10 Video Game Deaths You Were Powerless To Stop

5. The Boss - Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater

The final boss in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater is, of course, Naked Snake's steely mentor The Boss, a former American agent who defected to the USSR.

The glorious final boss fight sees a reluctant Snake battling The Boss in a field, and once she's been mortally wounded, Hideo Kojima literally stops the game and forces the player to fire the final bullet into her.

There's no other option here: you can turn your console off to avoid actually pulling the trigger if you really want, but otherwise, there's no choice but to shoot her dead.

The unease that comes with plugging such a nuanced character becomes worse in retrospect, though, when it's revealed moments later that The Boss never actually defected, but simply feigned defection in order to infiltrate Volgin's ranks and track down the Philosopher's Legacy.

And if you don't feel terrible enough yet, The Boss has to die branded a traitor with nobody but yourself, Eva, and a handful of others knowing the real truth.

It's the smartest and most emotionally resonant writing of Kojima's entire career, and as devastating as it is, we wouldn't have it any other way.