Games is a medium just like movies and books, so just like these you will get situations where your feelings get tested. Games have made you felt happy, afraid, angry and sad. And that’s what I will be focusing on in this “Top 10” list, the moments I really felt sad from what I witnessed. Since some of them will probably contain spoilers, be aware of this SPOILER WARNING before reading the text if you have not played the game yet.
10.
Roman (Grand Theft Auto IV)
We all hated Roman to some degree. He was loud, obnoxious and would never leave you alone, pestering you with offers of bowling and various menial activities. But even through all the annoyance and frustration, it’s hard not to admit that seeing him dead due to your actions was devastating.
Throughout the story, the game does a lot to make him unlikeable, to the extent that his constant phone calls became a joke. But to that same token, removing that presence swept the rug out from under a lot of players. It gave you that painful feeling that you should have spent more time with him instead of ignoring his requests to go bowling.
9.
Death of the Companion Cube (Portal)
This moment which happens early in Portal, the hit puzzle game from 2007. You are alone and afraid, don’t knowing what will meet you at the end. Then you get the Companion Cube, a rather distinct cube different from the others. (It got hearts on him/her) and you know this will be the closest to a best friend in this journey. Until you get forced to kill it off, throwing him in a inferno of flames to proceed to the next level. So then you are left alone again, and even worse “The Cake is a LIE!!!”
8.
Sully’s “Death” (Uncharted 3)
Although it turns out he actually didn’t die, remembering the feeling I felt when playing Uncharted 3. Being caught by surprise when we suddenly see that Sully has been shot in the back by Talbot. Since this was the third game in the franchise, we have experienced a lot with him and was a big part of Nathan’s life. But also a big part of our adventure as the player, being a mentor and friend for us as well. I was genuinely sad when he fell, but incredible relieved when it turned out differently as it was the water Nathan drank that made him hallucinate.
7.
The death of Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki (Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3)
Yeah I know this is a scene from the anime Naruto Shippuden recreated in the game, but I had never watched the anime before playing the game. So this was my first time seeing this story being unfolded. Naruto have enough scenes in itself to make a list, but this particular moment was the saddest for me. After Nine-Tails gets released since Jinchuriki Kushina is weak during the birth of her son Naruto, an evil man exploits this and uses Nine-Tails to destroy the Hidden Leaf Village. Minato (The Fourth-Hokage) have to do everything he can to protect the things he loves the most. His village, his wife and most importantly his newborn son. All this is being unfolded in a huge battle, but in the end they almost lose. A devastating attack from Nine-Tails aimed at Naruto, Minato and Kushina steps in between to save him using their own bodies as a shield. On the edge of dying, their last action would save the village and Naruto. Sealing the beast inside Naruto and using their last portion of Chakra, to make it powerful enough to keep him there making him the new Jinchuriki. As they know this will be their last moment being with their newborn son. they tell him their last words, their hopes and dreams they have for him, and what they want him to be and what not to do. All the things a parent wants to tell their child when growing up, they will have to tell him just hours after his birth.
This was a scene that was just hard to see, two parents saying goodbye to their newborn child, never knowing what will become of him.
6.
The Ending (Life is Strange)
The most difficult thing with Life is Strange is the moments you question your choices. You will be asking yourself if you even made a good choice, and if it was the best outcome that happened. The ending gave the hardest choice, splitting it into two choices. Max arrives at the lighthouse with Chloe. They confront the fact that Max brought the approaching super storm that will ruin the city into existence by availing herself of the advantage of time travel abilities and saving Chloe in the bathroom from the start. Max must make a final choice: sacrifice Chloe’s life in order to save Arcadia Bay, or leave Arcadia Bay in ruins to prevent Chloe’s demise. So you will have to make a choice, either save the girl you love, but at a high cost sacrificing the city and everyone you know, or let Chloe die as intended, the girl you have done so much for and huge sacrifices made to keep her alive the whole time.
5.
Lee Everett’s Death (Teltale’s The Walking Dead)
After hours playing as Lee Everett trying to survive the Zombie-Apocalypse, and also taking care of the little girl Clementine. We learned that there is no chance to get a truly happy ending, and sacrifices will have to be made. After being bitten by a “walker” Lee know that his time is near, and will have to get Clementine to safety. As he slowly is getting worse he tries to explain and persuade Clementine to leave him behind. She is afraid and hesitant about her chances to survive alone.She will also have to finish Lee off, so he won’t turn in to a “Walker”
This scene was hard, watching the closest thing she has had to a father in all this chaos, not being able to be there for her anymore. And him not knowing what will happen to her and if she will make it.
4.
John Marston’s brutal death (Red Dead Redemption)
John Marston finds himself blackmailed by the government to hunt down his former partners in crime. He follows their orders, fearful that his family will pay the price if he doesn’t.
But the government betray him nonetheless, and the final chapter of the game focuses on a gun battle between the two parties.After fighting long and hard, government agent Edgar Ross and his men manage to surround John Marston and shoot him dead, as his wife and son escapes on horseback. His son soon achieves violent retribution, but it does nothing to heal the fresh wound of John’s bloody demise.
3.
How it all turned out (Shadow of the Colossus)
When Wander’s trusty horse Agro falls of a cliff and (seemingly) dies before the final Colossus, that was a horrible scene to behold. Not that Shadow of the Colossus would have been too much of an happy game up to that point, with Wander starting to rot alive more and more with each subsequent Colossus.
Then when all is over, Agro comes back. And the girl is alive too Just… Wander is dead. Or reincarnated as a baby with horn is more correct to say. After all that we have done, killing countless colossus, instead of saving his love and be with her he ended up having to take care of her and will forever have to have the horns on his head.
2.
The Truth (Metal Gear Solid 3)
A young Big Boss codenamed Naked Snake is being sent deep within a russian jungle, during the cold war to complete one mission; save and protect a russian scientist (Sokolov), and get him the hell out of there. But Snakes old mentor The Boss intervene and defects to the sadistic Colonel Volgin. As a gift to the colonel she gives him a Davy Crockett nuclear bomb, and then she beats Snake and throws him from the bridge. Beaten and betrayed, Snake is sent back to America to recover. At the same time Volgin is launching the nuke at a Russian scientist lab, giving Russia reasons to believe America was responsible for the attack. Only way Russia would agree not to start a war, was if America sent someone from their own to take care of both Volgin and the traitor (The Boss)
Snake is then sent back and after countless battles and defeating The Boss’s old unit (Cobra Unit) from the WW2, and at the end defeating Volgin. It was then time to meet his old mentor again. They battle each other in one last battle, and Snake successfully defeats her, and must finish her off. It’s later revealed that The Boss did all this, sacrificed her legacy and her title as hero., just so she could get her hand on a microfilm containing the location of a fund with enough resources to be funding three world wars. She knew they needed to get it out of the soviets hand or they would be a superior power against the rest of the world. She sacrificed it all, and would go down in the history books as a traitor for her country.
We then see Snake now codenamed Big Boss, walking towards her grave. He brought flowers, and her gun. Standing in front of her grave, giving her a last salute for a fallen leader, mother-figure and mentor, shedding a tear knowing he will be the only one knowing the truth about her
1.
Joel loses his daughter (Last of Us)
This is a moment that happens pretty early in this Zombie-Survival game, and still it’s really a heart wrenching moment in Last of Us. Everything starts off with us seeing the relationship between Joel and his daughter Sarah. He is coming home from work, and is greeted by Sarah. They are messing around with each other and are watching tv. After the intro where we are being shown that not everything is like it used to, there’s a absolute chaos around them. Unfortunately after an escape they meet a soldier with orders to kill everyone that might be contagious. He starts to shoot at them, but Joel’s brother kills the soldier and save them. So we think……. Sarah is hit, and fights for her life, struggling to breathe. Slowly dying in Joel’s arms while he can’t do anything to save her.
This was one of the toughest moments of the game, seeing a father not being able to protect and losing his daughter. It shows how the world is changing, and what will become of it. It’s also a moment that changes Joel to the guy he is, and how he will be later in the game.