Games that completely fail the player's expectations

To manipulate player expectations can often be a double-edged sword. Since gaming is such an expensive hobby, it can be disappointing to feel that a video game didn't live up to what was first advertised and can even cause people to stop playing altogether.

But some of the very best designers in this industry (both AAA and indie) have overcome this problem and successfully disappoint players' expectations in brilliant ways that enhance the entire experience while cementing their respective games as undeniable masterpieces. The following titles are perfect examples of this astonishing phenomenon.

Keep in mind that it's impossible to explain why these games work so well without delving into spoilers, so there will be spoilers ahead.

Silent Hill 2

Constantly hiding the true nature of James' guilt

Silent Hill 2 has a relatively basic premise for a survival horror game: James Sunderland receives a mysterious letter from his dead wife Mary telling him to visit the titular town. The game repeatedly portrays James as a bystander and a victim, someone who enters Silent Hill to determine if his wife is still alive, but suddenly has to flee from a bunch of terrifying monsters, including the infamous Pyramid Head.

But the whole tone of Silent Hill 2 changes when it is revealed that James killed his wife and that several aspects of the town reflect his own guilt, including the Pyramid Head, which is a physical representation of his desire for punishment and his self-image as an executioner. This reveal (considered one of the best plot twists in gaming history) completely changes the context of James' mission, and luckily, it's excellent Silent Hill 2 Remake from 2024 kept most of this brilliant emotional action intact.

Solid Snake is not the real protagonist

Hideo Kojima is one of the few video game developers who can defy his players' expectations and get away with it. Back in the early 2000s, most promotional material related to Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (the long-awaited sequel to Metal Gear Solid) announced Solid Snake as the main character, including its playable demo and the game's official cover art. Of course, technically Kojima wasn't lying, as PS2 users in 2001 found themselves controlling Snake in this title… but only for the first hour of the game.

As most players know by now, after completing the Tanker mission, Raiden replaces Solid Snake and becomes the main playable character in Metal Gear Solid 2. Gamers didn't see this coming back in the day, and it's now an infamous example of a game falling short of expectations. It obviously doesn't end there, because the whole of Metal Gear Solid 2 becomes a brilliant (if confusing) meta-parody of its predecessor, especially during its final act.

Braid

Much more than an indie Mario clone

Braid is widely regarded as one of the best and most influential indie games of all time, and for very good reason. It's not just a fun 2D platformer that was very obviously inspired by Mario franchise, but its groundbreaking time manipulation mechanics helped it feel surprisingly fresh and unique for its time.

Narratively, Braid tells a very simple story about a man named Tim who tries to save a princess from an evil knight. But those who played the game to the end can attest that it definitely lives up to their expectations. Not only did they eventually find out that the princess was trying to escape from Tim, but it's also heavily implied that the entire game is a metaphor for the creation of the atomic bomb. That's right; what started out as a traditional 2D platformer becomes much darker and more complex than expected.

Spec Ops: The Line

A nuanced shooter that shattered expectations in the early 2010s

During the late 2000s and early 2010s, the gaming industry was plagued by military shooters (both first and third person) that focused mostly on their multiplayer modes. So when Spec Ops: The Line came out in 2012, most initially dismissed it as yet another third-person shooter with a desert setting and gameplay reminiscent of Gears of War.

But those who actually gave it a chance slowly found out how wrong this criticism was, because Spec Ops: The Line tells a shocking story that has a lot to say about war, violence and the military complex, which was surprisingly nuanced compared to other games in the genre. Thanks to its compelling story, Spec Ops is now remembered more fondly than most other military shooters released around that time.

Undertale

Can be either very lighthearted or very dark, depending on the player's actions

When talking about video games that failed players' expectations, it's important to remember the context in which they were released and how people reacted to them before they were spoiled all over the internet. Yes, today everyone knows that Undertale broke new ground by allowing players to either spare or kill enemies (which in turn will affect the plot and the world), but back in 2015 this was a startling revelation that most people struggled to wrap their heads around.

The indie scene in 2015 was filled to the brim with turn-based RPGs inspired by Groundedso when Toby Fox (who had previously developed a famous Grounded ROM hack) released Undertaleit was logical to assume that it would be another indie RPG without anything special. But he and his team proved everyone wrong with their brilliant ideas, and Undertale is now considered one of the most innovative and important RPGs ever made.

NieR: Automata

Everything changes after the first playthrough

It is easy to dismiss NieR: Automata as a traditional hack-and-slash title with an anime art style and over-the-top boss fights, but it's important to remember that it also comes from the strange mind of Yoko Taro, a Japanese developer known for his unusual ideas. The scariest part? The true nature of NieR: AutomataThe story and setting only become apparent after the player completes the campaign for the first time.

Protagonists 2B and 9S discover that humanity has been dead for thousands of years and that YoRHa kept the war going against the machines just to give the androids a reason to live. In subsequent playthroughs, they (and by extension the player) reveal even more secrets related to the humans, the machines, and even the 9S's true function, not to mention 2B dying and being replaced by A2 at one point. NieR: Automata may seem like a simple hack-and-slash game at first, but it's actually one of the weirdest gaming experiences out there, and everyone needs to try it out (but only if they're willing to complete the campaign at least three times).

Doki Doki Literature Club!

The entire game revolves around breaking the player's expectations

Anyone who has heard of Doki Doki Literature Club! is most likely aware of its astonishing plot twist, but in the same way that Undertalethis game can still be a big surprise to those who have never heard its spoilers before. After all, the visual novel genre was filled to the brim with both romance and parody titles, so back in 2017 it seemed almost impossible for a brand new version created by a single American developer to stand out at all.

Creator Dan Salvato shocked his entire player base because Doki Doki Literature Club! At first it appears to be a standard visual novel dating sim with a cast of lovely anime girls until the shocking scene where the player finds Sayori dead in her bedroom. From that point on, the game delves into pure psychological horror, and it even starts manipulating the player's computer to scare and disturb them. At the end of the day, this now-beloved indie darling relied entirely on subverting expectations to succeed in a niche genre, and it certainly did not disappoint.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

Gustave's expedition is not quite real

Those who didn't get the chance to play Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 before the 2025 awards season may have struggled to understand why it received so many accolades, particularly the Game of the Year award. Of course, the gameplay and presentation are absolutely stunning, but its story doesn't seem like anything to write home about. Set in a fantasy world, it focuses on Gustave, who alongside the titular expedition must reach and defeat a creature known as the Painter to stop her from slowly erasing their world.

Of course, everything changes when Gustave is suddenly killed at the end of Act 1 and replaced by Verso, who is the true protagonist of Clair Obscur. It doesn't stop there, as the player (and the rest of Expedition 33) eventually discovers that the entire game world isn't technically real: it all takes place inside a painting belonging to the Dessendre family. Not only does Gustave play no part in the grand scheme of things, but it is also revealed that his adopted sister, Maelle, is actually from the real world. Thanks to its clever and punchy narrative elements, Clair Obscur is widely considered to have one of the best stories ever told in the video game medium.