10 Monumental Video Game Plot Twists Nobody Saw Coming

One of the most revelatory moments in recent gaming history, these three innocuous words turned out to be the trigger phrase that the player’s supposed friend Atlas was using to manipulate their actions throughout the game.

Upon arriving in the underwater nightmare that is Rapture, the player is introduced to their guide and disembodied companion Atlas, who helps them navigate through the labyrinth of ruined hallways and leaking structures in return for helping him find his missing wife and child.

When confronting Andrew Ryan (who turns out to be your dad, ouch), he brings to light Atlas’ tapestry of manipulation using the aforementioned phrase. After you involuntarily kill Ryan, Atlas sheds his cloak of deceit and reveals himself as Frank Fontaine, a catalyst in the fall of the submerged dystopia, completing a swift one-two punch on the player’s blindside.

The greatest twists in any story are ones that drop subtle but telling hints to the player or audience as to the true nature of someone’s motives, and the first instalment of Bioshock brilliantly laid its clues right in front of your nose.