10 Insane Video Game Endings That Totally Came Out Of Nowhere

1. Mass Effect 3

Say what you will about Mass Effect 3's ending, but nobody could have expected it to resolve the sci-fi series in the manner it did. The entire title has you struggling to build the Crucible, which has been promised to be the only effective weapon against the invading Reaper force. You eventually succeed, but it turns out the machine isn't some kind of giant, instant-win space gun that can take out all the Reapers, but actually a way to change the very fabric of space and time.

When you activate the machine, you're welcomed by the Catalyst, an A.I. that's made up of the collective knowledge of the Reapers, as well as all the civilizations they've harvested over the years. Essentially, it's the leader of the Reapers, who takes the form of a little boy you couldn't save earlier in the game, a computer programme which waxes philosophical about the relationship between organic and synthetic life.

After it's done monologuing, it gives you a choice of three ways to stave off the total destruction of the galaxy: destroy all A.I. and technology in existence, forcing all races to start over again, take control of the Reapers themselves, or synergise all organic and synthetic life into one new super species.

Each outcome seems pretty terrible, and the original ending barely provided any context for what your decision meant for the world at large. Finishing the series was never going to be easy, but this 2001-esque final choice came completely out of nowhere.