10 Video Games That Immediately DEVASTATE You
Crying before you've even taken control of the character.
Video games have certainly evolved quickly in the last twenty years. At the turn of the millennium, cinematic storytelling in gaming had begun to take hold and, whilst gameplay always came first, it was becoming increasingly important that games had truly great characters and narratives as well.
Titles such as Metal Gear Solid and Final Fantasy VII had set the groundwork for interesting personalities in video games that went through traumatic experiences, bringing the player along for the ride. Crying at Aerith's death in FF7 was sad but it was a revelation. Who knew this medium could be so emotionally affecting?
Like movies, video games choose their sucker-punches wisely. Many take their time to get you invested and break your heart with a twist or a surprise death near a story's climax... others don't need to wait around and can destroy you right from the off.
This list will look at some particular games that, in masterful swoops of writing and direction, had you feeling frail almost immediately. Get the tissues ready before you even hit start.
10. Middle-Earth: Shadow Of Mordor
Considering it had the nemesis system, which was all about vengeance, it’s not all that surprising that Shadow of Mordor had a character driven by some pretty traumatic events.
What makes the opening to Shadow of Mordor so impressively powerful is that it’s all told out of sequence and yet it’s still incredibly effective. Talion, captain of the Gondor forces at the Black Gate of Mordor, finds himself lost in a realm between life and death.
The game literally starts with Talion discovering the body of his son Dirhael and then the player is treated to a few flashbacks to get context. We move fluidly from Talion and Dirhael sparring to suddenly fighting alongside each other as Uruk forces come to the gate. Similarly, Talion discovers the body of his wife before the players are then shown a sweet moment between the two and then their attempted escape from the battle.
Despite the fact we know their fate, it’s still not easy watching Dirhael and Ioreth being ritualistically sacrificed in the rain, the whole family screaming and crying before Talion is whisked away into his new un-life. Hope you weren’t coming to Middle-Earth for a simple monster battling adventure game because Shadow of Mordor held no punches with its story set-up.