Top 10 Video Game Trailers That Spoiled The Game

In development for over a decade, there were many unknowns surrounding the plot and world-building going into “Kingdom Hearts III”. Fans didn’t know for certain who would show up at what point - or what ongoing plot threads would be definitively resolved - but they were excited by the possibilities. What wasn’t anticipated by folks, though, was the amount of plot information divulged by the later trailers for the game. At E3 2018 alone, a trio of trailers spotlighted the pivotal scene in which the lost Keyblade wielder Aqua was revealed to have turned evil. Meanwhile, a subsequent teaser placed its focus on the late-game Keyblade Graveyard battle, a major sequence with dire narrative ramifications.

A lot of the charm in LucasArts’ acclaimed adventure game “Grim Fandango” stems from its embrace of, among other things, film noir as a source of inspiration. The game’s mystique goes hand-in-hand with its love of keeping the audience on their toes via unexpected plot turns... which can be negatively impacted if audience members know of the twists beforehand. Alas, the game’s own trailer didn’t help with such matters by abruptly spoiling a pair of chilling scenes involving the practice of sprouting, which destroys undead citizens permanently. It’s quite sad to think that such unsettling, visceral scenes might lose some of their power because of a mistake made in promotional material. Thankfully, the Remastered edition avoided this mistake in their trailers.

Divisive a role-playing game as it may have been, “Nier” was no slouch when it came to delivering genuinely hard-to-predict twists and exploring rather profound ideas. Trouble was, anyone who caught the game’s launch trailer – or simply sat in the main menu for too long – would have had some of those interesting moments given away for them. The trailer not only discloses the far-future setting of much of “Nier,” it also spotlights certain scenes and the existence of certain characters that aren’t pertinent until late into the story. Even the game’s villain, intentionally positioned as a mysterious figure in the game world, was name-dropped without warning.

Like with many titles in the wider BioWare catalogue, the various crossing narrative threads in “Mass Effect 2” were written with the intent of creating intrigue and keeping the audience on edge. Part of what makes this approach work is the care in keeping character and plot details obfuscated until the moment where best used to heighten the drama. Someone apparently didn’t tell the marketing department that, as the game’s Fight for the Lost trailers had no qualms about blowing several key surprises at once. Garrus Vakarian’s return to the Normandy crew is perhaps the most blatant, though other plot points like Shepard’s brief demise weren’t safe from spoiling either.

Though there’s certainly a case to be made for the unfortunate nature of the trailers for “Resident Evil 5”, we feel the next numbered entry got more of a raw deal in terms of promotion. In the first official trailer for “Resident Evil 6”, a variety of details get exposed – including the significance of new protagonist Jake Mueller’s blood. Coupled with footage of his impressive combat abilities, this lead viewers to slowly piece together his identity as the son of long-time villain Albert Wesker... something which is outright given away in a subsequent trailer. Perhaps Capcom assumed the audience’s correct guesses meant there was no need for continued secrecy, but still the disappointment lingers.

Boss battles can be huge factors in a player’s enjoyment of a game, especially if it’s an encounter that comes as a pleasant or compelling surprise. Sadly, eagle-eyed folks who kept up with the teasers leading up to the release of “Dead Space” might have missed out on such an opportunity for unspoiled entertainment. The launch trailer for the game mostly focuses on quick action shots and early narrative scenes, only to pivot towards unveiling the game’s final boss, the Hive Mind. Grotesque in form and deadly in its capabilities, this giant beast could have made for quite the out-of-left-field climactic encounter under better circumstances.

For many fans, Nathan Fillion’s Cayde-6 was the heart and soul of the Destiny universe. So, you could imagine there were some fans that were upset not only by Bungie’s decision to kill off the beloved character but also their choice to reveal his demise in the trailer for the “Destiny 2: Forsaken” expansion. Sure, it happens after the first mission, but the death of one of the most charismatic and likable characters in the Destiny universe could have had a lot more weight had players not already seen it in the promotional material.

Though the original “Portal” quite famously teased the possibility that the malevolent artificial intelligence GLaDOS hadn’t been fully destroyed, a modicum of reasonable doubt remained. Said doubt was quickly shattered when, at E3 2010, the announcement trailer for “Portal 2” opened on GlaDOS’ reactivation. Subsequent promotional videos only helped reinforce how important to the game GlaDOS was, a fact that doesn’t actually become apparent until Chapter 3. One would think Valve might be more careful not to tip their hand regarding the narrative so much, given how much they enjoy sudden and dramatic plot swerves.

Sometimes it’s not just one trailer but many which prove problematic for keeping interesting story elements under wraps. Case in point: going back over the videos teasing “The Phantom Pain” make it readily apparent what Kojima and company felt comfortable sharing ahead of the game’s launch. From basic premise through to the climax of the game’s first chapter, little of “The Phantom Pain” was actually kept a secret. Hell, even the reveal that players weren’t actually playing as Snake this time – a detail otherwise only revealed until the true ending – was given away in an early trailer.

Of all the things to spoil, why this? Even people who haven’t played “Final Fantasy VII” will know that the abrupt, ruthless murder of Aerith Gainsborough is perhaps the game’s most iconic scene. However, it’s also vital as a turning point in the overall plot, a heartbreaking moment that players at the time wouldn’t have seen coming unless they’d stumbled upon one particularly galling trailer. In addition to showing part of the scene, the ad in question also has a narrator whose allusion to Aerith’s fate is astoundingly blunt in its meaning. Whatever the mentality behind this advertisement’s conception was, it proved quite misguided in execution.