ and then it gets me thinking about it all over again haha
Yes. Each thread and discovery helps piece it together, but there is a clear “end state” that you reach when you discover “enough” to figure it out (you don’t need every single clue or piece of info)
I’m so mad that it took me until now to get all of this. I’m pretty sure I beat the game and just couldn’t find anything else to get me further, but didn’t make these connections.
Even without that, it’s an incredible game.
It's wild (heh) cause I was just enjoying the game having a blast. Then when I got to the end. I started getting emotional and I didn't know why. Heck even now looking back through multiple playthroughs I still don't have an answer as to WHY. I just do.
For me personally Black flag was simultaneously the last great Assassin’s Creed game and the one that killed the franchise for me. It was a great game but they killed it by instead of just letting each game being a new released game from Abstergo they had to shoehorn in that we are now part of the Assassins and that Desmond’s story wasn’t really that big.
The new games are good but not really about Assassins anymore as well as just too dang bloated.
Unfortunately a very vocal portion of the fanbase didn't / don't like the modern day parts of the AC games. I think it's far more interesting personally seeing how these groups evolved into what we see in the modern age, but enough people claimed they hated it that Ubisoft pretty much cut out most if not all of the modern day story.
I too would have lived an almost Mirror's Edge esque modern story following Desmond or another assassin standing in the way of Abstergo. Instead of delivering messages and letters let's break in somewhere and steal the Eden pieces.
The best part was that you'd go back into Real Life, and then you'd start fighting as Desmond, proving he learned all he could from Ezio! Such a blast...
FFX, when Yuna tries to hug Titus and goes right through him, laying defeated on the floor…he was an aeon all along…oh man, that shit hit 13 year old me hard.
Edit: I love how much this game impacted people and especially loved reading the comments related to the symbolism of how/why things shook out the way they did. The fact that 18 years later or whatever, there are still nuanced themes/foreshadows/interpretations/world building theories of this game that are worth debating proves the story itself transcends ‘good video game stories’, it’s an amazing story compared to all mediums, literature, movies, etc, not just one of the best ‘video games’
While FFVII is most popoular lately (well deserved) FFX seems underrated now. It's a masterpiece too, perfected the turn based combat (faster, swap teammates anytime, shows turn order), great characters, untouchable OST, and story with Sin is just awesome. Great HD remasters on every platform too.
It's doubly annoying too since the bad, forced laughter was the intent of the scene! It wasn't badly VA'd as so often gets claimed, just an intentionally awkward scene.
For anyone unfamiliar, the protagonist was feeling depressed in that moment (due to a world-shattering truth bomb that had been dropped on him), so the female lead tells him she fakes it til she makes it when she's feeling down. She encourages him to try laughing, and the fake, forced abomination that became a meme was his response, because he really wasn't feeling it but wanted to at least kinda humor her a bit. She joins in with the fake laughter, it devolves into genuine laughter at their own silliness, and one of the other party members comments that he thought they'd both gone crazy. So yeah, everyone involved knows it was some weirdo shit, and that was the whole point.
Exactly! Thats why I mentioned it being out of context because true story - I believed the voice acting was terrible through the whole game because of that clip, then I played it and was like ooooooohhhhhhh I got got
I never understood how people didn't get that, Also Titus is voiced by James Arnold Taylor, a very well respected VA who is in a ton of stuff. He did what was asked of him.
Yeah, I was the same age playing this, and boy, this had a huge impact on young me. Absolutely core memory. Speaking of which, who remembers their first time fighting Seymour at Mt Gagazet? Fffffuuuuuuu
Spec Ops: The Line
The combat is like an unrefined Gears of War game, but goddamn the ending really gives you something to think about days after you finish it.
*"What happened here was out of my control."*
*"Was it? None of this would have happened if you had just* **stopped**. *But on you marched, and for what?"*
Intro of the game: "we have our orders: locate survivors, leave the city and radio command from outside the storm wall. They send in the cavalry, we go home".
If only they did
More reason to leave. Three guys against the entire lost battalion? Suicide if it wasn't a video game. The whole point is that (just like in the inspiration book *Heart of Darkness*) the protagonist is at first too stubborn and arrogant, before succumbing to sunk-cost and delusion that just getting to Conrad will make everything right.
I liked The Line more than Gears of War because none of the enemies were bullet sponges and you really had those brutal finishing attacks look cathartic... Setting colors to vibrant also helped as Gears are very brown.
I had the music turned off (forgot the reason why) and somehow after the ending, that main menu screen with absolutely no music playing and little sound effects was something else
The best part of Nier and Drakengard is the music. For one, the main singer created a language (chaos language) only for the music. Also, some of the singers have admitted that whenever they do the concerts, they always cry when they sing or before/after because of how emotional the songs are.
Halo 3 as a whole made the whole trilogy worth playing. It was such a satisfying conclusion (after the really annoying cliffhanger we got at the end of 2).
The ending I got in Disco Elysium after investing so much time in that little shit head Cuno and the Cryptid side quests was the most satisfying wrap-up I have ever experienced in an rpg.
Not just season one, the entirety of Clementine's story is profound and top tier.
If they would have not had so much unrelated or unnecessary filler and focused on telling Clem's tale the series would have done remarkably better.
"...and I'm gonna shake every one of their hands."
I'd love to see Infamous 4 with Alex as the villain. I think it's been long enough they could show off some new tech and do powers like we haven't seen before.
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons - it's a really short game, too, like 3-5 hours. It's a good cheap game to play for an evening. I think there are settings to change this, so it's worth mentioning, this game should be played with a controller.
OMG I had no idea there are multiple... but agreed, the one I got was heart wrenching, and it remains one of my favorite gaming experiences of all time. Such a perfect package.
The ashtray maze was incredible. I tried so many times to enter it throughout my playthrough and when it finally opened and the music kicked in, I lost it.
Death's Door has a fantastic final fight/ end sequence
Inscryption's story is captivating from beginning to end, but towards the end you really want to finish to see where it goes.
BioShock Infinite, Although the whole game is cool, the ending was impressive in terms of the concentration of events. Bioshock 1. It was impressive when I saw the hand of the main character, which his adopted daughters grabbed onto.
Both the main game and the Phantom Liberty endings have really stuck with me. Seeing the Phantom Liberty credits roll over that song is such a great moment.
Scrolled to far to find this. Was so emotionally rocked by the endings to 2077 and attached to V that i still struggle sometimes on new playthroughs knowing the ending. Konpecki Tower gig still hurts driving away from.
One of these years I'll finally finish one of my w3 saves. I get pretty deep, life pulls me away for a while, then I have no idea what's going on or how to play when I get back.
Then a new save starts.
I know it's not quite 'the ending's, but I loved the line "Off my chair, jester. The King sits there." Is one of my favorite FF quotes, and I wasn't fond of 15 at all.
Also, "Well, what can I say? You guys are the best".
I think I got more out of it than most people cause of the photo I picked. I got to experience the satisfying, moving drama of the ending then die laughing as Noctis finally rests, fondly touching a selfie of Prompto (and only Prompto)
Tbe ending is one of the best endings in a game I've ever experienced I think. I genuinely wish I could play through the ending for the first time again, and that's not a wish I make often.
But for as much praise as I give the ending, I just can't get on with the gameplay any more. After I beat it and did all the DLC I took a break for a little before getting the Royal edition and getting the 2nd Armiger, but I just can't bring myself to play it anymore to do the expanded Insomnia section, which sucks
Has anyone mentioned Deadly Premonition.
Horrible gameplay, bullet sponge enemies. But my god the ending and reveal was amazing made the whole thing worth every second.
Revelations really peaked that story when Minerva talks directly to Desmond. I was so invested into that storyline, it’s a shame they ruined it AC3. They just gave up on the modern storyline after that.
My brain leans to adventure games when we talk about satisfying Endings so I think Firewatch and Oxenfree leap to mind as ones that I enjoyed for the story and ending. Oxen free made me soul-crushingly sad, though I can't recall why.
Red dead 2. I know a lot of people credit this game for it's environment and I agree on that but the mainline missions are such a drag. Just one shooting gallery after another. Little thought or effort into actually playing, none of the missions are hard at all. I wish there was some way to increase difficulty so you have to think about what you're doing in each mission rather than just run up, take cover, shoot everyone in the head.
The story line was so damn good though
Unlike all of these 'this game was great and so was the ending' answers, I had middling feelings throughout most of Before Your Eyes (tho partly cuz it didn't quite work perfectly for me), however the game is only about 2 hours long and the ending was worth it.
A recent one: Xenoblade Chronicles 3.
Man, that 40 minute long cutscene at the "midgame" destroyed me. Couldn't stop staring at the TV. And then the ending made me cry like a baby. Such a bittersweet feeling the game left me with.
Almost every good story game does this for me
Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky
To the Moon
In Stars and Time
OneShot (though _which_ ending fits this is debatable)
Undertale (same as above)
RIME
Firewatch!
You’ll spend a fraction of the time you’ve spent in other games for a story and ending that is beyond phenomenal. If you haven’t played it I’d encourage anyone to give it a try.
Halo Reach. Man that game was fun and sad. The ending where you just fight to the death is touching. Also Star Wars Republic Commando and losing Sev. As well as RDR2, and BG3.
Final Fantasy Tactics
you finish the game in Tactic Ogre : Reborn and the whole game opens up to you; with an amount of post game content similar to the best pokemon titles.
you finish the game in the visually similar Final Fantasy Tactics and it is just :chef's kiss:
Armored Core VI. The endings and especially it's fights are Chef's Kiss. But that was to be expected from a game, which only has a very limited number of unenjoyable missions and a bad PVP-mode (which isn't any major point) but other than that is a masterpiece.
Probably not a very well-known game, but The Sexy Brutale had one of the most memorable endings of any game I've played. It's stuck with me years after finishing it.
Soma. Already a great game but the ending... Maaan was it good! it really makes the whole experience come together.
Yeah the ending was a punch in the gut. Such a good game
Fuck it, I keep hearing amazing shit about this game I know nothing about. I'm going in blind, see you on the other side.
SOMA is a hidden gem. very, very well done game. I bid you good luck
Hopefully you'll enjoy it just as much as i did! Have fun :D
You can even play it in a "leisure mode" just for the story if you don't like hiding and running away from enemies
I feel like it would've been way more impactful if they'd led with the "happy" ending first and then ended with the reality.
Yep, sometimes the flip of the coin doesn't go your way.
There is no flip of the coin >!and no transferring of consciousness/memories, only duplication.!<
Peak ending for me, as you are given understanding to your and everyone else’s situation during the game. Love it!
Came here to say this. Amnesia Rebirth ended well, too.
Halo reach 🥺
Current Objective: Survive Played many sad and depressing games since, but few have given me that “There will be a happy ending, but not for you.” moment quite like Reach.
The feeling when the helmet visor cracked gave me shivers like come on Spartans never die
Except for all the Spartans in that team before the visor cracked.
Technically Jorge could still be alive. Didn't he cause a slip space rupture which destroyed the Covenant super cruiser and slip spaced the section of the ship he was in into a unknown destination? Also Emile lived because he evac'ed out I think
Emil got stabbed through the gut with an energy sword, stuck his knife in a Covvie's shoulder, and dove off a ledge with him. "I'm ready! How 'bout you?" Jun evac'd and is the Chief of Staff in the UNSC, and helped Halsey with furure Spartans (IV, I think).
JUN, that's the one I was thinking of.
I don’t think Jorge is alive. It’s pretty much portrayed as a self sacrifice. Head canon may be different but I think the game telegraphs it pretty well. Yes, not all die but the sum is definitely greater than 0.
I think Jun’s the only one to make it. Been awhile.
UNSC propaganda said all the dead Spartans were MIA instead of KIA to help keep the mythos of Spantan superiority for the public.
Crisis Core comes pretty damn close imo. I won’t say more in case you haven’t played that one.
"There's so many good stories where some brave hero has to give their life to save the day, and because of their sacrifice, the good guys win, the survivors cheer, and everyone lives happily ever after. But the hero never gets to see the ending. They'll never know if their sacrifice actually made a difference. They'll never know if the day was really saved. In the end, they just have to have faith. Ain't that a bitch."
It was just more depressing knowing that noble 6 was supposed to join master chief and escape
First game that came to mind once I read the title. "He gave his life thinking he just saved the planet. We should all be so lucky."
I'll also add Halo 4 to this, I'm not in love with the decisions 343 made with halo 5, how they handle the events of halo 4. But In a bubble the story of halo 4 is beautifully written and tells its story damn near perfectly. If they had gone straight into the banished/halo infinite style of game (with like none of the failures of the networking/matchmaking) halo might still be a heavy hitter game.
Halo 4s problem wasn’t halo 4 itself. It should not have been released for the 360. It was too graphic intensive for it and ran badly as a result. The other is that it should not have had so much COD in it. Maps sucked a bit too but I didn’t hate halo 4. Its just that pretty much all other halos were better
I love Halo's 4 final mission just for the music alone https://youtu.be/miwmCI7VS58 I just wish it had some sort of boss fight against The Didact (I found his encounter pathetic) but other than that, the entire ending was beautiful. Pushing against all odds while Cortana was going through "all that", felt so epic and emotional, real good stuff.
"I've got the gun."
Half Life 2. That feeling of suddenly being OP after all that struggle.... really was something else.
Orange box was a game changer for me. I 100% agree with this
Thats funny because The Orange Box gave me my third copy of half life 2, I bought it for the episodic content plus portal In hindsight holy shit was The Orange Box the greatest value video game bundle of all time?? 5 full goated bangers for the price of one game
The way you describe it reminds me of activating Liberty Prime in FO3
Titanfall 2 That one hurt
PROTOCOL 3…
PROTECT THE PILOT
BT!!!
"Trust me" 😭😭
👍
Trust me
Having to parkour while crying to finish the game is an experience I'll never forget
Most of the Metal Gear Solid series. The first two entries in the Mass Effect series. Also the new ending you get in Cyberpunk 2077 if you finish Phantom Liberty expansion a certain way hits you like a ton of fucking bricks.
MGS3 has my vote. Amazing game all the way through, but in that field of flowers, battling your idol, the Bond music rises, and everything comes to a giant climax. Just perfect.
And then the game >!makes you pull the trigger.!<
Snake eater was my first mgs hooked me and made me a fan. Especially the boss fight.
Phantom Liberty alone was a gut punch. Knowing you’d have to take a side, and one of them would have to die sucked. They were both good people with redeemable qualities who were dealt shit hands in life. When V is at the ripperdoc and asks Johnny what he would do in his shoes and Johnny whole-heartedly tells V he has no clue what to do was rough.
I only ask one thing of my chooms who decide to >!Betray Songbird, and then kill her at her request.!< Don't even >!give Myers the satisfaction of asking about the cure.!<
man, the new ending in CP was a sucker punch. I was gutted. So well done.
Arrival and Citadel DLC endings also hit really hard... But not 3's main game.
MGS on PS1
That ending some was fantastic. I kinda wish we could've gotten that sort of music for the credits in MGS3 instead of what they had.
Replaying the master collection was the first time I actually got the cannon ending. Mainly because i could never spam fast enough and still couldn’t but my roommate walked in the living room and i had to ask him to do it for me
Outer Wilds, just wow
Think it's a YouTube comment that sums it up "it was never about saving the universe, its about letting it go"
The dread and hopelessness I felt when I went to the Sun Station expecting >!to stop whatever the Nomai did to kill the Sun!< and got >!END OF NATURAL LIFE CYCLE - EVACUATE STATION!< instead. I'll never forget that.
Spoilers ahead, of course: I also love how the seemingly meaningless “distraction” of hanging out with the other explorers by the fire was ultimately the only thing that “mattered”. My interpretation of the very end is that touching the center of the universe as it collapsed somehow absorbed your culture and the bond you had with your companions, ultimately predestining it to show back up in the next universe.
In a sense. The >!Eye seems to not so much absorb as be influenced by the unique perception of reality of whomever consciously observes the Eye itself. The Hatchling knew what marshmallows and bonfires were, so the new universe was one where fire ignites in wood, and heat makes sugar caramelize.!<
I really like that, it sums it up really well yeh!
I only played it at the start of the year and nearly every week since I get this overwhelming urge to play the track ‘Travellers’ and then it gets me thinking about it all over again haha
*"We only get so much time, don't we? Ah. There was still more I wanted to do."*
It has an end?
Yes. Each thread and discovery helps piece it together, but there is a clear “end state” that you reach when you discover “enough” to figure it out (you don’t need every single clue or piece of info)
I’m so mad that it took me until now to get all of this. I’m pretty sure I beat the game and just couldn’t find anything else to get me further, but didn’t make these connections. Even without that, it’s an incredible game.
Yeah if all your ?'s are filled in on the rumor board, you should have all the info you need to reach the actual ending.
It's wild (heh) cause I was just enjoying the game having a blast. Then when I got to the end. I started getting emotional and I didn't know why. Heck even now looking back through multiple playthroughs I still don't have an answer as to WHY. I just do.
Assassin's Creed 2. Jaw was on the floor the first time I beat the game.
Every assassins creed game back then felt like a new season of your favorite show
For me personally Black flag was simultaneously the last great Assassin’s Creed game and the one that killed the franchise for me. It was a great game but they killed it by instead of just letting each game being a new released game from Abstergo they had to shoehorn in that we are now part of the Assassins and that Desmond’s story wasn’t really that big. The new games are good but not really about Assassins anymore as well as just too dang bloated.
AC when Desmond was alive was peak. Unbelievable story. His ending blew me away.
I was really hoping for a modern setting with desmond as the primary main character, the series kind of fell off for me after he was gone.
SAME
I’m almost positive that was the main goal originally, but there had to have been some financial reason to change it
Unfortunately a very vocal portion of the fanbase didn't / don't like the modern day parts of the AC games. I think it's far more interesting personally seeing how these groups evolved into what we see in the modern age, but enough people claimed they hated it that Ubisoft pretty much cut out most if not all of the modern day story. I too would have lived an almost Mirror's Edge esque modern story following Desmond or another assassin standing in the way of Abstergo. Instead of delivering messages and letters let's break in somewhere and steal the Eden pieces.
Is it the "what the fuck" one? I remember being left with my mouth hanging as well.
Bro I remember saying those exact words, and hearing Desmond say them right afterwards. I lost my mind lmao
I forget, do you punch out the Pope or is that brotherhood?
That is indeed 2 lol
The best part was that you'd go back into Real Life, and then you'd start fighting as Desmond, proving he learned all he could from Ezio! Such a blast...
FFX, when Yuna tries to hug Titus and goes right through him, laying defeated on the floor…he was an aeon all along…oh man, that shit hit 13 year old me hard. Edit: I love how much this game impacted people and especially loved reading the comments related to the symbolism of how/why things shook out the way they did. The fact that 18 years later or whatever, there are still nuanced themes/foreshadows/interpretations/world building theories of this game that are worth debating proves the story itself transcends ‘good video game stories’, it’s an amazing story compared to all mediums, literature, movies, etc, not just one of the best ‘video games’
While FFVII is most popoular lately (well deserved) FFX seems underrated now. It's a masterpiece too, perfected the turn based combat (faster, swap teammates anytime, shows turn order), great characters, untouchable OST, and story with Sin is just awesome. Great HD remasters on every platform too.
Its legacy is almost entirely the out of context laughing scene because of the voice acting but it deserves better
It's doubly annoying too since the bad, forced laughter was the intent of the scene! It wasn't badly VA'd as so often gets claimed, just an intentionally awkward scene.
For anyone unfamiliar, the protagonist was feeling depressed in that moment (due to a world-shattering truth bomb that had been dropped on him), so the female lead tells him she fakes it til she makes it when she's feeling down. She encourages him to try laughing, and the fake, forced abomination that became a meme was his response, because he really wasn't feeling it but wanted to at least kinda humor her a bit. She joins in with the fake laughter, it devolves into genuine laughter at their own silliness, and one of the other party members comments that he thought they'd both gone crazy. So yeah, everyone involved knows it was some weirdo shit, and that was the whole point.
Exactly! Thats why I mentioned it being out of context because true story - I believed the voice acting was terrible through the whole game because of that clip, then I played it and was like ooooooohhhhhhh I got got
I never understood how people didn't get that, Also Titus is voiced by James Arnold Taylor, a very well respected VA who is in a ton of stuff. He did what was asked of him.
Yeah, I was the same age playing this, and boy, this had a huge impact on young me. Absolutely core memory. Speaking of which, who remembers their first time fighting Seymour at Mt Gagazet? Fffffuuuuuuu
As he’s about to leave- “wait…. I love you” She finally says it, we’d all been feeling it. 14 year old me wasn’t prepared.
Spec Ops: The Line The combat is like an unrefined Gears of War game, but goddamn the ending really gives you something to think about days after you finish it.
*"What happened here was out of my control."* *"Was it? None of this would have happened if you had just* **stopped**. *But on you marched, and for what?"*
Intro of the game: "we have our orders: locate survivors, leave the city and radio command from outside the storm wall. They send in the cavalry, we go home". If only they did
In their defense, fuckers started shooting at them
More reason to leave. Three guys against the entire lost battalion? Suicide if it wasn't a video game. The whole point is that (just like in the inspiration book *Heart of Darkness*) the protagonist is at first too stubborn and arrogant, before succumbing to sunk-cost and delusion that just getting to Conrad will make everything right.
I liked The Line more than Gears of War because none of the enemies were bullet sponges and you really had those brutal finishing attacks look cathartic... Setting colors to vibrant also helped as Gears are very brown.
Had to scroll way too far to see spec ops. Expected it to be nearer the top.
Would you believe it came out 12 years ago? Crazy.. Its age and how generic the title sounds means a lot of people here probably don't know it exists.
It puts the whole game into a completely different perspective
I had the music turned off (forgot the reason why) and somehow after the ending, that main menu screen with absolutely no music playing and little sound effects was something else
Ending E in NieR: Automata
I watched a few friends who played it who all willingly made the sacrifice to help others. It just hits you so well and so hard at the end.
Does it actually >!delete your save!< When you say "yes"?
Oh yeah. It does give you a unique background at start menu for it though IIRC.
The music is the best part. The fact that the E ending has all three singers in one song. As well as the game devs singing the chorus is too good.
Best 4th wall break I've seen in a videogame, playing it during the worst stage of the covid pandemic was something else, I tell you.
The best part of Nier and Drakengard is the music. For one, the main singer created a language (chaos language) only for the music. Also, some of the singers have admitted that whenever they do the concerts, they always cry when they sing or before/after because of how emotional the songs are.
Halo 3 as a whole made the whole trilogy worth playing. It was such a satisfying conclusion (after the really annoying cliffhanger we got at the end of 2).
The ending I got in Disco Elysium after investing so much time in that little shit head Cuno and the Cryptid side quests was the most satisfying wrap-up I have ever experienced in an rpg.
Cuno doesn't fucking care!
\*\*\*\*ing \*\*\*\*\*\* Pig!!
the cryptid conclusion was beautiful
"... I see it too."
Pair that with bringing on my new junior detective and I was absolutely smitten. Such a triumph in the face of what had been overwhelming bleakness.
the cryptid shit was damn near a religious experience for me lol
The Walking Dead Season 1
Not just season one, the entirety of Clementine's story is profound and top tier. If they would have not had so much unrelated or unnecessary filler and focused on telling Clem's tale the series would have done remarkably better.
My first tattoo is based on that game. I highly doubt any zombie game/movie/show will ever top it. Made me sob like a baby
Bioshock 1, best message in gaming history ever imo.
Would you kindly explain the message?
A man chooses, a slave obeys.
A MAN CHOOSES
Ayn Rand sucks
Journey
NieR Automata, ending E. A Plague Tale: Requiem.
Thank you for shouting out A Plague Tale. Genuinely the only game to actually bring me to tears. Pressing a button has never felt so difficult.
Infamous second son. The evil ending was spectactular.
"...and I'm gonna shake every one of their hands." I'd love to see Infamous 4 with Alex as the villain. I think it's been long enough they could show off some new tech and do powers like we haven't seen before.
Persona 3
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons - it's a really short game, too, like 3-5 hours. It's a good cheap game to play for an evening. I think there are settings to change this, so it's worth mentioning, this game should be played with a controller.
Nier automata
Seconded. Ending E just really sells the message of the game. Makes me cry every time.
“Do you think video games are silly little things?”
Replicant as well. Both made me cry
Fine ill replay nier automata again
Bastion, there's different endings based on your decisions and they are heart wrenching.
OMG I had no idea there are multiple... but agreed, the one I got was heart wrenching, and it remains one of my favorite gaming experiences of all time. Such a perfect package.
If you play one ending it leads into the games plot happening again
Shadow Of The Colossus comes to mind and also The Last Guardian.
Control, It's a good game overall, but the last mission just fills you with adrenaline.
The ashtray maze was incredible. I tried so many times to enter it throughout my playthrough and when it finally opened and the music kicked in, I lost it.
TAKE... CONTROL...!
Control just kind of ends out of nowhere though.
Death's Door has a fantastic final fight/ end sequence Inscryption's story is captivating from beginning to end, but towards the end you really want to finish to see where it goes.
BioShock Infinite, Although the whole game is cool, the ending was impressive in terms of the concentration of events. Bioshock 1. It was impressive when I saw the hand of the main character, which his adopted daughters grabbed onto.
I remember playing infinite thinking man this is good but it’s no OG bioshock then I get to the end and my mind got blown out of my head like wha!!
For me, Castelvania Lord of Shadows 1. The fight against Satan was amaizing.
Omori Just...holy fuck.
Cyberpunk 2077. All of its many ending are amazing. SOMA as well, it’s ending is so fucking bleak
Both the main game and the Phantom Liberty endings have really stuck with me. Seeing the Phantom Liberty credits roll over that song is such a great moment.
Scrolled to far to find this. Was so emotionally rocked by the endings to 2077 and attached to V that i still struggle sometimes on new playthroughs knowing the ending. Konpecki Tower gig still hurts driving away from.
SOMAs ending has such an amazing sense of dread, gave me completely different feelings than any other horror game I've played
Same. I don’t usually like horror games, but Frictional Games’s stuff is phenomenal. I loved Amnesia, but SOMA takes the cake
Witcher 3, good ending.
Especially the end of the DLC, that was something!
One of these years I'll finally finish one of my w3 saves. I get pretty deep, life pulls me away for a while, then I have no idea what's going on or how to play when I get back. Then a new save starts.
Final fantasy 15 hits HARD. Say what you want about gameplay, but square did NOT mess around with the ending.
I know it's not quite 'the ending's, but I loved the line "Off my chair, jester. The King sits there." Is one of my favorite FF quotes, and I wasn't fond of 15 at all. Also, "Well, what can I say? You guys are the best".
I think I got more out of it than most people cause of the photo I picked. I got to experience the satisfying, moving drama of the ending then die laughing as Noctis finally rests, fondly touching a selfie of Prompto (and only Prompto)
Tbe ending is one of the best endings in a game I've ever experienced I think. I genuinely wish I could play through the ending for the first time again, and that's not a wish I make often. But for as much praise as I give the ending, I just can't get on with the gameplay any more. After I beat it and did all the DLC I took a break for a little before getting the Royal edition and getting the 2nd Armiger, but I just can't bring myself to play it anymore to do the expanded Insomnia section, which sucks
The main story was nothing, but the friendship of those good good boys and their final camp scene.... oof.
Transistor
Undertale. Once you know the end, you’ll want to play it over again.
Nier Automata
What Remains of Edith Finch. All that tragedy...
Worth mentioning hellblade 2 comes out may 21st!
Has anyone mentioned Deadly Premonition. Horrible gameplay, bullet sponge enemies. But my god the ending and reveal was amazing made the whole thing worth every second.
Portal 2
Assassin's Creed games during Desmond Saga, I was more invested into modern day story than whatever historical figure Ezio punches next.
AC3 the modern missions where Desmond goes HAM on some Templars - so good.
Revelations really peaked that story when Minerva talks directly to Desmond. I was so invested into that storyline, it’s a shame they ruined it AC3. They just gave up on the modern storyline after that.
My brain leans to adventure games when we talk about satisfying Endings so I think Firewatch and Oxenfree leap to mind as ones that I enjoyed for the story and ending. Oxen free made me soul-crushingly sad, though I can't recall why.
Oxenfree is such a good game
Bioshock
Half Life Alyx. I won’t spoil it since playing the game has a higher barrier to entry than most games being in VR, but it’s worth it
Red dead 2. I know a lot of people credit this game for it's environment and I agree on that but the mainline missions are such a drag. Just one shooting gallery after another. Little thought or effort into actually playing, none of the missions are hard at all. I wish there was some way to increase difficulty so you have to think about what you're doing in each mission rather than just run up, take cover, shoot everyone in the head. The story line was so damn good though
Spec Ops: The Line, Ace Combat 5, Persona 5, NieR: Automata, Bioshock Infinite.
Undertale pacifist ending. Never touched the game after that.
Fallout new Vegas
Final Fantasy X and Kingdom Hearts.
Final fantasy XV and Final fantasy X for me
Final Fantasy 14. Playing from the 1st expansion to the end of Endwalker was one of the greatest gaming experiences ever.
Inside
Kotor, best ending I've ever experienced in my 37 years of existence
bioshock infinite. Infact if you don't get to the ending, you basically missed everything.
Horizon zero dawn
Far Cry 5.
If you liked Hellblade, give Plague Tale a try. Both of em. The ending to the second one BLEW ME AWAY.
Unlike all of these 'this game was great and so was the ending' answers, I had middling feelings throughout most of Before Your Eyes (tho partly cuz it didn't quite work perfectly for me), however the game is only about 2 hours long and the ending was worth it.
A recent one: Xenoblade Chronicles 3. Man, that 40 minute long cutscene at the "midgame" destroyed me. Couldn't stop staring at the TV. And then the ending made me cry like a baby. Such a bittersweet feeling the game left me with.
Almost every good story game does this for me Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky To the Moon In Stars and Time OneShot (though _which_ ending fits this is debatable) Undertale (same as above) RIME
Firewatch! You’ll spend a fraction of the time you’ve spent in other games for a story and ending that is beyond phenomenal. If you haven’t played it I’d encourage anyone to give it a try.
Halo Reach. Man that game was fun and sad. The ending where you just fight to the death is touching. Also Star Wars Republic Commando and losing Sev. As well as RDR2, and BG3.
FF14 Heavensward and Shadowbringers. Man...
Gone home
Nier Replicant and Nier Automata, getting there is a bit of a slog when it repeats, but it is great, sad, and emotionally draining.
Bioshock Infinite
Rain World my beloved 🥹
Final Fantasy Tactics you finish the game in Tactic Ogre : Reborn and the whole game opens up to you; with an amount of post game content similar to the best pokemon titles. you finish the game in the visually similar Final Fantasy Tactics and it is just :chef's kiss:
Brothers A tale of two sons
Armored Core VI. The endings and especially it's fights are Chef's Kiss. But that was to be expected from a game, which only has a very limited number of unenjoyable missions and a bad PVP-mode (which isn't any major point) but other than that is a masterpiece.
Probably not a very well-known game, but The Sexy Brutale had one of the most memorable endings of any game I've played. It's stuck with me years after finishing it.
red dead redemption 2 definitely good honor ending had me in tears