9 Heart-Breaking Gaming Moments When You Realised You Were The Bad Guy

7. Mark Of The Ninja - The Madness

Mark Of The Ninja has brought back hardcore stealth games from obscurity even though it's a mere side-scroller. Packed with brilliant gameplay mechanics, tense encounters and great levels, it was a blast to play through, and most people didn't take notice of its storyline or characters. For the course of the game, the player takes control of a ninja tasked with eliminating the enemies of his clan. In an effort to do so, he is gifted with special tattoos that give him the ability of stopping time or moving at extreme speeds. In his prowling around the levels, he is accompanied by his friend who provides him with advice and tactical information.

The only problem is that the ink the tattoos are drawn with drives the host insane after a while, forcing him into a murderous spree. Due to clever pacing and good dialogue, you never fully realise what's going in your character's head. The madness isn't turning you into a demon, but you do slowly - and unknowingly - embrace it. The moment you realise what's wrong everything becomes clear. For the last few levels, the ninja slaughters his clan in a psychotic episode, all while his friend encourages him to do so.

In the end, the player has to make a choice: Will he murder his clan leader, or his 'friend,' who wasn't even real to begin with. The game basically manipulates you into being the bad guy, and breaks your heart once things start making sense.