10 RIDICULOUS Plot Twists From Recent Video Games
Who saw THAT Final Fantasy VII Remake twist coming?
Plot twists can be the best or worst thing about a video game, as with any media. At their finest, they elevate the storytelling by forcing players to reconsider everything they've seen, but without due care they can feel forced and even cheapen the entire experience.
Then there are those twists of the more left-field, off-key variety, which through their sheer bold daring are sure to alienate some players, going to places just about nobody saw coming.
From shock retcons of prior games in the series to unexpected dark reveals, twists piled upon twists, and perhaps even twists that were so obvious everyone thought they were being duped, these are the most ridiculous twists in recent gaming history.
If nothing else, these mind-boggling reveals prove that even when you're absolutely, positively sure where a game's going, you can never know when a game's going to pull something completely unexpected, even deranged, totally out of nowhere.
And of course it goes without saying that MAJOR SPOILERS will follow for some of the biggest video games released over the last year-or-so. You've been warned...
10. Eli's Death Gets Retconned - Half-Life: Alyx
The mere fact that Half-Life: Alyx exists at all is enough of a plot twist for most fans, but Valve held absolutely nothing back when it came to the VR game's show-stopping jaw-dropper of an ending.
Given that Alyx was confirmed to be a prequel set five years prior to the events of Half-Life 2, it seemed that the game wouldn't be addressing the agonising cliffhanger posed at the end of Half-Life 2: Episode Two, where Alyx's father Eli was killed by a Combine Advisor.
But at the end of this game, Alyx encounters the mysterious G-Man, who sends her to the future and shows her what happens to her father, while offering her the opportunity to change his fate.
And so, the game concludes with Alyx preventing his death by destroying the Combine Advisor, before she's sent into stasis by the G-Man, and Gordon and a now-alive Eli vow to rescue her.
For a new Half-Life game to not only exist but retcon a cliffhanger ending that had tortured fans for 13 long years is a whole new level of bold.
That it also left most fans satisfied and eager to see what comes next, then, is nothing short of miraculous.