The lights are on
It can be tough to reach the conclusion of a game. After all, we've been working up to that very moment. Sometimes we walk away satisfied, other times we're disappointed.
As someone who has felt both feelings, I always wonder what endings others think hit it out of the park. Irrational Games' BioShock series has been the most consistent delivering the types of endings I want. I love when I think about an ending well after I've beat a game. It's hard to deny that endings are becoming more and more important to us. The Mass Effect 3 ending left many fans fighting for something more, which led to DLC for more clarification.
As games start telling deeper stories, we're more attached to characters and tuned into what's happening in the story arc. The ending is the last thing we have to hold on to about a game. How many of you right after you finished The Last of Us went an discussed the ending with someone? The need to analyze and reflect on these moments are part of why our Spoiled! videos have become so popular. Discussing the end lets us put the game in perspective and evaluate if it's effective. Endings can be so wildly debated that it's fascinating to see a plethora of opinions on what games people felt got it right.
What games feature some of your favorite endings? Why do you like them so much?
Note: If you're going to discuss spoilers, please put a big spoiler alert before you go into detail. After all, you just might entice someone to try out a game they never considered before, and who wants to be spoiled on something you consider one of the best finales?
Email the author Kimberley Wallace, or follow on Twitter, and Game Informer.
The endings that hit me the most were the games I played while growing up. That was the time that games really meant a lot to me as I was dealing with so much in my life. Final Fantasy VII and VIII, Tactics Ogre, Legend of Zelda: OoT, the endings of both Pokemon Red and Blue. These were my 'escape' games, and each of these endings brought out different emotions for different reasons. All of them left me more than satisfied, happy, sad, etc.. More recent games have been Bioshock: Infinite and The Last of Us. But none will compare to the earlier games.
Persona 3 and Persona 4-- Kingdom Hearts 2 and Dream Drop Distance too. So many endings!
The first Darksiders had once of the best endings I've seen to a game in a long time.
Oh yeah, Red Dead Redemption was cool too
I just beat Mirror's Edge today. I loved that ending, as it was sweet and would allow for Mirror's Edge 2 to not be horrible and tacked-on.
Both Portal games had great endings, especially with the songs.
Dishonoured (low chaos) had a good ending that wrapped everything up quite nicely.
Batman: Arkham City's ending was great, with a surprise that fans never saw coming (especially me).
well the first game that comes to mind is most recently the last of us.. bioshock infintes was good but i dont think it was the best i kinda saw it coming. also heavy rain had great alternate endings..but the first ending that you come out with was very special and satisfying
This is tough though.. Halo and Mass Effect (all of them) had effects on me, but those down there made me emote, which means I cared and was able to be immersed without thinking about game design as much as story. I hope Persona 5 still happens (on home console). KIM! Can you find out about the future of the Persona series for us!!???
My fsvorite ending was from Xenosaga Epidsode III.
AHHH! Alan Wake was rad tooooo!
My favorite game endings would have to be read dead redemption (because of how it really carried the theme of the story to its logical conclusion), and Arkham City (because I'm a huge fan of the animated series from the 90s and it felt like one last hurrah for them, particularly Hamill).
I would say Mass Effect 3, post or prior to the extended cut has been one of my favorite video game endings. Everyone is gonna get mad at me or whatever, but I thought it was a spectacular ending and it hit about every note it needed to for me. It wasn't the ending I was expecting, but it left me thinking about it long after and analyzing the situation and really thinking about the whole journey. That's saying something. I loved every second of it... And after I was just wowed.
*POSSIBLE MINOR SPOILERS*
Bioshock infinte and the last of us both nailed their endings, but for different reasons. While bioshock was really confusing and analytic, the last of us struck an emotional chord that few games ever really hit. I was super impressed with both games, and I sat there going through all of the little details and just begging for more. It was the perfect closing for both games, and while I wanted more of the games themselves, the stories ended perfectly and I was really happy with what I had played.
*END SPOILERS*
I think another game that does it for me is Ocarina of Time. It's such a simple story, but one that is timeless. Those last moments, the surprise awaiting for you at the end, and just all of the little details, like the music and the visuals and all of the little sound effects and everything. It's just really awesome.
And that's really the biggest ones, there are others, but those are the ones that the end is really just the best part about the game, and whenever it's already an incredible game, that's saying something
Red Dead, Bioshock Infinite, Arkham City, The Last of Us, and portal 2...