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The 10 Worst Endings In Video Game History

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Nazarii Verbitskiy

Gaming - October 11th 2026, 20:00 GMT+2

Elden Ring 2022 cropped processed by imagy — 10. Elden Ring (2022)

Congratulations, Tarnished: your reward for surviving the Lands Between is a chair. Four of *Elden Ring*’s six endings share essentially the same throne-room presentation, despite the very different futures your choices supposedly create. Ranni’s finale and the Frenzied Flame offer more distinctive spectacles, but becoming Elden Lord leaves too much of the payoff offscreen. After those elaborate questlines, a little evidence of how your reign changes the world hardly seems an extravagant request. | © FromSoftware

Worst Endings In Video Game History Halo 2 — 9. Halo 2 (2004)

“Finishing this fight” is a terrific promise to make just before letting someone finish a fight. *Halo 2* instead rolls credits with Master Chief approaching Earth aboard a Forerunner ship, leaving his showdown with the Prophet of Truth unresolved. The Arbiter gets a climactic confrontation with Tartarus; Chief effectively gets a boarding pass for the sequel. That imbalance makes the cutoff particularly frustrating: half the campaign reaches a major payoff while its most recognizable hero is still traveling toward his. | © Bungie

Cropped Mass Effect 3 — 8. Mass Effect 3 (2012)

An entire galaxy of unfinished business deserved more than the original *Mass Effect 3* finale gave it. Shepard’s last encounter with the Catalyst funnels the trilogy toward sweeping solutions to the organic-synthetic conflict, while leaving precious little room to say goodbye to the people who made that conflict matter. The Extended Cut added explanations and epilogues, thankfully. At launch, though, the Normandy crew felt shortchanged by a conclusion more interested in explaining its cosmic machinery than delivering an emotional farewell. | © BioWare

Worst Endings In Video Game History Dark Souls — 7. Dark Souls (2011)

Touch the bonfire after defeating Gwyn, and your character becomes fuel for the Age of Fire. Walk away, and a gathering of primordial serpents welcomes its new Dark Lord. *Dark Souls* makes that enormous decision through an almost comically understated interaction, with neither outcome offering much time to absorb the consequences. Anyone expecting a substantial farewell to Lordran gets a very short appointment. You have finally conquered this impossible kingdom; please collect your existential uncertainty on the way out. | © FromSoftware

Cropped Alan Wake — 6. Alan Wake (2010)

Alan saves Alice from the Dark Place, then remains trapped there himself—a sacrifice with genuine emotional potential. Unfortunately, *Alan Wake* scarcely lets that loss settle before signing off with its famous lake-and-ocean riddle. The closing line expands the mystery when a more personal final scene could have made the separation hurt. After chasing manuscript pages through so many flashlight batteries, being handed another cryptic clue feels less like a reward than an assignment for next semester. | © Remedy Entertainment

Far Cry 2 ending — 5. Far Cry 2 (2008)

*Far Cry 2* eventually asks you to trust the Jackal, the arms dealer you originally came to kill, with your last meaningful decision. His plan lets you help refugees escape by delivering diamonds to border guards or detonating explosives to block their pursuers, with death built into both assignments. Saving civilians gives the sacrifice purpose, but the compulsory bargain is suffocating. After an adventure built around improvisation, the final mission suddenly insists that the Jackal has already considered every possible alternative. | © Ubisoft Montreal

Worst Endings In Video Game History Crysis — 4. Crysis (2007)

The aircraft carrier is going under, an enormous alien warship has been destroyed, and Nomad narrowly escapes aboard a VTOL. Surely *Crysis* has earned a moment to breathe? Instead, news that Prophet is alive sends the survivors back toward the island, and the game stops before that return begins. Explosions provide plenty of punctuation, but remarkably little resolution. The finale leaves its most enticing development dangling, as though surviving the entire campaign has merely qualified you to see the next mission’s briefing. | © Crytek

Worst Endings In Video Game History Dr Mario — 3. Dr. Mario (1990)

Apparently, the next step after clearing a bottle of viruses is witnessing an alien pickup. Beat level 20 at high speed in the NES version of *Dr. Mario* and a UFO collects the three germs from a tree, then flies away. It is an oddly elaborate non-answer to a question nobody asked. As a reward for that frantic capsule management, the scene offers a brief gag and little sense of completion before you return to the apparently endless medical shift. | © Nintendo

Prince of Persia 2008 — 2. Prince of Persia (2008)

Elika dies sealing Ahriman away, and the Prince responds by undoing her sacrifice to resurrect her. Worse, *Prince of Persia* makes you perform the reversal yourself, destroying the trees protecting the seal before releasing the darkness you spent the adventure fighting. The affectionate banter has earned his attachment to her; it hasn’t necessarily earned your cooperation. Forcing those actions turns a potentially devastating character decision into an aggravating final chore, with Elika’s own wishes buried beneath the Prince’s determination to keep her. | © Ubisoft Montreal

Worst Endings In Video Game History Fallout 3 — 1. Fallout 3 (2008)

Fawkes can withstand radiation, but the original *Fallout 3* ending gives him a sudden vulnerability to helping out when the script needs a sacrifice. Asked to activate Project Purity, he refuses on the grounds that this is your destiny, leaving an obvious practical solution unused. The contrivance turns a potentially moving culmination of your father’s work into an argument with the writing. *Broken Steel* later allowed suitable companions to intervene and extended the story, repairing a finale that had mistaken avoidable death for profundity. | © Bethesda Game Studios

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A great video game ending can turn a good story into a classic, but a bad one can make dozens of hours feel like a cruel joke. Some finales fumble the landing with lazy twists, rushed boss fights, confusing reveals, or choices that suddenly stop mattering. From beloved franchises that angered their fanbases to ambitious stories that collapsed at the finish line, these are the worst video game endings players still complain about today.

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A great video game ending can turn a good story into a classic, but a bad one can make dozens of hours feel like a cruel joke. Some finales fumble the landing with lazy twists, rushed boss fights, confusing reveals, or choices that suddenly stop mattering. From beloved franchises that angered their fanbases to ambitious stories that collapsed at the finish line, these are the worst video game endings players still complain about today.