5 biggest video game plot holes that made the players mad

Plot holes in video games, as in any form of media, occur when the narrative and lore unfold in a certain way that contradicts itself. This can be in the form of a previously unexplained phenomenon occurring without any possible reasoning. Or it might simply be a direct inconsistency that might not have a satisfying explanation.

Regardless of the case, plot holes are some of the worst problems to plague large narratives, and are seen frequently in video games. This is simply because players and audiences are unable to look past certain jarring inconsistencies, which become a major point of contention moving forward.

Over the course of video game history, there have been numerous plot holes, microscopic or colossal, which have ruined the overall experience of video games. Here are five such examples of video game plot holes that made the players mad.

Note: This article reflects the writer's opinion.

---

5 video game plot holes which were hard to look past

1) Mass Effect 3

BioWare’s final video game in the original Mass Effect Trilogy was a masterpiece in design and narrative element. It incorporated all the great aspects from the last two games, and sought to bring the story of Commander Shepard to a fitting end. In which case, the developers should have worked harder on the endings.

One ending, known as Destroy, has Shepard eliminating the Reapers (the antagonist of the entire series), but it also destroys all synthetic life in the galaxy, including EDI. It could possibly destroy the earth and the rest of Shepard’s crew. Another option is to control the Reapers, wherein Shepard sacrifices his human body, becomes a part of the Reaper consciousness, and stops their attack.

However, a third previously unknown option is also apparently available, offered up by the Reaper’s own AI. This enables all synthetic and organic life to be transformed into a sort of cyborg, and live peacefully with the Reapers.

The crux of the matter is that it is never explained where the Reapers have this power to wirelessly mutate life across the galaxy on a cellular level. Also, if this was an option, why start a war in the first place? Nor is there any satisfying explanation as to why Shepard has to sacrifice himself in order to accomplish this act.

---

2) Halo 4

After Halo: Reach, 343 Industries took over development from Bungie and decided that they wanted their own iconic look for Master Chief in Halo 4. Thus, picking up after the events of Halo 3, at the end of which Chief goes into a cryosleep pod, in Halo 4, when he steps out of this pod, he has a completely new armor design and look.

This is somewhat explained in-game by Cortana, which insinuates that the Mjolnir armor was imbued with nanomachines and could be controlled by the AI at any time. Evidently, while Chief was asleep, she modified the armor over time to a more advanced model. Though this could have been a fine explanation, it is just another instance of the video game contradicting itself.

The opening cutscenes, during the cinematic showing Chief’s time with another Spartan team in the past, shows him wearing almost the exact same armor. While nanomachines was a cop-out explanation anyway, this inconsistency was just annoying.

---

3) Life is Strange

In Life is Strange, players control Max Caufield, who discovers she has powers. This is first seen about 10 mins into the video game, after Max finishes her class, heads to the washroom and witnesses a classmate shoot another individual. She rewinds time through sheer instinct and finds herself back in class, 10 minutes earlier.

This gives the protagonist the usual “Did I really do that or was it just a dream?” moment, although that falls apart as players get through the rest of the game. Whenever Max uses her powers from there on, it never moves her through physical space, and she remains where she is.

A few chapters later, there are a few instances similar to this, although those only happen when she completely changes the timeline from the past, which fully changes the future. Thus one can look at this as a convenient plot hole in the beginning of the game.

---

4) Resident Evil 2

Ada Wong is an elusive and commendable video game character from the Resident Evil series. Stoic in the face of danger, this femme fatale clad in red has accomplished many feats, such as escaping a tyrant, taking down a number of zombies, and of course, cheating death.

Appearing for the first time in Resident Evil 2, she is an elusive figure who shadows Leon Kennedy across Racoon City, and can apparently slip through the clutches of death itself, as seen towards the end of the game.

When Leon finally confronts her atop a walkway, which teeters across an enormous reactor, going down hundreds of meters, she is shot by another character and falls to her death.

If players play through Leon in the B scenario, then things transpire a little differently but still result in her dying in Leon’s arms. This is weird, as she is the one who sends an RPG launcher to Leon during the final fight with the tyrant. It has been 14 years since RE 2 came out, and yet no one knows how Ada Wong survived.

---

5) Fallout 3

Possibly the most hilarious yet plot-convenient plot hole happens at the end of Fallout 3. At the end of the video game’s final mission, The Lone Wanderer has to fix a vital water purifier that threatens to poison the available water in the Wasteland to kill off all life on the planet. To fix this, however, they must enter a room filled with high levels of radiation, which will decidedly kill anyone who goes into it.

This leaves the player with two choices, and the game is quite adamant that it remains so. Either they can sacrifice a companion known as Sarah Lyons, who is the only one ready to sacrifice her life, or go in and give up their own life. This is an unfortunate choice, as the player also has a super mutant known as Fawkes, who is canonically immune to radiation, in their party.

However, when asked if he would like to go in, Fawkes gives a speech about everyone having their own destiny, and this was the Lone Wanderer’s. He even went on to say that he would not take this opportunity away from them. The ending, even today, is highly disconcerting for fans, to put it lightly,