Summary

Many video games tend to have fairly straightforward plots, with the real drama coming in during the gameplay. There is a set beginning, middle, and end that are all connected and all tell a coherent story. Some games, though, take a different direction. These games includeplot twists, with some being cruel and completely unexpected.

RELATED:Darkest Secret Endings In Video Games

These plot twists will often change the entire context of the game players have been working through. Players will find themselves shocked by how these games end, which can either make them more fun to play or it can make them more confusing.

The overarching villain inBioshock Infiniteis The Founders, and the leader of the group is none other than Zachary Hale Comstock. The ending of this game is confusing, with Booker becoming Comstock through a baptism in one reality while he retains the name Booker in another. For Comstock to die, Booker must die, and so he drowns at the hands ofElizabeth, the very NPCplayers will spend the game trying to save.

A crying woman, Elizabeth from Bioshock Infinite, leaning towards the camera

Bioshock Infinitehad a cruel twist that divided players as it changed the context of the game’s storyline, and made players say goodbye to their protagonist in a seemingly ill-fated way.

InThe Last of Us, players control a hardened post-apocalypse survivor, Joel, as he smuggles a girl who is immune to the virus that has ravished the world, Ellie. They must fight their way to find the mysterious base of the rebel group the Fireflies, who want to harness Ellie’s immunity to create a cure to save the world. When they arrive at St. Mary’s Hospital, the twist in the ending occurs: to cure the virus, Ellie must die. Joel saves her, but to make matters worse, he lies about what happened to Ellie.

Joel from The Last Of Us carrying Ellie, a young girl in a hospital gown

RELATED:Best Games With Ambiguous Endings

The Last of Usis an iconic game with an iconic ending, where Joel has effectively doomed any chance of humanity returning to what it was before the outbreak. Consequences emerge in the sequel,The Last of Us Part 2, much to the divide of fans.

The ending inHeavy Rainis one of the most divisive in gaming history. The game convinces players that the identity of theOrigami Killer responsible for killing Shaunis Ethan, Shaun’s own father. The killer is actually Scott Shelby, a playable character and the man investigating the murders throughout the game.

A man in a trench coat, shirt and tie standing in a house in front of a woman

He has been investigating the murders solely to destroy evidence and mislead other authorities. The cruel twist inHeavy Rainis not widely loved, but it certainly changed the game.

Players control John Marston across the Wild West inRed Dead Redemption, and they lead him through a grueling journey. The payoff seems to be there as the journey ends, with John reuniting with his wife and child on their ranch.

A cowboy strolling down a western street

Unfortunately, the tranquility doesn’t last, as John is killed in front of Beecher’s Hope by soldiers while trying to protect his family.Red Dead Redemptionhas a truly tragic ending as this character that players fight for is locked into a miserable destiny.

Undertalehas two bars players should keep track of:LV and EXP. These seem to stand for the very typical video game measures,Level, and Experience Points. These actually stand forLevel of Violence and Execution Points.

Sans from Undertale, a skeleton wearing a hoodie, standing above text reading ‘You feel like you’re going to have a bad time.'

Players who have spent the entire game killing the monsters are in for a nasty surprise at this point, as they will be locked into the genocide-endingboss battle.Undertalesubverts player expectations at the end of the game, punishing players for doing what they would usually do.

Braidsets itself up as acharming gamein which the protagonist, Tim, is trying to save the princess from an unspecified and vague monster. Players go through the whole game with this in mind, thinking they’re doing the right and just thing.

A pixel character standing next to a ladder on grass

At the end of the game, it is revealed that Tim is the monster the princess has been trying to escape, meaning he is an evil character.Braidis a deceptively charming platformer with a cruel twist ending that changes everything.

InDead Space, players control Isaac Clarke, part of a group sent to a mining vessel called Ishimura. One of the crew members of the vessel is Isaac’s girlfriend, Nicole, who is seen by players early on in the game. At the end of the game, players find the Marker, the source of the chaos in the game’s story.

A man in an armoured suit stands in front of a building collapsing with tentacles growing in Dead Space

The revelation is that the Marker is also Nicole’s source, as she killed herself before the game started. The cruelty of this twist inDead Spaceis that it was hiding in plain sight, as the first letters of each chapter spell outNicole Is Dead.

Silent Hill 2is a creepy andhorrifying gameby any standards, but the cruel ending twist makes everything more heartbreaking. James, the protagonist, spends the whole game searching for his wife, Mary, despite the fact that Mary is dead. Late in the game, it’s revealed that James killed Mary, and the letter that drew James to Silent Hill is simply a blank sheet of paper.

James from Silent Hill 2 staring into a fractured mirror

Everything that happens to James inSilent Hill 2is a manifestation of his guilt, making the game even scarier, and adding far more psychological elements to each chapter and every ending, with a layered reading of James that many fans may not have expected.

InOmori, players control Sunny and his alter-ego Omori. Sunny is a shut-in who spends most of the day in a fantasy world named Headspace, but he is followed by a ghostly figure. At the end of the game, it is revealed that the ghost is the representation of his sister Mari, and Sunny accidentally killed her and framed it to look like a suicide.

Pixel art of a greyscale boy sitting next to a pastel coloured kid in Omori

RELATED:Best Games With Multiple Endings

Omoriseems like a charming game on the surface as players explore Headspace, but the ending makes it an extremely dark indie game.

The Vanishing Of Ethan Cartermakes players control Paul Prospero,a detective who can apparently communicate with the dead. As players go through the game, they discover secrets in the game and uncover mysteries, including cults and family curses. The game’s biggest secret is only revealed at the end.

A collapsing bridge with a bridge closed sign over a lake

Paul Prospero is a figment of Ethan’s imagination, as Ethan dies in a house fire.The Vanishing Of Ethan Carteris creepy and unsettling, but this twist at the end is truly cruel as none of the work players have done matters.