Video game endings that let us down

Features

July 13, 2014

A video game ending is not the first thing you think about when buying a game, but it is what comes to mind when your recommend the title to family and friends. A great story, stunning visuals, and solid gameplay can all be ruined by a terrible ending – a fate which befell the games in this article.

Here are some of the worst endings in video games. Obviously, spoilers ahead.

Bioshock Infinite

The worst ending in the history of gaming must go to Bioshock Infinite – it took a simple, uncomplicated storyline and set it on fire. Bioshock is one of the greatest games ever made, but when the ending came I didn’t know whether to throw myself off a building or go straight to Google and decipher what exactly just happened.

[If we were talking about the Burial at Sea DLC for BioShock Infinite, then we would agree to a certain extent. But we both know that’s not what you’re referring to, so I must challenge you to a duel! Pistols at dawn! -Ed]

Assassin’s Creed (most of them)

I have not played an Assassin’s Creed game and been thankful for its “reality” part. At the end of every game things get seriously complicated with women wearing over-the-top headdresses, Gods, and cheesy dialogue. So now I play the games for their main story in the animus, and pretend that the real world scenarios are not there.

Mass Effect 3

Some endings are so bad that the developers have to release DLC to fix it – like the ending of Mass Effect 3. Commander Shepard makes his decision, you are treated to a short clip that shows hardly anything about the world of the reapers, and you are left more disappointed than Charlie after he found out he did not win a lifetime-supply of chocolate.

Crysis

You know when you predict a massive boss battle is about to happen, and then it doesn’t? Well, that is how Crysis ends. There was supposed to be something more, something epic, like a giant alien, but instead all we got was a ship crashing into the ocean and we flew away.

Borderlands

After about 50 hours of looting, shooting, and recruiting, you would really expect more from the ending of Borderlands. Instead, you are treated to a lengthy boss fight against the vault creature, and a short dialogue explaining that you had to be there to stop the creature. This ending just felt a bit flat, it needed more.

Final Fantasy XIII – 2

I loved the Final Fantasy series when the endings made sense, or the stories even made sense. In Final Fantasy XIII-2 we are, as usual, presented with a beautiful CG scene where we learn that Lightning is alive, and evil, or something. The darkness starts to spread, and Sarah dies for some reason – it was unexplained and complicated, even for a JRPG.