8 Powerful Video Game Endings You Had To Die To See

7. Become Data - NieR: Automata

Creative director - and all round loveable human - Yoko Taro is like an even more out there Hideo Kojima, who actually knows how to deliver on his ridiculous new-age premises.

In NieR: Automata's case that means crafting an open world where the short-lived thrills of combat and spectacle give way to AIs trying to understand every facet of being human, from the "purpose" of emotion to our susceptibility to violence and EVERYTHING in between.

Automata and Taro himself have a lot to say, but ultimately it's the Ending E route that lets you do something VERY few titles have gone anywhere near:

Sacrificing all your save data, just to help another player over the finish line. Doing so means you'll become one of many messages and helper ships encouraging other players to keep going when they too are nearing the end of the game.

It's as literal as it sounds, and a repeat of a similar setup from the original NieR - only here it comes after you've clocked three separate playthroughs as three separate characters to even reach this set of credits.

With the takeaway message being that maybe all you can do is pass on your experiences to the next person, not knowing exactly how that'll go, twinning the decision to 30+ hours of game time is a masterstroke.