The 10 Most PAINFUL Video Game Deaths

10 Most Painful Video Game Deaths

Welcome to MojoPlays, and today we are gripping our chairs as tight as we can as we sit through the brutally upsetting 10 Most Painful Video Game Deaths. This list is never ending, so we may have to come back for 10 More at some point, but for now, yucky yuck yuck here we go.

Bullet Sponge

“Red Dead Redemption” (2010)

By all accounts of first hand victims, being shot isn’t THAT painful (depending on the gun). The shock, combined with the precision of the projectile causes more of a pinch and annoying burning sensation rather than excruciating pain. Being shot 47 times in the torso and limbs however would hurt like a mother f***er. With his organs pierced, his lungs filling with blood and his body looking like a fresh cut of lamb, John Martson faces one of the worst deaths imaginable at the hands of Edgar Ross and a handful of U.S soldiers. After successfully aiding in the escape of his wife and son, he stays behind in order to allow them enough time to make their exit safely, facing the firing line is the cherry on top of this unbelievably brave act. R.I.P Johnny “swiss cheese” Marston.

Burn Baby Burn

“Ghost of Tsushima” (2020)

There are probably a thousand games where we could use this as an example of an exceptionally painful death, but unfortunately for you GTA fans, we’re going for Ghost of Tsushima because honestly … I didn’t really think about it till just now. At the beginning of Ghost of Tsushima, the Samurai army of Tsushima are led into battle against the Mongol fleet. As is customary, they send in their strongest Samurai to face their strongest Mongol, their leader Khotun Khan. While the samurai are trained to fight with honor, Khotun opts instead to douse his opponent in oil, and set him ablaze, he finishes him by removing his head with one foul swoop. Honestly though, why did he just stand there, if someone covered me in oil I’d be running straight into the ocean.

Ben Carmine

“Gear of Wars 2” (2008)

Any death involving an alien is going to inevitably be quite painful, aliens don’t play by our silly human rules, and that is especially evident when Ben Carmine is taken out by the Riftworm in Gears of War 2. After being swallowed by a Riftworm, Carmine was pulled through the stomach's acidic spikes, corroding flesh around his chest and condemning him to a slow death. When his comrades finally discovered him, Ben bore the marks of a savage attack, his injuries rendering speech agonizingly challenging as he struggled to deliver his final words. As the saying goes, a quick game is a good game. A less popular saying is, a slow acidic corroding riftworm death is a really really really s***ty death.

Brain Transplant

“Wolfenstein: The New Order” (2014)

This one really truly sucks, I assume, I’ve never had my back opened up and my brain sucked out before. Who actually suffers this nightmarish interaction is all dependant on the players choices, but regardless of who, the result is exactly the same, they are placed on a table by the unbelievably unsettling Wilhelm Strass, and subjected to the following. Without any anesthesia, an incision is made down their back which is spread open by pliers making their spine and muscles completely visible. Their skull is then drilled into and their brain sucked out … I don’t know why I rushed through that last bit, I just don’t want to keep watching this video. Disgusting.

Machete Face

“The Last of Us” (2013)

It becomes pretty standard to run into some pretty disgusting figures when making your way through the wasteland of any zombie apocalypse. It’s a tale as old as time that the scariest enemy is your fellow man, and in The Last of Us, that’s no different. After being kidnapped by the cannibalistic David, Ellie almost makes her escape, but has to face him one v one. The interaction ends with the far stronger older man, holding Ellie down and threatening sexual and violent acts, Ellie gets the upper hand though when she gives him one of the most painful AND most deserved deaths in the game, repeatedly striking his head with a machete. If you thought a paper cut hurt, try having your face scaled like a fish.

Head-less

“God of War 3” (2010)

God of war features a bunch of terribly disgusting deaths, almost always being dished out by the God of War himself, Kratos. After receiving the absolute beating of a lifetime, our boy Helios is right where Kratos wants him, beneath his boot. If the beating wasn’t already painful enough, Kratos performs arguably one of the worst kills he’s ever performed by slowly, and paindfully ripping Helius’s head from his body. Tearing a head requires tearing of muscle, skin and bone, and feeling most of that very very slowly would absolutely NOT tickle. Helios, we apologise on behalf of the big man, he’s having a tough day.

Paz

“Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes” (2014)

There aren’t many characters in gaming who’ve suffered quite as terribly as Paz, and although the moment of her death was probably instant and painless, the suffering that led up to her death was so substantial, it’s definitely worth mentioning. After being kidnapped, Paz was tortured in some excessively brutal and painful ways, and psychological and sexual ways as well. Most of these are so horrendous, I’m not even going to talk about them. With her achilles bolted, and her brain destroyed, she was rescued by our very own protagonist Big Boss, only for the realisation that her stomach was the storage place of a small bomb. With no anesthetic, the bomb was cut and removed from her with her guts and organs spilling out while the removal happened. When the realisation that a second bomb was inside her womb/va**na (it’s never clarified), she throws herself from the helicopter they are on, and explodes into a fine mist, never to be seen again.

Hammer Time

“Dead Space” (2008)

Remember what we said earlier about any death delivered by an alien being painful … Yep. In the original Dead Space game, Zach served as a courageous security officer. Tragically, he was trapped in a room with a creature blocking the only exit. The creature beats him brutally, which includes ripping off his leg (all while still alive), the creature then obviously needs a way through the glass barrier to the player, for which the creature grotesquely repurposed his body as a hammer, and smashes straight on through. Hammond's demise stands out as one of the most poignant and brutal deaths in video game history, leaving many Dead Space players deeply shocked.

FORE!

“BioShock” (2007)

Andrew Ryan's death in Bioshock is a pivotal moment in the game's narrative, and a pivotal moment in the sport of golf. As the founder of the underwater city of Rapture, Ryan is a central figure, embodying its ideals, and the person the player is working towards from the very get-go. In a dramatic confrontation, the protagonist, Jack, learns that he is Ryan's illegitimate son, Ryan, defiant to the end, forces Jack to kill him by handing him a golf club and repeatedly taunting, "A man chooses, a slave obeys." Jack, under the influence of mind control, is ultimately compelled to bludgeon Ryan to death. The death is a standout moment in gaming, sure sure, but can we stop for a moment and acknowledge that Ryan (ever the man of drama) was probably thinking in that moment “Jesus I wish I’d picked a gentler death, this f***ing blows”.

Pummeled

“Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc” (2010)

In Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, the infamous "baseball death" refers to the execution of Leon Kuwata. Leon is a talented baseball player who becomes embroiled in the deadly game orchestrated by Monokuma. After being convicted of murder, Leon's execution, titled "Deep Fried Teruteru," is a spectacle of twisted creativity. He is forced into a baseball-themed scenario where he must face a pitching machine firing numerous baseballs at him. Despite his athletic abilities, Leon is overwhelmed and ultimately struck by a barrage of baseballs, leading to his demise. The execution is a disturbing blend of the game's themes of despair and dark humor, highlighting the grim consequences of the characters' actions within the killing game. Leon's baseball death serves as a stark reminder of the merciless nature of the game and the high stakes of survival.