The 10 Worst Video Game Endings
Welcome to MojoPlays, and these are our top picks for the 10 Worst Video Game Endings. Not every game can end on a high note, but these titles managed to make our time feel meaningless. Whether they failed to tie up loose ends or simply ended things with a whimper, these endings were incredibly irritating!
“No Man's Sky” (Launch Ending) (2016)
“No Man's Sky” went down as the biggest gaming disaster of 2016. In addition to a vague marketing campaign and overall boring experience, “No Man's Sky” had an ending that felt like a giant middle finger to those who spent hours upon hours to reach the center of the universe. Enjoy this spectacular presentation of Particles: The Experience as you watch every planet and living thing you encounter disappear! Now, go do everything again in the new galaxy. Thankfully, this isn't the case anymore as “No Man's Sky” now features a story mode and multiple endings. Still, the launch ending stung for players who stuck around.
“Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge” (1991)
What was supposed to be a major plot twist for the “Monkey Island” series only wound up making things frustratingly confusing? In what would be their final confrontation, Guybrush Threepwood defeats LeChuck only to discover the villainous captain was his brother. This is where things spiral from somewhat to ridiculously convoluted. Playing through the flashback sequence that followed after only presented more questions. The whole ending was such a farce that the developers retconned it at the start of “Monkey Island 3: The Curse of Monkey Island”. Way to catch yourself before the fall, guys!
“Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II - The Sith Lords” (2004)
Ah, yes, another game that we sunk hours upon hours into only to get an ending that made the whole experience feel meaningless. Remember all of those relationships you built, all those long hours spent strengthening bonds? Yeah, that was a complete waste of time. To make everything worse, most of our questions went unanswered! Why did Kreia turn to the Dark Side? Why was she so hell-bent on blowing up the planet? You mean to tell us that we spent 50+ hours just for her to fall down and succeed with her plans? Talk about anti-climactic.
“Alone in the Dark” (2008)
A good ending would not have saved “Alone in the Dark” - it was already a nightmare in of itself. With its abysmal writing and amass of technical issues, the game had already managed to turn this once legendary franchise into a husk of its former glory. As if the whole package wasn't bad enough, “Alone in the Dark” ended things with a choice: force Edward Carnby to kill his partner Sarah and allow Satan to possess her, or refuse. Well, it doesn't matter what happens because, in the end, someone is going to get possessed, humanity is screwed, and the Devil will say something douchey.
“Command & Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight” (2010)
As we learned from “Alone in the Dark”, never give the player a false ending if you can't devise a unique enough outcome. “Command & Conquer 4” made the same mistake as our previous entry in that it provided the player with a choice only for them to conclude the same way. You die, Kane uses the portal, and the Tiberian towers become stable. If this false choice wasn't enough to get your feathers ruffled, the uncomfortably campy interview sure did.
“Ghosts 'n Goblins” (1985)
You ever played “Ghosts 'n Goblins”? It's insanely hard! You got ghosts and goblins and zombies and demons flying at you all over the place! It's one of the most difficult platformers ever made, and it has one of the most anticlimactic endings we've ever seen. Once you've beaten the final boss, you're told that the entire journey was an illusion. And so, you're sent back to the beginning for another run.
“Fallout 3” (2008)
As if the fight with Colonel Autumn wasn't bad enough, “Fallout 3” continues its descent into disappointment with - altogether now - 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.
“Sniper: Ghost Warrior” (2010)
Speaking of abrupt endings, “Sniper: Ghost Warrior” is one of the most shameful endings out there. The final level holds a vantage point where you can possibly snipe your target from across the map. Once you've neutralized your target, the screen goes black, and… THE END! You don't get a cinematic. You don't get still images with some narration. You get THE END in tiny, white font, and the credits start rolling. If there was any way we could compare this feeling of disappointment, its when you see a firework launch and fail to burst; what started as a spectacle of wonder is now a paper dud that has left an ash stain on the driveway.
“Halo 2” (2004)
We've talked about false choices and abrupt endings, but the absolute worst way to end a game is by using it purely to sell us on the sequel. That's exactly what “Halo 2” did. Just when it felt like we were reaching the climax, Master Chief says that he's “finishing this fight” only for the screen to go black. As the credits began to roll, most players couldn't shake the feeling like they were given a massive advertisement for “Halo 3”. That's a low blow, and Bungie would later admit that this type of ending was a bad move.
“Mass Effect 3” (2012)
Whenever the discussion of worst video game endings is brought up, “Mass Effect 3” is one of the first titles to be mentioned, and for good reason. Before BioWare released the Extended Cut DLC, “Mass Effect 3” unraveled everything that previous titles had already established. The ending was filled with several plot holes, and the writing was lackluster, to put it generously. You can bet your bottom dollar fans weren't going to take this sitting down, and sure enough, the pitchforks were so sharp that BioWare had to fix things. While the Extended Cut resolved issues, we still haven't forgotten the PR nightmare that was “Mass Effect 3's” ending. read more...
Welcome to MojoPlays, and these are our top picks for the 10 Worst Video Game Endings. Not every game can end on a high note, but these titles managed to make our time feel meaningless. Whether they failed to tie up loose ends or simply ended things with a whimper, these endings were incredibly irritating!
“No Man's Sky” (Launch Ending) (2016)
“No Man's Sky” went down as the biggest gaming disaster of 2016. In addition to a vague marketing campaign and overall boring experience, “No Man's Sky” had an ending that felt like a giant middle finger to those who spent hours upon hours to reach the center of the universe. Enjoy this spectacular presentation of Particles: The Experience as you watch every planet and living thing you encounter disappear! Now, go do everything again in the new galaxy. Thankfully, this isn't the case anymore as “No Man's Sky” now features a story mode and multiple endings. Still, the launch ending stung for players who stuck around.
“Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge” (1991)
What was supposed to be a major plot twist for the “Monkey Island” series only wound up making things frustratingly confusing? In what would be their final confrontation, Guybrush Threepwood defeats LeChuck only to discover the villainous captain was his brother. This is where things spiral from somewhat to ridiculously convoluted. Playing through the flashback sequence that followed after only presented more questions. The whole ending was such a farce that the developers retconned it at the start of “Monkey Island 3: The Curse of Monkey Island”. Way to catch yourself before the fall, guys!
“Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II - The Sith Lords” (2004)
Ah, yes, another game that we sunk hours upon hours into only to get an ending that made the whole experience feel meaningless. Remember all of those relationships you built, all those long hours spent strengthening bonds? Yeah, that was a complete waste of time. To make everything worse, most of our questions went unanswered! Why did Kreia turn to the Dark Side? Why was she so hell-bent on blowing up the planet? You mean to tell us that we spent 50+ hours just for her to fall down and succeed with her plans? Talk about anti-climactic.
“Alone in the Dark” (2008)
A good ending would not have saved “Alone in the Dark” - it was already a nightmare in of itself. With its abysmal writing and amass of technical issues, the game had already managed to turn this once legendary franchise into a husk of its former glory. As if the whole package wasn't bad enough, “Alone in the Dark” ended things with a choice: force Edward Carnby to kill his partner Sarah and allow Satan to possess her, or refuse. Well, it doesn't matter what happens because, in the end, someone is going to get possessed, humanity is screwed, and the Devil will say something douchey.
“Command & Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight” (2010)
As we learned from “Alone in the Dark”, never give the player a false ending if you can't devise a unique enough outcome. “Command & Conquer 4” made the same mistake as our previous entry in that it provided the player with a choice only for them to conclude the same way. You die, Kane uses the portal, and the Tiberian towers become stable. If this false choice wasn't enough to get your feathers ruffled, the uncomfortably campy interview sure did.
“Ghosts 'n Goblins” (1985)
You ever played “Ghosts 'n Goblins”? It's insanely hard! You got ghosts and goblins and zombies and demons flying at you all over the place! It's one of the most difficult platformers ever made, and it has one of the most anticlimactic endings we've ever seen. Once you've beaten the final boss, you're told that the entire journey was an illusion. And so, you're sent back to the beginning for another run.
“Fallout 3” (2008)
As if the fight with Colonel Autumn wasn't bad enough, “Fallout 3” continues its descent into disappointment with - altogether now - 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.
“Sniper: Ghost Warrior” (2010)
Speaking of abrupt endings, “Sniper: Ghost Warrior” is one of the most shameful endings out there. The final level holds a vantage point where you can possibly snipe your target from across the map. Once you've neutralized your target, the screen goes black, and… THE END! You don't get a cinematic. You don't get still images with some narration. You get THE END in tiny, white font, and the credits start rolling. If there was any way we could compare this feeling of disappointment, its when you see a firework launch and fail to burst; what started as a spectacle of wonder is now a paper dud that has left an ash stain on the driveway.
“Halo 2” (2004)
We've talked about false choices and abrupt endings, but the absolute worst way to end a game is by using it purely to sell us on the sequel. That's exactly what “Halo 2” did. Just when it felt like we were reaching the climax, Master Chief says that he's “finishing this fight” only for the screen to go black. As the credits began to roll, most players couldn't shake the feeling like they were given a massive advertisement for “Halo 3”. That's a low blow, and Bungie would later admit that this type of ending was a bad move.
“Mass Effect 3” (2012)
Whenever the discussion of worst video game endings is brought up, “Mass Effect 3” is one of the first titles to be mentioned, and for good reason. Before BioWare released the Extended Cut DLC, “Mass Effect 3” unraveled everything that previous titles had already established. The ending was filled with several plot holes, and the writing was lackluster, to put it generously. You can bet your bottom dollar fans weren't going to take this sitting down, and sure enough, the pitchforks were so sharp that BioWare had to fix things. While the Extended Cut resolved issues, we still haven't forgotten the PR nightmare that was “Mass Effect 3's” ending. read more...
