10 Bleak Game Over Screens That Crushed You

In amongst the regular turn-based strategy releases, we have titles that involve much micro-managing. XCOM is one of the biggest examples. Locked in an arms race against a hostile alien menace, the player must not only succeed in missions on the ground, but also manage their base and resources effectively.

Back in 1994, XCOM: UFO Defense was one of the most brutally difficult games ever made. It was merciless in battering the player with many defeats. Yet pushing through and overcoming the odds led to an incredibly rewarding gameplay loop.

Unlike other entries on this list, being defeated in XCOM is a tradition that punishes the player handsomely. Each mainline release is a brutal sequence in its own right, but the most crushing blow is right back in the first game. Lose the war against your foes and you're treated to a hellish endgame.

Blaring music enters the scene as the planet surrenders to the alien invaders. Earth is turned into a terrifying hellscape with mutated humans running amok. It concludes with "The Knowledge of the XCOM project is lost forever, you have failed to save the Earth."

Ironically, the limitations of technology of the time just makes the moment that much more creepy.