10 Most Sacrilegious Video Game Moments

8. The Raiden Switcharoo - Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons Of Liberty

Metroid Other M Samus
Konami

Say what you want about Metal Gear Solid V pulling a protagonist bait-and-switch at the end of the game, but at least players were able to spend 99.9% of the game thinking they were playing as Big Boss before discovering they were actually his doppelganger, right?

Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty saw Hideo Kojima execute a far more upfront and devastating rug-pull, as after the opening Solid Snake-starring tanker prologue sequence, it was revealed that the player would spend the rest of the game as his effeminate wet blanket of a stand-in, Raiden.

Kojima took enormous pains to keep the switcharoo secret, such that fans were shocked and infuriated to learn that they'd have to spend the remaining 90% of the game playing as someone other than Solid Snake, and a dweeby, whiny substitute at that.

Though Sons of Liberty remains a highly acclaimed entry into the series, Raiden's role as protagonist will always be divisive because it frustratingly robbed players of another chance to play as Solid Snake.

Thankfully Snake returned as the main protagonist of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, and in the very same game Raiden was re-imagined as a badass cyborg ninja, so everything worked out well enough in the end.

Contributor
Contributor

Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes). General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.