Warning! Spoilers ahead for games from Bethesda, Rocksteady, Rockstar Games, Monolith, Sucker Punch, & CD Projekt RED

Death is a natural part of life, and it seems like it’s a natural part of video game protagonists too. There have been plenty of open-world games where, unfortunately, the protagonist makes the ultimate sacrifice, or just gets killed off without a desire to. It can upset some players to see the character they have played for hours on end die, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that these are some incredible open-world games.

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Open-world games often present such a wide range of choice and adventure, that it’s hard to let that go once the curtains must come to a close. What makes that even harder, is when the leading character dies in the end, which is something that this diverse set of open-world games has in common.

7 Batman: Arkham Knight

Batman Blows Himself Up After His Identity Is Exposed To The World

At the end of Batman: Arkham Knight, Scarecrow has ultimately won, and the world has seen Batman exposed as Bruce Wayne. Knowing that criminals are superstitious and cowardly lot, they cannot fear Batman, for they know he’s just a rich guy in a fancy batsuit. So, Bruce activates the Knightfall Protocol, which causes Wayne Manor to erupt in explosions whilst the world watches, knowing that both Bruce and Alfred were inside when it happened.

Whilst players always guessed that this death was faked, and Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League confirming it as such, for the game’s release, players could do nothing but speculate, and the idea that Batman was really, truly dead, was heartbreaking, as even if Bruce Wayne lives, the identity of Batman is dead, because he cannot be feared as just a man.

6 Red Dead Redemption

John Marston Is Shot To Death To Let His Family Escape

John Marston has a hard journey ahead of him in Red Dead Redemption, and the protagonist must hunt down and kill the survivors of his old gang, who have all become former shells of who John would call friends and family. In doing so, John is given his freedom back from the American government, and his wife and child are sent back to Beecher’s Hope so that he can live the peaceful life that he had dreamed of.

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Yet, John is a loose end, and Agent Ross and an army of soldiers march to Beecher’s Hope to kill John and his family. John makes a heroic sacrifice from his barn, taking as many soldiers as he can with him before he falls to his many gunshot wounds, taking his last breath in knowing that his wife and son have escaped, and are free to forge a new life.

5 Fallout 3

The Lone Wanderer Dies Of Radiation Poisoning To Activate Project Purity

When the Vault Dweller of Vault 101 leaves into the Capitol Wasteland in search of his father, they uncover a ghastly plot, and the truth surrounding life outside of a vault. Fallout 3 holds many secrets and dangers, and the journey of the Lone Wanderer takes them to the Brotherhood of Steel, where they uncover the truth behind their father’s workings, and Project Purity, which could save the wasteland.

Players must adventure through until they reach the radiation-flooded chamber, the final step to activate Project Purity and cleanse the wasteland’s water. Yet, in doing so, it will take their life. It’s a sad and noble ending, but thanks to the Broken Steel DLC, players can continue their game and survive the Project Purity chamber. Still, without this DLC, the base game ending has the main character die.

4 Middle-Earth: Shadow Of Mordor

Talion Is Murdered In A Sauron’s Black Hand Ritual

Talion, his wife, and son are all murdered at the beginning of Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor, allowing players to embark on this journey through a Sauron and orc-infested Mordor as a dead man walking, a vessel for Talion and Celebrimbor to wreak vengeance as a wraith, hunting down the worst of Sauron’s Black Hand and army to destroy the evil plot that threatens the entirety of Middle-earth.

Talion’s death at the beginning of the game sets the tone for his character, as he lives without consequence, and his steps move forward, steeped in the conquest for vengeance. Talion’s death may be sad, but it is not the end of his journey through and beyond Mordor.

3 Red Dead Redemption 2

Arthur Morgan Dies Of Tuberculosis

Arthur Morgan isn’t exactly a good man. He’s robbed, killed, and hurt nearly enough everyone who he doesn’t see as family in the Van der Linde gang. As such, Arthur’s morality catches up with him when he ventures to Thomas Downes’ farm for debt collection, only to leave with an unknown case of tuberculosis.

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For the rest of Arthur’s journey, he must face his own mortality, and question what mark he can leave on the world; if it’s too late for him to leave it as a good man. Arthur’s story is one of tragedy, and he dies at the end of the game due to his brawl with the Van der Linde traitor, Micah Bell. He wheezes for his last breath, letting go of his life and he watches his final sunrise.

2 Cyberpunk 2077

V’s Terminal Illness Kills Them

After Act 1 of Cyberpunk 2077, V’s life is turned upside down. Not only have they just lost their best friend, and become a wanted fugitive from Arasaka, but they also have a Relic in their head, slowly taking over their brain thanks to getting shot in the head by their Fixer. V wakes up, scared about how long they have left to live, only to discover that each waking moment will be consumed by the deceased rocker boy terrorist, Johnny Silverhand.

V spends the rest of Cyberpunk 2077 seeking out a potential cure, but V is led down false paths that help others, but never themselves. By the end of the game, V, depending on the relationships they developed, has a sole choice to make on their fate. Whilst V’s fate is left open to interpretation, the consistency (outside the Phantom Liberty expansion), is that there is no cure, and they will be dead in a matter of weeks, unless hope can be found after the credits.

1 InFamous 2

Cole MacGrath Sacrifices Himself For Humanity At The Cost Of Most Conduits

The InFamous games do a great job of setting players on a path to decide and discuss their own morality and the consequences of their choices. Whilst players can go down an evil or heroic path in InFamous 2, the final decision they make will decide the fate of the world, and thus, if they are truly a hero or a villain for the ending chapter. If players choose to become a hero, then they will be tasked with activating the RFI unit, which will kill conduits, The Beast, and cure those infected with a deadly plague.

Cole makes the ultimate sacrifice, choosing to kill himself and other innocent Conduits, all in an effort to save humanity. It’s as tragic as it gets, and the heroic Cole is laid to rest at sea. However, at the end of the game, a lightning bolt hit his ship, perhaps reviving him. Since it’s been a decade since InFamous 2, and Sucker Punch Productions is working on Ghost of Tsushima 2, it’s unlikely.

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