10 Beautiful Video Game Endings That Made Us Cry

10. Halo Reach

Prequels are, by nature, predictable; we know what's going to happen going in. The best prequels work this awareness into the narrative, either finding some new information to show that the audience wasn't aware of, or in the case of Halo Reach, leaning into the tragedy.

The destruction of planet Reach is the opening tragedy of the Halo saga, and Halo Reach is the story of six Spartans - Noble Team - who did everything in their power to stop it and failed. You keep holding out hope throughout the story that something will go right, that ONE of them will make it out. And every time the game hammers the point home.

In the end, it's just you, Noble Six. Against an entire planet of Covenant forces. And one objective: Survive.

You can fight and fight and fight until the cows come home and then fight the cows for good measure. But the Covenant will beat you, overpowering Noble Six and skewering him on a laser sword before the Covenant glasses the planet.

The solace comes as Cortana narrates a memorial for you and Noble team, telling them, and you, that it wasn't for nothing. Many others got off Reach, got to the Halo rings, and eventually won the war, leaving Noble Team to be remembered forever as heroes.