8 Hugely Controversial Video Game Endings That Divided The Fans

2. Bioshock

2K Games and Ken Levine combined to create a game for the ages back in 2007; a fantastic little first-person shooter that - intentionally or otherwise - revolutionised everything we thought we knew about player agency in video games. In a nutshell: After the medium-defining "Andrew Ryan twist" knocked you for six as we realised every helper-character's mission objectives were actually their own contribution to your character's mind-control, you're given a big, dumb boss fight against a Hulk'd up Frank Fontaine, before alternating auto-trigger cutscenes show you the consequences of how you treated the Little Sisters. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewGATu7U67A The case for: Levine likes to make games that have equal brains and brawn, so if you'd bought into the general notion of what 'power-gone-mad' looks like in its various guises throughout the game, you could make the argument that Fontaine's outward appearance mimics that of his innermost desires. Dealing with the Little Sisters was an incredibly emotional gameplay mechanic across the game too, and getting a concise and visually impactful wrap-up for whichever path you went down finished everything off nicely - keeping the big talking point focussed on the previous Ryan moment. The case against: When you were taking part in unwillingly beating Ryan to death, there was a true sense of gaming advancing to the next level in terms of narrative - something that should've extended across the rest of the story. Andrew Ryan's motivations were sublime, but after his arc is over it feels like Bioshock peaks way too early. Without the requisite pathos given to Fontaine's transformation or giving the Little Sisters something more than a glorified slideshow, it leaves a sour aftertaste to one hell of a main course.