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For many gamers, the mark of a great video game comes at the tail end of the campaign, when the story wraps up its final presentation. The ending of a game can make or break a title’s legacy, regardless of how good the gameplay, graphics, and storyline are to that point. One need only consider the ruin that became of Mass Effect 3 thanks to its awfully received ending.
In contrast to titles like Mass Effect 3, some games provide an ending that blows gamers away and are remembered years later. These games present endings that players can’t help but dwell on or discuss to great lengths. For these games, even if the journey leading to the end is mediocre, the ending itself can make it one of the best games ever played.
Updated March 5, 2022 by Jason Van Duine: Sometimes, it doesn't matter how well-designed the game is, how much fun the gameplay is, or how enriching the story is up until that point. Sometimes, a game sticking its landing can mean the difference between a good campaign and a great one. Being able to wrap up all storylines, complete any character arcs, and end on an emotionally satisfying note would be difficult in any narrative medium, let alone an interactive one. The best endings in video games are the ones that are remembered for years to come.
12 Red Dead Redemption
Along with its just-as-impressive sequel, Rockstar's Red Dead Redemption is easily one of the finest narratives ever told in a video game. Along with compelling characters, an immersive story, and an engaging open world, the game’s climactic ending was one to remember.
After taking down the game’s antagonist, players are able to return home as John Marston looks to rebuild his family and his life. However, the hopes and joys of this new direction are thrown into turmoil in the game’s last moments when a group of traitorous lawmen show up and gun the Red Dead Redemption hero down. It’s a shocking, yet fully beautiful moment in gaming. It’s a perfectly executed ending to a wild west adventure that challenges gamers to consider their own mortality and life choices.
11 BioShock Infinite
The BioShock franchise is beloved for its immersive stories and wonderful twist endings. Much like its predecessors, BioShock Infinite didn’t disappoint when it wrapped up its action-packed story. However, the ending is as much an enigma for many as the whole tearing-through-time-and-space aspect that weaves through the story. Essentially, players learn that their character, Booker, becomes the evil prophet Comstock through baptism, and builds the great city Columbia. After numerous attempts to stop Booker in many timelines, the many timeline versions of Elizabeth are able to drown Booker, finally ending the cycle.
The ending is a bit of a shock and takes some time to process. Gamers are still discussing various theories and conspiracies around the BioShock Infinite ending today. Hopefully, the BioShock franchise isn’t done blowing gamers’ minds.
10 God of War
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The 2018 soft reboot of the classic God of War franchise took risks when it came to changing the formula, but it ultimately paid off in becoming one of the most celebrated games of the generation. That was in part due to its incredible story. Instead of going on a god-killing rampage, Kratos travels with his son Atreus to complete his wife's final wish. A mystical conflict comes their way as they travel, but the game never strays far from its emotional core.
Any game featuring a strong bond between two characters and an emotionally-driven story can be expected to land with some sort of punch, and God of War doesn't disappoint. After defeating Baldur, Kratos and Atreus travel to the highest peak in Jotunheim. There, they spread the ashes of Kratos' wife in a deeply touching finale. It's a wonderful way to end the most powerful story in the franchise.
9 Braid
At first glance, Braid looks like a fun, Xbox version of Mario. It’s a platformer that tasks players with finding and rescuing a princess. Along the way, players, in the role of Tim, must assemble jigsaw puzzle pieces to make their way through the game and find the princess. However, once players reach the end, the real truth is laid out, and it’s startling.
It turns out the monster the princess has been running from the whole time is Tim. The traps and snares the princess has laid are for him, not some other frightening being. But the twists don’t stop there. Many gamers have considered the subject matter and concluded that the princess is a representation of the atomic bomb, and that the puzzle pieces Tim puts together along the way are the various components of that bomb. It’s an interesting perception, and one that certainly encourages a second or third playthrough for players to fully appreciate the game’s ending.
8 Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
Hideo Kojima is a masterful storyteller, and his work in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater is a prime example of his brilliance. After players make their way through the challenges of the game, they’re faced with a tough ending: they must kill their friend and mentor, The Boss, who was discovered to be a Soviet defector. In fact, players are forced to push the button that will pull the trigger, extinguishing The Boss’s life.
However, the real twist comes later, when players learn that The Boss wasn’t a Soviet defector, but had instead set up her own death in order to protect those she loved and the United States. The heartbreak in this ending is real.
7 Batman: Arkham City
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The Batman and Joker rivalry is one of the great examples of good versus evil. The iconic battle between the two has sparked decades of movies, shows, video games, parodies, songs, and books. So it comes as a shock when that rivalry is ended in Batman: Arkham City.
To the surprise of anyone who’s played the game, Joker finally bites the dust in one of the most epic ways in Batman canon. Naturally, when this was first discovered, gamers assumed it was a ploy by developer Rocksteady to enhance the excitement of the series, with plans to bring the Joker back. However, that was not to be the case. Rocksteady stuck to their guns and let the iconic conflict come to a sudden and dramatic end.
6 Shadow of the Colossus
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Director Fumito Ueda never fails to bring original, thoughtful concepts to the fantasy-adventure genre of games, and Shadow of the Colossus might go down in history as his finest achievement. Players control Wander, who travels to a forbidden land in hopes of reviving his lost love Mono. A mysterious entity known as Dormin gives Wander a simple task; defeat the sixteen colossi that inhabit the land, and Mono will be brought back to life.
Part of the draw of Shadow of the Colossus is the minimalist narrative. Most of the development takes place late in the game, yet it never fails to grip players throughout. By the end, it's revealed that Dormin was simply using Wander to destroy the colossi; with each defeated colossus, Dormin grew stronger while Wander grew weaker. Dormin possesses Wander, transforming him into a giant and forcing him to attack the men who came to stop Wander. Wander, and by extent Dormin, is defeated. Mono manages to return to life, however, and discovers a horned baby in place of Wander. The game's ending is shocking, powerful, and perfectly encapsulates everything that makes this game a classic.
5 Portal 2
Portal and Portal 2 are considered some of the most impressive, immersive games available in the industry. The storylines, particularly the second, are ones that every gamer should experience; the characters deliver a compelling performance unlike any other game.
Those who played the first Portal were understandably skeptical when they came across GLaDOS in the second game, the computer in charge of the Aperture Laboratories facility. However, it’s discovered over time that GLaDOS is on the players’ side, though there’s still the potential for betrayal. However, rather than a twist ending similar to Portal, the developers deliver something else, something more human. The twists presented are enough to make any gamer replay Portal 2 immediately.
4 The Walking Dead
Telltale Games has built up an empire of “choose-your-path” style games that provide a wholly unique experience. Much of the developer's success is due to its The Walking Dead series, especially the ending of the first season.
Players take on the role of Lee, who has made it his life’s mission to protect a girl named Clementine (“Clem”) and help her to safety. After players spend the entire game building a relationship with Clem, Lee is bitten by a zombie and will soon turn into the undead himself. Rather than let the moment play out, Telltale Games puts the situation into the hands of players and makes them decide: let Lee die and turn, or have Clem pull the trigger and kill Lee before he becomes a zombie. It’s one of the most emotional decisions in gaming.
3 Journey
Journey may only be a couple of hours long, but it’s easily one of the most beautiful, spiritual, and powerful games in existence. And the ending provides a moving experience without relying on twists, turns, betrayals, or gimmicks.
Rather, gamers play through the game with ease, enjoying the incredible score, vast environment, and pleasant movement. That all comes to a halt when players are frozen to death on their way to the summit of a large mountain. Just when all seems lost, the player is revived and ascends the mountain in one of the most impressive, visually astounding moments in gaming. It’s a breathtaking experience that any gamer, whether hardcore or casual, should experience at least once. And thanks to its release on Steam, more gamers can.
2 Silent Hill 2
Silent Hill 2 is considered a masterpiece of gaming from the era of the PlayStation 2. From the masterful storytelling to the compelling and unique characters, there’s little to dislike about this game. But it’s the ending that really makes this one memorable, even 16 years after its release.
As players make their way through Silent Hill 2, they slowly discover that the protagonist's wife, Mary, didn’t die of an illness as was previously supposed. Rather, it’s revealed that the player, James, killed Mary. But where most games would wrap up the story with a simple ending (even with that impressive twist), Silent Hill 2 takes it a step farther and offers multiple endings, each of which is a reaction to the player’s reasons for killing Mary. If James killed Mary to ease her suffering, players get one ending. If James killed her to set himself free, another ending is presented. It gives a more personal experience to the game and invites players to go through multiple times.
1 The Last of Us
There’s no arguing with the fact that The Last of Us has one of the best, most surprising, and downright emotional endings in gaming. After a mysterious virus has killed off much of the world’s population, it’s up to one man, Joel, to escort a girl, Ellie, across the country in hopes of stopping the virus. It turns out Ellie is immune, and may hold the cure in her veins.
Unfortunately, it’s revealed at the end that in order for the cure to come about, Ellie must give her life. To this end, Ellie is kidnapped and taken to a secure location for the deed to take place. Joel attacks the hospital where Ellie is located, killing all who mean her harm and escaping with Ellie. However, the real twist is when Joel is stopped in the parking lot and delivered a choice: leave with Ellie and doom thousands of people, or let her die to save humanity. In the end, Joel chooses Ellie. In a final twist, he tells her that she wasn’t needed, but that the medical staff had many people to choose from for the cure. It’s an ending that pulls at the heartstrings and forces players to consider what decision they would make in that situation.