Sometimes, the things we love can end up hurting us. That’s something to keep in mind, even when playing video games. As you continue to invest time and energy into your games, every single plot twist or death will start to affect you. We hope that if it affects you too much, you would go out and take a breather to realize it’s not real.
The following video game endings caught us off-guard and left us with a broken heart (insert sad gamer noises). There will be spoilers so if you have yet to play these games, you’ve been warned!
Final Fantasy Vii: Aerith’s Death
The bubbly girl accompanying Cloud through his journey getting coldly impaled by Sephiroth’s sword is jarring and scarring, to say the least. Knowing that this was probably the first significant video game character death that most gamers have experienced makes it so much sadder.
It wasn’t anything that we could foresee either. She looked up to smile at Cloud and was impaled! That’s just… grim. Not to mention that some of us had imagined them coupled together in the future, but I suppose that dream died along with her.
Life Is Strange: Losing Chloe
There’s a number of heart-wrenching moments in Life is Strange, but perhaps ending it on a ‘sacrifice someone or the world will end’ moment takes the cake. Having to lose Chloe in order for the world to be saved after messing with the space-time continuum hurts on another level, especially after all the bonding and things you’ve gone through together.
What’s worse? You might dare to ask? Well, when you choose to sacrifice her you are brought back to a time where Chloe meets Nathan and gets brutally murdered. Saving the world truly comes at a disgustingly terrible price.
Undertale: True Pacifist
Playing as a true pacifist in Undertale can be rewarding, but then there are moments like having to fight Flowey aka Asriel at the end that hurts like getting punched in the gut repeatedly. Not only is the boss fight incredibly taxing and stressful, the emotional toll as you are forced to confront the soul of Asriel who is hurt from being betrayed by humans is a different level of hurt.
The worst part? Asriel can’t be saved like the other monsters in the run. He’s dead, but he can’t move on. So the essence of his soul is essentially stuck in a flower. Terrible luck, if you ask me. All he wanted was to save his dying human friend, but he was killed instead and now he can’t even have revenge.
To the Moon: John Flatlines
For a depressing and mysterious game, it shouldn’t come as a surprise when the main character dies. But we dared to hope, that a happy ending was possible and all could be right with the world. News flash, sometimes life doesn’t work that way.
At the end, when you start hearing a beep… You realize that the entire game and what you have just gone through was John’s memories, and everything was just a simulation. John flatlines and dies (and so does a little part of our hearts).
Shadow of the Colossus: Absolute Betrayal
This one hurt because we got betrayed. Thinking of it now, it still hurts. Playing through the game you wouldn’t suspect it at all, and for most people when they’ve completed the game; this was the ending that you didn’t see coming and you feel helpless when it happens.
Basically, the whole time you thought you were on the good side but it was revealed you’re on the bad side. The game itself is pretty odd and abstract in terms of storyline, but that doesn’t stop you from feeling like an absolute dirtbag when you find out you’ve been killing innocents and unleashing an evil entity to the world.
Halo 4: Cortana’s Sacrifice
If you’re a Halo fan and have been playing since the beginning, then this one brings back a lot of hurt. Heck, even Master Chief was trying hard to retain his composure when Cortana sacrifices herself to save him. The strain and desperation in his voice are all it takes for us to understand how much all of this hurts him.
Cortana has been a constant guide and companion throughout the series, so it felt like we were losing an integral friend of our own as well.
The Last of Us: Joel’s Rampage
In a post-apocalyptic situation, once you’ve bonded with someone you don’t let them go easily. It’s painful when you think of Joel’s situation, as he’s lost a daughter and now he’s met this younger girl that seems to be the key to curing the plague, but the catch is she has to die. So, clearly, that’s not happening (thank God, or else it would’ve been a different kind of sad).
Anyways, he rampages out of the place with an unconscious Ellie and lies to her about there being more people like her. But sadly, you can see in her eyes that she knows.
Ori and the Blind Forest: A Lonely Baby (Moon Studios)
This game is beautiful in so many ways and contains so many more sad, heartbreaking moments. But truly, the ending where you are faced with the realization that Kuro’s newly hatched baby will have to face the world alone with no mother to care for it is the saddest part.
Yes, somewhere along the way Kuro has turned from the bad guy to a protective mother and we’ve all gotten over that heartbreak, and the subsequent one where she sacrifices herself… this game has a lot of painful moments, honestly. You could say it’s bittersweet.
Red Dead Redemption: Family First
This one hurts the heart because John is trying to turn over a new leaf, to fit into the family life stereotype. A bad man trying to change for the sake of his new family. Although it was short-lived, it was nice to see him try; and he died protecting his loved ones.
In a heroic end, he sends his wife and son away to safety as he goes out to meet his enemies. He takes some of them with him, but with his body riddled with gunshots, he truly doesn’t stand a chance. Perhaps a small solace can be had as the game flashes forward to his wife being buried right next to him, as his son seeks revenge for his father by hunting down Ross and killing him.
The Walking Dead: Lee’s Goodbye (Telltale Games)
Honestly, there are all sorts of things that cause pain in The Walking Dead, but asking a young girl to pull the trigger on a man turning into a zombie truly does take the cake. It’s a heartbreaking way to end a game, especially since it is his very own adopted child that has to pull the trigger.
No matter how you see it, Clementine having to shoot Lee to live is just a painfully traumatizing thing to do, even if it is for the greater good. It’s a brutal world she lives in, really, and in a world where kids have to kill their own zombified parents, we really shouldn’t be surprised.
So there you have it! Some of the video game endings that have made us shed a tear, or the very least gave us some form of heartache. I suppose that some of these endings are meant to be and the choices that were made really tie everything together pretty well, but some are somewhat unforgivable. Anyways, if you feel sad about these endings, put on a funny video, take a walk, put on a silly party game or talk to someone until you feel better!
