The 31 Best Video Game Endings of All Time

Some of these finales are quiet goodbyes; others are last-minute twists that rewrite everything you just played. A few still split players years after the credits rolled.

1. 1
   Red Dead Redemption

   Rockstar's 2010 western ends with John Marston gunned down by government agents at his ranch, followed by an epilogue in which his son Jack hunts down Edgar Ross.
   1000pts
2. 2
   The Last of Us

   Naughty Dog's 2013 game ends with Joel killing Fireflies at a hospital to stop Ellie's fatal surgery, then lying to her about what happened.
   940pts
3. 3
   Braid

   Jonathan Blow's 2008 puzzle platformer ends with a level played in reverse that recasts the princess as fleeing from the hero, Tim.
   863pts
4. 4
   Call of Duty: Black Ops

   Treyarch's 2010 shooter ends with the reveal that Viktor Reznov was a projection of Alex Mason's brainwashing; it topped a 2012 Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition poll of best endings.
   833pts
5. 5
   God of War

   Santa Monica Studio's 2018 game ends with the reveal that Kratos' late wife Faye was a giant and that the giants knew Atreus as Loki.
   611pts
6. 6
   Batman: Arkham City

   Rocksteady's 2011 game ends with the Joker dying of his illness and Batman carrying his body out of Arkham City.
   611pts
7. 7
   Half-Life 2: Episode Two

   Valve's 2007 episode ends on a cliffhanger in which a Combine Advisor kills Eli Vance in front of Alyx and Gordon Freeman.
   559pts
8. 8
   Spec Ops: The Line

   Yager's 2012 shooter ends with Captain Walker learning that Colonel Konrad has long been dead, followed by an epilogue with several possible outcomes.
   558pts
9. 9
   The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

   Nintendo's 1998 adventure ends with Ganon sealed away and Princess Zelda sending Link back in time to his childhood.
   558pts
10. 10
    Mass Effect 2

    BioWare's 2010 RPG ends with the Suicide Mission, where squad members live or die depending on the player's preparation and choices.
    500pts
11. 11
    BioShock Infinite

    Irrational Games' 2013 shooter ends with the revelation that Booker DeWitt and Comstock are the same man, and Booker drowned at his baptism.
    500pts
12. 12
    Journey

    Thatgamecompany's 2012 game ends with a climb through snow to the mountain summit, after which the traveler's light streaks back across the landscape.
    500pts
13. 13
    Grand Theft Auto IV

    Rockstar's 2008 crime story ends on a choice between a deal and revenge, which decides whether Niko Bellic's cousin Roman or his girlfriend Kate is killed.
    500pts
14. 14
    Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater

    Konami's 2004 Cold War stealth game ends with Snake forced to kill his mentor The Boss, later learning she died carrying out a secret mission.
    500pts
15. 15
    Outer Wilds

    Mobius Digital's 2019 exploration game ends with the player entering the Eye of the Universe, where the universe ends and a new one begins.
    500pts
16. 16
    Life Is Strange

    Dontnod's 2015 episodic game ends with Max Caulfield choosing between saving her friend Chloe and saving the town of Arcadia Bay.
    433pts
17. 17
    Final Fantasy X

    Square's 2001 RPG ends with Sin defeated and Tidus fading away, since he exists only as a dream of the fayth.
    433pts
18. 18
    Uncharted 4: A Thief's End

    Naughty Dog's 2016 game ends with an epilogue in which Nathan Drake's daughter Cassie learns her parents' story years later.
    433pts
19. 19
    Undertale

    Toby Fox's 2015 RPG has several endings, with its True Pacifist route reached only by sparing every monster.
    357pts
20. 20
    Silent Hill 2

    Konami's 2001 horror game has multiple endings, built around James Sunderland's realization that he killed his ill wife Mary.
    357pts
21. 21
    Portal 2

    Valve's 2011 puzzle game ends with Chell firing a portal onto the Moon to defeat Wheatley, after which GLaDOS sets her free and sings the credits song "Want You Gone".
    357pts
22. 22
    Chrono Trigger

    Square's 1995 time-travel RPG has more than a dozen endings, determined by when and how the party defeats Lavos.
    357pts
23. 23
    The Walking Dead

    Telltale's 2012 episodic game ends with a bitten Lee Everett asking Clementine either to shoot him or leave him behind.
    269pts
24. 24
    Inside

    Playdead's 2016 puzzle platformer ends with the boy absorbed into the Huddle, a mass of bodies that breaks out of a lab and comes to rest on a shore.
    269pts
25. 25
    Red Dead Redemption 2

    Rockstar's 2018 prequel ends with the death of Arthur Morgan, shaped by the player's honor and choices, before a long epilogue playing as John Marston.
    269pts
26. 26
    Halo: Reach

    Bungie's 2010 prequel ends with Noble Six's playable last stand against the Covenant as the planet Reach falls.
    167pts
27. 27
    Portal

    Valve's 2007 puzzle game ends with the destruction of the AI GLaDOS and the credits song "Still Alive" by Jonathan Coulton.
    167pts
28. 28
    NieR: Automata

    PlatinumGames' 2017 RPG has 26 lettered endings; in Ending E, players can delete their save data to help other players.
    167pts
29. 29
    Final Fantasy VII

    Square's 1997 RPG ends with Holy and the Lifestream stopping Meteor, followed by an epilogue set 500 years later.
    167pts
30. 30
    The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

    CD Projekt Red's 2015 RPG has multiple endings decided by Ciri's fate: she becomes Empress, becomes a witcher or is lost, depending on Geralt's choices.
    167pts
31. 31
    Shadow of the Colossus

    Team Ico's 2005 game ends with Wander possessed by Dormin after the sixteenth colossus falls, and reborn as a horned infant.
    0pts

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