Worst Video Game Endings of All Time

NuzCo writes: "It is all too common for the thought of worst video game endings to accrue to players. Video games haven’t been notorious for their grand story telling throughout the years. Although we have seen some pretty epic tales, we have also seen some really bad ones too. In the light of that statement, we have made a list to count down the worst video game endings of all time."

[TheSuperior]

On a personal note: I think that Ghosts was the worst on this list. I love COD single player but the whole Ghosts single player fell way short of what fans are used to.

On a side note: am I the only one who is slightly dissatisfied by The Last of Us ending? I mean it is left rather opened ended in my opinion...

[Snookies12]

That was the point of The Last of Us' ending. It was supposed to leave things up to your interpretation. It left me feeling very mixed, but after some time reflecting on it I realize that's a really awesome way to end it. Leaving you unsure whether or not it's a happy ending or a bad one. I'm glad it wasn't cliche at least.

[qwerty676]

i mean i get what you're saying

but for some reason after the ending i remember thinking "really thats it?", kind of let down a little, its not bad by any means but i still feel like it needed just a tad more.

[Snookies12]

@Quicktim3 -

*SPOILERS BELOW FOR THE LAST OF US ENDING*

It could have just ended when he shot Marlene and showed them driving off. I would have been fine with that. I'm glad we got to see a little more, and it made us question whether Joel really was a good guy or not at the end. That's what stuck with me the most. He was being quite selfish in the way he was going about things, even if it was for Ellie's own good.

Like I said, I was left feeling unsatisfied at first, but after a bit of time thinking back on it. I found that I really liked the way they ended it. Not everything needs a full conclusion, sometimes it's nice to have an open ended meaning.

[Lightning Mr Bubbles]

Why is there a picture of The Last of Us on there? It's not included as one of the worst endings but it made me think it was because of the picture.

[Gigglefist]

@Lightning
clickbait. that simple. Last of Us has a widely praised ending. That's why I clicked. I wanted to see their reason for having it on the list. Alas, it wasn't there.

[IGiveHugs2NakedWomen]

@Snookies12

"Leaving you unsure whether or not it's a happy ending or a bad one."

That's exactly what Naughty Dog was going for, a story that has never been done before and they succeeded from beginning to end.

[Gazondaily]

Yeah usually sudden endings feel immediately disappointing but the harsh nature of them lingers on. I really like that. It leaves you wondering about the story and characters in more depth and lets yo fill the gaps.

One example of a movie that does this, albeit partially is Good Will Hunting. Oh how badly did I want to see Matt Damon go and actually meet his chick in the end (old soppy sod that I am). You never get to see it happening but he drives there. But I wanted to see the reunion :(

But yeah, TLOU had a great story and the ending really gave you food for thought.

[mgszelda1]

SPOILERS
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I get tired of Joel getting called a bad guy. He just went straight surrogate dad mode. In his mind his "new" daughter is more important than everyone else. I have a little girl and can tell you I would probably do exactly what he did. If your not a father you probably wouldn't understand that.

[nix]

i was kinda not that excited about the TLOU but as i was narrating the ending to one of my friends (slightly drunk) i finally realised what Joel did. it hit me really hard. lol.

[the_mack_attack3]

On the money!

[vickers500]

" Last of Us has a widely praised ending."

First I've heard of it. Most opinions I've read on various sites regard the ending as a resounding "meh", myself included.

After beating it, it felt too much like Naughty Dog went for the ending they did for the sake of trying not to be predictable. I'd elaborate further, but my memory of the game isn't very fresh, I only played through it once when it first came out on ps3.

Most endings have impact, whether they're positive (everyone lives), negative (everyone or important characters die), or neutral (shrouded in mystery with a sense of wonder, ponderance and "what happened/what will happen"). TLoU felt anti-climactic, deflated, and just felt like they ended it that way just because it didn't seem like one of the few obvious outcomes, but it wasn't surprising enough to be any sort of a shock. Hopefully this mediocre ending will help the story of the next game in a positive way that we wont see until it's released.

[lipton101]

I don't care what anyone says, I absolutely loved the ending to the last of us. It wasn't pretty or sugarcoated, it was realistic. It was human.

[Wh15ky]

Completely agree MGSzelda1. I have daughters and I felt the same way.

@vickers500

I found the ending anything but "meh". It's my favourite ending to a game ever.

SPOILERS ALERT:

I thought it was a very brave ending and far superior to the endings of any of the movies/ novels that inspired the game (Romero's movies, 28 days/ weeks, Mad Max, I am Legend, The Happening etc).

Playing the last 20 mins or so I just felt torn, I found myself doing what had to be done to complete the game but at the same time saying to myself "Joel, what are you doing?". But then the last scene gives you a chance to think about why he did it and the moment when he lies to her right at the end was so powerful.

Joel was constantly faced with the ugliest sides of humanity and I don't think that what he did made him the bad guy, it just made him a guy.

At the point in time (21 years after the outbreak) humanity had already gone beyond the point of return. The human race either has to evolve to survive in it's new environment or die out.

Fatherly love all the way... the 'greater good' can suck it!

[frostypants]

I loved the ending.

SPOILERS....

Wh15ky nailed it...Joel acted on paternal instincts. It was 100% believable and how most men with his background and similar circumstances would behave. Joel was a man broken by the loss of his daughter. Ellie had become his surrogate daughter...there was no way in hell he was going to let anyone hurt her, no matter what, full stop. He would have taken on the entire effing universe. Had it ended any other way it would have been completely out of tone with the rest of the game. People who wanted everything wrapped up nice and tidy must have slept through the game...NOTHING is nice and tidy in that world. One of my favorite endings ever, for having the guts not to cop out. Reminds me of the Blade Runner director's cut ending vs. the stupid tacked-on studio ending.

[ChickenOfTheCaveMan]

Kind of like the Gone Girl ending, dry and let the viewer ask himself if he would have done the same thing and how it will play out with the decision the protagonist made. I like it.

[The_Sage]

Exactly what I was thinking. I just watched Gone Girl for the first time last week.

[Mr_cheese]

Gone girl was a fantastic film, I came away with so many emotions but couldn't help but livid with what he had become.

[ChickenOfTheCaveMan]

@Mr_cheese Without going into spoilers, though I agree with you at some level, I came to the conclusion that he had no choice, it was too big. In comparison, Joel's could have easily gone either ways. But in both cases, you ask yourself what's the motivation, selfishness or protection of others.

[OB1Biker]

Great ending because it has you think about it a while after. Also I like how it mirrors the beginning with Ellies/Sarahs point of view and allows you to see Joel from their point of view.
I like very much how Joel took his 'revenge' on the 'do the right thing for the greater good' BS and stood up against gone barbaric /mad 'Civilisation' like he should have done for Sarah if he could.

[assdan]

The last of us wasn't supposed to have some grand ending (this is in response to your other post below). It was supposed to be somewhat down to earth, not like he's saving the world, but saving himself.
On another not, I think it's hilarious that they put a screenshot from tlou just to get people to click on this article.

[inmusicutrust]

Spoilers!

It was actually more direct than most people realize. When ellie asks at the end if everything Joel said was true, she knows he was lying already. She's giving him a chance to come clean. Ellie is the main character of the game, and Joel lying this last time is when she realizes she's alone in this world; there are people and things worth fighting for, but you are alone in the end. Too many people miss this ending because they don't give ellie enough credit.

I think she doesn't raise the issue for several reasons. Firat off, what's the point in this world they are left with? After all there isn't much she can do other than leave the one person she has, Joel. I also think she realizes how much she means to Joel and that's enough to justify what they've done and what they've been through.

Also, for Joels decision I like to think he knew ellie would most likely not be the answer. Medicine has been set back decades in the wake of the epidemic, and if they couldn't find a cure before how could they now? Plus I highly doubt ellie is the ONLY person immune to the infection. Even if she were the cure distribution would be virtually impossible. 20+ years have gone by, at what point do you accept the fate of the world and cherish what little light is left? Joel knew the odds of ellies sacrifice were virtually nil and chose to let her light shine rather than be futility extinguished.

This is why the ending is perfect. A year later and we are still debating and analyzing it. The best novels have the same effect. It reminds me of the great gatsby. The ending just sort of leaves you having to connect it all and come to your own conclusion.

[OB1Biker]

SPOILERS
I mostly agree with your comment but I think Ellie realizes Joel must have dam good reasons to lie and she trust him as either of them have been trusting each other with their lives.

I would have done like Joel too except I would have omitted a few things but I would have not lied about the Fireflies and told her:

-How their knocked him down at their first encounter while Joel was trying to resuscitate half drowned Ellie. (so much for the future humanity principles)

-how when he woke up they told him they got to murder Ellie in the next hour to kinda 'squeeze an antidote out of her brain' with their mengele like surgeons. Humanity had been waiting for 20 year so did they have to rush and most of all not even asking Ellie?

-how Joel found proof there are other immune kids the fireflies experimented on though not as immune as Ellie found so far.

Ultimately the future and hope of humanity lies in small communities like they join at the end, which try to rebuild civilization instead of uselessly warring and bombing the army for 20 years and trying to take control like the fireflies.

[frostypants]

I agree that she likely knows he's lying. I disagree that how she felt about it is a given. My feeling was she simply accepted Joel for who he was and finally understood WHY he'd lie about such a thing, and decided she could be OK with that. She saw finally that he considered her his daughter and nothing more or less could be expected of him.

[GribbleGrunger]

"On a side note: am I the only one who is slightly dissatisfied by The Last of Us ending? I mean it is left rather opened ended in my opinion..."

So you thought you'd add TLOU picture to the article. How about you stick to posting articles and not misrepresenting them. TLOU has the greatest ending of any game ever made. The most powerful two letters ever uttered: O.K.

[d0x360]

I've never been a big fan of COD, after mw2 I gave up on the series because it became so stale. My first entry after that was ghosts. I bought it because it was literally the only Xbox one/ps4 game best buy had in stock after Christmas that year and I had a gift card and hated best buy so I wanted to use it right away. What a mistake. The campaign was so bad I dont think I even made it half way through and the multiplayer was the same old shlock.

As for this list its pretty solid. Halo 2 ended horribly despite being such a great game...which actually makes the ending 10x worse. Mass effect 3 had a pretty boring ending even with the dlc changes however of you believe in the Indoctrination theory (watch the 1.5 hour YouTube video) then the ending goes from being awful to quite possibly one of the most clever stories and endings in any entertainment medium. I choose to believe in the indoctrination theory ending personally despite bioware refusing to comment. If they were smart or had any sense they would say its true because then as I said above it would make the whole trilogy way better and the ending absolutely genius beyond compare.

[SmielmaN]

TLOU was probably the best story of all games last gen, imo. The ending really caught me off guard and made you think "what would you have done as Joel?" Incredible ending. Your article/opinion is not shared by the majority of the gaming community that played the game (as could be evidenced by the multiple GOTY awards and the amount of sales of the original, and remaster. Was this a click bait article?

[spacedelete]

most videogame endings are awful even the very best games have terrible rushed endings. look at Uncharted 2 it was a great game but the ending was mediocre at best.

[Prime157]

The best endings enable you to think about them.

[Relientk77]

RAGE also had a bad ending

[Rimeskeem]

I usually enjoy CoD campaigns. But Ghosts, it was just not good.

[Dyldog69]

People who disliked the last of us ending have no imagination. It shredded light on Joel's nature to be a father (lie to your children to keep them happy) and Ellie's nature to want to a friend (gullibility) However it also poses Joel as a duchebag for not telling the truth and Ellie's ignorance believing his word

[christian hour]

I;m pretty sure ellie saw through joels lie in that last scene, it;s written all over her face. Fantastic shot to end on.

[inmusicutrust]

You, you get it.

[d0x360]

That's not the point of the ending at all. Ellie knew Joel was lying to her but she also knew that if she confronted him (as she does) and he still lies then he probably has a damn good reason. She knows he will protect her at ALL COST.

Joel also knows Ellie just might be willing to sacrifice herself for the good of humanity but Joel has multiple motivations for not letting her. First off he loves her. Second just because she's immune doesnt mean they will find a cure so she could die for nothing and third of she is immune chances are there are others who are too. Others who he doesn't think of as family therefore doesn't care about. Also dont forget Joel is VERY jaded and might not even really believe that humanity deserves to be saved at all.

[SmielmaN]

The key there is Joel doesn't want Ellie to die, no matter what. He doesn't want to lose another "daughter" as he completely broke when he lost his biological daughter. So, when he realizes that he would rather live in the world as is with Ellie, than a possibly dif world without her, he does what he does. Is it selfish? Perhaps. Was it a guarantee that Ellie saves humanity? No. Does Joel need a reason to live? Yup. Did Ellie want some kind of family? Yup. Great ending.

[ChickenOfTheCaveMan]

That's how you know you have a great ending, because my take on Joel is not how great of a father figure he is, but more on how weak he is. The guy is effed up by aging, the evolving situation with the virus, and injuries, on top of that he lost his daughter, then cut ties with his brother based on ideology, then he lost Tess and was about to loose Ellie.

To me, he simply went Murtaugh on the situation and decided to live "life", and that new life needed Ellie in it. He made a bad decision.

Ellie was also wrong to not tell her story prior to meeting the Fireflies, it could have changed Joel's decision but I think he would have done the same.

Fireflies were wrong on so many levels. They had an as bad attitude as the army/police, aka we're the authority, we're fully armed, do as we say, ...They should have explain it to Joel and Ellie, and let Ellie decide. I think she would have made the decision to help them, but if not, too bad and do as you want.

[Nirvana31591]

TLOU had a bad ending? How does this garbage get approved?

[Rebel_Scum]

Its an opinion piece. I guess that's their opinion. <shrugs shoulders>

Haven't played TLOU btw so its not like I agree with them.

You can tell just from the article title that ME3 would be included. I ain't too bothered by that, its to be expected but I was one of the few who didn't mind the original ending for what it was and disliked the extended cut.

[The_Sage]

Were there really 25 idiots that agreed with this? Xbox fanboys, I assume.

[joel_c17]

Ah i see they included TLOU in the list/thumbnail image - obvious troll article is obvious

[grahf]

Dragon Age 2 had the worst ending.

Despite all your choices once again, nothing mattered. Nothing was changed.

AND LELIANA WAS DEAD. I made sure of it in DA:O.

F-U Bioware!
Grrrrr!

[Gigglefist]

Putting a picture of Ellie in the preview knowing people will click that. Clever. They had me going. The Last of Us had a fantastic ending. Worst ending for me? I want to say Mass Effect 3 but at least it HAD an ending. I'll go with Beyond Two Souls for now. Gotta think on this.

EDIT: I GOT IT!
Fallout 3 pre-DLC. That was garbage.

[T2X]

NO, TLOU ending was perfect actually IMHO. Ellie knew and chose to ignore the fact, for the sake of their happiness, however fleeting it would be. They both knew.

[One-Shot]

TLOU wasn't even on the list. Talk about clickbait with using the picture.

[patsrule316]

Clearly, none of you played 'Eye of the Beholder', a D&D dungeon crawler over 20 years ago. That had the worst ending of all time...far worse than the endings in this list. After killing the main bad guy, you got a 1 paragraph description of what happened, then the game cut out to DOS. I couldn't believe that was how they ended it!

[Jaqen_Hghar]

First of all you teased with TLoU probably to draw people in like a man who thought it had no spot on such a list then didn't even put it on the list. Second off Halo 2 and HL2E2 were not terrible endings they were cliffhangers. No one would have a problem with HL2 if they had come out with E3 or HL3 by this point. Those gripes aside Ghosts, Borderlands, and ME3 were all pretty darn terrible. As much as a man hates to say it because it's his favorite FPS of all time, Resistance 3 had a terrible ending that just had random radio calls of people beating the chimera after they had lost to them for so long. Like what the actual f***

[solar]

The Borderlands ending was the worst.

[Dyldog69]

Great boss battle though

[Aquariusgamer]

Being contrarian for the sake of clickbait by attacking tlou. Quality article.

[TheRedButterfly]

Pretty sure you didn't read the article... TLoU is nowhere near it (just in the attached image).

List includes:

Halo 2
Half Life 2 - Episode 2
COD - Ghosts
Borderlands
Mass Effect 3

[kurruptor]

The main image of the article has TLoU front and center.

Then the article makes no mention of it.

That is clickbait.

Or maybe it is just an error, maybe they thought that was an image from Half Life or something. The other 3 characters in the image are all on the list.

[Aquariusgamer]

then why the hell is tlou on the banner to click into the article? that guy LOST a click because I thought he was going to diss tlou.

That's even more retarded. His clickbait picture backfired. I might have read the article otherwise.

[Der_Kommandant]

Tie between Halo 2 and Assassins Creed

[jakmckratos]

He didnt put Last of Us in the Article at all....so idk what's up with that picture..probably looking for hits based on controversy...anyhoo Resistance 2 was a pretty awful end I thought when Hale got his brains blown out and it just cuts to black

[CuddlyREDRUM]

Just came in to see Naughty Dog fanboy backlash.

[snookiegamer]

Lol how they had the audacity to insinuate TLOU with that image is desperation for site hits. I can't be f###ing with the game media no more. From now on, my only interest with them will be 'actual news' (not opinion pieces) & game reveal/release dates.

90% of these Articles (IMO) & Game Journalism is in the Toilet ;/

[masterfox]

Worst Video Game Endings of All Time ?

Why TLOU is in the Pic?, not clicking for sure that dumb article.

[SoulWarrior]

Nice click bait picture, what an absolute joke.

[TheLastColossus]

Why even use a pic of The Last of Us?

[scark92]

Half-Life 2 Episode 2 had a great ending imo!

[One-Shot]

It totally was, it's just the ?? year wait till the next chapter that makes it bad.

[scark92]

Yeah that is true, such a cliffhanger, that is why I know Half-Life 3 is coming.

[Eejanaika]

mass affect 3. BY FAR....

[WizzroSupreme]

Why is The Last of Us being used as a header image? Was this just to trick us into thinking it was on the list? Because it worked.

[QuickdrawMcgraw]

I really came to understand the end to TLOU a lot better...after playing the DLC....And I knew even if she suspected what Joel did....she understands why he did what he did....and she is ok with it...

[Drithe]

The Last of US ending sucked, pretty much like the entire game did.

[Wh15ky]

Ooooh! Now there's a controversial comment. Someones craving attention.

[ziggurcat]

"The Last of US ending sucked, pretty much like the entire game did."

... says the person who's never played the game...

[gamer1138]

Half Life 2 Episode 2's ending is only bad because of how long we are having to wait for a conclusion. At the time it was powerful, shocking and bold. To a lesser extant Halo 2. Halo 2's ending is a set up for Halo 3. With this logic the end of Empire Strikes Back is shit.

But yeah, Mass Effect 3 by far. Broke the promises of the trilogy and ruined a seller series.

[P_Bomb]

Last gen's Prince of Persia reboot bugs me too. Cliffhanger, then the paid story DLC promised some resolution but ends with another one, and nothing ever got resolved. They never came back to the game to this day. Died on the vine.

Ubisofts original Splinter Cell trilogy had quick little nothings for endings too. A proper game ending became like a lost art.

[Ol_Boy]

Lmao. The TLOU pic used for the article has been changed.

[urwifeminder]

It is very rare for me to complete a game as I get bored and distracted easily plus I just skip story.

[Femto]

the fact that half life 2 is a thumbnail is fucking disgusting, the episode 2 ending wasn't bad, it was just a cliffhanger.

[BX81]

Two endings come to mind.... Karnov from the NES days and Jayne and lynch 2.

[pkb79]

Dragon warrior had a crap ending on NES if you decided to team up with the final boss.
And I still don't get what's wrong with the mass effect ending. Shepard dies and everyone becomes half bio half machine. Worked well with the theme of the series.

[redaxis]

last of us has one of the best ending for video games, its so realistic and believable. Joel isn't a super hero and he is not set to save the world. What he did is definitely not right but its understandable why he did that, supported by his back story. The ending got me and friends having a debate, that's how powerful the story of last of us is. Just like the movie Inception.