5 video game endings that subverted player expectations

Video game endings can either make or break a title and some conclusion exists that either will subvert your expectations, leaving you in tears and clapping your hands or feeling disgruntled. The storytelling in the gaming media has always had certain twists added to the various projects, to provide shock value to the players, but not every studio can execute it properly.

Let's take a look at some of the many video game endings that were able to subvert player expectations, either in a good or a bad way.

Note: This article dives into spoilers for several video game endings, so proceed with caution. The entries are subjective and solely reflect the writer's opinion.

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Video game endings that subverted player expectations

1) Persona 3

A bittersweet, yet fitting end (Image via Atlus)

Persona 3's ending is one of the most iconic conclusions to any JRPG. While the game starts as a slice-of-life mixed with a darker subplot, it is when the credits roll, that you will find yourself in tears. The events of Persona 3 lead to a boss fight where you must face the persona of death if you want to save everyone in Iwatodai with whom you have grown close over the past few months.

The protagonist, Makoto Yuki, faces off against Nyx, the personification of death, and it is in this overwhelming moment that your courage and the bonds you created will pave the way for you. You inflict the Great Seal on Nyx and the game sees you returning to your daily life with your friends. This will lead you to the finale of Persona 3, on the day of March 5, when your seniors will be graduating.

Persona 3's final scene leads you to the rooftop of Gekkoukan High School, where Makoto is lying on Aigis' lap. After a beautiful monologue from your blonde friend, she confesses her affection for you and promises to protect you. You hear people calling out your name and turn to see your friends standing there, with the scene fading to white, leading to this video game ending with a beautiful song.

Makoto passes away, surrounded by the people he loves, and successfully seals away death from ever harming them. It is a bittersweet conclusion, but a fitting video game ending to one of the best JRPGs you can play.

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2) Nier Automata

Glory to Mankind! (Image via Square Enix)

Nier Automata is an ode to humanity and Yoko Taro's finest creation to date. The game has several endings and you can get the true conclusion based on your choices.

At the start of the game, one of the main protagonists, 2B, asks if it is possible to destroy the creators that have trapped them in the perpetual puzzle of life and death. While you may think of the creators as gods, this line will come into play at the end of Nier Automata.

The game starts as a typical hack-and-slash title set in a dystopian world where the humans seemingly retreat to a space station on the moon. Throughout the plot, you will discover what happened, and why 2B stated about being stuck in a neverending cycle of life and death.

The Ending E, which is the actual conclusion of the game will have you seeing the consciousness that kept repeating the cycle, having a certain change of heart, and gaining emotions due to your actions.

The credits see you taking control of 9S' Pod and forcing you into a mini-game of shooting the names of the various people who have worked in the game. These are the creators of 2B, 9S, A2, and the other androids trapped in the constant cycle of suffering we see throughout the game.

But breaking the 4th wall is not enough, as you will be overwhelmed by the incoming projectiles. You will fail and ultimately get the choice to call for reinforcements.

Soon you will discover that more Pods are joining you, helping you overcome the challenge, with the song Weight of the World changing from an 8Bit rendition to all the singers and the game's production staff chiming in together. You will soon realize that these pods are players who have sacrificed their saved files to help others, and you will be asked to do the same.

Nier Automata has one of the most beautiful conclusions for a video game ending, making you appreciate your fellow humans and giving you a new perspective on life.

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3) Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League

The only thing this game killed is the players' trust in Rocksteady (Image via Rocksteady)

While the last few entries have showcased how a developer delivers perfect video game endings that subvert expectations correctly, the same cannot be said for Rocksteady.

Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League is on the list of many players' worst games of 2024 and for good reasons. While the gameplay is quite refined and fun, the grinding and repetitive missions can turn away even the most dedicated MMO players.

But the plot is equally worse on how Rocksteady handled its legacy character and some of the most beloved superheroes from the DC comics. The video game ending of this title is equally baffling, where instead of getting a showdown with Brainiac, you are forced into the repetition of the Flash boss fight. But defeating the planet-destroying bad guy from the DC is not enough.

It is revealed that all the hard work you did was pointless as you will need to defeat a total of 13 Brainiacs. This is easily one of the most frustrating video game endings for an AAA title and can feel frustrating.

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4) Spec Ops The Line

Who is the real monster? (Image via YAGER)

A list of video game endings that subverted player expectations is incomplete without talking about Spec Ops The Line. While it may come off as a typical 2010s military shooter, its conclusion has a subtle twist that will keep you baffled by how well-written this video game ending is.

You play as Captain Martin Walker, who is tasked with bringing order to the ruined city of Dubai under the control of John Conrad and his Damned 33rd.

The ending leads Walker and Adams to prepare a final charge to destroy Conrad. You fight through hordes of the Damned 33rd, slaughtering them as they push through the Burj Khalifa.

One of the biggest things you will notice during the sequence is that Walker hallucinates a 33rd soldier as Hugo, whom we all know has died earlier. Hugo's apparition blames the captain for everything that went wrong, and how it should've been Walker who meets his death.

The sequence ends with Adams finally snapping and diving to his death, and Walker standing alone in the front of the tower, looking back at the chaos he unleashed. You walk into the building, with the rest of the 33rd surrendering to you, and now it is time to face the main man himself, John Conrad.

It is revealed that Conrad is a figment of Walker's imagination whom he cooked up to act as another man on whom he can project the horrible acts he committed throughout the game — Using the White Phosphorus on civilians, destroying Dubai's water supply, and leading his team to their doom. You get a choice: either shoot yourself, accepting your guilt or shoot Conrad, denying the war crimes you committed.

This leads to the video game ending of Spec Ops The Line, which is left to interpretation. Many people think that Walker perished during the helicopter crash, with the last few chapters are him imagining various things as he lay dying. Shooting himself means Walker dies by accepting his faults while shooting Conrad means the captain is far beyond any redemption and dies an irredeemable man.

Spec Ops The Line's conclusion is one of the most brilliant written ones among the halls of video game endings, cementing it as one of the many underappreciated works of art by the wider gaming community.

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5) Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree

Mohg beat the allegations (Image via FromSoftware)

Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree's conclusion is one of the most brilliantly written stories for any souls-like video game endings. The quest of the Tarnished which starts as finding the demigod Miquella, will soon reveal many dark twists, that make the tale of a few bosses even more tragic. You start the DLC by defeating Mohg, who seemingly kidnapped Miquella to be his consort.

As you venture deep into the Land of Shadows, however, you will discover the true face of Miquella The Kind. You will learn that it is he who is pulling all the strings and setting off his siblings against one another to achieve his goals. The Empyrean wants to ascend the throne and become a god and is willing to sacrifice anybody for his ambition. Miquella the Kind wasn't so kind after all.

It was he who forced Mohg to kidnap him, and after his death now wants to use his corpse as a vessel for his desired consort, Radahn. Miquella was the one who sent Malenia after the Starscourge, and once he was dead at the hands of the Tarnished, has traveled into the Land of Shadows.

The conclusion of Shadow of the Erdtree sees you defeating the two demigods once again, foiling Miquella's plan. While the promotional material for the expansion painted Messmer the Impaler as the big baddie of the story, the conclusion had left many Tarnished astonished.

It is one of the most memorable video game endings that subverted player expectations mainly due to how FromSoftware presented it.