Darkest Sci-Fi Video Game Ending

Sci-fi shows and movies, especially horror-themed ones, can often have dark endings. The same goes for a number of sci-fi games that end darkly. They may have good resolutions in a sequel, but when these games were originally released as standalone titles, they threw fans for a loop. Some fans are still waiting for answers.

A dark ending isn't necessarily a bad thing if it's done well. A character pass can be good if, for example, they sacrifice themselves for the greater good. Be that as it may, good or bad, these endings have haunted gamers for years.

It goes without saying, but the following games will be completely spoiled.

Half-Life 2: Episode 2

Still waiting

There has been a reason why fans have been clamoring for it Half-Life 3or at least Half-Life 2: Episode 3for over a decade now. It's not because the game is so good that it deserves a sequel, although that is also true. It is also because Half-Life 2: Episode 2 ends on a rather dark cliffhanger.

After everything seems fine between Gordon, Alyx and Eli, their reunion is interrupted by robots. They try to capture Gordon and Alyx, Dog, the robot, chases after them, and in the struggle, Eli is shot and presumably dies. Fans have been resting on the ending since 2007.

Dead Space 2

Keep an eye on the price

Dead Space 2 has many notable upgrades to the story and gameplay to make it a more engaging horror sequel. For example, Isaac can now speak, giving him more of a role than grunting in the story. The story follows Isaac's continued fight against the cult of the Markers, leading to a psychological battle against his wife in the final battle.

Of course, it's not really his wife because the Marker is just messing with his brain, but it's enough to send Isaac into a catatonic state. Credits will roll when he's sitting still, as the faculty he's in blows up, signaling he's given up. Thankfully, Isaac is eventually saved, so it's a good ending, but still messed up overall.

Prey (2017)

A sloppy ending

Change is a psychological horror game set on a lunar base crawling with creatures that can mimic anything. There are multiple endings to get, with even the good ending being somewhat unsatisfying. The ending is up to interpretation, but it seems the player, Morgan, was sent to Talos 1 to be experimented on, and the results would lead to human immortality.

Whether players escape with others or not doesn't matter. Morgan, as a character, either dies, is doomed to repeat the process, or has to live with the trauma they suffered on Talos 1, even if they escaped.

Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7

Carry on my wayward son

The Final Fantasy 7 universe is the most sci-fi influenced series of games in the overall franchise. Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 is a prequel to the original game, starring Cloud's best friend, Zack, in his quest to become the best SOLDIER program within Shinra has to offer. Along the way, he will lose countless friends, eventually leading to Zack escaping Shinra with Cloud, who is in a catatonic state.

Just when it looks like the two are going to make it home, Zack is stopped by a group of soldiers. Despite his best efforts, Zack will die, but before he does, Zack will gift his Buster Sword to Cloud along with his dreams.

Return

Personal demons

Return is a dark, depressing rogue-like shooter that players should know won't end well from the moment they start. It begins with the heroine, Selene, waking up on an alien planet after crashing her spaceship. She'll walk through a maze of rooms, all flashing scenes from her life as players explore, like an old family home, which doesn't make sense.

It turns out that Selene isn't an astronaut at all, and it all took place in her head as she dealt with the trauma of killing her daughter, Helios, in a car accident. She has personal issues with her mom and dad as well, so overall it's all in her head, although the game never really develops the conclusion, like if Selene manages to break free.

Xenoblade Chronicles 3

Two worlds are divided

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is a long game and a difficult story to summarize perfectly, just like most of the games in Xeno universe of games. Basically, the two nations that warred against each other for centuries were not enemies at all, as the war effort was orchestrated to simply entertain god-like beings as part of the Mobius Organization.

The two main characters, Noah and Mio, also have future doppelgangers who worked for Mobius. It's all very dark, but the most certain is that after the heroes achieve victory, they find out that their worlds merged eons ago and do not belong to each other. That means Noah and Mio must send each other a heartfelt goodbye as the two worlds drift apart and reset the universe.

Death Stranding 2: On The Beach

A robotic future

Death Stranding 2: On the Beach easily has one of the wildest endings of a game released in 2025, with too much to go into. One of the biggest revelations is that Lou, who seemed to have died at the beginning, somehow survived in the other world and quickly aged like Tomorrow.

Also, she is Sam's biological daughter, and when the two embrace for the first time as daughter and father, things end happily. Then things flash forward to an indeterminate time later, where the landscapes look worse than before, there are robots everywhere seemingly carrying packages, and Tomorrow seems aged. It's unclear what state the world is in, but it seems that everyone in the main party beyond tomorrow could be dead.

NieR: Automata

The end of humanity

To get the good ending, players must clear NieR: Automata at least three times. This includes going through the likes of 2b, 9s, and A2, all of which will shed more light on what happened on Earth to cause the robots to take over years ago. The whole premise is that humanity lives in space and sends androids down to earth to try and reclaim it.

The sick part is that humanity died eons ago, and all that's left in space is a delusion of robots. To end the cycle forever, players have to give up their literal save data in hopes of helping another player, which is a pretty grim scenario for players to go through.

Mass Effect 3

It's about the journey

The Mass effect The trilogy follows Commander Shepard in his exploits to stop the Reapers, all leading up to the end in Mass Effect 3. Players were given three options, originally, how to deal with them. At first Reapers could be killed, but so would all synthetic life, thus killing allies in the process.

Shepard was also able to control the Reapers, which seemed like the most evil ending. Finally, organic and synthetic life could merge into a new being. A later update allowed players to refuse, which would restart the cycle. Both choices are bleak, even with humanity merging with robots, since it essentially kills two lifeforms and recycles their lives without them saying anything.

BioShock Infinite

Sins of the Father

BioShock Infinite is dark, perhaps the darkest of all three BioShock game, because of the meaning of the message. In a utopian city that flies up in the clouds, Columbia, Booker, a detective, is sent to rescue a girl, Elizabeth, from the ruler of the city, Comstock. It turns out that these memories are false, and Booker instead went there to get revenge on Comstock, who stole his daughter Anna.

In a major revelation, Elizabeth explains that she is Anna from another universe, and Booker is Comstock before he is reborn through religion. This has happened in many universes, and the only way to make things right is for Booker to die. He dies by drowning at the hands of his universal daughters. Zack's death is sad i Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7but it's also hopeful, while Booker's death is just impossibly bleak from a player's perspective.