8 Greatest Video Game Twists (With Zero Build-Up)
3. Samus Is A Woman - Metroid
Though video games have thankfully moved on enough that "the badass hero is actually a woman!" can no longer be considered a plot twist, Metroid deserves a wealth of credit for doing it in an era where so few games actually were.
If you beat the game in more than three hours but less than five, you'll be treated to a surprise ending where bounty hunter protagonist Samus Aran removes their helmet to reveal that, shocker, they're a woman!
In the 1980s, gamers were simply conditioned to expect every kick-ass action hero to be male, and so this last-minute twist came as a genuine surprise, in turn paving the way for the decades of fantastic female heroines we've enjoyed since.
That such a watershed moment for representation in gaming took place in an ending that many players never even saw first-hand is both fascinating and a little bit sad.