Top 10 Video Game Plot Twists That Ruined Everything

“Death Stranding” (2019)

Hideo Kojima went “full Kojima” with “Death Stranding.” And while that can entail things that are ridiculously awesome, this game and especially this part are considered by many to be just plain old ridiculous. Sam Bridges fights and defeats apparent big bad Higgs Monaghan on Amelie’s beach. However, Amelie reveals that Sam’s whole journey has been manipulation for him to set up a network that can bring about the apocalypse and then they run along the beach…what? You need a diagram and a four hour lecture to understand the plot of this game, but this bizarre twist is particularly infuriating, since it makes you question what all your gameplay up until now has been for. The cringey dialogue certainly doesn’t help.

“Final Fantasy VIII” (1999)

A decent way into this game, party member Irvine reveals to the rest of the group that all of them have amnesia and used to know each other. Not only that, but they also grew up at the same orphanage and the evil sorceress they’re fighting, Edea, was the woman who raised them. According to him, the use of summoned monsters called Guardian Forces or GFs, caused their memory loss. Most “Final Fantasy” games feature amnesia. That’s not the issue here. It’s the fact that this raises so many plot holes! Like, why didn’t Irvine mention this when they were trying to assassinate the sorceress? Or how Irvine uses GFs without amnesia? Or a dozen other things about the story that now make zero sense!

“The Last of Us Part II” (2020)

To say the response to this game in general is vitriolic would be a massive understatement! And while we can’t condone most of it, the reaction to this twist isn’t unjustified. Shortly into this game, Joel, the protagonist of the first “The Last of Us” game, is brutally murdered by Abby in revenge for the death of her father, whom Joel killed to save his daughter-figure Ellie. That alone was a controversial plot point, but players’ jaws hit the deck when they were forced to spend the remainder of the game alternating between controlling Ellie and Abby herself. Being asked to walk a mile in the shoes of the previous protagonist’s killer was a step too far for a lot of players.

“Bayonetta 3” (2022)

The “Bayonetta” series is no stranger for groan-inducing identity reveals. And although Cereza being Bayonetta’s past self also made us roll our eyes, it’s the threequel that makes our list. Throughout the game, one of the secondary player characters is newcomer Viola. Viola is eventually revealed to be Bayonetta’s daughter from another universe. Whether you don’t like that Viola is essentially set up to succeed Bayonetta as the series’ protagonist, the fact their relationship is underdeveloped, that Bayonetta was more hetero than you were expecting, or that she got together with Luka of all people, this twist didn’t go over all that brilliantly, darlings.

“Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain” (2015)

The “Metal Gear” series has another “solid” runner up for another terrible Hideo Kojima twist with the reveal that Raiden was the protagonist of “Metal Gear Solid 2.” However, at least Raiden was his own character! The finale of “The Phantom Pain” reveals that you haven’t been playing as Big Boss for the whole game! Instead, you’re an unnamed medic surgically altered and hypnotized into believing he’s Big Boss. While the rug being pulled out from under you like this certainly ties into the title well, it certainly didn’t endear a lot of fans to the game’s story. At least the gameplay is awesome, though.

“Bionic Commando” (2009)

No, that’s not some kind of euphemism - we’re being literal here. Honestly, “Bionic Commando” is an underrated action game. The grappling mechanics are honestly pretty fun. But it’s the story, particularly this infamous twist that brings it down. Near the finale of the game, the villainous Super Joe reveals to protagonist Nathan Spencer that to make his bionic arm more compatible with him, the government killed his wife and incorporated her into appendage. It’s such a bizarre twist that has little to no buildup. Even the gameplay couldn’t save the story after this revelation.

“Metroid: Other M” (2010)

To be fair to this twist, “Other M” is already a divisive game in general, what with its changes to Samus’ character and strange restrictions on her abilities. But this twist was maybe a nail in the coffin. During the course of Samus’ attempts to rid a Galactic Federation facility of Metroids, Space Pirates, and other villains, she encounters Madeline Bergman. Madeline tells her that the Federation created an A.I. called MB based on Mother Brain to control the Space Pirates, only for it to go rogue. But later, Samus meets the real Madeline Bergman! Samus actually met MB, a.k.a. Melissa Bergman, earlier. It’s such a convoluted, yet dumb twist, and one that many fans felt didn’t belong in a “Metroid” game.

“Fallout 4” (2015)

As the Sole Survivor, you awaken in the post-apocalyptic wasteland of “Fallout 4” desperate to find your son Shaun, whom you saw kidnapped before your eyes while in a cryopod. You eventually deduce that Shaun was taken to the Institute, a secret advanced society specializing in creating synths. When you get there, you seemingly find Shaun - except it’s actually a synth. The real Shaun is actually “Father,” the leader of the Institute. He grew up while you were still in stasis. Even if this was extremely predictable, having your whole quest be for naught, and your son being essentially the main villain still leaves a bad taste in our mouths.

“Twelve Minutes” (2021)

“Twelve Minutes” is a top-down point-and-click adventure game. Every 12 minutes, or if you die, time resets. You play an unnamed husband trying to unravel why an unnamed man would kill your wife. It’s eventually revealed that the man’s wife supposedly killed her father. But the intruder explains that her father was killed by his lovechild, from her dad’s affair with a nanny. But the last whammy is that your character is that lovechild, and you’ve been playing a man murderer married to his own half-sister, with a baby on the way. While this kind of revulsion-inducing twist might have worked if it were played correctly, “Twelve Minutes” uses it as a cheap shock for the player.

“Heavy Rain” (2010)

David Cage games don’t really work well as stories, or as games. And this baffling twist is exhibit A! Essentially an interactive murder mystery, “Heavy Rain” lets you control several characters while pursuing the mysterious Origami Killer. Except, surprising no one, you play as the killer! Unfortunately, despite some foreshadowing, the famed serial killer is Scott Shelby, a P.I. searching for…himself. Ostensibly it’s to cover up evidence of his crimes, but this revelation creates plot holes you could drive a bus through, like you controlling Scott in a room next to where the “Origami Killer” kills someone, or how his inner monologue doesn’t match up. This moronic twist makes a good case for why “Heavy Rain” belongs down the drain.