Video game stories don’t always have the best reputation, but every now and then a game defies the stereotypes and brings every player to tears.
In a July 13 Reddit post, players discussed which games made them genuinely cry, and some of the moments they bring up are absolute classics. From modern hits to nostalgic oldies, you need tissues for all of these.
Both Ori and the Blind Forest and its sequel Ori and the Will of Wisps find the perfect blend between engaging gameplay and gorgeous visuals, while somehow still managing a coherent and powerful story about engaging with nature. If you don’t ugly cry at the ending to the first game, the second one will undoubtedly get you.
Red Dead Redemption 2 has four different endings, which means four opportunities to bring you to tears. Most players agree that the Good Honor ending is the most powerful in this regard, with a popular reply to the comment stating that “Arthur’s final ride to the camp had me bawling with my controller in hand.”
There is also a popular comment saying the ending to the original Red Dead Redemption (there’s just one ending to the first game) is worthy of tears, but the upvotes seem to agree that RDR2 is far more worthy of the tearjerker title.
One of the most popular comments in the thread lists a number of games with famously tragic endings, like the ending to the first Telltale Walking Dead game. Technically, there are multiple endings, but Lee’s death is set in stone regardless of what you ultimately choose to have Clementine do to him.
The ending of Kingdom Hearts 2 was also notably sad, particularly at the time it released, because the feeling of closure the ending gave led some players to believe it was the complete ending to the story with Sora, Riku, and Kairi returning to their home island where everything started. Plus, there’s a moment where it genuinely seems like Goofy is dead, which sounds ridiculous, but the way it plays out is surprisingly effective.