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* A staple of worldbuilding in the webcomic ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'' is the prominently-featured alien species called the Trolls and their home planet, Alternia, which doesn't get too much direct screentime before being destroyed in an apocalypse. The spin-off game ''VideoGame/{{Hiveswap}}'' and its tie-in ''VisualNovel/HiveswapFriendsim'' has Alternia take center stage as the human protagonists of the respective games visit the planet and befriend some trolls there. Many of the friends they make are unhappy with how much of a CrapsackWorld Alternia is and a few actively express the desire to change the system for the better, but since the timeline of these games is sometime before ''Homestuck'', it seems very likely that this noble goal, and some characters themselves, are DoomedByCanon. Then ''VisualNovel/{{Pesterquest}}'', which is something of a sequel to ''Friendsim'' where the AudienceSurrogate MSPA Reader gets to actually befriend the major human and troll characters from ''Homestuck'' itself, brings this to the forefront; it's confirmed that the Alternia of this time period is "a really long time" (implied to be at least multiple generations, if not longer) after the events of ''Hiveswap'' and ''Friendsim''. Terezi's route then has the Reader themself (who currently has LaserGuidedAmnesia about the events of ''Friendsim'') realize that their original Alternian friends must have indeed failed to enact any sort of meaningful change, and is deeply saddened that their efforts turned out to be AllForNothing.
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* In the third ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorney'' game, that fact that one of the game's culprits was executed is a plot point. It's never stated whether any of the other killers you've helped convict were given the death penalty, but seeing as most of them don't appear afterwards, it's certainly likely, though it's never addressed. ''VideoGame/ProfessorLaytonVsPhoenixWrightAceAttorney'', however, doesn't sidestep the issue: the true culprit of the second case ''is shown being executed on-screen'',[[note]][[spoiler:she wasn't ''actually'' executed, though, though it sure seemed so at the time]][[/note]] and via [[BurnTheWitch horrifying]] CruelAndUnusualDeath to boot. ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneySpiritOfJustice'' also explicitly says that the defendants of the trials set in Khura'in will be given the death penalty if they are convicted.
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* In the third ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorney'' game, that fact that one of the game's culprits was executed is a plot point. It's never stated whether any of the other killers you've helped convict were given the death penalty, but seeing as most of them don't appear afterwards, it's certainly likely, though it's never addressed. ''VideoGame/ProfessorLaytonVsPhoenixWrightAceAttorney'', however, doesn't sidestep the issue: the true culprit of the second case ''is shown being executed on-screen'',[[note]][[spoiler:she wasn't ''actually'' executed, though, though it sure seemed so at the time]][[/note]] and via [[BurnTheWitch horrifying]] CruelAndUnusualDeath to boot. ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneySpiritOfJustice'' also explicitly says that the defendants of the trials set in Khura'in will be given the death penalty if they are convicted. ''VisualNovel/GyakutenKenji2'' confirms that not all of the murderers are given the death penalty, as Frank Sawhit from the first game is still alive in prison and will be freed once his sentence is over.
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** While fighting and defeating a Shadow Self is present throughout the series, actually killing one is never shown due to their importance to their real world counterpart. In ''Persona 5'', it's explained that a person with a dead Shadow Self goes into mental shutdown. [[spoiler:The real world person also experiences a heart attack and their brain breaking until they keel over and die, as Haru's father shows us, a fate that Futaba's mother shared.]]
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** While fighting and defeating a Shadow Self is present throughout the series, actually killing one is never shown due to their importance to their real world counterpart. In ''Persona 5'', it's explained that a person with a dead Shadow Self goes into mental shutdown. [[spoiler:The real world person also experiences a heart attack [[spoiler:While this isn't necessarily fatal on its own (as seen with Ohya's former partner), it can be to people in poorer health, such as Okumura. And if the victims, such as Wakaba and their brain breaking until they keel over and die, as Haru's father shows us, a Kobayakawa, suffer this fate that Futaba's mother shared.in the middle of oncoming traffic...]]
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* In ''VideoGame/XCOM2'', Earth is was conquered by aliens and has been ruled by an oppressive dictatorship called [[VichyEarth ADVENT]] for 20 years. The alien leaders, the [[EvilOverlord Ethereal Elders]], are known for their extensive knowledge and experiments with genetic engineering and BioAugmentation. Those who managed to escape the cities into one of the LaResistance shelters or joined with XCOM are glad to be away from the Elders' grasp, but one of the few things usually missed from the days under their rule was the ADVENT burger, which was said to be absolutely delicious, even though nobody knew what's actually in it. Many fans speculated that the ADVENT burger is probably made with [[TheSecretOfLongPorkPies excess human meat]] that the Elders no longer need for their experiments. ''VideoGame/XcomChimeraSquad'' not only confirms this theory, but also that this isn't the first time the Elders fed a sapient species to themselves!
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* In ''VideoGame/XCOM2'', Earth is was conquered by aliens and has been ruled by an oppressive dictatorship called [[VichyEarth ADVENT]] for 20 years. The alien leaders, the [[EvilOverlord Ethereal Elders]], are known for their extensive knowledge and experiments with genetic engineering and BioAugmentation. Those who managed to escape the cities into one of the LaResistance shelters or joined with XCOM are glad to be away from the Elders' grasp, but one of the few things usually missed from the days under their rule was the ADVENT burger, which was said to be absolutely delicious, even though nobody knew what's actually in it. Many fans speculated that the ADVENT burger is probably made with [[TheSecretOfLongPorkPies excess human meat]] that the Elders no longer need for their experiments. ''VideoGame/XcomChimeraSquad'' not only confirms this theory, but also that this isn't the first time the Elders fed a sapient species to themselves!
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* In ''VideoGame/XCOM2'', Earth is was conquered by aliens and has been ruled by an oppressive dictatorship called [[VichyEarth ADVENT]] for 20 years. The alien leaders, the [[EvilOverlord Ethereal Elders]], are known for their extensive knowledge and experiments with genetic engineering and BioAugmentation. Those who managed to escape the cities into one of the LaResistance shelters or joined with XCOM are glad to be away from the Elders' grasp, but one of the few things usually missed from the days under their rule was the ADVENT burger, which was said to be absolutely delicious, even though nobody knew what's actually in it. Many fans speculated that the ADVENT burger is probably made with [[TheSecretOfLongPorkPies excess human meat]] that the Elder's no longer need for their experiments. ''VideoGame/XcomChimeraSquad'' not only confirms this theory, but also that this isn't the first time the Elders fed a sapient species to themselves!
to:
* In ''VideoGame/XCOM2'', Earth is was conquered by aliens and has been ruled by an oppressive dictatorship called [[VichyEarth ADVENT]] for 20 years. The alien leaders, the [[EvilOverlord Ethereal Elders]], are known for their extensive knowledge and experiments with genetic engineering and BioAugmentation. Those who managed to escape the cities into one of the LaResistance shelters or joined with XCOM are glad to be away from the Elders' grasp, but one of the few things usually missed from the days under their rule was the ADVENT burger, which was said to be absolutely delicious, even though nobody knew what's actually in it. Many fans speculated that the ADVENT burger is probably made with [[TheSecretOfLongPorkPies excess human meat]] that the Elder's Elders no longer need for their experiments. ''VideoGame/XcomChimeraSquad'' not only confirms this theory, but also that this isn't the first time the Elders fed a sapient species to themselves!
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* In ''VideoGame/XCOM2'', Earth is was conquered by aliens and has been ruled by an oppressive dictatorship called [[VichyEarth ADVENT]] for 20 years. The alien leaders, the [[EvilOverlord Ethereal Elders]], are known for their extensive knowledge and experiments with genetic engineering and BioAugmentation. Those who managed to escape the cities into one of the LaResistance shelters or joined with XCOM are glad to be away from the Elders' grasp, but one of the few things usually missed from the days under their rule was the ADVENT burger, which was said to be absolutely delicious, even though nobody knew what's actually in it. Many fans speculated that the ADVENT burger is probably made with [[TheSecretOfLongPorkPies excess human meat]] that the Elder's no longer need for their experiments. ''VideoGame/XcomChimeraSquad'' not only confirms this theory, but also that this isn't the first time the Elders fed a sapient species to themselves!
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* The ''VideoGame/EccoTheDolphin'' series does this in ''[[DarkerAndEdgier Ecco: Tides Of Time]]'', (the sequel to the original game) with the questions the concept of time travel raises. The original had Ecco time travel into the past one time to [[spoiler:get a globe from past-Asterite to bring to present-Asterite]], and another time to [[spoiler:save his fellow dolphins from a Vortex invasion]]. One cannot help but think the developers noticed this left various questions about the effects of time travel in the minds of fans, because the sequel explored them in [[NightmareFuel frightening]] and [[MindScrew confusing]] depth.
* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'':
** ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite'' introduces Team Plasma, an AnimalWrongsGroup that believes keeping Pokemon is slavery and forcing them to battle is cruel, which is an idea that's been around ever since the start of the franchise. [[spoiler:However, it turns out that while N is sincere about his motives, Ghetsis only preached this to try and convince everyone else in the world to release their Pokémon so that he'll be the only one with Pokémon, thus delving even deeper into the back of the fridge. By definition, criminals don't obey the rules, so trying to stop people from using Pokemon altogether would only make things worse.]]
** On the same note as ''Manga/PokemonAdventures'' listed above, ''VideoGame/PokemonColosseum'' and ''[[VideoGame/PokemonXDGaleOfDarkness XD]]'' let the [[ElephantInTheLivingRoom Donphan]] out to play with Cipher attacking trainers that try to obstruct their operations. The [[SaharanShipwreck S.S. Libra]] is the biggest case, with its human crew lost at sea after [=XD001=] takes their ship away.
** In ''VideoGame/PokemonMysteryDungeonRescueTeam'', you play as a human who was turned into a Pokémon. In the ending, as your character is returning to the human world, they wish to stay a Pokémon. A lot of people found it offputting that they would choose to abandon the friends and family they presumably have back home forever. Two games later, in ''VideoGame/PokemonMysteryDungeonGatesToInfinity'', your partner is hesitant to wish you back for this exact reason.
** ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'' and their ''[[VideoGame/PokemonUltraSunAndUltraMoon Ultra]]'' versions take a deconstructing approach to sidequests, including five powerful Eevee trainers from the past who in the present day all middle-aged, elderly, or in one case dead, and a woman whose husband died to his own Machoke in an accident. [[spoiler:''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon'' also touch on long-speculated things like what happens to Pokémon abandoned in the PC, as well as the thought of Ditto, a Pokémon that can theoretically mimic anything, and Zorua, a Pokémon with the power to cast illusions to pose as other Pokemon and people, replacing humans]].
** ''VideoGame/PokemonSwordAndShield'' finally shows what happens when fossil Pokémon are put together the wrong way before reviving them. Even better, [[TruthInTelevision this is based off of a period in British history]] when paleontologists would actually do this (minus the reviving part, of course).
* When Marle is temporarily removed from the timestream early in ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger'', she's still alive and conscious in some sort of void. ''VideoGame/ChronoCross'' explores the implications of changing the timestream and condemning people to that void.
* As a game that incorporates {{time travel}}, ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'' led to the belief that the adult timeline didn't vanish just because Link stopped Ganondorf in the past, leading to two splits:
** First came ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker'', which confirmed that theory, revealing that in said timeline the whole world was flooded because Ganon returned and Link wasn't there to stop him from taking over.
** When the ''Literature/HyruleHistoria'' artbook was released, it confirmed that a ''third'' timeline existed that fans rarely acknowledged; if Link failed and died. This led to the "degradation of Hyrule" timeline that follows Hyrule after Ganondorf reaches and corrupts the Sacred Realm. This timeline where TheHeroDies spans several millennia as things go from bad (''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast Link to the Past]]''[='s=] WorldHalfFull) to worst (''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaI Zelda I]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/ZeldaIITheAdventureOfLink II]]'', where society was seven mildly populated towns among a massive barren wasteland of monsters).
** Strangely, the only timelines where Ganon(dorf) is KilledOffForReal are ones where Link wasn't around to stop him at some point. In the Adult timeline, he dies for good in ''Wind Waker'', and in the Downfall timeline, in the original ''The Legend of Zelda''. ''Breath of the Wild'' potentially throws a wrench in this, but it's confusing regarding the timeline in the first place, seemingly deliberately.
* The [[AuthorsSavingThrow Extended Cut]] of ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'' retconned various aspects of the endings, after fans pointed out that the original ending had accidentally caused several major {{Inferred Holocaust}}s. However, getting the [[spoiler:Destroy ending with low EMS]] takes all the horror from the vanilla endings and makes it that much worse.
* The ''VideoGame/MegaManZero'' series used this trope to its advantage when it was called to make a PostScriptSeason. ''Zero 3'' was the original GrandFinale, and while its ending ties up most loose plot threads and resolves Zero's concern over his identity, it leaves one big loose end hanging--by the end of ''Zero 3'', a revived Copy X and the remainder of his ruling cabinet are killed off, leaving BigBad Dr. Weil alive and essentially with sole rulership over Neo Arcadia. ''Zero 4'' explores this and kicks off its plot with a caravan of human refugees fleeing the hellhole that Neo Arcadia has become under Weil's iron fist.
** Even at the beginning of the series, the first game's main villain, Copy X, showcases a potential worst case scenario which lingered in the X series backstory. What would happen if Dr. Light didn't subject X to 30 years of ethical testing? As the copy was created as a quick replacement to take over the original's role and duties, the untested and inexperienced copy of X quickly became a brutal KnightTemplar, branding various reploids as mavericks and sending them to their executions over the most minor things, eventually going Maverick himself.
* In the third ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorney'' game, that fact that one of the game's culprits was executed is a plot point. It's never stated whether any of the other killers you've helped convict were given the death penalty, but seeing as most of them don't appear afterwards, it's certainly likely, though it's never addressed. ''VideoGame/ProfessorLaytonVsPhoenixWrightAceAttorney'', however, doesn't sidestep the issue: the true culprit of the second case ''is shown being executed on-screen'',[[note]][[spoiler:she wasn't ''actually'' executed, though, though it sure seemed so at the time]][[/note]] and via [[BurnTheWitch horrifying]] CruelAndUnusualDeath to boot. ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneySpiritOfJustice'' also explicitly says that the defendants of the trials set in Khura'in will be given the death penalty if they are convicted.
* The ending of ''VideoGame/{{Myst}}'', [[spoiler:at least the "good" ending"]], shows us the results of Atrus's decision on how he'll handle the atrocities that his son committed. That result left the player wondering what really happened to them when Atrus enacted his decision. ''VideoGame/MystIVRevelation'' put that wondering to rest quite firmly.
* The "Moriya Arc" in ''Franchise/TouhouProject'' [[note]]''Mountain of Faith'', ''Subterranean Animism'', ''Undefined Fantastic Object'', ''Hisoutensoku'', and ''Ten Desires'', named because [[UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom all of them are caused directly or indirectly by the Moriya shrine]][[/note]] introduces three new factions to Gensokyo, each wanting to expand their worshipers and ideology, and each having reason to dislike the others and the local authorities. With each introduction fans were wondering whether war would break out, and speculated endlessly over how it would happen. Then comes ''Hopeless Masquerade'', where the human population falls into desperate pessimism because [[TheWorldIsAlwaysDoomed Gensokyo Is Always Doomed]] (another bit of Ascended Fridge Horror) and all three exploit the crisis to gather more faith for them themselves, fighting the other factions over worshipers. [[spoiler:Turns out they were all manipulated by an independent party, though.]]
* ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'':
** Many fans have long observed that the series' many "worlds" (levels) [[SciFiWritersHaveNoSenseOfScale seem suspiciously small]], particularly since they're implied to be entire {{parallel universe}}s. Even in levels that supposedly take place in countries on Earth (like "[[WesternAnimation/{{Tarzan}} Deep Jungle]]" and "[[WesternAnimation/{{Mulan}} The Land of Dragons]]"), we never see locales other than the locations of the movies, making the worlds seem more like horribly claustrophobic {{pocket dimension}}s. [[note]] By the same token: it can seem a bit creepy that the Destiny Islands are seemingly the ''only'' landmasses on an otherwise empty planet.[[/note]] The prequels actually build on this idea, revealing that there's more than a little truth to it: turns out that the world of ''Kingdom Hearts'' was once a Universe, and only became a {{Multiverse}} when all of reality was irrevocably shattered by [[GreatOffscreenWar the Keyblade Wars]]. So the worlds seem claustrophobic because they're actually the splintered remains of a world that was once whole.
** In ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'', it's revealed that the antagonist of the first game was really Xehanort's Heartless, and Xemnas (the current antagonist) is his Nobody. Both entities are created when a person loses their heart, and the player is told that the hearts of transformed people are "freed" when their Heartless is slain. However, the game never explains what happens when a person's Heartless and Nobody are ''both'' destroyed, leading many fans to speculate that perhaps [[NotQuiteDead Sora didn't really defeat Xehanort like he thought]]. Then the secret ending of ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsCoded Re:coded]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHearts3DDreamDropDistance 3D]]'' proper reveal that [[spoiler:killing a person's Heartless and Nobody brings the original person back just as they were before losing their heart. You've brought back the BigBad of the series.]]
** The [[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsI original]] ''VideoGame/{{Kingdom Hearts|I}}'' left a lot of fans wondering what happened to [[WesternAnimation/SnowWhiteAndTheSevenDwarfs Snow White]], WesternAnimation/{{Cinderella}} and [[WesternAnimation/SleepingBeauty Aurora]]'s homeworlds after they were kidnapped by the Heartless. We never actually see the fates of those worlds--but considering Aurora hails from the same world as Maleficent, the leader of the Heartless, [[FridgeHorror it probably isn't good]]. In the {{interquel}} ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts02BirthBySleepAFragmentaryPassage'', [[ActionGirl Aqua]] travels through the Dwarf Woodlands, the Castle of Dreams and the Enchanted Dominion after they're absorbed by the Realm of Darkness, confirming that they fell to the Heartless after all. The experience is every bit as nightmarish as you'd expect.
* ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'':
** The mysterious places that appear in every game can be absolutely lethal to {{Muggles}}, since they on principle don't know how the dimension works unlike our heroes. In ''VideoGame/Persona4'', the main antagonist is somebody that uses that game's mysterious place to go on a killing spree, simply by forcing normal people in and letting the Shadows take care of the rest, since the victims can't escape on their own. [[spoiler:And to make matters worse, he's been chosen by a higher power of his own.]]
** Since ''VideoGame/Persona3'', the character gifted the Wild Card ability (usually the protagonist) takes up the Velvet Room's contract and uses their powers for good. Fans had speculated what that power would look like in the hands of a major antagonist for years, until [[VideoGame/Persona4ArenaUltimax Sho Minazuki]] (a violent misanthrope with a deranged SplitPersonality) and [[spoiler:[[VideoGame/Persona5 Goro Akechi]]]] (a person screwed over in life on a twisted quest for revenge) answered their question.
** Shadow Selves are shown to be the repressed feelings of the individual, and for most games the ones we see are from average people with mundane (but still meaningful) truths attached to them. ''VideoGame/Persona5'' shows what a corrupt person's Shadow Self acts like -- they act like the unrepentant bullies and abusers that you ''really'' wish weren't their true selves.
** While fighting and defeating a Shadow Self is present throughout the series, actually killing one is never shown due to their importance to their real world counterpart. In ''Persona 5'', it's explained that a person with a dead Shadow Self goes into mental shutdown. [[spoiler:The real world person also experiences a heart attack and their brain breaking until they keel over and die, as Haru's father shows us, a fate that Futaba's mother shared.]]
** ''Persona 5'' has the Phantom Thieves engage in HeelFaceBrainwashing by using the Metaverse to change the hearts of their targets, turning the targets from horrid people into good ones who feel sorry for what they've done. The ethics of doing this were brought up a few times, [[spoiler:with the Phantom Thieves ultimately getting drunk on their power in the bad ending]], but it's generally portrayed as a justified last resort to dealing with people who can't be brought to justice through normal means. ''VideoGame/Persona5Strikers'' examines this more closely by having the villains use the Metaverse for mind control instead, showing what happens when someone without such strong convictions has that kind of power.
* ''VideoGame/PaperMarioStickerStar'' introduced Things, giant real world objects that can alter the world around Mario or be used as incredibly powerful attacks. Given that they could do anything from knock out a giant rampaging dragon to create tornadoes, Things carried a lot of destructive potential, but ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheOrigamiKing'' really dived into just how dangerous they were through its primary bosses, the Legion of Stationery, a collection of living art supplies who have all of the power of Things and absolutely nothing stopping them from going all out with their abilities. Special mention to Hole Puncher, who ''stole the sun so he could use it as a'' '''disco ball''', and Scissors, who is pretty much living Kryptonite to a world made out of paper and cardboard.
* In ''VideoGame/TheWorldEndsWithYou'', people playing the [[DeadlyGame Reaper's Game]] exist in the UG, a plane of reality parallel to the RG(real world) and are InvisibleToNormals outside of certain stores, but can influence people by imprinting various thoughts in their heads. ''VideoGame/NeoTheWorldEndsWithYou'' examines up the horrifying implications of misusing this power when one opposing player uses his abilities to force a woman to cut ties with her friends ForTheEvulz. Similarly, while Neku and his friends paid for all their purchases, one opposing player in ''NEO'' engages in shoplifting as a form of stress relief, taking advantage of the fact that he becomes invisible once he leaves the store.
----
* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'':
** ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite'' introduces Team Plasma, an AnimalWrongsGroup that believes keeping Pokemon is slavery and forcing them to battle is cruel, which is an idea that's been around ever since the start of the franchise. [[spoiler:However, it turns out that while N is sincere about his motives, Ghetsis only preached this to try and convince everyone else in the world to release their Pokémon so that he'll be the only one with Pokémon, thus delving even deeper into the back of the fridge. By definition, criminals don't obey the rules, so trying to stop people from using Pokemon altogether would only make things worse.]]
** On the same note as ''Manga/PokemonAdventures'' listed above, ''VideoGame/PokemonColosseum'' and ''[[VideoGame/PokemonXDGaleOfDarkness XD]]'' let the [[ElephantInTheLivingRoom Donphan]] out to play with Cipher attacking trainers that try to obstruct their operations. The [[SaharanShipwreck S.S. Libra]] is the biggest case, with its human crew lost at sea after [=XD001=] takes their ship away.
** In ''VideoGame/PokemonMysteryDungeonRescueTeam'', you play as a human who was turned into a Pokémon. In the ending, as your character is returning to the human world, they wish to stay a Pokémon. A lot of people found it offputting that they would choose to abandon the friends and family they presumably have back home forever. Two games later, in ''VideoGame/PokemonMysteryDungeonGatesToInfinity'', your partner is hesitant to wish you back for this exact reason.
** ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'' and their ''[[VideoGame/PokemonUltraSunAndUltraMoon Ultra]]'' versions take a deconstructing approach to sidequests, including five powerful Eevee trainers from the past who in the present day all middle-aged, elderly, or in one case dead, and a woman whose husband died to his own Machoke in an accident. [[spoiler:''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon'' also touch on long-speculated things like what happens to Pokémon abandoned in the PC, as well as the thought of Ditto, a Pokémon that can theoretically mimic anything, and Zorua, a Pokémon with the power to cast illusions to pose as other Pokemon and people, replacing humans]].
** ''VideoGame/PokemonSwordAndShield'' finally shows what happens when fossil Pokémon are put together the wrong way before reviving them. Even better, [[TruthInTelevision this is based off of a period in British history]] when paleontologists would actually do this (minus the reviving part, of course).
* When Marle is temporarily removed from the timestream early in ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger'', she's still alive and conscious in some sort of void. ''VideoGame/ChronoCross'' explores the implications of changing the timestream and condemning people to that void.
* As a game that incorporates {{time travel}}, ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'' led to the belief that the adult timeline didn't vanish just because Link stopped Ganondorf in the past, leading to two splits:
** First came ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker'', which confirmed that theory, revealing that in said timeline the whole world was flooded because Ganon returned and Link wasn't there to stop him from taking over.
** When the ''Literature/HyruleHistoria'' artbook was released, it confirmed that a ''third'' timeline existed that fans rarely acknowledged; if Link failed and died. This led to the "degradation of Hyrule" timeline that follows Hyrule after Ganondorf reaches and corrupts the Sacred Realm. This timeline where TheHeroDies spans several millennia as things go from bad (''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast Link to the Past]]''[='s=] WorldHalfFull) to worst (''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaI Zelda I]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/ZeldaIITheAdventureOfLink II]]'', where society was seven mildly populated towns among a massive barren wasteland of monsters).
** Strangely, the only timelines where Ganon(dorf) is KilledOffForReal are ones where Link wasn't around to stop him at some point. In the Adult timeline, he dies for good in ''Wind Waker'', and in the Downfall timeline, in the original ''The Legend of Zelda''. ''Breath of the Wild'' potentially throws a wrench in this, but it's confusing regarding the timeline in the first place, seemingly deliberately.
* The [[AuthorsSavingThrow Extended Cut]] of ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'' retconned various aspects of the endings, after fans pointed out that the original ending had accidentally caused several major {{Inferred Holocaust}}s. However, getting the [[spoiler:Destroy ending with low EMS]] takes all the horror from the vanilla endings and makes it that much worse.
* The ''VideoGame/MegaManZero'' series used this trope to its advantage when it was called to make a PostScriptSeason. ''Zero 3'' was the original GrandFinale, and while its ending ties up most loose plot threads and resolves Zero's concern over his identity, it leaves one big loose end hanging--by the end of ''Zero 3'', a revived Copy X and the remainder of his ruling cabinet are killed off, leaving BigBad Dr. Weil alive and essentially with sole rulership over Neo Arcadia. ''Zero 4'' explores this and kicks off its plot with a caravan of human refugees fleeing the hellhole that Neo Arcadia has become under Weil's iron fist.
** Even at the beginning of the series, the first game's main villain, Copy X, showcases a potential worst case scenario which lingered in the X series backstory. What would happen if Dr. Light didn't subject X to 30 years of ethical testing? As the copy was created as a quick replacement to take over the original's role and duties, the untested and inexperienced copy of X quickly became a brutal KnightTemplar, branding various reploids as mavericks and sending them to their executions over the most minor things, eventually going Maverick himself.
* In the third ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorney'' game, that fact that one of the game's culprits was executed is a plot point. It's never stated whether any of the other killers you've helped convict were given the death penalty, but seeing as most of them don't appear afterwards, it's certainly likely, though it's never addressed. ''VideoGame/ProfessorLaytonVsPhoenixWrightAceAttorney'', however, doesn't sidestep the issue: the true culprit of the second case ''is shown being executed on-screen'',[[note]][[spoiler:she wasn't ''actually'' executed, though, though it sure seemed so at the time]][[/note]] and via [[BurnTheWitch horrifying]] CruelAndUnusualDeath to boot. ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneySpiritOfJustice'' also explicitly says that the defendants of the trials set in Khura'in will be given the death penalty if they are convicted.
* The ending of ''VideoGame/{{Myst}}'', [[spoiler:at least the "good" ending"]], shows us the results of Atrus's decision on how he'll handle the atrocities that his son committed. That result left the player wondering what really happened to them when Atrus enacted his decision. ''VideoGame/MystIVRevelation'' put that wondering to rest quite firmly.
* The "Moriya Arc" in ''Franchise/TouhouProject'' [[note]]''Mountain of Faith'', ''Subterranean Animism'', ''Undefined Fantastic Object'', ''Hisoutensoku'', and ''Ten Desires'', named because [[UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom all of them are caused directly or indirectly by the Moriya shrine]][[/note]] introduces three new factions to Gensokyo, each wanting to expand their worshipers and ideology, and each having reason to dislike the others and the local authorities. With each introduction fans were wondering whether war would break out, and speculated endlessly over how it would happen. Then comes ''Hopeless Masquerade'', where the human population falls into desperate pessimism because [[TheWorldIsAlwaysDoomed Gensokyo Is Always Doomed]] (another bit of Ascended Fridge Horror) and all three exploit the crisis to gather more faith for them themselves, fighting the other factions over worshipers. [[spoiler:Turns out they were all manipulated by an independent party, though.]]
* ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'':
** Many fans have long observed that the series' many "worlds" (levels) [[SciFiWritersHaveNoSenseOfScale seem suspiciously small]], particularly since they're implied to be entire {{parallel universe}}s. Even in levels that supposedly take place in countries on Earth (like "[[WesternAnimation/{{Tarzan}} Deep Jungle]]" and "[[WesternAnimation/{{Mulan}} The Land of Dragons]]"), we never see locales other than the locations of the movies, making the worlds seem more like horribly claustrophobic {{pocket dimension}}s. [[note]] By the same token: it can seem a bit creepy that the Destiny Islands are seemingly the ''only'' landmasses on an otherwise empty planet.[[/note]] The prequels actually build on this idea, revealing that there's more than a little truth to it: turns out that the world of ''Kingdom Hearts'' was once a Universe, and only became a {{Multiverse}} when all of reality was irrevocably shattered by [[GreatOffscreenWar the Keyblade Wars]]. So the worlds seem claustrophobic because they're actually the splintered remains of a world that was once whole.
** In ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'', it's revealed that the antagonist of the first game was really Xehanort's Heartless, and Xemnas (the current antagonist) is his Nobody. Both entities are created when a person loses their heart, and the player is told that the hearts of transformed people are "freed" when their Heartless is slain. However, the game never explains what happens when a person's Heartless and Nobody are ''both'' destroyed, leading many fans to speculate that perhaps [[NotQuiteDead Sora didn't really defeat Xehanort like he thought]]. Then the secret ending of ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsCoded Re:coded]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHearts3DDreamDropDistance 3D]]'' proper reveal that [[spoiler:killing a person's Heartless and Nobody brings the original person back just as they were before losing their heart. You've brought back the BigBad of the series.]]
** The [[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsI original]] ''VideoGame/{{Kingdom Hearts|I}}'' left a lot of fans wondering what happened to [[WesternAnimation/SnowWhiteAndTheSevenDwarfs Snow White]], WesternAnimation/{{Cinderella}} and [[WesternAnimation/SleepingBeauty Aurora]]'s homeworlds after they were kidnapped by the Heartless. We never actually see the fates of those worlds--but considering Aurora hails from the same world as Maleficent, the leader of the Heartless, [[FridgeHorror it probably isn't good]]. In the {{interquel}} ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts02BirthBySleepAFragmentaryPassage'', [[ActionGirl Aqua]] travels through the Dwarf Woodlands, the Castle of Dreams and the Enchanted Dominion after they're absorbed by the Realm of Darkness, confirming that they fell to the Heartless after all. The experience is every bit as nightmarish as you'd expect.
* ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'':
** The mysterious places that appear in every game can be absolutely lethal to {{Muggles}}, since they on principle don't know how the dimension works unlike our heroes. In ''VideoGame/Persona4'', the main antagonist is somebody that uses that game's mysterious place to go on a killing spree, simply by forcing normal people in and letting the Shadows take care of the rest, since the victims can't escape on their own. [[spoiler:And to make matters worse, he's been chosen by a higher power of his own.]]
** Since ''VideoGame/Persona3'', the character gifted the Wild Card ability (usually the protagonist) takes up the Velvet Room's contract and uses their powers for good. Fans had speculated what that power would look like in the hands of a major antagonist for years, until [[VideoGame/Persona4ArenaUltimax Sho Minazuki]] (a violent misanthrope with a deranged SplitPersonality) and [[spoiler:[[VideoGame/Persona5 Goro Akechi]]]] (a person screwed over in life on a twisted quest for revenge) answered their question.
** Shadow Selves are shown to be the repressed feelings of the individual, and for most games the ones we see are from average people with mundane (but still meaningful) truths attached to them. ''VideoGame/Persona5'' shows what a corrupt person's Shadow Self acts like -- they act like the unrepentant bullies and abusers that you ''really'' wish weren't their true selves.
** While fighting and defeating a Shadow Self is present throughout the series, actually killing one is never shown due to their importance to their real world counterpart. In ''Persona 5'', it's explained that a person with a dead Shadow Self goes into mental shutdown. [[spoiler:The real world person also experiences a heart attack and their brain breaking until they keel over and die, as Haru's father shows us, a fate that Futaba's mother shared.]]
** ''Persona 5'' has the Phantom Thieves engage in HeelFaceBrainwashing by using the Metaverse to change the hearts of their targets, turning the targets from horrid people into good ones who feel sorry for what they've done. The ethics of doing this were brought up a few times, [[spoiler:with the Phantom Thieves ultimately getting drunk on their power in the bad ending]], but it's generally portrayed as a justified last resort to dealing with people who can't be brought to justice through normal means. ''VideoGame/Persona5Strikers'' examines this more closely by having the villains use the Metaverse for mind control instead, showing what happens when someone without such strong convictions has that kind of power.
* ''VideoGame/PaperMarioStickerStar'' introduced Things, giant real world objects that can alter the world around Mario or be used as incredibly powerful attacks. Given that they could do anything from knock out a giant rampaging dragon to create tornadoes, Things carried a lot of destructive potential, but ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheOrigamiKing'' really dived into just how dangerous they were through its primary bosses, the Legion of Stationery, a collection of living art supplies who have all of the power of Things and absolutely nothing stopping them from going all out with their abilities. Special mention to Hole Puncher, who ''stole the sun so he could use it as a'' '''disco ball''', and Scissors, who is pretty much living Kryptonite to a world made out of paper and cardboard.
* In ''VideoGame/TheWorldEndsWithYou'', people playing the [[DeadlyGame Reaper's Game]] exist in the UG, a plane of reality parallel to the RG(real world) and are InvisibleToNormals outside of certain stores, but can influence people by imprinting various thoughts in their heads. ''VideoGame/NeoTheWorldEndsWithYou'' examines up the horrifying implications of misusing this power when one opposing player uses his abilities to force a woman to cut ties with her friends ForTheEvulz. Similarly, while Neku and his friends paid for all their purchases, one opposing player in ''NEO'' engages in shoplifting as a form of stress relief, taking advantage of the fact that he becomes invisible once he leaves the store.
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