Support NeoGAF

[geary]

Video games can create one of the most dramatic art forms. Those that get their hands on an well crafted game are generally in store for plenty of fun, and sometimes a emotional roller-coaster. Which are the games which exceled at generating raw emotions on a characters death, the game premise or the particular scene or ending sequence?

For me, in no particular order (i'll put it in spoiler):

Spoiler

1. RDR2 Arthur's death
2. CP2077 Songbird faith
3. CP2077 V's fate (Phantom Liberty ending)
4. Spec Ops: The Line (walking around the scene after the white phosphorus scene)
5. Hellblade (Senua's faith with mental illness)

 

[Lions Gate]

Video games can create one of the most dramatic art forms. Those that get their hands on an well crafted game are generally in store for plenty of fun, and sometimes a emotional roller-coaster. Which are the games which exceled at generating raw emotions on a characters death, the game premise or the particular scene or ending sequence?

For me, in no particular order (i'll put it in spoiler):

Spoiler

1. RDR2 Arthur's death
2. CP2077 Songbird faith
3. CP2077 V's fate (Phantom Liberty ending)
4. Spec Ops: The Line (walking around the scene after the white phosphorus scene)
5. Hellblade (Senua's faith with mental illness)

 

[tommycronin]

 

[RagnarokIV]

Cyberpunk 2077 launch

 

[yamaci17]

Spoiler: cry

yes songbird hit me real good too. got too emotionally invested into her story. couldnt even be mad that she betrayed me. i couldn't. the damn game tricked me into that situation. but damn I just let it go

rdr 2 arthur sure. got me teary eyed that one. but not his actual death. that was pretty much where it was going. the most tragic part for me was his talk with the nun and him saying he's afraid. him realizing how horrible of a live he lead and the mistakes he did. such a tragic moment of realization and all of his life catching up to him, making him "afraid"

death stranding, the moment where you realize you've fought/went up against your father's spirit the whole time. and thankfully saved another from a similar fate. how great that is?

portal 2 where glados letting chell go and deleting "caroline". the whole thing is so tragic because chell is pretty much the only human alive in the facility so surviving that was a great culmination to a tragic story

last of us part 2 where ellie gets PTSD flashbacks while holding JJ. pretty much the end result of the whole tragic story she went through.

gta 4's ending where Roman dies. you fought so much to fix stuff and just when things seem to be fixed and going well, the most tragic event hits you. I was devastated.

will of the wisps ending where shriek retreats back to its family's remains and dies. hit like a truck



this shit is so tragic that whenever I revisit the scene I get emotional and teary eyed. ;(

 

[lh032]

 

[hououinkyouma00]

I'll put my answers in spoilers as well just in case.

Spoiler

Persona 4/Golden - Nanako's "death"
Holy shit this hit me hard when I was playing it. I never originally got the bad ending and had to purposefully try to get it but seeing her in the hospital the first time and thinking that my precious "little sister" who never did anything wrong might die was tough.

Metal Gear Solid 3 - Killing The Boss
MGS is one of my favorite franchises and MGS3 is my favorite game in the series by far. When that moment came up I just sort of froze thinking maybe I don't have to and it took me a minute to actual press the button. Even worse is Snake's salute in the ending. *manly tears*

RDR/RDR2 - John/Arthur's deaths
I think Arthur's death is more emotional considering everything, but years before that John's death was pretty heavy. You spent the game trying to make everything right and trying to give your family a real life only to be gunned down. I think that Arthur's death is more impactful (even if I prefer John and RDR1 as a whole) because of how in depth and detailed the story of RDR2 is.

GTA IV - Roman's death.
My fucking brother in both blood and love for big American titties. I honestly didn't see it coming at the time and his death is way more impactful then Kate's as Kate wasn't really that well thought out and while I liked her character it doesn't hit as hard as your brother dying.

Steins;gate - Mayor's death over and over and over again.
Holy shit man. The first time this happens I was sad, angry, and confused, but seeing it over and over again you sort of start to feel Okabe's pure desperation and dread.

The House in Fata Morgana - The entire fucking game start to finish.
That entire game is just depressing and tragic start to finish.

 

[TintoConCasera]

Yakuza games sure have a ton of those, it's great how they manage to balance action, comedy and drama so well.

 

[CuteFaceJay]

 

[Cyberpunkd]

Can someone explain this to me? I see it posted often but I didn’t even finish the first game (was too boring).

 

[Loomy]

Can someone explain this to me? I see it posted often but I didn’t even finish the first game (was too boring).

The two characters have sex

 

[Loomy]

Final Fantasy games can be some of the most melodramatic things out there.

Spoiler

Almost everything after the start of the final cutscene in
FFXV: Everything from the end of the last boss fight
FFXVI:Torgal howling at the moon at the end
Crisis Core: Aftermath of Zack's last stand
FFX: Yuna Whistling, hoping Tidus hears it and comes back

Titanfall 2: BT: "Protocol 3, Protect the pilot. Trust me."

 

[Guilty_AI]

I bit of a niche one (and heavily biased since i'm replaying the series atm), but the Pardoners Fennel fight in Momodora RUtM.

Basically both you and the boss are in the same side, fighting for the same goal, but due to Fennel's radical way of thinking she mistakes protag as being an enemy and they both fight to death.

 

[Cyberpunkd]

The two characters have sex

Why is this tragic?

 

[NuclearDiarrhea]

Why is this tragic?

Because this sex scene is impossible to masturbate to.

 

[Loomy]

Why is this tragic?

It's not. It's just a meme at this point. This scene shouldn't be in this game. It adds nothing to the story or the characters. These characters had been friends for years at this point, they could have better accomplished their goals here with a tender moment instead of this.

Add in the fact that some people hate Abby for the what she did and the way she looks, and you've got a low hanging joke.

TLoU2 is a very good game with some weird decisions sprinkled throughout.

 

[Randall365]

The end of What Became of Edith Finch was quite sad.

Also Monkey Island 2, where Guybrush pulls his brother's leg off.

And that Brothers: Two Sons Game - spoiler:

Spoiler: Spoiler

You use a thumb stick to control each bro throughout the game and one dies - not only is that sad, but you have a real sense of mourning and loss that is hard to escape from, as suddenly one hand has nothing to do

 

[ultrazilla]

Spoiler

 

[StueyDuck]

not what i thought, tragedy in video games, thread was gonna be.

I was expecting the 100+hr FFX corrupted save on your PS2 memory card or your mom unplugging your Snes while you were mid game and didn't get to save.

now those are tragedies, that shit can scar you for life.

 

[Kagoshima_Luke]

When I was a kid my mom took me to the game store to get any game I wanted for my birthday.

I chose Heavy Nova on the Genesis.

 

[violence]

 

[MiguelItUp]

1. Spoiler

   Marston's death in Red Dead Redemption
2. Spoiler

   Arthur's death in Red Dead Redemption 2
3. Spoiler

   Jackie's death in CP2077
4. Spoiler

   Joel's death in TLOU2
5. Spoiler

   Eli's death in Half Life 2: Episode 2, and the faCT THAT WE GOT DROPPED OFF THERE

 

[BaldingAshCrimson]

Leona Heidern's backstory (King of Fighters)

From the wiki:

Gaidel refused (to join Goenitz, Orochi's main guy) as he and his family liked peace and not the violent tendencies created by the Orochi blood.
Enraged, Goenitz leaves; the same night, Leona underwent the Riot of Blood and slaughtered everyone in the village.

Goenitz, pleased by the results, puts her blood lust to rest for another time "when he needs her again"

Dazed and shocked, she loses her memories and wanders aimlessly until she is found and later adopted by Heidern. Surprised by her natural fighting ability, he decides to raise her as an Ikari warrior under his command.


Thanks to Ralf and Clark, it has a somewhat happy ending, even though she still has her major demons, she has a family.

 

[Kilau]

343 taking control of Halo.

 

[jshackles]

Ghost of Tsushima

Spoiler

"I'm sorry I couldn't protect you"

 

[cinnamonandgravy]

when i beat mario 64 and there wasnt any more.

when hl2 missed its original release date, valve was radio silent, so hackers released an unfinished build... and it was very unimpressive (overall decent game, but bad hl1 sequel, IMO).

seeing real ps3 games after the e3 reveal.

playing my n64 after seeing the dreamcast for the first time.

my friend laughing at me, explaining that the gamecube zelda would be cell shaded (when i was pumped for a spaceworld 2000-style zelda).

when i bought this 3rd party n64 controller as a kid, thinking it was the coolest thing ever, only to realize it felt like ass in games.

 

[xrnzaaas]

Ghost of Tsushima

Spoiler

"I'm sorry I couldn't protect you"

Yeah, I definitely needed a moment after that one.

 

[TintoConCasera]

Spoiler

Doesn't count anymore lol.

 

[Solarstrike]

Still waiting for Axelay 2. 32 years and counting ultrazilla

Axelay, Super Nintendo, end credits

 

[Hudo]

Realizing that there are only campaigns in Age of Empires II depicting the Fall of Rome from the perspective of Attila the Asshole and Alaric the Anal-Sniffer and not from the perspective of Rome. Fuck the barbarians.

 

[GrayDock]

Hit me pretty hard as a kid...

Spoiler: NES Ninja Gaiden I

...and still does.

 

[semiconscious]

imo, nothing else comes close...

 

[hybrid_birth]

I teared up the first time I saw this.

 

[Fart Knight]

 

[poppabk]

The bunny costume.

 

[Heimdall_Xtreme]

At that moment it was the beginning of the worst generation and the worst time of my life due to personal and university reasons, which lasted 10 to 12 years.

 

[LordOfChaos]

 

[Dr.Morris79]

The Soma ending.

 

[diffusionx]

Can someone explain this to me? I see it posted often but I didn’t even finish the first game (was too boring).

Just Druckmann things

 

[ResurrectedContrarian]

 

[Cattlyst]

Both of the last of us games have some pretty incredible moments. I know it’s cool here to say those games are crap or dull or woke or whatever but they really are two of the best games I’ve ever played in terms of storyline.

 

[Mobilemofo]

The Death that was TitanFall2. Launched between two Fatties, it never stood a chance. Yet it was better than both.

A tragic moment of intense stupidity.

 

[Angry_Megalodon]

 

[Romulus]

The biggest tragedy for me wasn't in a game, but in the death of a company in 2013.

"TV"

-Xbox

 

[Danknugz]

is that a dude or girl in the front? i think i can kind of make out tits but not sure.

 

[Little Chicken]

Moments like this in games are genuinely rare and Rockstar pulled it off so well.

 

[TerribleAtThisGame]

Whenever a game forces some bullshit slow-walk & talk section on me.

 

[Mister Wolf]

 

[Boneless]

No one's left. Everything's gone. Kharak is burning.

 

[cash_longfellow]

Nothing will ever top Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons ending for me.