6 More Video Game Endings That Were Profoundly Insulting
Way to fall at the final hurdle, guys...
When it comes to being insulted by things, the internet is the place to go. Look no further than the murky waters of Reddit, Facebook, or the YouTube comments section, and hark! ‘Tis the sound of outrage, pouring forth from the fingertips of gaming fanboys and girls everywhere. Video game endings enjoy no respite from this hatred. In fact, they appear to magnify them.
In the past we’ve discussed games that boiled down a complex and thrilling story into an incredibly unsatisfying multi-choice ending (Life is Strange, Mass Effect 3), an anti-climactic, boss fight-less conclusion (Fable II), an ending that didn’t actually resolve anything at all (Final Fantasy XIII-2) and even hiding the proper ending of a game behind DLC (Dead Space 3, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided).
But, as is always the case, there’s still more video game nerd rage to be parcelled out. We'll always have new games, and thus always have new terrible game endings. So gather round nerds, let’s take a closer look at some of the biggest anti-climaxes in gaming history.
6. Shadow Of Mordor
Quick time events are almost always a terrible idea. There are a few standouts, like the famous eye-gouging that kicks off God of War 3, but for the majority of the time players would rather actually fight enemies than brainlessly tap buttons through a cutscene.
With that in mind let’s turn to Shadow of Mordor, an open world action adventure game released in 2014 that saw the player controlling Talion and getting revenge against Sauron for the murder of his family. The game is awesome, with the highlights including the Nemesis system and a nifty, satisfying combat style that makes murdering Orcs as much fun as it sounds.
However, the game drops the ball in the final possible moments, after hyping up the last boss fight to the maximum, and coming face to face with Sauron after he takes the Black Hand’s body and assumes physical form. Rather than an actual fight, players were treated to a five button quicktime event and that’s all it apparently takes to bring down the Lord of the Rings himself.
It felt profoundly unsatisfying and crushed all the excitement and hype that the game had, until that point, built up masterfully.