I Laughed, I Cried… The Top 5 Emotional Games

Games have come a long way in the past decade. Characters’ ability to emote thanks to the power of the current systems, and developers’ willingness to control the pace of stories, displays a new maturity for the industry. Gone are the days when we were told to care, replaced by genuine manipulation of our emotions. It looks like a trend set to continue with trailers such as that of Beyond: Two Souls’ showing an unusual confidence, and not simply blowing things up to please the crowd. True, this isn’t unique, but in a big budget title it’s rare to see such restraint.

[rhap]

Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom for me. The flashbacks were amazing.

[DoomeDx]

Top 5?

I see 7

[Conzul]

'Tis a good list.

[Ranma1]

Final Fantasy X ending

[zeddy]

got choked up when i beat ff7 for the first time, same with ff8 and ff9. no game since has had that effect on me cept maybe flower.

[Persistantthug]

My very first monster....

He was a Half Jell, half plant...and he had a red top for a head. I named him Dumb.

He was a bonifide beast....a true warrior. If I congratulated him after a tournament loss, he would lose respect for me.

I know it was programmed, but He was almost life like. I loved him.

Even though he got old, he fought his last victorious high level tournament battle for both our honor and for the honor of our house....then he died peacefully. :(

Monster Rancher was the shit back in the day.

[ceballos77mx]

Dude I love that game, good memories, wasting a day searching thru all of my CDs and movies to get that bad ass monster, I wish the made a new one.

[da_2pacalypse]

Majin was a fantastic game!

[Jockamo]

What the hell is this crap list???

To the Moon is the obvious answer and shows that the writer is a dimwit.

[andibandit]

The ending of Farming Simulator 2013, such tears of joy

Seriously tho, article shouldve read: my excuse to mention a bunch of sony exclusives, but to throw you off track ill throw in multiplats like COD..... Which i dont even know whats doing on this list ...author is on drugs

[XB1_PS4]

I've never cried playing a video game.. I'm a grown ass man. But Toy Story 3, now that's a tear jerker. That scene when they're all about to get burned, and start grabbing each others hands.. Holy shit.

[sdozzo]

Agreed. No crying.

[josephayal]

What do you do AFTER you beat Mass Effect 3? I cried like a baby

[Shepherd 214]

Mass Effect 3 was one of the most emotional endings for me. Partly for story reasons and partly because I was so shocked at what had just happened. The logic of the pre-extended cut ending didn't make much sense when I stopped and thought about it, but I was still emotionally affected.

Halo 3s after credit scene with master chief and cortana and the Knights of the Old Republic games affected me pretty well too.

[OmniSlashPT]

I felt emotional when Shepard was saying goodbye to all his companions. The end could really be something unique but turned out to be a generic, cliche RGB crap. What a shame, ME3 was such a great game.

[TenSteps]

I didn't feel that ME3's was that emotional. Considering that the things that happened during the game was more emotional. Grunt's stand against the Rachni, Mordin singing his final song,even that Turian that sacrificed his life to save the Krogan world.

[r21]

Finally, someone recognizes the inFamous 2 scene involving Zeke and Cole. One of the most heart tugging cutscenes in my gaming history. That and the end of TWD game are the only moments in gaming that've made me cry.

[ForgottenProphecy]

I couldn't bring myself to attack Zeke at first, I just couldn't. I sat there in silence and disbelief for a good minute or two.

[r21]

I understand man, I let Zeke shoot me down twice...then I had to finish him off to get the InFamous ending :'C Manly tears were shed.

[Reverent]

Oh my god, I know! I can't believe this scene hasn't been mentioned before until now! That scene literally made me feel empty and actually tear up. If ever there was a good example of what it could be like to be forced to kill your own best friend, it's that scene.

[bloodybutcher]

really?i didn't even blink:) i thought:"he regrets all the shit from the past and tries to help me as much as he can...now die, you fat asshole!"^^ love to be a bastard in games:) right now i love making bad, naughty things in skyrim:)

[JoGam]

Dude totally agree. I actually teared up while my family sat behind me. I froze didnt realize what was happening. the emotional effect that came over me. AMAZING!

[ForgottenProphecy]

For me:
Metal Gear Solid 3/4 (It's a tie between the two)
inFAMOUS 2 (Bad ending)
Heavy Rain (Tears in the rain ending)
Portal 2 (When that companion cube came back, I actually stood up and cheered)
Spec Ops: The Line
Killzone 2
Dark Souls (No game can get me that angry)

[Conzul]

Which part of KZ2?

[Ducky]

Any scene involving Rico.

[ForgottenProphecy]

I'm probably in the minority, but the ending of Killzone 2 was the best in a FPS (aside from Spec Ops: The Line)

[bloodybutcher]

i think that destroying city with a nuke and the last scene were actually quite good.liked the ending, must say

[bloodybutcher]

for me dark souls are nowhere as frustrating as fps games online(mainly because i lack reflexes necessary for competitive play).dark souls are hard only when you forget how unforgivable this game is:) i died many times, but it was only when i tried to hurry up with enemies or areas.
in hr i liked one of the endings where ethan commits suicide in jail^^
mgs didn't give me any feelings, but i guess it's just because i'm not a fan of series

[TheLyonKing]

End of crisis core was really emotional just like the end of kh 1.

[chadboban]

Journey, Shadow of the Colossus, Professor Layton and the Unwound Future, 999, The Walking Dead, Ico, Xenoblade, Ghost Trick, The Ace Attorney Franchise, Chrono Cross, Chrono Trigger, FF VI, FF IX, FF X, I know I'm missing ALOT here

A lot of these games made me feel a wide range of emotions, the fact that they can make me feel things says a lot about the video games as a story telling medium.

Oh maybe I'm just over emotional...

[PickAShoe]

Mostly JRPG has better story than the western games.

[Locksus]

Uhmm.. Lost Odyssey is the first that comes to mind. It is one of the most emotional games out there. I love it. Also, the Mass Effect series made me shed a few manly tears.

[aGameDeveloper]

I was going to say the same about Lost Odyssee.

[bubblebeam]

Cool. I just need to beat AvP on Nightmare and then I am starting Lost Odyssey. Heard so many wonderful things about it.

Every now and again I get to play a game where every single comment is positive. Much like Alan Wake and Heavy Rain. Speaking of which, Alan Wake wasn't on this list!

[OhMyGandhi]

MGS4 definately tops the list for me.

[Mikefizzled]

Call of Duty 4 is on there but Gears of War 3 isn't?

[Aghashie]

yup. I own a wide variety of fps games. being bad companny 2 my favorite online experience and killzone my favorite single player experience. yet, I only own two cod games, the first two mw. and I have to say, storywise mw1 is my favorite fps game. just my opinion :)

[bubblebeam]

Gears of War 3? How?

I am a huge Gears fan btw, so no-one better pull the "your a ps3 fanboy" BS.

Gears 3 was an excellent game, it's just that the biggest 'emotional scene' (you know which one), was not that great IMO. It was better than I expected (not saying much), but the series didn't set up any characters you really cared about, so it felt forced.

This isn't "top 5 favourite games" list or anything, and I am not trying to insult you, I just want to hear your reasoning. Maybe you can convince me.

[Mikefizzled]

Dom seemed to have some serious character development over the 3 games. But the poignant scene at Maria's grave left a lump in my throat. Then the obvious scene where Dom losses the will fight for any longer and decided to save his squad instead. And then the final scene with Marcus, Adam and Myrrah was damn emotional.

[bubblebeam]

I'm probably being to harsh. I actually did find the Dom scene a bit emotional.

I think by the time they hired Karen Traviss to try and do the Gears series justice (in terms of storytelling) with Gears 3, it was too late.

She did a good job with what they left her. The books are actually fantastic (read the first 2, the Indi war and Emergence day)

[OmniSlashPT]

The end of FFX.

[TheLyonKing]

Oh god that was said and then love how the ended on Yuna's speech it really made you proud of what you had done no matter what the cost :)

[JKelloggs]

Halo 4, and The Walking Dead game, I got a huge lump in my throat

[Hellsvacancy]

I agree with The Walking Dead

[JKelloggs]

Yeah, seriously cannot wait till the next installment

[ceballos77mx]

I just finished the walking dead about 20 min ago, damn that ending left me almost in tears man, Clem reminds me of my daughter man.

[thehusbo]

infamous 2
metal gear solid 4
journey
gears of war 3

[Chuk5]

Damn Walking Dead.
I'm literally not sure if I'm ready for episode 5. It's why I haven't played it yet.

[lashes2ashes]

Holy shit. If you have not finished ep. 5 you are going to loose it.. I did and the other episodes did not really effect me but the whole episode messed me up..,. I can not weight until season 2 lol

[MattyG]

I cried way too much when I played it yesterday. Frigging Telltale Games, going and taking my manhood.

[Norrison]

The lack of walking dead in this list ruined it, remove COD and add the walking dead.

[sdplisken]

MGS4 - if you didnt tear up at least once in that game then youre not a fan

uncharted 2 - the ending was better than 99% of hollywood crap

mass effect series - one of the best new ips this gen has many very emotional moments, me3 ending made me tear up

demon's souls/dark souls - my fav new franchise this gen, i
cried because this series makes most of my game collection this gen look like crap

[bloodybutcher]

Elena: Then what's a 10?
Nathan: Clowns
Elena : CLOWNS? Over my DEATH?
U2 was quite funny:)

[coolbeans]

You misspelled "immersion" in the Half Life 2: Episode 2 section.

[Psychotica]

Only time I get emotional about a game isn't when it doesn't work the way it should..

[Picnic]

I'm of the school that says that it's no more meaningful to be emotionally attached to, say, Ocarina of Time, than to Sonic the hedgehog. If anything Sonic should stir you more- he's a vulnerable little hedgehog who runs away from everything for goodness sake.

That said, to use an obvious choice - Uncharted 2. It is the best encapsulation of creating a game that is movie-like and yet still plays like a non-linear game. When it finished I felt that I had been the complete experience, Even better than part 3 in that respect which sometimes felt like I was running through a succession of linear corridors and wide multi-layer maps.

The Resident Evil remake on the Gamecube was so beautiful too. And Metroid Prime did it without you even meeting a friendly character. I'd like to see that - a game where you do speak to people, where you are the good guy, but nobody likes you throughout the entire game and would happily try to finish you off. Does anybody know of such a game or will I have to make it?

[SoapShoes]

Uncharted 3 made me hate the villains more than 2. They were more realistic characters and thus much more emotionally engaging.

[Picnic]

Uncharted 3, the game where Helen Mirren and Jason Statham could surely have sued for breach of likeness. I do love the game though but the shooting is best in UC2. UC3's more about having a few more 'thinking man's' puzzles, parkour and doing whatever the first 2 games hadn't in terms of environments and set pieces. And then trying to destroy you in the closing chapters with some difficult shooting sections.

[aGameDeveloper]

Uncharted 3 made me hate the developers more than 2. The vomit-inducing camera shake, the imprecise animation-driven player motion, and the stupid flee sequences were all so frustrating I almost did not finish the game.

[MattyG]

The Walking Dead. Oh my god the 5th episode is incredibly emotional. Also, Halo 4's ending.

[bubblebeam]

I keep forgetting to mention Halo 4, as it only just came out. Halo Reach had a sad ending, the one how your mission was to 'survive'.

Unfortunately, Telltale Games aren't planning on releasing The Walking Dead over here (Australia), which is crappy, and doesn't make me think very highly of them (although, I suppose they are a business)>

Hopefully we get the Retail Walking Dead game next year, although the developers have a very average history, and the publisher is none other than Activision :(

[Psycho_Mantis]

Pretty much the entire game of MGS4 was sad for me knowing that it was Snakes final mission. And it showed from the start to the very end. :(

[Aghashie]

My list in no particular order:
FF7-Aerith's dead
FF Tactics-When Delita kill the queen
Portal2-Ending
Heavy Rain-Whole game
ICO-Whole game
MGS3-Battle vs the Boss (i actually cry)
CoDMW-Helicopter, nuclear blast scene
Dark Souls-Whole game
Crisys Core-Ending

I know there is more to add to this list, but just can't remember. I am playing video games since 8bit generation on a wide variety of systems, so, u can figure I had played a lot of games. But for now, I think that is.

[Aghashie]

Wow... I just remember about SEAMAN, that weird talking fish game on Dreamcast. It was... weird... one of a kind game, but without doubt I remember feeling sad and depressed for days when finally the Seaman escapes the vivarium.

[Picnic]

What did 5 silly little fools disagree with on my post? A bunch of useless halfway pseudo-intellectuals in the making, that's all most people on here are. I suppose you think that Journey is better than Uncharted as well just because it's all supposedly 'mysterious' and 'ethnic'.

[tndtloveu]

Heavy Rain is emotional, but I didn't cry.

[Luke_fon_Fabre]

The Legend of Heroes Trails in the Sky

[Leio]

Metal gear solid 1

I never got more emotional since that game EPIC

[Gigglefist]

Telltale Games' Walking Dead
That finale...
Man. Tear jerking.

[ceballos77mx]

I was expecting that ending, but that didn't make it any easier...Clem.

[Omnislash]

I dont care if Journey isnt a full-fledged game, I think it deserves GOTY. That game was amazing and it left me with feels towards the end!

[XxWalksOfShamexX]

I know they just released the last episode earlier this week but, they should have put walking dead on this list. First game in a while that actually made me shed some tears.

[ninjahunter]

One word: Limbo
I dont care who you are, that game will make you D:

[YodaCracker]

Thank you! I came here to say this. Also Braid was emotional, especially that ending.

[Psycho_Mantis]

I agree. And i love games like that! It pretty much has a story, but not what youd think in a way. I think the whole story can be all in the viewers choice of what is going on. You make uo the story about why its happening, or rather what is happening in Limbo. Ive read some great ones from other people and i was impressed what they thought about it! I really liked how it ended though. It was a nice little shocker of an ending.

[EditorAtGNG]

Max Payne 2 was pretty damn emotional due to that FREAKING AWESOME MUSIC SCORE! I mean, damn, nothing really can match that song, creeps and sadness me out instantly.

As for crying, eh, not really. But I did get bummed down at the end of HL2: EP2 when Eli died. It was so sudden and so unforeseen (heh) and well acted that really got to me. Also the fact that we are still waiting for the conclusion kinda stresses me out. Seriously Valve, the fuck? THE FUCK?

[Picnic]

Yes it's easy to forget how emotional the first 2 Max Payne games were. The series starts with the murder of your child, it doesn't get much more tense than that. Remedy never made the series just about bullet time, it was more like Silent Hill in its atmosphere sometimes. Which is why I can't love part 3 as much. Alan Wake is the real Max Payne 3 (or Max Payne prequel).

[cr33ping_death]

TWD :( :( :(

[Jreca]

I will add Nier in our own list from the comments.

[animegamingnerd]

mother 3 nothing else needs to be said

[MidnightSpecial]

I got real emotional at the end of Halo: Reach, as a story that I had experienced for a decade had gone full circle back to the start.
As for the article though? Poorly written, almost nonsensical at points. Still, seems to have sparked a good response.

[MadMen]

Worst list EVER

anyone who doesn't have FF VII when Aries dies, is a lame

EPIC FAIL

[BitbyDeath]

Nobodies said it yet... MGS2 - Emma Emmerich

[Cam977]

No way. After withstanding a painstakingly dull drag stage, I welcomed EE's death, laughed and loved seeing the ***** die. I hate her. Even though I've played MGS3 5 times, I've only played MGS2 once - I hate it. I guess it's the combination of stupid, annoying bosses and the whole event with EE. I hate EE. B****. I'm glad she died.

[DarthJay]

Um... Red Dead Redemption not even mentioned once.

[Vettur]

It would suprise me if you had put Ib on the list since it's a free indiegame, but it's really amazing and I would reccomend it to anyone that likes emotional games. It's really sad in a beautyfull way :)

[Kane22]

The walking dead had me crying. that ending was really emotional

[Psycho_Mantis]

Your comment just made me want to now buy The walking dead when it comes out on disc. :D

[Orionsangel]

Who cried at Journey? lol! Who didn't know from the start of Journey that there would be nothing when you reached the light. Who didn't know it was gonna have a metaphorical meaning on the journey of life. I'm tearing up, Waaah! LMAO! I saw right through Journey from the start. I've played way too many games to not see what Journey was trying to do. It had pretty graphics though. I'll give it that.

[AIndoria]

Final Fantasy VIII, Persona 3 (Ugh :( ), MGS 4 (the heat scene), Shadow of the fricking colossus (WHY?!),Heavy Rain.

[WeAreLegion]

These are all good, but Heavy Rain destroyed me. I actually felt like I murdered people, at parts.

The only other games that have done anything remotely close to that are Shadow of the Colossus, Kingdom Hearts, MGS4, and inFamous 2.

[boybato]

Pepsiman, back in the PS one days, did a number on me. lol

[spicelicka]

halo 3 had an amazing'y emotional ending, but only for fans where there from the beginning. The way it ended the saga and masterchief's story, and his last words "wake me when you need me", absolutely perfect.
And sure enough he was awoken when halo 4 came out/

[J86blum]

[SPOILER!]

Assassin's Creed III (When you play the epiloge and after the british leave you feel good until Connor turns around and seeing slaves being sold.) That bugged me I wish you could kill the slave trader. Truth be told I HOPE DLC is made in regards to it in the shape of him defending his home from them coming and trying to claim the family.

Final Fantasy VII (When I played it back in the day I was gullible enough to think there was the potion to bring her back.)

Conkers Bad furday (I never laughed so hard playing a game.)

Resident Evil 3:Nemesis (I felt a evil smile when Brad"Chicken heart"Vickers gets killed in the beginning. I remember yelling,"Thats what you get for leaving us in RE1..)

MGS4GOP (Like said above the music is what got me , calling to/into the Night. mixed with thinking this was snakes last mission, he was going to kill himself off, meryl seeing him and not liking him anymore, she had the new guy, Raiden coming back and being badass and almost like saying Snake his a hero of yester year, or out dated. All most like that movie Soldier with Kurt Russle.

Note: Ghost n' Goblins (We all know why.) Limbo (Surprised me.) Halo Reach(felt like one big suicide mission)

[tiffac008]

FFVII (PS1) and Lost Odyssey (360) made me cry with those flashbacks.

[phantomexe]

Cooking mama for me.......i cryed for a week. i almost had that cake made.

[Cam977]

Play every MGS in order then play MGS4 and see the ending. Heartbreaking. Last time I cried that much was with Heavy Rain.
Also, AC Embers was sad.

I didn't say this before, but Ethnic Cleanser and Rapelay made me cry like a baby.

[TheRichterBelmont]

Needs more NieR.