10 Exact Moments Video Games Self-Destructed

On a pure gameplay level, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is a stone cold masterpiece, even if many fans were left underwhelmed by its less-cinematic storytelling approach, the scaled-back voiceover work for Venom Snake/Naked Boss, and the fact that the game was effectively released unfinished.

Nevertheless, players were relieved to learn that they could unlock the "proper" ending by completing post-game content - an ending which flipped everything players thought they knew on its damn head.

This ending revealed that Venom Snake wasn't actually Big Boss at all, but rather a combat medic who was critically injured during the helicopter crash at the end of the game's Ground Zeroes prologue.

While in a coma, the medic was transformed into a Big Boss decoy through plastic surgery and hypnotherapy, ensuring that many of those who thought they'd spent the last 30 hours playing as Big Boss felt cheated by a last-minute bait-and-switch.

It was the sour cherry on top of a hugely anti-climatic finale, seeing Hideo Kojima rather appropriately drop a grenade in the middle of his own franchise on his way out the door.