10 Video Games You Weren’t Expecting To Make You Cry

9. Halo: Reach

Surprisingly, the most emotionally engaging Halo game doesn't feature Master Chief or Cortana at all. Instead, Halo: Reach delves into the Halo universe's history to recreate the Fall of Reach - a monumental event in the Halo timeline. Playing as Noble Team seems a pointless endeavor, especially with Reach destined to fall, making Noble Team's mission irrelevant, right? Well yes, but Bungie managed to take that sense of futility and created some incredible moments with it. Each Spartan receives a heroic sendoff befitting their character but the best is saved for last - Noble Six's final stand against an overwhelming amount of Covenant forces. The finale of Reach sees the player controlling Noble Six during his last stand and it acts as a survival mission of sorts as the Spartan fights off wave after wave of Covenant attacks. As you take more damage his helmet cracks, obscuring the player's vision. Eventually, when you've taken enough punishment, he discards the helmet entirely, leaving the player to watch as he goes to his death, finally skewered by an Elite's Energy Sword. Despite the conclusion of the game being clear from the start, Bungie managed to tell a story which drew players in and left them feeling attached to Noble Team, making the emotional climax even more effective. Reach is regarded by many as the finest moment in the Halo series; Noble Six's gutting farewell a big contributor to its success.