Inspired by @fuckingshit's post, I'd like to know your opinions on games with really bad or disappointing endings. Sometimes games do great for almost all of it, only to totally ruin it at the end.

I'll agree with Mass Effect 3.

spoiler

I don't think it needs a happy or sad ending, but what we got was utterly disconnected from the previous choices. When they had the sidequest for Tali and you entered the Geth cyberspace, I thought it would be connected to the ending of dealing with the Reapers. It would've been satisfying and thematic to nonstandard ways of solving problems. It also lets the Quarians have a victory that shows that engineering and creating wasn't wrong. Hell, the Geth could've worked with them and patched their history. It would reward players who maintained good relationships with their crew and make the victory a shared one, fitting with the ideal of the Citadel.

Instead, it was a one-off quest that said nothing of the the game as a whole and there were no other big choices that affected the ending.

Anyway, what games had awful endings, and if you want, how would you have changed it?

In the spirit of preventing unwanted spoilers, could we tag them in this post?

  • Alex_Jones [he/him]
    ·
    2 years ago

    I'd forgive the multiple ending thing more if they explicitly state when you reach a point of no return. You can even toggle it if you want to be surprised (and devastated). Like in Morrowind when you kill a plot essential character. Or something where the ending let's you reload at a pivotal scene to get the better ending.

    But even then, you're right. It's pretty rare for multiple endings to be worth it. They're usually good, bad and best/secret.

    I liked Divinity: Original Sin 2, but having to plan around for an ending early on felt frustrating. And even then, the best ending in my opinion was really frustrating.

    spoiler

    You can take the power of divinity for yourself and become a godlike being, you can refuse to take it and let the villain get that power because you let your guard down, or the one I liked - you divvy up the godly power for everyone in the world. In this ending, they did the neoliberal thing of saying equality is bad but not explaining why. And it's like great - I get a collectivist option and I get lectured for giving too much power to people. But I still got to keep my husband so fuck 'em. I've got headcanon.

    • UlyssesT [he/him]
      ·
      2 years ago

      You should have waited for the Bill Gates call to know what to do with all that Source. :so-true:

      • Alex_Jones [he/him]
        ·
        2 years ago

        Brb, gonna patent the source so that it integrates into the economy without disrupting it.