10 Video Games That Gut Punch You In Act One

Bioshock has earned its rep for a lot of reasons, but particularly how it handles the build-up to its masterstroke of a twist.

When silent protagonist Jack is trapped in Andrew Ryan's perverse, self-indulgent monument to kissing Ayn Rand's feet known only as Rapture, the only one he - and thus you - can seemingly trust is the mysterious rebel Atlas. The thing is, though, Atlas has taken a good hard look at Rapture, and has decided that his little war is over and that technically, both sides lost because this city is about three large-ish explosions away from sinking even further into the reeking crevices of Davy Jones' Locker. So, he asks you if you would kindly see to helping his wife and son get out of this madhouse - promising to get you on the sub to the surface right after them.

So you make your way over to the sub where Atlas says his family is... and then Ryan blows it to hell along with them inside.

The reason the Would You Kindly twist works so damn well is that the game pulled a perfect red herring with this scene. You've just been through this genuinely traumatic experience with Atlas, turning what was once a detached guide into a sympathetic brother-in-arms. So when Atlas reveals that literally all of it was a lie, that there never was an Atlas, and that he was the enigmatic rival to Andrew Ryan, Fontaine, the whole time - it hits all the harder.