10 Intense Video Game Endings That Blew Us Away
2. The Last Of Us Part II
For all of its 20-something hours, The Last of Us Part II is unquestionably one of the most intense video games of all time, an almost impossibly bleak action thriller that invests players deep in its superbly drawn characters.
Beyond the controversy of that early twist, and that sudden perspective shift, the game is building towards one of the most sublimely cinematic and gruelling endings in the history of the medium.
In a lengthy epilogue, Ellie catches up to Abby, who has been captured, tortured, and starved by the Rattlers.
Despite this, a vengeful Ellie frees Abby only to goad her into a fight to the death, leading to a savage final "boss" fight in which Abby bites off two of Ellie's guitar-playing fingers, and Ellie very nearly drowns her in return.
The two then go their separate ways, each coming to appreciate the futility of their respective revenge quests while their wider fates are left enticingly ambiguous.
Divisive though some of the game's storytelling decisions were, there's no denying how brilliantly Naughty Dog ratcheted up the tension for that final sequence.