Gaming is one of the most popular and enjoyable pastimes that anyone can engage in. The medium is highly immersive and allows players to spend hours in their favorite worlds with amazing characters and brilliant gameplay loops. Given the massive strides this industry has taken over time, it's easy to see why so many games have adopted a narrative-heavy approach to their games.
Of course, after enough hours, even the longest games around are bound to reach a conclusion. While these endings can be fairly decent for the most part, there are some instances where games end on a rather unsatisfying note, which becomes necessary when players look at the grand scheme of things. The games present in this list do have endings that are somewhat of a mixed bag but work in the context of the story that developers are trying to tell.
10 The Last Of Us Part 2
The fact that The Last of Us: Part 2 generated such a massive discussion at the time of its release shows how well-told its story is if nothing else. Ellie's misguided quest for revenge ends with her distancing pretty much everyone who cared for her.
Hate begets more hate, and Ellie strives to break this cycle once and for all by the end of the series. It might not be a story that a lot of people liked, but it perfectly resonates with the themes present in The Last Of Us Part 2.
9 South Park: The Fractured But Whole
South Park is a hilarious series that throws unpredictable scenarios time and time again at the player. While The Stick of Truth had a pretty decent ending in its own right, The Fractured But Whole has a bunch of things going on near the end... before wrapping it up inconsequentially in typical South Park fashion.
As an ending, the conclusion to South Park: The Fractured But Whole seems rather bare-bones. However, long-time fans of the series know that arbitrary and meaningless endings are exactly why this series is so famous.
8 BioShock Infinite
Ken Levine might not be in the news for positive reasons nowadays, but there was a time when this video game auteur was at the very height of his popularity. This was around the same time when the BioShock series had eclipsed in popularity, with a third game in the trilogy coming out soon enough.
BioShock Infinite was a narrative masterpiece that showed its biggest card near the end of the game. The idea that Booker DeWitt and Comstock are the same person near the end of the game was mind-blowing, with the main character's eventual demise serving as a poetic farewell to this beloved series.
7 The Walking Dead
The Walking Dead is notorious for featuring one of the most emotional ending sequences in gaming history. Watching Lee talk to Clementine for the last time before being either shot or turned into a zombie is horrifying to watch.
It's a bittersweet ending that fans of Lee's character might've found a bit hard to watch, but it fits in perfectly with the themes of The Walking Dead. There's a reason why this game catapulted Telltale to the realm of superstardom, after all.
6 Red Dead Redemption
Once an outlaw, always an outlaw — this sentiment is present all throughout the first Red Dead Redemption title. John Marston is a great no-nonsense character who decides to erase the sins of his past to get his family back.
After killing his former crewmates, John finally gets to spend some time with his family... before the Bureau of Investigation knocks on his door to wrap up all their loose ends. A heroic Marston makes one final stand before being ruthlessly gunned down by the Bureau.
While players can take revenge for their father's death as Jack, it still doesn't alleviate the sting caused by the death of one of the greatest video game protagonists of all time.
5 Shadow Of The Colossus
The mysterious nature of Shadow of the Colossus is one of its biggest allures, letting players soak in the wonders of this vast and desolate landscape as they hunt down massive Colossi for an unknown purpose. The true nature of their actions is revealed near the end of the game.
Wander, the protagonist was actually trying to revive his love by using the power of the Colossi. He succeeds, but is almost killed in the attempt and is reverted to the state of a child. It's a sad ending for one of the greatest games ever made.
4 Bloodborne
A theme of hopelessness is constant throughout Bloodborne. Sure, there are times when the player manages to conquer a boss or get through a particularly hard encounter... but these moments are quickly followed by more of this oppressive hopelessness.
Even with the three endings present in this game, none of them really have a hint of happiness in them. The hunter either wakes up from his nightmare, replaces Gerhman, or becomes a great one. These three outcomes aren't that great when players know the context behind them.
3 Brothers: A Tale Of Two Sons
Before reaching new heights of popularity with his work on It Takes Two, Josef Fares had worked on other games featuring two protagonists. One such game is Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons.
The game takes a look at two brothers who need to take a cure back to their ailing dad. While they do manage to get this cure, it happens at the cost of the elder brother's life, who passes away by the time their father gets better. It's the last part that makes this ending especially frustrating and morose.
2 Persona 3
Most JRPGs tend to end with the main characters saving the day before getting a happy ending. Persona 3 decided to chuck this notion out of the window with one of the saddest video game endings of all time.
After giving it his all against Nyx, the player-character realizes that his life force is slowly ebbing away. However, he still decides to spend his last few moments with his steadfast friends before passing away in Aigis' lap.
1 Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7
Anyone familiar with Final Fantasy 7 knows just how Zack's story ends. That didn't make the ending of Crisis Core more bearable, however.
Watching Zack fight against waves of Shinra Troopers before finally succumbing to their bullets is a horrifying sight. This spin-off changes the ending as well, so Zack gets some time to say goodbye to Cloud instead of dying on the spot. It's an extremely sad ending that makes Crisis Coreone of the greatest Final Fantasy spin-off titles ever made.