9 Most Disappointing Video Game Finales

1. Episode 2 - Half-Life 2

I know, calling Half Life 2: Episode 2 a finale is a painful truth but after 19 years, it might be time to accept that this is the only finale we’re ever going to get for Valve’s iconic shooter.

The gorgeously realised adventure with its deeply memorable environments and characters deserved better but unfortunately the third episode that was supposed to wrap up the story in a satisfying way never eventuated. So Episode 2 isn’t the finale we wanted but it’s the one we have right now. Gordon’s well-fought and twisting battle against the Combine, the aliens that spawned from Black Mesa, concludes with you watching Dr. Breen fall to his death and the big bad G-Man rocking up to put Gordon back into stasis. The very same stasis state you started the game in.

While this was admittedly an effective and heart wrenching cliffhanger on which to leave things between games, it now serves as the end of the story. At least, for the foreseeable future.

Exactly where we leave Gordon, Alyx, and the other characters we’ve grown close to over the series so far is left agonisingly up in the air. In short, as impressive as it is as a narrative moment, it’s a brutally unsatisfying finale to leave fans with.