10 Video Game Plot Twists That Totally BROKE You

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons' big twist hits as hard as it does not merely because of the characters involved, but because of the very specific context of the gameplay.

The game sees players take control of two brothers, Naia and his younger sibling Naiee, as they set off on a journey to find a cure for their mortally wounded father.

Ingeniously, and crucially to the game's emotional payoff, each brother is controlled by one of the controller's thumbsticks.

However, near game's end Naia is fatally impaled by a monstrous spider creature, leaving Naiee to bury his older brother and complete the rest of the journey alone.

And this is where the game's control scheme achieves real genius - Naia's absence is felt through the fact that players can't use his corresponding thumbstick for the rest of the game outside of a few key moments. 

This ensures that there's never really an opportunity to forget the void that Naia has left in his wake.

Characters die all the time in video games, but rarely is their impermanence conveyed in such a devastatingly tactile way.