Top 20 Worst Video Game Endings Of All Time
#20: “Batman: Arkham Asylum” (2009)
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As awesome as “Arkham Asylum” is, the generic ending totally ruins the long-established relationship between Batman and Joker. The Joker has never been a brawler; he’s always relied on his psychotic, warped, and fiercely intelligent mind. He gets off on teasing and one-upping his greatest nemesis. Physically fighting him would be dumb enough. But “Arkham Asylum” upped the dumb factor and had the Joker pump himself full of serum, which greatly enhanced his size and essentially turned him into Bane. It’s the most cliché and derivative boss fight imaginable, and it’s a real shame that it came at the expense of The Joker’s character.
#19: “Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor” (2014)
This game is great, but it embodies two infamous tropes that make for a terrible ending - anticlimax and abruptness. The ending of this game sees you going up against Sauron himself. Now what could possibly be more epic than going mano-a-mano with Sauron, perhaps the most famous villain in fantasy history? It certainly sounds amazing, but this game managed to bungle it with an unchallenging, straightforward boss fight and a horribly anticlimactic quick time event. It’s pretty telling that fights with various war chiefs and their minions were more exciting than one with the Dark Lord himself! Why developers continuously cop out by utilizing quick time events, we have no idea…
#18: “Fallout 3” (2008)
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As if the fight with Colonel Autumn wasn’t bad enough, “Fallout 3” continues its descent into disappointment with false choices. All three choices portrayed your character in a heroic light (more or less), which would completely contradict those who wanted to be evil. Regardless, each choice ended with a bang (literally) and your untimely demise. Oh, and if you were planning to go back and finish any quests you had, you could kiss your progress goodbye! “Fallout 3” ends your game as soon as you complete the final mission, forcing you to start a whole new game. At least the Broken Steel DLC fixed this flaw and allowed us to return to our old saves.
#17: “Fable II” (2008)
Choice can be a wonderful thing, but what happens when every option is kind of terrible? At the end of this fantasy role-playing game, the Hero of Bowerstone stands victorious over the evil Lord Lucien Fairfax after a seriously anti-climactic standoff and innumerable lives lost in the process. Fortunately for the Hero, the seeress Theresa has the power to grant one wish – she can resurrect the innocent people lost in the conflict, revive the Hero's family, or gift the Hero with a million gold pieces. No matter what choice you make, something of greater value is lost.
#16: “Assassin's Creed III” (2012)
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Sometimes it sucks to be a hero. That's probably what modern assassin Desmond Miles was thinking when two god-like beings presented him with a choice at the end of the 2012 game “Assassin's Creed III”. Desmond is told that he can either sacrifice his own life to activate a globe-spanning shield that will repel oncoming solar flares, or he can let the flares hit and become a messiah that inspires a religious war. Naturally, since the later option is incredibly stupid, Desmond elects to give his own life – in the process leaving the world's future uncertain.
#15: “The Order: 1886” (2015)
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One of the first exclusive games for the PS4, and it ends with a whimper. Our werewolf-killing hero Galahad has just bested his former ally Lucan and can regain his status among the titular Order... only, surprise, Lucan's father and Lord Chancellor of that same Order comes along to kibosh that plan. Instead, Galahad must kill Lucan and remain in disgrace to protect the status quo. We're not sure whether to be shocked or angered by this story turn, but we're certainly not feeling amicable. This also leaves the door open for a sequel that will obviously never happen.
#14: “Alone in the Dark” (2008)
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Questionable choices seem to be a common theme here. On their quest to prevent the rise of Lucifer, paranormal investigator Edward Carnby and his lovely friend Sarah Flores find themselves standing before an interdimensional gateway. Edward activates the gateway, drawing out Lucifer – only for Sarah to intervene. Whether the player chooses to shoot Sarah or spare her life, someone is always possessed by Lucifer and no one we care about goes home happy. Then there’s the dialogue…
#13: “Command & Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight” (2010)
Two paths to choose from, one inevitable outcome: disappointment. Whether your character Commander Parker chooses to ally with the Brotherhood of Nod or the Global Defense Initiative, all roads lead to the Nod-controlled Scrin tower. Kane, the Brotherhood's leader, asks Parker to use his ocular implant to open an interplanetary portal and let the Brotherhood leave Earth. Unfortunately, Parker is only able to do so – thus ending a decades-long war – after being fatally wounded by his own former commanding officer. Poor guy didn't even get to see the fruit of his labors. Also, after years of being the pioneers of FMV cutscenes, this last bit seems awfully cheap, especially for 2010…
#12: “Super Mario Bros. 2” (1988)
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This one gives new meaning to the phrase, “Life is but a dream”. Imagine: you've just faced off against the evil frog king Wart, and you're now being treated to the heroes of “Super Mario Bros. 2” enjoying their success. Suddenly, the screen shifts to that of a sleeping Mario, and the message is clear – the game you just played was all Mario's dream. Not only does that undercut the feeling of victory, it's also ridiculous in light of the game introducing certain iconic enemies and characters into Mario canon.
#11: “Too Human” (2008)
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We'd really appreciate some clarity on this one. “Too Human” ends with the Aesir Corporation, cybernetically-enhanced versions of the Norse gods, celebrating their victory over evil... all except the undead god Baldur, who's weary of his comrades' attitude. Although the official ending is a muddled mess, there’s also a cliffhanger after the credits that teases at a sequel – which, as we know now, is definitely never gonna happen. The final words left on screen only add to the irony…
#10: “Outlast” (2013)
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Considered to be one of the best survival horror games in recent years, players were left cowering in fear as they frantically tried to survive against the inhabitants of Mount Massive Asylum. From its controls, atmosphere, pace, and of course its unforgettable antagonists Chris Walker and Doctor Trager, Outlast seemed like the whole package. So what went wrong? Well, after finally taking down Project Walrider it looks like our poor protagonist Miles is home free…only to be shot down by the military, who have conveniently stormed the place. This just seemed to cheapen the experience as a whole, though it was thankfully remedied by its equally thrilling DLC: Whistleblower.
#9: “Borderlands” (2009)
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Hunting down Vaults, gunning across Pandora and interacting with some truly memorable villains like Handsome Jack - yeah, that all came in the sequel. The first game on the other hand wasn’t quite as polished, evidenced by the final boss battle against the Destroyer, which in and of itself was not that great a challenge. Going down after layering it with enough bullets, your planetary escapade comes to an end with nothing more than a verbal pat on the back from the Guardian Angel to show for it. Thanks, I guess?
#8: “Halo 2” (2004)
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Taking up arms as either the Master Chief or the Arbiter was an experience that many gamers still look back on with immense fondness. With so much world-building and endless hours of shooting down the likes of the Flood, we were expecting a finale that was nothing short of explosive. And what did we get? Just as it looked like we’re in for the battle of a lifetime, we got one of the biggest cliff-hangers ever. The Chief may have promised to finish the fight, but the rest of us were ready for it then and there!
#7: “Mass Effect 3” (2012)
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To be clear, we’re not talking about the extended cut that fixed most of the plot holes. No, we’re talking about the massive light show that concluded Shepard’s fight against the Reapers and left players wondering if all of it was worth it. After finally activating the Crucible, the player is presenting with three choices; Destroy, Control or Synthesis. While these morally contrasting options might seem like a good idea at first, the execution was what disappointed Mass Effect fans. All we got to see was Shepard bite the dust, the galaxy light up in one of three colours and…yeah that’s about it. At least the extended endings gave us some much-needed closure.
#6: “Monkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revenge” (1991)
This is it, time for Guybrush Threepwood to take down his pirate nemesis yet again in a showdown that future generations will still speak of. Surely the sequel to such a beloved game would not pull an absolute cop out that would undermine the characters, story and all the effort put in by the player. Well it does, as during the final battle LeChuck is revealed to be… a child. Before we even have time to register this, we see that the entire game was a fantasy thought up by two children. Talk about pulling the rug under our feet and ruining the immersion.
#5: “Ghosts ‘n Goblins” (1985)
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Infamous for its unreasonable difficulty spikes, the perilous quest of Sir Arthur to save his princess from Satan left many gamers pulling out their hair. Not only from the never ending waves of ogres, demons, dragons and other monsters, but also from the fact that it only takes two hits to kill Arthur. And then there’s the ending. After overcoming the Lord of Hell, you’re told the whole thing was an illusion, and if you want the happy ending you have to play through the whole thing on a higher difficulty. All of that controller smashing you went through was all in vain.
#4: “Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords” (2004)
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Coming off the heels of the triumph that was KOTOR, the sequel certainly had a lot to live up to. While there were plenty of lightsabers and the choice to embrace either the Dark Side or the Light, the ending suddenly came out of nowhere. After defeating Darth Traya, we’re … uhh … "rewarded" with a long-winded narration of the decisions we made and what’s going to happen in the future, and that's it. This rather abrupt ending was due to the fact that EA rushed the game out the door to have it ready in time for a Christmas launch, leaving fans and modders trying to reconstruct the planned content that ended up being scrapped.
#3: “Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty” (2001)
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The Phantom Pain also had similar issues, mostly due to Konami’s interference and editing of the final product. However, as much as we adore it as a game and as an entry in the MGS universe, Raiden’s solo mission did not exactly end on a high note. By this point we had faced off against Dead Cell, ran naked through hallways, sliced up countless terrorists with a sword and bested the likes of Solidus Snake…only to be left with an ending that thoroughly confused us. Arsenal Gear? The Patriots? All the creepy codec messages? Without the benefit of hindsight and later sequels we were left scratching our heads with this one.
#2: “Sniper: Ghost Warrior” (2010)
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We weren’t under any illusions that the ending of this game was probably going to involve some kind of epic sniper shot, though we were at least hoping for something added on like a cut-scene, or an extra piece of dialogue, anything to make it seem like a coherent conclusion. Anything but an instant cut to black. We’re not even joking here. One pull of the trigger and the game decides to just call it quits. There’s leaving the player unsatisfied, and there’s just slapping them in the face.
#1: “No Man’s Sky” (Launch Ending) (2016)
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While other games on this list may have had disappointing or in some cases just plain awful conclusions, at least they concluded. The same cannot be said of the original release version of No Man’s Sky. After managing to venture all the way to the centre of the galaxy, in the vain hope that all the hours spent crafting and mining your way through similar looking planets would be worth it, you are greeted with your final reward; absolutely nothing. The galaxy flashes before your eyes as all your progress is undone, and you realise that what was supposed to be an epic journey was nothing more than a colossal waste.
