History CaptainObviousReveal / VideoGames

* ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreed3'': The first major reveal of the game is that Haytham Kenway isn't an Assassin and you've actually been playing as a Templar for the first three sequences of the game. What makes this twist obvious a combination of things, such as Haytham and his allies never once saying the word "Assassin" while Altair and Ezio made no effort to hide that part of their lives. "The Order" is namedropped several times, which is never used in reference to the Assassins, who go by "The Brotherhood." And most obviously of all, Haytham's cape literally has Templar iconography on it, including a big cross right at the top.

* ''Franchise/BaldursGate'':
** ''VideoGame/BaldursGate'': in the ''Tales of the Sword Coast'' expansion there is a quest involving a distant island with some strange inhabitants. They often point at your smell, one of them will refer to the village as a pack and they have uncommon ways of speaking (which at first could be seen as a dialect since they have a strange accent) and reasoning (like the way they give importance to the concept of someone "belonging" to a community). The village leader will task the player to slay some beasts that were harassing the village. She underlines a lot that they are different from villagers and that they look like them but they are not them: "wolf-like but not wolves and man-like but not men, I don't know how to call them, they are like us but not like us", they are "they are animals and live as wolves and carrion feeders" while the villagers "lived as humans as we could". A child says that "sometimes the beasties look like us but they change and get mean". Further investigation in the village will give another hint in the fact that apparently the hostilities between the two sides started with their ancestors shipwrecking on the island, implying that they had some ties in the past. Later you discover that the beasts are obviously lycanthropes (precisely wolfweres, wolves capable of turning humans) but their leader will reveal a plot twist: the villagers are too (although true werewolves). While the hints hidden in the village could lead the player to a final hypothesis that the whole island is inhabited by those creatures, it's evident from the first very dialogue with a child saying "you smell different" that the villagers are lycanthropes too.
** In ''VideoGame/BaldursGateIII'', Astarion doesn't mention him being a vampire until it's absolutely necessary. The UndeathlyPallor, fangs, and [[VampireHickey bite marks on his neck]] still make it very much not a surprise when he wakes the player character up at night in a failed attempt to drink their blood.

* ''VideoGame/LegoKnightsKingdom'': In the first chapter, your first playable knight, Jayko, has to pass a set of trials in order to be knighted by the King. The last trial is a battle against [[WebVideo/{{Caddicarus}} the definitely-not-evil-sounding]] [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Lord Vladek]] [[WebVideo/{{Caddicarus}} who's dressed in definitely-not-evil]] {{red and black|AndEvilAllOver}} and [[FauxAffablyEvil tells the player that he won't hurt them]] and [[{{Foreshadowing}} they may need their skills in days to come]], [[WebVideo/{{Caddicarus}} while the other knights talk about how he's definitely]] [[HorribleJudgeOfCharacter the King's]] [[WebVideo/{{Caddicarus}} most loyal and trusted knight]]. Small wonder that he turns out to be a traitor shortly after Jayko is knighted.

** In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemEngage'', anyone paying attention can pick that protagonist Alear is Veyle's long-lost sibling (also making Lord Sombrom their father) long before the official reveal. It's made more obvious by fact that the lost sibling is usually referred to with gender-neutral terms to avoid having to record different lines for the male and female versions of Alear. Not to mention Alear doesn't look much like their alleged birth mother, Queen Lumera.

** Kalim has been under Jamil's MindControl during arc 4. The investigation leading up to this reveal would have been more effective has Jamil not been shown using this technique on the protagonist right at the start of the arc.

** Goro Akechi being Black Mask, as well as [[SixthRangerTraitor the one who sold out the protagonist during the Niijima's Palace heist]]. Many fans suspected this plot twist from the beginning, as Akechi isn't present in a lot of promotional material and didn't receive official artwork of his Phantom Thief outfit or his Persona Robin Hood until a few years after the game was released. The game isn't subtle in this regard either, as several of Akechi's DLC outfits gives him costumes that hint at his true moral standing such as [[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIf Ideo Hazama's uniform]] and [[VideoGame/{{Catherine}} Boss (Dumuzid)'s suit]], a book for his Persona doesn't get unlocked when he joins the party unlike with the other party members [[note]]this is downplayed as it's a case of the book being DummiedOut via programmer incompetence instead of being intended to hint at Akechi's true colors; this mistake is fixed in ''Royal''[[/note]], and one of his first scenes involves him giving away that he's been to the Metaverse ''long'' before he says he did by responding to a remark [[TalkingAnimal Morgana]] made (about a building looking like pancakes), when anyone who hasn't been to the Metaverse can only hear Morgana's speech as cat noises. All of it actually serves to disguise the ''real'' twist about Akechi: his treachery was so obvious that the protagonists knew about it the whole time, having caught the "pancakes" slip-up.

** In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemEngage'', anyone paying attention can pick of that protagonist Alear is Veyle's long-lost sibling (also making Lord Sombrom their father) long before the official reveal. It's made more obvious by fact that the lost sibling is usually referred to with gender-neutral terms to avoid having to record different lines for the male and female versions of Alear. Not to mention Alear doesn't look much like their alleged birth mother, Queen Lumera.

* ''VideoGame/BaldursGate'': in the ''Tales of the Sword Coast'' expansion there is a quest involving a distant island with some strange inhabitants. They often point at your smell, one of them will refer to the village as a pack and they have uncommon ways of speaking (which at first could be seen as a dialect since they have a strange accent) and reasoning (like the way they give importance to the concept of someone "belonging" to a community). The village leader will task the player to slay some beasts that were harassing the village. She underlines a lot that they are different from villagers and that they look like them but they are not them: "wolf-like but not wolves and man-like but not men, I don't know how to call them, they are like us but not like us", they are "they are animals and live as wolves and carrion feeders" while the villagers "lived as humans as we could". A child says that "sometimes the beasties look like us but they change and get mean". Further investigation in the village will give another hint in the fact that apparently the hostilities between the two sides started with their ancestors shipwrecking on the island, implying that they had some ties in the past. Later you discover that the beasts are obviously lycanthropes (precisely wolfweres, wolves capable of turning humans) but their leader will reveal a plot twist: the villagers are too (although true werewolves). While the hints hidden in the village could lead the player to a final hypothesis that the whole island is inhabited by those creatures, it's evident from the first very dialogue with a child saying "you smell different" that the villagers are lycanthropes too.
* In ''VideoGame/BaldursGateIII'', Astarion doesn't mention him being a vampire until it's absolutely necessary. The UndeathlyPallor, fangs, and [[VampireHickey bite marks on his neck]] still make it very much not a surprise when he wakes the player character up at night in a failed attempt to drink their blood.

* In ''VideoGame/MegaMan6'', the villain behind all of this games' Robot Masters is supposed to be a mysterious "Mr. X." Given how formulaic [[VideoGame/MegaManClassic the series]] is, anyone who has played any of the previous five games knows Mr. X is very obviously going to be eventually revealed as Dr. Wily in disguise. Particularly since the series already tried a similarly unconvincing final boss fake-out with Dr. Cossack in ''VideoGame/MegaMan4'', then again with Proto Man in ''VideoGame/MegaMan5'', not to mention the fact that Mr. X looks exactly like Dr. Wily. By ''VideoGame/MegaMan9'' or so, the series was pretty clearly just playing it for laughs, with Wily blaming a bunch of recent robot attacks on Light with relatively little evidence--shock of shocks, turns out he was behind them, and the entire ending cutscene of the game is dedicated to how clear it was that Wily was behind them.
* ''VideoGame/MegaManX'' has no small HijackedByGanon tendency with Sigma, which naturally leads to this. Pretty much every game since ''[[VideoGame/MegaManX3 X3]]'' features some kind of new villain who is making mysterious plans, has turned evil for no explicable reason, or is clearly answering to someone else. It naturally turns out to be Sigma every single time. ''[[VideoGame/MegaManX7 X7]]'' in particular has cutscenes involving an unidentified figure in shadow...who has glowing blue eyes, big shoulderpads, a bald head, and a cape. That look narrows things down a little.

* ''VideoGame/RuneFactory3'': When Micah reveals his secret to Daria, she reveals her own secret -- she's an elf. Micah treats this as a stunning revelation, and the player is supposed to as well. [[http://therunefactory.wikia.com/wiki/Daria This is Daria.]] Though it could be argued that the shock was that Daria was specifically an elf, not just non-human. Falls flat especially in the case of the legitimate surprise of Raven's reveal.
* ''VideoGame/RuneFactoryTidesOfDestiny'' does this to the three biggest revelations in the game's plotline.
** Aiden and Sonja are from Fenith Island, but end up transported to what they take to be an alternate universe version of Fenith Island. They recall many dragons flying through the sky, but that's not the case here, though Odette mentions that this was the case 200 years ago. Many players already realized that the protagonists had been sent to a future version of their home. The actual revelation doesn't occur until close to the plot's climax.
** The three sisters Odette, Lily, and Violet are the Dragon Priestesses of Fire, Earth, and Water, respectively. There is no Dragon Priestess of Wind, as her lineage died out 200 years ago. This lack of the fourth priestess isn't treated as important to mention until she's needed and, yes, ''Sonja'' turns out to be the Dragon Priestess of Wind -- and her lineage died out 200 years ago [[StableTimeLoop because she and Aiden were transported forward in time]].
** When Aiden and Sonja get transported in the beginning, Sonja's body is missing and her consciousness has [[SharingABody attached itself to Aiden]]. Finding out what happened to Sonja's body is part of the plot, and they are confronted by a Masked Man. No prizes are won for guessing just whose face is hidden under that mask: Sonja's. And this doesn't get revealed until the very definite Final Boss battle.
* ''VideoGame/TwistedWonderland'':
** Kalim has been under Jamil's MindControl during arc 4. The investigation leading up to this reveal would have been more effective has Jamil not been shown using this technique on the protagonist right at the start of the arc.
** "Muscle Crimson" is Lilia under a ScreenName. Creator/HikaruMidorikawa's voice reading the text messages out loud gives this away from the outset.
** Lilia is Silver's foster father. This is played in book 7 like a surprising reveal, but before this story arc is released Silver has called Lilia father multiple times, and Lilia has talked about taking care of him in the past.

* Subverted in ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes'' when it's revealed that Henry is Travis's twin brother. Apparently, he ''thought'' such a reveal would be one of these. How does everyone react to this news...?
-->'''Travis:''' That's the craziest shit I've ever heard! Why would you bring up something like that [[NoFourthWall at the very end of the game?!]]\\
'''Henry:''' I would have thought that you and the player would have at least expected a twist of fate of some kind.
* ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'' has the revelation that Odin, Selena and Laslow are actually Owain, Severa and Inigo from ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening''. Even if you missed or forget the fact that previous games established TheMultiverse as a thing, all three have the exact same appearances, voice actors, personalities and birthdays as their ''Awakening'' counterparts, and their Supports [[ContinuityNod frequently reference]] ''Awakening'', so one has to wonder how much of a surprise it's actually supposed to be.
* ''VideoGame/FireEmblemGaiden'' (and ''[[VideoGameRemake Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia]]''):
** In the remake, we have a red-haired masked figure who follows [[TheChosenOne Celica]] and her party around, warning them of various dangers and seeming very concerned for Celica's welfare and seems to know she's actually the heir to Zofia, and Celica mentions more than once that she had a brother who died. It's decidedly a hugely unsurprising reveal when it turns out to be Conrad, Celica's big brother.
** Alm being Rigelian royalty becomes one in the remake. He has a BirthmarkOfDestiny just like Celica, multiple characters from Rigel appear to recognize him, he gets a unique weapon that's only usable by those of royal blood, Desaix practically spells it out in his death quote, and once the army reaches Rigel Alm feels a sense of familiarity with the place. Considering that ''Echoes'' is a remake of a game nearly two decades old, the developers probably assumed the twist was well and truly ItWasHisSled by now.
* In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'':
** Seteth and Flayn are actually Saint Cichol and Saint Cethleann. It isn't as obvious in Seteth's case, but Flayn is quite bad at keeping the secret, particularly when she takes exception to the way people talk about Cethleann. Both Seteth and Flayn have Major Crests of Cichol and Cethleann, whereas Ferdinand and Linhardt only have Minor Crests. In addition to the fact that the holidays celibrating the Saints outright take place on the same day as the pairs' birthdays, something the game will remind you of whenever said birthdays roll around.
** A related but separate reveal is that Seteth is actually Flayn's father, not her brother as he'd previously insisted. Despite Seteth claiming to look young for his age, he still looks like he could be at least a couple decades older than her (ignoring the fact that they're both Really700YearsOld, which isn't learned until later) which fits a father-daughter pair better than a brother-sister pair. Rhea, who's close to both of them, suspiciously pauses when she says, "I think of your...sister as family" as if she were trying to consciously avoid saying "daughter." This can be lampshaded at the end of Seteth and Flayn's Paralogue, in which after Seteth reveals the truth to [[PlayerCharacter Byleth]], s/he can tell Seteth that s/he had suspected this all along, resulting in him saying with embarrassment that he thought he'd done a better job of hiding it.
*** Even worse, if you're playing Golden Deer, Hilda will remark that Seteth and Flayn look like they have a pretty big age gap for siblings. She doesn't quite figure it all out, but it shows that other characters think something's a bit off about them.
* Sirius being a NotQuiteDead [[VideoGame/FireEmblemShadowDragonAndTheBladeOfLight Camus]] in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemMysteryOfTheEmblem'' is practically the same as the above Conrad situation in ''Shadows of Valentia''. Strangely though, TheReveal never actually happens. Though it's all but stated in his conversation with Nyna in the final chapter, there's no {{Dramatic Unmask}}ing, as he knows full well revealing his identity would cause more harm than good for everyone.
* From ''VideoGame/TalesOfGraces'', we have Richard being possessed. If his sudden headache and subsequent bloody rampage against soldiers at Wallbridge isn't enough to clue the player in, there's also his desire to take revenge on his [[EvilUncle uncle]], whom he also kills in front of the party. Richard's continued aggressive behavior, including starting ''a war'' is not enough to make the party actually figure this out themselves. While the player has figured it out ages ago, one must still sit through a good ''20 hours of gameplay'' before the idea of Richard being possessed by the BigBad is even considered an option.
* ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'':
** The game has an odd situation in that an actual reveal leads directly into an example. After Ozette is destroyed, the party meets a child claiming to be the sole survivor, whose name is Mithos. Over several skits, it becomes apparent that Mithos is more than he seems, and he shares many traits with the ancient hero Mithos. Then a genuine reveal occurs, as a storyteller informs you that the hero Mithos's last name was Yggdrasill, the name of the BigBad. However, several more scenes occur before the final reveal, which should be obvious from the previous two by the transitive property: the Mithos in their group is also Yggdrasill. The game tries to throw you off the trail by having the characters say that [[OneSteveLimit Mithos is a common boy's name in Tethe'alla]].
** There's also the matter of Genis and Raine being half-elves. Fairly early in the game, a half-elven character compares himself to the two of them, but quickly and awkwardly retracts this comparison when Genis nervously declares them to be elves, and he realizes they've been traveling incognito. Combined with moments like Raine telling Genis "we're not like them" about a group of half-elven villains, the player may well have forgotten that their race was supposed to be a secret by the time the shocking-to-the-characters reveal arrives several plot twists later.
** Kratos is [[LukeIAmYourFather Lloyd's father]]. The age doesn't seem to make things work out, Kratos is stated to be 28 and Lloyd is 17 years old, so he would have had to become a father at a very young age, but the twist is still obvious. Early on, the party visits Lloyd's home and Kratos is seen standing at the grave nearby, which Lloyd reveals to be his mother's. They share similar facial expressions ([[SharedFamilyQuirks as well as]] [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking a distaste for tomatoes]]) and Kratos is a little ''too'' [[NotSoStoic uncharacteristically emotional]] when the party meets Kvar, who gloatingly reveals how he was at fault for Lloyd's mother's death. And when the party splits up into one fighting Kvar, Kratos refuses any combination that does not involve him on that team. The reveal itself? Takes place close to the last third of the game. The age thing is also made clearer when it's revealed that Kratos is actually [[Really700YearsOld about four millennia old]]. And leaving most of these plot-related reasons aside, there is fairly interesting clue to be found in actual gameplay: one of the possible settings for your A.I. allies in battle is to let them fight, move and use their skills at their own discretion. To be specific, each party member actually has their own tendencies pre-programmed into their individual [=A.I.s=]. In Kratos' case, analyzing his actions in battle reveals that [[PapaWolf he will almost always prioritize healing and protecting Lloyd over everyone else]], even [[TheChosenOne the all-important Collete]] whom he's [[{{Protectorate}} supposed to be guarding with his life!]]
* ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia2'':
** Elle is Ludger's daughter from the future. Within the first hour of the two meeting in the beginning of the game, multiple hints are dropped over and over and not leaving much of a potential surprise for the player. The revelation being given to Ludger and Elle themselves? The last third of the game.
** Elle actually being from a fractured dimension. Nothing in the world of ''[[VideoGame/TalesOfXillia Xillia]]'' states that time travel is actually possible, but even ignoring that, the fact that Elle's father's clock merges with Ludger's is a big hint. Especially because the game states early on that the same thing [[NeverTheSelvesShallMeet cannot exist twice in the prime dimension]], making it obvious that the clock (and Elle) come from a fractured dimension.
* In ''VideoGame/TriangleStrategy'', the Grand Norzelian Mines contain a naturally-occuring salt vein, not iron like everyone else thought. Salt is a ''huge'' deal in the time and setting, Dragan is clearly shocked when he discovers the salt crystals (complete with swearing his miners to secrecy and hiding the discovery from Serenoa and co.), and Gustadolph is very conveniently able to cut off trade with Hyzante (who control the Source, the primary salt-harvesting area in Norzelia) after he takes over the mines. Most players were much less surprised than Serenoa's party was when the "reveal" finally happens ~3/4 of the way in.
* In ''Franchise/BlazBlue'', fans figured out that Phantom was really Konoe A. Mercury (aka Nine of the Six Heroes) almost four years before it was actually confirmed in [[VideoGame/BlazBlueChronophantasma the third game]]. Phantom's attire being incredibly similar to what Nine wore while she was alive, as well as none too subtle hints to her true identity throughout ''[[VideoGame/BlazBlueContinuumShift Continuum Shift]]'' while in the presence of the other members of the Six Heroes, made it easy for people to connect the dots.
* ''VideoGame/SuperMario3DWorld'' attempts a VictoryFakeout at the end of World 7...which might have been a little more convincing had there not been eight worlds in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros1'', ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBrosTheLostLevels'', ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros3'', all 5 ''VideoGame/NewSuperMarioBros'' games and several others. It seems that the GrandfatherClause is obliging the Mario series to use YourPrincessIsInAnotherCastle in every game by now.
* ''VideoGame/PaperMarioColorSplash'':
** Virtually nobody was surprised by Bowser being the BigBad. In fact, [[ExaggeratedTrope most people figured it out the moment the game was shown off]]. Not only is there Bowser tape in Port Prisma but during Ruddy Road, the first ''actual'' level, a Shy Guy is shown placing Bowser tape down ''right in front of your eyes''. And yet no one suspects a thing. The reveal of the Koopalings being the main bosses only rubbed salt into that wound. Like the above example, it feels like the GrandfatherClause is obliging the series to use Bowser as the BigBad in every game now.
** However, it ends up subverted when it's all but outright stated that the black paint Bowser covered himself in was actually ''possessing him'' and that all the trouble started just because Bowser accidentally mixed all the Prisma Fountain paint colors together because he wanted a rainbow patterned shell. However, even this isn't totally without foreshadowing as when you get to the final level, you see that he drained Peach's color when she tried to escape. And when, in the literally dozens of times that Bowser kidnapped her before, [[OutOfCharacterAlert has he ever actually harmed her?]]
* ''VideoGame/AstroBoyOmegaFactor'' has the reveal that Blue Knight is actually President Rag, having survived his attempted assassination. The attempted assassination that Blue Knight is shown ''flashing back to'' in an early conversation with Astro.
* In ''VideoGame/GoldenSunDarkDawn'', many could easily guess the real identity of Arcanus because [[PaperThinDisguise his mask covers less than half of his face]]. In case it's still not obvious, it's recurring villain Alex.

* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'':
** In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'', it's very easy to guess that Midna is the eponymous Twilight Princess long before the penultimate dungeon when Link finds out. For starters, the game tries to justify its title early on by having Midna call Zelda "Twilight Princess" in jest, but as this moniker is only used once in a throwaway line, it's easy to overlook it or dismiss it as a RedHerring. On Midna's end, she first decries Zant as a false king after the second dungeon and then shows a personal animosity with him when they meet at Lanayru Spring. She is then recognized by Zelda as a significant figure when she mentions the Mirror of Twilight, shortly afterward is when Midna reveals herself as a native of the Twilight Realm, and shortly after that is when the sages allude to a true ruler of her people that Zant had overthrown. Finally, after collecting all four mirror shards, Mina once again denounces Zant as a false king by exclaiming "no matter how you dress it up, the real one always wins", stopping just short of shouting her own title to the wind. Yet despite all this, she is shocked to discover that the sages knew who she was all along, and Link is just as surprised to hear the truth come out moments later.
** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkBetweenWorlds'' has Link working with the mysterious Hilda, who claims to be his ally in Lorule, Hyrule's alternate dimension counterpart. It's established later on that everyone in Lorule is a mirror opposite of their Hyrulean counterpart to varying degrees, and since Hyrule's Zelda is kind, wise, and a genuine friend to Link, it's not quite hard to guess that Hilda might be manipulating you. Even if one didn't predict the twist based on that, Yuga foreshadows it by ''outright stating'' "Her Grace will be most pleased..." after transforming Seres into a painting near the beginning of the game; and considering that there are only two options for who "Her Grace" could possibly be, with one of them being on the villain's hit list...
** ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriors'' plays twists involving the identities of the mysterious Sheik and [[TheManBehindTheMan Cia's evil benefactor]] completely straight. The former is unchanged from ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'' (which has long since fallen into ItWasHisSled and LateArrivalSpoiler territory) and the latter is the series' primary villain (the TropeNamer for HijackedByGanon).
** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTearsOfTheKingdom'': Most of the problems in the main quest, such as the fierce blizzard that is killing Rito Village's food supply and the sludge polluting Zora Domain's water ways, are caused by "Zelda" who is actually Phantom Ganon in disguise. Of course, since Ganondorf being the main villain was spoiled by the trailers, it doesn't take a genius to figure out that he has something to do with the fact that "Zelda" is being seen all over Hyrule causing chaos, especially once you stumble across the memory showing that he had relied upon a “Zelda” imposter in the past.
* ''VideoGame/Diablo3'' has Act 2 that involves the player character hunting for Belial, the primal evil Lord of Lies. Everything points to the creepy child emperor of the desert nation he/she is in being the obvious culprit. Everything. This kid covers every evil child cliche known to man, short of speaking parseltongue (and that too, since his personal guards are snake people in disguise). Yet the players spend the entire linear story arc going off on increasingly silly red herrings only to be told by the creepy child himself that, surprise, he was Belial the whole time. No way! For that matter, it's so obvious that even the ''player character'' had figured it out a while ago.
* ''VideoGame/DragonballXenoverse2'' opens with the conclusion of ''Anime/DragonBallZBardockTheFatherOfGoku'', as the titular Bardock is enveloped in Freeza's death sphere, and [[SarcasmMode definitely is in]] ''[[SarcasmMode no way]]'' [[SarcasmMode related to the]] mysterious masked stranger with a similar damaged armor and voice that shows up with Towa, Mira, Turles, and Lord Slug immediately afterward. The game pretends his identity to be a complete mystery and ''somehow'' expects the player to be shocked and all-surprised when the Masked Saiyan's identity is revealed.
* ''Xenoblade Chronicles'':
** ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles1'': Metal Face is actually Mumkhar. Considering that they share the same voice and have similar weapons, it's fairly easy to connect the dots the moment the former first appears. Similarly, Dickson being EvilAllAlong is another obvious reveal, considering most of his cutscenes showed him acting rather suspiciously to the point of him being an ObviousJudas.
** ''VideoGame/XenobladeChroniclesX'': Phog and Frye being brothers. The game tries to present this as a twist, but the fact that one Affinity Quest requires both of them, they're MutuallyExclusivePartyMembers until said quest is done, and that they ''constantly mention each other in their battle quotes'' means it's hardly a twist at all.
** ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles2'':
*** Amalthus was EvilAllAlong, if that could even be considered a twist. It's made fairly obvious early on when Rex momentarily sees an apparition of his former Blade, [[PersonOfMassDestruction Malos]], when talking to Amalthus, already giving the player a reason to distrust him by implying that Malos is influencing Amalthus. The real twist, however, is that it's the other way around; Malos' personality was influenced by Amalthus' [[StrawNihilist despair and hatred]] at the state of the world.
*** Morytha being EarthAllAlong isn't surprising at all, considering that it looks like a city from modern day, albeit AfterTheEnd. Again though, that isn't the real twist. The real twist is that said Earth in question is the homeworld of Professor Klaus/[[BigBad Zanza]] from the first game, revealing that the two universes are connected and it wasn't destroyed, as implied by Alvis in the original ''Xenoblade''.
** ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles3'': Consuls N and M being past versions of Noah and Mio. Even if someone was unfamiliar with the ''Xeno'' series of games, where this idea has been around since ''VideoGame/{{Xenogears}}'', the fact they both look like Noah and Mio (except for N and M having longer hair), share the same voice actors, and they are introduced around the time that the game reveals that people who die are brought back to fight again, makes it pretty obvious they are past incarnations of the two leads. The real mystery turns out to be how they exist at the same time as the current Noah and Mio, and just what this means.
* ''VideoGame/ThimbleweedPark'' turns out to be all in a video game itself. This would be quite surprising...if the two agents didn't blatantly break the fourth wall saying the dead body is "pixellating" and could ask the pigeon brothers "Should I save my game?" (and be told "This game is hard-coded not to be unwinnable") within the first fifteen minutes.
* ''VideoGame/HuntDownTheFreeman'' renders its very name meaningless by the end of the game, as it's revealed that the person Mitchell is looking for, the culprit who killed Mitchel's squad and "fucked up (Mitchell's) face" is actually someone who was disguised as Gordon Freeman, rather than the man himself. The problem? "Gordon" is shown wearing an HEV helmet while attacking Mitchell, which is [[HelmetsAreHardlyHeroic very uncharacteristic of the real Gordon]], so any sharp-eyed ''VideoGame/HalfLife'' fan who notices this detail will naturally suspect that something's fishy. Notably, this was such a "give the game away" moment that [[NeverTrustATrailer the trailers and advertisement stills showed an unhelmeted Gordon.]]
* At the end of Disc 3 of ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfDragoon'' reveals that Rose is the Black Monster Dart has been searching for. But it was already very obvious that the Black Monster was a Dragoon with a darkness theme and near the end of Disc 2, it was established that Rose has been around since the Dragon Campaign over 11,000 years ago (which itself was frequently hinted with the fact she knows far more about the time period than even acknowledged experts).
* ''VideoGame/WeHappyFew'' first revealed itself with the idea that [[CrapsaccharineWorld Wellington Wells]] had turned itself into a drug-fueled HappinessIsMandatory dystopia due to "The Very Bad Thing", which was somehow tied to the city's children being taken away after England was conquered by the Nazis during UsefulNotes/WorldWar2. Fans immediately began speculating what "The Very Bad Thing" was, mostly revolving around some kind of horrific counter-strike against the Nazis. Then the game came out and revealed "The Very Bad Thing" was actually the fact Wellington Wells let their children be taken in the first place. With the addendum that Wellington Wells found out after their children were taken that letting their kids be taken to preserve their own skins was a SenselessSacrifice; the German army was so depleted that the tank units that blockaded them were entirely ''paper-mache models''.
* ''Mary Skelter'':
** ''VideoGame/MarySkelterNightmares'' tries to set up a betrayal involving the Dawn's leaders and the leaders of the Order of the Sun. Three chapters into a nine-chapter game, it's possible to investigate the laboratory of Professor Tohjima (the de facto leader of the Dawn) and stumble across a secret monitor room. While the Professor turns PlausibleDeniability into an art form, the other suspects' allegiances and motivations are made obvious, which makes the latter half of the game feel like a giant farce. The kicker? Even when it's finally obvious to the heroes that Tohjima is a traitor, the Professor ''still'' somehow manages to dance logical circles around them, and the reveal only comes when another senior member of the Dawn who was a former accomplice and both secretly and not-so-secretly guides the main character in the right direction tells him to knock it off.
** ''Mary Skelter 2'' doesn't fare much better. The game includes an enhanced remake of the first game, but the fact that the developers heavily suggest playing the sequel first, going so far as to force the player to download free DLC to play out of order, makes it obvious that ''Mary Skelter 2'' leads into the remake narrative-wise.
* ''VideoGame/RatchetAndClankGoingCommando'' is a rare example of doing this ''intentionally''. A large man with a butt chin, pink mustache, and donning a bright green leotard with a Q on the front is selling cheap devices to fund his evil scheme under the name Steve [=McQwark=]. He then laughs maniacally after the last customer leaves as he says "Steve [=McQwark=]...''indeed!''" and ripping off the pink mustache, revealing him to be Captain Qwark, a large man with a butt chin known for wearing a bright green leotard with a Q on the front. [[RuleOfFunny What tops it off is that the camera crash-zooms on his face as if the director genuinely believes the audience will be shocked by this]].
* ''VideoGame/HeroesOfTheStorm'': This happens with a lot of teasers for new heroes. Since the game is a MassiveMultiplayerCrossover of every Blizzard franchise, players can usually narrow every teaser down to a few options on the first hint, and figure out who it is exactly long before the reveal.
* In ''VideoGame/BoxxyQuestTheGatheringStorm'', Arianna turns out to be a [[AIIsACrapshoot rogue A.I.]] This shocks the heroes (one of whom is an A.I. herself and really should have seen the signs), but to the player, it's likely been obvious since the first ten minutes of the game when Arianna shows up in a crude robotic body and has no idea how to interact with humans.
* In ''VideoGame/RaidenV'', the fact that Valbarossa is a woman is played up as [[SamusIsAGirl a surprise to the heroes]], however her feminine voice, which is not masked in any way, makes her gender clear well before she officially reveals the fact. This is mostly an issue in the ''[[UpdatedRerelease Director's Cut]]'' version if voices are enabled (which is the default) since the original version did not have any voice acting until an update introduced it.
* ''VideoGame/MegaManXMavericks'': You'll probably have figured out Dr. Wily is behind everything long before the official confirmation, especially in the final fortress where the game gives up trying to really hide it and starts slavering his logo across the background.
* ''VideoGame/{{Shantae}}'': As soon as footage was shown for the fifth game, ''VideoGame/ShantaeAndTheSevenSirens'', was shown off, almost every fan called that the supposed half-genie zombie, Fillin the Blank, was Rottytops. It doesn't help that [=WayForward=] didn't bother to try hiding it. Very few zombie girls even appear in the series prior to that point (let alone with green hair), Fillin isn't on the main art cover with the other half-genies, her stitches and ears are conspicuously hidden, and Shantae herself already deduced it when Harmony informed her of Fillin using a different alias (Ima Goodgirl).
* ''VideoGame/GodEater3'' introduces the wealthy owner of Port Dusty Miller, Ein. Anyone with eyes who played even a few minutes of the first two games would recognize him as an OlderAndWiser Soma Schicksal. His [[Creator/YuriLowenthal voice]] [[Creator/KazuyaNakai actors]] being the same does nothing to hide his identity, either. When the Hounds receive an anonymous message containing proof of Ein's identity, it's meant to be a big reveal to them, but the same can't be said for the players.
* ''VideoGame/{{Hades}}:'' The fact that Zagreus's mother is not Nyx, but Persephone. Just the mere premise of "you play as Hades's son" would make anyone even slightly familiar with Greek mythology go "oh, so Persephone is his mom, right?" Someone more familiar with said mythology would recognize that Zagreus is an existing, albeit obscure god, and while the specifics of his father and nature vary (he's often an aspect of Dionysus), he's almost always a son of Persephone. Not to mention Persephone being conspicuously absent from the underworld would make anyone curious as to what happened to her, and Zagreus having one of his eyes be bright green pretty much seals the deal.
* ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicIITheSithLords'':
** Mandalore in is Canderous Ordo from the first game. Who'd have thought, in that they're both Mandalorians from the Clan Ordo, who are both getting on in years, both cyborgs, both travelled with Revan, and that they both share a voice actor. It wasn't supposed to be a big reveal. The game infamously got ChristmasRushed and there was intended to be a scene almost right after we meet Mandalore in which Kreia blackmails him into following the Exile, and refers to him by his given name. The final release of The Sith Lords however never actually refers to him as Canderous until close to the end of the game.
** That Kreia is the final antagonist of the game. You mean to tell me that the woman who berates you if you so much as ''think'' about helping an NPC without expecting anything in return and who uses manipulation and subterfuge as her preferred methods of defeating her enemies betrays you? Preposterous!

* PlayedForLaughs by ''VideoGame/SuperMarioRPG''. When Mallow introduces himself as a frog, the narration is clearly confused and points out that he doesn't look like a frog at all; he's a cloud with arms and feet, prince of the Nimbus Kingdom. When Frogfucius reveals that Mallow is not, in fact, a frog, everyone in Tadpole Pond is shocked...but Mario doesn't react at all.
* ''VideoGame/{{Rosenkreuzstilette}}'': In the original game, a certain character being [[TheManBehindTheMan the real villain]] is a [[TheDogWasTheMastermind genuinely surprising twist]]. But in the sequel ''Freudenstachel'', given that the games are heavily influenced by ''Franchise/MegaMan'', it's rather easy to predict that that same character is [[HijackedByGanon once again the true villain]] while the Pope is just a DiscOneFinalBoss, as this is a common twist used in the Mega Man series. And even without that knowledge, there are other blatant hints: one of the bosses is a homunculus version of Liebea, which was also a boss in the original game alongside homunculi of the other RKS members created by the villain, and the GameOver message says "Let there be light for a new Goddess", the ''exact same message'' used in the original game's true final stages and ''Grollschwert'' mode which blatantly refer to them, making the character's involvement even more obvious.
* ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'': That Roxas is Sora's Nobody. It's made clear from the prologue that Roxas has an extremely strong connection with Sora and that he's something called a "Nobody". His name is an anagram of Sora's name with an X added, just like how Xemnas is the Nobody of Xehanort/"Ansem". When you take control of Sora for the first time in the game and meet with [[BigGood Yen Sid]], he will explain what a Nobody is. At this point, anyone who paid even the smallest amount of attention to the plot of the first game will put two-and-two together and figure out the reveal less than ''four hours'' into the game. That said, since the audience by default gets more clues than Sora due to following Roxas's prologue before playing as Sora, it's easy to treat the matter less as an overly obvious reveal and more as straightforward DramaticIrony, so Riku telling Sora that Roxas is his Nobody during the endgame still works as an InternalReveal for a protagonist who spent most of the story LockedOutOfTheLoop.
* ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilVillage'': That Ethan has been infected with The Mold since [[VideoGame/ResidentEvil7 the previous game]]. The man has recovered from utterly ridiculous amounts of horrific, mutilating injuries that don't fall under GameplayAndStorySegregation; he was able to communicate with Jack Baker in Eveline's mold-connected hivemind; and his daughter Rosemary is obviously not fully human, given she's still alive after being cut into four pieces. Him being a Mold creature is the only thing that actually makes the story ''work'' by this point. Though, while it's still treated as a dramatic revelation, [[DeadPersonConversation Eveline]] does at least ask what Ethan attributed his miraculous recoveries to. The only surprising part is the reveal that Ethan actually ''[[DeadAllAlong died]]'' in the last game's prologue, and has been carrying on as a mold-infested revenant ever since.
* ''VideoGame/TheCaligulaEffect2'': Marie Amabuki's original surname was Mizuguchi - meaning that she's the same person as a major character from [[VideoGame/TheCaligulaEffect the previous game]]. She has the same brown hair and eyes, [[Creator/MaiFuchigami the same voice actress]], and she didn't even bother changing her first name. Anybody who knew of Marie Mizuguchi from the first game would be able to flush her out long before the characters catch on.
* ''VideoGame/NeoTheWorldEndsWithYou'' involves multiple teams competing in the Reaper's Game, but the Ruinbringers always take first, and it later turns out that they're cheating. This fact becomes relatively obvious when you consider that while the Ruinbringers are extremely powerful, they retain their lead even when other teams complete the objective first or when the Ruinbringers don't participate at all (e.g. Scramble Slam). When Rindo defeats Susukichi at the end of the first week, Game Master Shiba declares the victory null and void. As such, most of the second week has the three other teams realizing that the Reaper's Game is rigged, with Kanon of the Variabeauties offering to ally with the Wicked Twisters, and Motoi of the Purehearts trying to become a Reaper himself. At the end of the week, it turns out that the Ruinbringers are Reapers and Shiba is their leader, conclusively proving that they're cheating.
* ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFightersXV'': Krohnen [[CharlieBrownFromOuttaTown is]] [[VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters2001 K9999]]. They're the only two male playable characters in the franchise with blue hair and yellow clothes, wear the exact same single blue glove, [[MovesetClone share numerous visually different yet functionally identical moves]], act rather [[{{Jerkass}} assholish]] to everyone around them, have [[BadassBiker an affinity for motorcycles]], form a team with Ángel and Kula, and the former's backstory has him [[DoNotCallMePaul very insistent on being called "Krohnen"]] and hints at him being an ex-member of NESTS -- which was the occupation of the latter. Most will put two and two together long before Ángel finally drops all pretenses and calls Krohnen "K9999".
* In ''VideoGame/Splatoon3'', it's revealed early on that a new enemy has stolen the Great Zapfish, with the characters perplexed as to who it could be...but given the name of the campaign and the AmbiguouslyEvil vibes of the character from [[VideoGame/Splatoon2 the previous game]], few players were surprised by [[MysteriousEmployer Mr. Grizz]] turning out to be the main villain. Perhaps in anticipation of this, TheReveal happens relatively early into the story.
* ''VideoGame/{{Remember}}'': Huyuaki [[TomatoInTheMirror lived in the mansion prior]] and has a connection to the family that lived in it. At first it's not too obvious, since Miu seems to be the only one with amnesia, but when Huyuaki reveals he also has amnesia and then starts repeatedly getting the strange feeling that he's experienced things in the mansion that he supposedly never experienced, it becomes obvious because it's the most likely explanation.

* ''VideoGame/LegoKnightsKingdom'': In the first chapter, your first playable knight, Jayko, has to pass a set of trials in order to be knighted by the King. The last trial is a battle against [[WebVideo/{{Caddicarus}} the definitely-not-evil-sounding]] [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Lord Vladek]] [[WebVideo/{{Caddicarus}} who's dressed in definitely-not-evil]] {{red and black|AndEvilAllOver}} and [[FauxAffablyEvil tells the player that he won't hurt them]] and [[{{Foreshadowing}} they may need their skills in days to come]], [[WebVideo/{{Caddicarus}} while the other knights talk about how he's definitely]] [[HorribleJudgeOfCharacter the King's]] [[WebVideo/{{Caddicarus}} most loyal and trusted knight]]. Small wonder that he turns out to be a traitor shortly after Jayko is knighted.
* ''VideoGame/{{Rakuen}}'':
** The reveal that the boy lost his hair to chemotherapy can come across like this given how the hat just happens to cover most of where his hair would be, but you still can't see ''any'' hair sticking out implying he's bald, and since no one mentions why he's in the hospital and he seems healthy enough otherwise it's easy to guess he's TheLittlestCancerPatient. Plus you can look at the boy's prescriptions on the table as early as the beginning of the game, and a quick Google search on the medicines can spoil his condition before you even leave his room.
** On a similar note is the one regarding Yami not being a real person given how initially only the boy is ever allowed to interact with them and they have a MeaningfulName that's a bit too on the nose for both their personality and appearance.
* ''VideoGame/JumpForce'': [[Manga/DeathNote Light]] being a traitor to the Jump Force team. Considering he's one of the most iconic villains in manga history, it's so glaringly obvious that the work page [[TheUntwist doesn't even bother to hide it]]. That being said, his PlayingBothSides antics help hide the twist that there's ''another'' traitor on the team.
* ''VideoGame/GuildWars2'':
** Players suspected the existence of a sixth Elder Dragon, the "Jungle Dragon", long before his reveal at the end of the first Living World season. This was due to the parallels between the existant Dragons and the Six Human Gods, the six dragon Facets fought in ''Eye of the North'', and the Inquest experiments into Dragon magic including a jungle-themed section.
** The major reveal of second Living World season was that the Sylvari were in fact dragon minions of Mordremoth. However, players had long suspected this after the reveal of Mordremoth's existence, or even before it. Their species was known to have originated from deep within the Maguuma Jungle, Mordremoth's domain, and their communal dream was always haunted by a shadow of the Elder Dragons. Most telling was that they were immune to the taint of the other Elder Dragons, which players correctly guessed was due to the OneCurseLimit.
* Given the structure of the explorable area of Planet Halpha in ''VideoGame/PhantasyStarOnline2NewGenesis'' - segregated environments, power-gating barriers, conveniently placed Ryuker Devices and Trainia - practically everyone and their Rappy could guess that the planet had been terraformed by a third party. But the ''real'' twist that caught the entire player base by surprise was not ''what'' Halpha happens to be, but ''why'' it was made that way.
* ''VideoGame/SpiderManPS4'': Dr. Otto Octavius becomes Dr. Octopus and is behind the Sinister Six. Anyone who knows ''anything'' about Spider-Lore knows that Dr. Octopus is one of Spider-Man's most famous foes and that he created the Sinister Six in the first place. He's also doing work on prosthetic limbs (which eventually turn into his signature tentacles), has a notable grudge against Norman Osborne, and you can see projects that are obviously for the other five Sinister Six members in his lab. Though the game does manage to generate pathos from the fact that while the ''audience'' is expecting Otto to become a villain, ''Peter Parker'' [[DramaticIrony isn't]], and demonstrating his close relationship with Otto sets up just how [[BrokenPedestal devastated he's going to be]] when Otto finally does his FaceHeelTurn.

** In ''VideoGame/BaldursGateIII'', Astarion doesn't mention him being a vampire until it's absolutely necessary. The UndeathlyPallor, fangs, and [[VampireHickey bite marks on his neck]] still make it very much not a surprise when he wakes the player character up at night in a failed attempt to drink their blood.

** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTearsOfTheKingdom'': Most of the problems in the main quest, such as the fierce blizzard that is killing Rito Village's food supply and the sludge polluting Zora Domain's water ways, are caused by "Zelda" who is actually Phantom Ganon in disguise. Of course, since Ganondorf being the main villain was spoiled by the trailers, it doesn't take a genius to figure out that he has something to do with the fact that "Zelda" is being seen all over Hyrule causing chaos.

* TheManBehindTheMan in ''[[VideoGame/SonicRushSeries Sonic Rush Adventure]]'' is Dr. Eggman, who is completely absent from the story until TheReveal. However, given that apparent-BigBad Captain Whisker is a robot who sports a mustache and overall looks identical to that of Eggman, roughly no one was shocked when the twist was revealed.

* ''VideoGame/SpiderManPS4'': Dr. Otto Octavius becomes Dr. Octopus and is behind the Sinister Six. Anyone who knows ''anything'' about Spider-Lore knows that Dr. Octopus is one of Spider-Man's most famous foes and that he created the Sinister Six in the first place. He's also doing work on prosthetic limbs (which eventually turn into his signature tentacles), has a notable grudge against Norman Osborne, and you can see projects that are obviously for the other five Sinister Six members in his lab. Though the game does manage to generate pathos from the fact that while the ''audience'' is expecting Otto to become a villain, ''Peter Parker'' isn't, and demonstrating his close relationship with Otto sets up just how [[BrokenPedestal devastated he's going to be]] when Otto finally does his FaceHeelTurn.

** VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTearsOfTheKingdom: Most of the problems in the main quest, such as the fierce blizzard that is killing Rito Village's food supply and the sludge polluting Zora Domain's water ways, are caused by "Zelda" who is actually Phantom Ganon in disguise. Of course, since Ganondorf being the main villain was spoiled by the trailers, it doesn't take a genius to figure out that he has something to do with the fact that "Zelda" is being seen all over Hyrule causing chaos.

* ''VideoGame/RuneFactory3'': When Micah reveals his secret to Daria, she reveals her own secret -- she's an elf. Micah treats this as a stunning revelation, and the player is supposed to as well. [[http://therunefactory.wikia.com/wiki/Daria This is Daria.]] Though it could be argued that the shock was that Daria was specifically an elf, not just non-human. Falls flat especially in the case of the legitimate surprise of Raven's reveal.
* ''VideoGame/RuneFactoryTidesOfDestiny'' does this to the three biggest revelations in the game's plotline.
** Aiden and Sonja are from Fenith Island, but end up transported to what they take to be an alternate universe version of Fenith Island. They recall many dragons flying through the sky, but that's not the case here, though Odette mentions that this was the case 200 years ago. Many players already realized that the protagonists had been sent to a future version of their home. The actual revelation doesn't occur until close to the plot's climax.
** The three sisters Odette, Lily, and Violet are the Dragon Priestesses of Fire, Earth, and Water, respectively. There is no Dragon Priestess of Wind, as her lineage died out 200 years ago. This lack of the fourth priestess isn't treated as important to mention until she's needed and, yes, ''Sonja'' turns out to be the Dragon Priestess of Wind -- and her lineage died out 200 years ago [[StableTimeLoop because she and Aiden were transported forward in time]].
** When Aiden and Sonja get transported in the beginning, Sonja's body is missing and her consciousness has [[SharingABody attached itself to Aiden]]. Finding out what happened to Sonja's body is part of the plot, and they are confronted by a Masked Man. No prizes are won for guessing just whose face is hidden under that mask: Sonja's. And this doesn't get revealed until the very definite Final Boss battle.

* In ''VideoGame/MegaMan6'', the villain behind all of this games' Robot Masters is supposed to be a mysterious "Mr. X." Given how formulaic [[VideoGame/MegaManClassic the series]] is, anyone who has played any of the previous five games knows Mr. X is very obviously going to be eventually revealed as Dr. Wily in disguise. Particularly since the series already tried a similarly unconvincing final boss fake-out with Dr. Cossack in ''VideoGame/MegaMan4'', then again with Proto Man in ''VideoGame/MegaMan5'', not to mention the fact that Mr. X looks exactly like Dr. Wily. By ''VideoGame/MegaMan9'' or so, the series was pretty clearly just playing it for laughs, with Wily blaming a bunch of recent robot attacks on Light with relatively little evidence--shock of shocks, turns out he was behind them, and the entire ending cutscene of the game is dedicated to how clear it was that Wily was behind them.
* ''VideoGame/MegaManX'' has no small HijackedByGanon tendency with Sigma, which naturally leads to this. Pretty much every game since ''[[VideoGame/MegaManX3 X3]]'' features some kind of new villain who is making mysterious plans, has turned evil for no explicable reason, or is clearly answering to someone else. It naturally turns out to be Sigma every single time. ''[[VideoGame/MegaManX7 X7]]'' in particular has cutscenes involving an unidentified figure in shadow...who has glowing blue eyes, big shoulderpads, a bald head, and a cape. That look narrows things down a little.
* Even ignoring how widely known the twist is now thanks to ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'', the identity of the Masked Man in ''VideoGame/MOTHER3'' is pretty obvious. [[Tearjerker/{{MOTHER}} It certainly doesn't make what happens after the mask is taken off any less impactful, though.]]

* ''VideoGame/TwistedWonderland'':
** "Muscle Crimson" is Lilia's ScreenName. Creator/HikaruMidorikawa's voice reading the text messages out loud gives this away from the outset.
** Lilia is Silver's foster father. This is played in book 7 like a surprising reveal, but before this story arc is released Silver has called Lilia father multiple times, and Lilia has talked about taking care of him in the past.