Top 10 Unexpectedly Brutal Video Game Death

“Conker’s Bad Fur Day” (2001)

By the time you get to Berri’s death in “Conker’s Bad Fur Day,” there’s not much that should surprise you. The game is chock full of violent deaths, and plenty of other mature elements. Yet what’s different here is how much weight it actually carries. The comedic game’s whole premise is Conker getting sidetracked by misadventures while trying to get home to his girlfriend. When they’re finally reunited, she’s gunned down in front of him. It’s not only shockingly vicious, but you can actually feel Conker’s despair; surprising for a game with a giant poop monster. Even with the fourth-wall breaking climax, Conker can’t save her. And he ends his adventure only wishing he could have.

“It Takes Two” (2021)

We know what you’re thinking; there isn’t a single drop of blood in “It Takes Two.” But that doesn’t stop Cutie’s death from being utterly surprising and downright brutal. After their daughter’s wish turns them into dolls, feuding parents May and Cody believe her tears can turn them back. But they try to make her cry by assassinating her favorite toy, a lovable stuffed elephant named Cutie. The attempt does not go smoothly, with Cutie losing a leg and ear in the process. All the while, she’s begging to live while players mash buttons to drag her to a ledge. With a voice and demeanor so sweet it’ll give you cavities, there’s not a single player who felt good doing this.

“Wolfenstein: The New Order” (2014)

By now, this revival and its sequels are well-known for their immense levels of violence and shocking character deaths. But at launch, players were hit with an extremely disturbing choice during the very first level. The game follows American soldier BJ Blazkowicz and his resistance allies fighting against the Nazis, who won WWII. However, before he can get to that, BJ must fail an important mission. After getting captured by the villain, players are forced to choose between two fellow soldiers: Wyatt or Reid. Whoever he chooses gets cut open and has their eyes and brain removed, alive and in front of everyone. Sadly, that’s only the end of their physical form as their brain is later used to operate a late-game boss.

“The Walking Dead: 400 Days” (2013)

The acclaim of Telltale’s “The Walking Dead” meant the studio got to explore more stories, the first of which came in the DLC “400 Days.” In one section, a woman named Bonnie travels with the couple Leland and Dee. But things go South when Dee steals supplies from another group, who naturally come after them. As Bonnie hides in a cornfield, she strikes out at a pursuer with rebar…only to realize she’s hit Dee. We were expecting a member of the opposing group, or maybe a Walker. And it isn’t a quick death either. As she slowly succumbs, Dee has plenty of time to blame Bonnie, call her a junkie, and accuse her of trying to steal her husband.

“Gears of War 2” (2008)

While her husband’s death in “Gears of War 3” is probably sadder, finding Maria in “Gears of War 2” is the more surprising and brutal end. The Locust Horde commits plenty of vile acts across the series, but Maria’s end feels far more personally awful. After getting captured by enemy forces, Maria is held and tortured in a labor camp for a full decade. By the time players find her, she’s a lobotomized husk of her former self, causing Dom to make the hard choice and put her out of her misery. Maybe a heroic rescue was a bit too much to hope for in a series like this. But whatever we were expecting to find, it wasn’t this.

“Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc” (2010)

Although death is to be expected in “Danganronpa,” there are still several ways it can surprise you with its brutality. It follows a group of students trapped inside their high school, with the only means of escape being to secretly kill someone else and not get found out in the following trial. Leon murders another student in self-defense, not necessarily maliciously, but leaves behind enough evidence for the others to convict him. His sentence is The 1,000 Blows; he’s tied to a post while a pitching machine fires 1,000 baseballs into him. It’s an extremely over-the-top death scene and one that is painfully ironic considering Leon was a baseball star.

“Doki Doki Literature Club!” (2017)

Things are not what they seem in this dating sim. What begins as a romantic choice between students of an after-school book club descends into madness when one of them takes their own life. While Sayori’s death is certainly surprising, the game only gets more disturbing and chaotic as it goes on. Monika, the club’s leader, gains sentience and toys with the personalities of the other girls to remove them from the picture. By turning Yuri’s crush on the player into an unhealthy obsession, this leads her to stab herself in front of you. And because the game is all out of whack in a meta sense, your character is frozen with the body for an in-game weekend.

“BioShock” (2007)

“BioShock” is such a masterclass in misdirects that even the death of its primary villain caught everyone off guard. When players enter Rapture, the conflict seems pretty straightforward. You’re caught in the middle of a war, naturally siding with rebellion leader Atlas in his fight against corrupt founder, Andrew Ryan. When you finally meet the big bad in person, you learn that Atlas has been using you. You’re actually a genetically engineered assassin whose trigger phrase, “Would you kindly?,” has been used every time Atlas has given the player an objective. Knowing he has lost, Ryan then uses it to have you beat him to death with a golf club. We were expecting to kill him sometime, but the context came as a major shock.

“Red Dead Redemption” (2010)

Even in a world where death is frequent, one doesn’t usually expect the grim reaper to visit the character you’re playing as. In “Red Dead Redemption,” John Marston is a former outlaw trying to get on with his newest chapter in life. Unfortunately, he’s forced to hunt down remaining members of his gang after his family is taken by government agents. He does his part, and reunites with his family. But in a now infamous moment, he’s betrayed by the agents and gunned down. The betrayal certainly stings, as does seeing our hero loaded with too many bullets to count. Although his son claims vengeance in the epilogue, John’s demise is a violent twist that has stuck with us for years.

“The Last of Us Part II” (2020)

“The Last of Us” series could fill its own list of unexpected brutal deaths. But Joel Miller would still sit right at the top. It’s a cold and ruthless end that happens fairly early in the game. But there are a number of other elements that make this death shocking. For one, Joel was the protagonist of the first game. For another, he and his brother Tommy save his killer from a horde of Infected. But the thirst for vengeance is a powerful thing, and Abby ends up beating Joel with a golf club, delivering the final blow in front of a sobbing, begging Ellie. Every player felt pain in this moment. It’s a scene we likely won’t get over for quite some time.

Which of these violent demises came out of left field for you? Let us know down in the comments, and don’t forget to subscribe for more great gaming videos!