Games with NO ❌ happy ending.

[Guel Jeturk]

This thread is about videogames that had no happy ending, that stimulated your brain and you never forgotten them. I have a few in my mind right now and i want to know more about what other people think about them.

Old or New doesn't matter or the genre either. Write about it i want to expand my gaming knowledge.

I don't care for the popularity, rating, good or bad taste. Maybe this is a test to find out more users in this FORUM with culture and maybe it is not.

 

[Scum Of Orion]

Bioshock 2 is decently sad no matter how things shake up. For the happy ending Subject Delta still has no choice but to

Spoiler

Slowly die in front of his adopted daughter and sink back into the depths of the ocean where everything he ever was or could have been was tortured out of him

 

[Moshat]

While one could look at SOMA's ending as ultimately hopeful (I do) - nothing has hit me quite as hard as that ending for the MC (or at least one of the versions of them).
Masterful ending

I guess I lied there a tad (by accident) - Mouthwashing (my GOTY for 2024) hit very similarly, and for a game with no happy ending - that ticks your box for sure.

 

[DunkeyKong]

Now this might not count, but The Last of Us. Ever since the first game, I didn't feel like I win. Despite "saving" Ellie, those killings still feels a bit unnecessary. The same goes for Shadow of the Colossus

 

[psvitaforever]

I haven't been satisfied with "Call of Duty Ghosts" ending, it was quite disturbing (and yes, I know it should have had a sequel that never came, so there's an explanation).

 

[Sumea]

Now this might not count, but The Last of Us. Ever since the first game, I didn't feel like I win. Despite "saving" Ellie, those killings still feels a bit unnecessary. The same goes for Shadow of the Colossus

I opened this thread and thought about The Last of Us too. At best it is a bittersweet ending underlying person's love and care for another above all else, and maybe to a fault. Left for the player to see it one way or another. That not insignificant detail about Ellie's potential and Joel having to dress it up with a lie.

 

[fake-kun]

Yume Nikki ends with the main character committing suicide.

 

[Pandaprewmaster325]

Warcraft 1 the orcs win and humanity has to endure genocide in warcraft 2 but humans win in 2 so its a bit less grim in the end.

A not quite good or bad ending Is warcraft 2 expansion beyond the dark portal where orcs step into the nether and the human expedition gets stuck on the orc homeworld their fate won't be known until 2007 in the BC expansion for world of warcraft the orcs end up jailed by demons and horrible things happen to them so both sides campaigns are fully canon and both sides end up in a crappy place and near no hope for Vetter future.

Warcraft 3 the frozen throne while the base game has the good guys clapped left and right they eventually win the expansion well the "good" guys lose and the undead and their king remain intact ending the game in a beautiful way.

Silent hill ending is quite depressing no matter which one you escape but your daughter never escapes with you that's what I liked about SH1 a grim game from start to finish I got the good ending just to keep in mind even then it wasn't that happy of an ending (cybil died) (lisa turned into a monster and the dr gets killed by lisa idk how she killed him but he dies anyway)

I won't mention final fantasy 6 cuz contrary to what some believe which is the world is over n all that the world is shown to start healing and an optimistic future for ff6 world with the empire of vector gone.

Not a game but attila the hun campaign from aoe2 ends up in your death as attila I wanted to punch the screen all that fighting just to die like that.....

 

[Ikagura]

Simon's Quest's Bad and Normal ending (which is canon).

 

[Robertvirgo3]

If we want to be a little bit Nit picky, we could include all Metal Slug games, old and New.

Considering what has happened in the series thus far, every single game consisted of a World war caused by an external force, which leads Humanity into having to unite and fight off the threat.

With each game, the consequences and power scaling get more and more grave, since in each installation after the first one there is another threat, another war, another enemy to face, another Tank to shred.

Endless lives keep being wasted in the Everlasting machine of war, and though the series TRIES to give itself a positive outlook with his charming characters, everyone can agree that all the people we have killed through the games will be forgotten and swept under the rug in the ever constant machine that is war.

(I'm not considering Metal Slug attack since I don't know a lick of the lore there, but I guess it's the same thing, considering there are even more factions now)

 

[Ikagura]

If we want to be a little bit Nit picky, we could include all Metal Slug games, old and New.

Considering what has happened in the series thus far, every single game consisted of a World war caused by an external force, which leads Humanity into having to unite and fight off the threat.

With each game, the consequences and power scaling get more and more grave, since in each installation after the first one there is another threat, another war, another enemy to face, another Tank to shred.

Endless lives keep being wasted in the Everlasting machine of war, and though the series TRIES to give itself a positive outlook with his charming characters, everyone can agree that all the people we have killed through the games will be forgotten and swept under the rug in the ever constant machine that is war.

(I'm not considering Metal Slug attack since I don't know a lick of the lore there, but I guess it's the same thing, considering there are even more factions now)

The first game's normal ending is legitimately my favourite (and then again MS1 is my favourite game next to 5).

 

[dropsmegamega]

Drakengard 1 noticeably has a bittersweet first ending and from that on only has more and more disturbing additional/secret endings.

 

[Stingy Perry]

FF 7 Crisis Core duh! You know like Zack died or something like that.?

 

[Sumea]

If we want to be a little bit Nit picky, we could include all Metal Slug games, old and New.

Considering what has happened in the series thus far, every single game consisted of a World war caused by an external force, which leads Humanity into having to unite and fight off the threat.

With each game, the consequences and power scaling get more and more grave, since in each installation after the first one there is another threat, another war, another enemy to face, another Tank to shred.

Endless lives keep being wasted in the Everlasting machine of war, and though the series TRIES to give itself a positive outlook with his charming characters, everyone can agree that all the people we have killed through the games will be forgotten and swept under the rug in the ever constant machine that is war.

(I'm not considering Metal Slug attack since I don't know a lick of the lore there, but I guess it's the same thing, considering there are even more factions now)

This kinda brings to my mind almost all Earth Defence Force games. Sure you might "win" at the end and go full on hell yeah at it but 90% if not more of the earth is wiped out and actual possibility of rebuilding is left that much more painfully ambigious.

 

[Bruno24]

Drakengard 1 noticeably has a bittersweet first ending and from that on only has more and more disturbing additional/secret endings.

I came here to say drakengard haha

 

[AncientBehemoth]

LISA series. Mad Father, Witches House, Misao.

 

[Ikagura]

Maybe this is a hot take but Doom has always been a "bittersweet ending" franchise to me

In Doom 1 you think you've survived the nightmare yet you slowly discover that the city is burning down from the Demon's invasion, in Final Doom it's ambiguously canon but that pic of the Doomguy observing there spoke a lot to me.

Then Doom 64 had the Doomguy staying in Hell for good.

I don't count Doom 3 nor 2016-Eternal sorry.

 

[FR4M3]

HalfLife Ep2/Alyx
Spec Ops The Line
FarCry 3, maybe?

 

[Jvsouza11]

Me and my little brother witness the end of the world in far cry 5.

 

[Guel Jeturk]

LISA series. Mad Father, Witches House, Misao.

i sense culture.

Post automatically merged: Feb 5, 2025

Maybe this is a hot take but Doom has always been a "bittersweet ending" franchise to me
View attachment 21881


In Doom 1 you think you've survived the nightmare yet you slowly discover that the city is burning down from the Demon's invasion, in Final Doom it's ambiguously canon but that pic of the Doomguy observing there spoke a lot to me.

Then Doom 64 had the Doomguy staying in Hell for good.View attachment 21885

I don't count Doom 3 nor 2016-Eternal sorry.

i agree

 

[Ikagura]

HalfLife Ep2/Alyx
Spec Ops The Line
FarCry 3, maybe?

I hate what they did in Alyx personally.

 

[elbeastador]

the canon ending (lore accurate) in silent hill 2.

 

[Klonoa7]

FF 7 Crisis Core duh! You know like Zack died or something like that.?

Crisis Core intro: Zack is unaffected by bullets as he chats on a cellphone.

Crisis Core ending: Zack succumbs to bullets.

 

[Octopus]

This kinda brings to my mind almost all Earth Defence Force games. Sure you might "win" at the end and go full on hell yeah at it but 90% if not more of the earth is wiped out and actual possibility of rebuilding is left that much more painfully ambigious.

When I got to the ending of 5 and it literally tells you "you killed all the bugs so congrats, but 80% of all human life was extinguished and now it's lawless chaos and anarchy" I actually laughed. It's so beautiful.

MGS3 had some good things in its ending, but I think it was more net negative if you really think about it; BB is completely disillusioned, the Patriots get the Philosophers Legacy in the end, even Eva can be seen as bittersweet depending on how you want to look at it considering she uses you.

 

[MegaHiro91]

Bioshock 2 is decently sad no matter how things shake up. For the happy ending Subject Delta still has no choice but to

Spoiler

Slowly die in front of his adopted daughter and sink back into the depths of the ocean where everything he ever was or could have been was tortured out of him

While BioShock 2 is a bittersweet ending for sure, it's still beautiful in my opinion that your daughter gets to see the surface, the little sisters are rescued once more, and through your actions of sparing all the people who wronged you you taught your daughter the art of forgiveness, in that she keeps her mom from drowning inside the tank. Sure, YOU die, but your story was done anyway.