Summary
RPGsare one of the most popular types of video games, a timeless genre that allows players to embark on massive adventures and progress their character to great heights. Most RPGs take the form of sprawling adventures that see the main character work towards toppling a main antagonist or saving the world.
Despite this standard formula, not all RPGs end in victory or a sense of achievement and pride. Be it through a set ending or through player choice, some RPGs end in bleak, sad ways that recontextualize the adventure the player went on. Whether the player chooses to doom the world or accidentally perpetuates a cycle of despair, bleak endings in RPGs can be some of themost thought-provoking conclusions.
Elden Ringis one of the most popular ‘Soulsborne’ games from beloved developer FromSoftware. InElden Ring, players take on the role of the Tarnished, an immortal figure, as they attempt to ascend to the position of Elden Lord.Elden Ringfeatures multiple endings, determined by the decisions made throughout the game. Some outcomes are more severe than others in their implications.
One ending, known asthe Blessing of Despair, is likely the worst ending for the denizens of the Lands Between. In this ending, the Tarnished sides with the Dung Eater and unleashes a curse upon the Lands Between, stripping everyone of their grace. The player essentially dooms everyone to be cursed for eternity, meaning upon death their souls are not returned to the Erdtree, and instead are trapped in a state of eternal torment.
Fallout 4is the most recent mainline entry in theFalloutseries. Set in post-apocalyptic Boston and its surrounding area, the game sees the player embark on a quest to find their son, who is missing. This son, Shaun, turns out to be in charge of the morally questionable Institute, a secret community of scientists that seek to replace people with synthetic copies of themselves.
The Institute is the main villainous organization inFallout 4, and the player can choose to join them asone of the major factions. This leads to an ending wherein the player presumably aids in slowly kidnapping and replacing every living person still left in Boston. This is an incredibly bleak future, where society will likely survive but at the cost of stripping the world of its humanity.
TheDiablofranchise is a series of ARPGs that see the player pick a class and build up skills and gear with the intent of driving back the demonic forces at play. The firstDiablogame introduces the main antagonist, Diablo himself, and tasks the player with defeating him.
At the end ofDiablo, it is believed that the player defeats the titular villain, as they do kill his mortal form. The game ends with a cutscene that sees the player-character force the soulstone into their own head. This, however, turns out to have only transferred the soul of Diablo to the player, revealing that the mortal form died, but Diablo still lives. This creates a sense of futility, as Diablo lives on when the player dies, rendering the events of the game nearly pointless.
Cyberpunk 2077is the latest release fromThe Witcherdeveloper, CD Projekt Red. The player takes on the role of V, a mercenary who finds themselves infected with the uploaded conscience of rocker and revolutionary, Johnny Silverhand. The chip that contains Johnny, however, is also killing V, as it was experimental and not fit for public use. This leads to the conclusion of the game, wherein the player can choose to have V commit suicide in order to speed up their inevitable demise.
The ending is grimenough with that conclusion. However, it becomes a lot more bleak when the game ends with a series of messages from characters V built friendships with. Characters mourn V, wishing they’d reached out for help instead of deciding to end their own life.
Fallout: New Vegasis generally the most popular entry in theFalloutseries. It brings the open-ended nature of the first twoFalloutgames to 3D, allowing for a multitude of endings and character decisions.
One of these endings is to side with the ruthless and barbaric Legion. The Legion is a faction visually inspired by the Roman Empire, using their large numbers and ruthless tactics to take over the Mojave. In the Legion ending, the player aids this faction in taking over New Vegas and the rest of the Mojave, enslaving or killing most of the population. This leads to a dire future for the Mojave Wasteland.
Bloodborneis another beloved From Software game. It is set in a gothic Lovecraftian world that blends Victorian imagery and settings with a cosmic-horror plot. InBloodborne, the player is a Hunter tasked with slaying monsters that were former inhabitants of Yharnam, cursed with a blood-borne disease that transforms them into horrific monsters.Bloodbornehas multiple endings that depend on the choices players have made, as well as the final choice they make when speaking to Gehrman.
One choice results in the Sunrise ending, often deemed the good ending, which sees the hunter awake as the sun rises above Yharnam. This, however, upon reflection, is an incredibly bleak ending for the hunter as well as for Yharnam as a whole. The Hunter awakens, forgetting everything they learned about The Hunt, doomed to exist in the repeating cycle they fought so hard to change. Essentially, the player fights tooth and nail to understand The Hunt and the truth about Yharnam, only for it to have all been for nothing come the Sunrise ending. The Hunter exists once more as a pawn in a fight they no longer understand or have knowledge of, burdened with living out a normal life in a doomed world.
Undertaleis an indie RPG, built upon its humor and strong character work. Players take on the role of a human child who has fallen into the underground, a land inhabited by various monsters. Most ofUndertaleis spent getting to know the various characters, understanding their situation, and potentially even sparing them in combat, forming a group of friends that the player grows attached to throughout a playthrough.
It is this factor that makesUndertale’sgenocide ending so gut-wrenching. Players have likely played two full playthroughs by the time it comes to their genocide run. This playthrough is necessary to understand Undertale’s story, but it is an incredibly dark one. Players achieve the Genocide ending by killing every monster in the entire underground, mercilessly slaughtering beloved main characters and other NPCs to achieve their goal. The player is faced with heartbreaking death scenes and dialogue, in an ending that permanently tarnishes theirUndertalesaves. It leaves both the fictional underground and the player themselves in a state of despair.
