History CruelTwistEnding / VideoGames

* Just like most of the ''Series/{{Goosebumps}}'' books in the main series, ''Goosebumps [=HorrorLand=]'' ends this way. Just as everything seems to work out fine, what with your character, their friend, and the little girl they rescued managing to escape the titular AmusementParkOfDoom to freedom against all odds, the last moments of the game reveal that [[spoiler:the little girl, Gigi, is The Great Gargantua, and now that she's free, she plans to turn the whole world into her own personal [=HorrorLand=]]].

* ''Cyber-Lip'', a UsefulNotes/NeoGeo sidescrolling shooter, has the time honored plotline of 'Humanity builds super-computer to fight evil aliens, super-computer itself turns evil and destroys Earth, one/two guy(s) must shoot everything including berserk computer.' In the rather sparse ending, it turns out that the super-computer was NOT evil, just reprogrammed. As the heroes fly back to their home base, their leader congratulates them on a job well done -- and mentions how there are no more obstacles in their way just as he gives a nasty smirk while his eyes glow red, revealing that, surprise, he's one of those aliens. That's when it hits you that you've been a part of their ultimate plan, and you've done everything possible to help them achieve it...

* While a majority of the endings in ''Videogame/Cyberpunk2077'' are all bittersweet at best or utterly bleak, "The Tower" ending, added by completing the Phantom Liberty DLC and ensuring that Songbird ends up back in the hands of the NUSA is particularly cruel. In it, V decides to call up the FIA for the cure that they promised. The resulting operation successfully saves V's life at the cost of destroying Johnny Silverhand's engram as well as the resulting nervous damage [[BroughtDownToNormal preventing V from ever using anything but the most basic of cyberware]], cutting down any hopes of being a LivingLegend and making them weak enough to be mugged by common street thugs. Also, two years have passed, during which the world has changed and most of the friends they've made have largely moved on. The result is that rather than going out in a blaze of glory, V instead is likely to slowly fade away into the crowds. The only consolation is that Reed [[PostInjuryDeskJob personally offers them a desk job at Langley]].

* Getting the secret ending of ''VideoGame/TacticsOgreTheKnightOfLodis'' will treat you to one of these. Not only does everything in one of the bad endings happen (the love of the hero's life sacrifices herself in order for the BigBad of the story to be killed, and the hero inadvertently ends up killing his best friend, leading to the duke, the aforementioned best friend's father, siccing the army on him and force him to go into hiding), but all of that happens with the addition of the Pope renaming the hero Lanselot Tartaros. Yes, the same Lanselot Tartaros who set fire to Golyat in ''VideoGame/TacticsOgre'', revealing the entire game to be a prequel.

* Getting the secret ending of ''VideoGame/TacticsOgreTheKnightOfLodis'' will treat you to one of these. Not only does everything in one of the bad endings happen (the love of the hero's life sacrifices herself in order for the BigBad of the story to be killed, and the hero inadvertently ends up killing his best friend, leading to the duke, the aforementioned best friend's father, siccing the army on him and force him to go into hiding), but all of that happens with the addition of the Pope renaming the hero Lanselot Tartaros. Yes, the same Lanselot Tartaros who set fire to Golyat in ''VideoGame/TacticsOgre'', revealing the entire game to be a prequel.

* The true ending of ''VideoGame/MogekoCastle''. Seriously game, after everything that Yonaka had gone through, you should've just finished the story when she reunites with Shinya and arrives home to blood everywhere. That's a Cruel Twist Ending in itself, and ending it there probably would've made the story make more sense than what ensued. After Yonaka {{Mercy Kill}}s Shinya, it's revealed that SHE'S being read to by King Mogeko, meaning either her mental state is so deteriorated that she's haunted by the trauma in her life...or despite her efforts, she's once again a prisoner of Mogeko Castle. Yonaka can't catch a break!

* The ending to the ''Anime/GregoryHorrorShow'' PS2 game reveals that, despite everything you did, the hotel will always be rebuilt, Gregory and the other guests will always rise again, and that the trauma you've gone through will make it impossible to reintegrate with society, leading you to come back to the hotel...and that's ''exactly'' what happens.

* The ending to ''Gregory Horror Show'' reveals that, despite everything you did, the hotel will always be rebuilt, Gregory and the other guests will always rise again, and that the trauma you've gone through will make it impossible to reintegrate with society, leading you to come back to the hotel...and that's ''exactly'' what happens.

* Getting the secret ending of ''VideoGame/TacticsOgreTheKnightOfLodis'' will treat you to one of these. Not only does everything in one of the bad endings happen (the love of the hero's life sacrifices herself in order for the BigBad of the story to be killed, and the hero inadvertently ends up killing his best friend, leading to the duke, the aforementioned best friend's father, sic the army on him and force him to go into hiding), but all of that happens with the addition of the Pope renaming the hero Lanselot Tartaros. Yes, the same Lanselot Tartaros who set fire to Golyat in ''VideoGame/TacticsOgre'', revealing the entire game to be a prequel.

** The True Sith set up the Mandalorians to go rampaging. Revan and Malak defy the Council's cowardice and inaction by trying to stop the invasion. HeWhoFightsMonsters kicks in, they start falling to the DarkSide, and whip out a ColonyDrop weapon so horrific that even the Mandalorians are shocked by its brutality. The one Jedi who refused to go Sith with them is brutally cut off from the Force, and comes back to the Council to offer an olive branch, only to get spit on and told "get out." Revan goes on a rampage through known space, ostensibly to "unite it" against the bigger threat (NiceJobBreakingItHero), only for the Jedi to set up one hell of a {{plan}} in response. No matter how you play it, in the second game you're now playing that outcast Jedi. The Sith and the Republic are in complete ruins, Revan's vanished to force-knows-where, everyone either distrusts you or wants to use you for something, and no matter HOW Exile works the angles, the Council is still dead, the Republic is still a mess, and you're still about as popular as an X-Man at an anti-mutant rally. Kreia rubs it all in with her last speech. And [[VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic the new game]], 300 years later? The big threat Revan was trying to stop emerges from hiding, beats the crap out of the Republic...and it's stated "on panel" that [[TheWorfEffect Revan and Exile were never seen again]] after their respective games, meaning they likely died horribly and pointlessly.
** It gets worse in ''Videogame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'' MMO-sequel. Republic adventurers will rescue Revan from prison and MindRape, so that he can enact his black-ops mission to kill the majority of the empire. Imperial adventurers will find Revan losing to TheCorruption, now on the verge of committing genocide (Ironically, this WOULD kill the empire but not the more important source) and has to be put down. Bonus points for having Revan's last words directed at Malak and him finally recognizing the fully-corrupted jedi as a friend. Also, the Exile was killed pointlessly by a Sith just to KickTheDog and prove he's a bastard. And even after that, Revan's dark spirit returns in an attempt to awaken the Sith Emperor that would have resulted in the latter consuming the galaxy and succeeds, with Vitiate later consuming all life on Ziost and plunging the galaxy into an even greater war with a big secret army out of nowhere.

* Videogame/{{Bloodborne}} on a whole can count numerous times.

* Donovan from ''Night Warriors: Darkstalkers' Revenge'', the second game of the ''VideoGame/Darkstalkers'' series, is half vampire, having lost control of that side of him once, and hopes to win the tournament to find a way to keep it from happening again. In his ending, he finally manages to do so... Sike, he actually gives in ''for a second time,'' this time fully embracing it and becoming the villainous Dee.

* Could ''VideoGame/KlonoaDoorToPhantomile'' count? Because after [[PlayerCharacter Klonoa]] saves the world, what happens? His friend Huepow reveals that A) [[spoiler: Klonoa isn't really an inhabitant of Phantomile like the game establishes him to be]], and B) [[spoiler: he's actually got fake memories of his entire life and the only reason why he's here is that they just wanted him to be the one to save it.]] Oh, and also? He doesn't even let the poor kid fully process the truth when he actually [[spoiler: sends him back to where he really belongs.]]

* The true ending of ''VideoGame/MogekoCastle''. Seriously game, after everything that Yonaka had gone through, you should've just finished the story when she reunites with Shinya and arrives home to blood everywhere. That's a Cruel Twist Ending in itself, and ending it there probably would've made the story make more sense than what ensued. After Yonaka Mercy Kills Shinya, it's revealed that SHE'S being read to by King mogeko, meaning either her mental state is so deteriorated that she's haunted by the trauma in her life...or despite her efforts, she's once again a prisoner of Mogeko Castle. Yonaka can't catch a break!

* Getting the secret ending of ''VideoGame/TacticsOgreTheKnightOfLotis'' will treat you to one of these. Not only does everything in one of the bad endings happen (the love of the hero's life sacrifices herself in order for the BigBad of the story to be killed, and the hero inadvertently ends up killing his best friend, leading to the duke, the aforementioned best friend's father, sic the army on him and force him to go into hiding), but all of that happens with the addition of the Pope renaming the hero Lanselot Tartaros. Yes, the same Lanselot Tartaros who set fire to Golyat in ''VideoGame/TacticsOgre'', revealing the entire game to be a prequel.

* Getting the secret ending of ''VideoGame/TacticsOgreTheKnightOfLotis'' will treat you to one of these. Not only does everything in one of the bad endings happen (the love of the hero's life sacrifices herself in order for the BigBad of the story to be killed, and the hero inadvertently ends up killing his best friend, leading to the duke, the aforementioned best friend's father, sic the army on him and force him to go into hiding), but all of that happens with the addition of the Pope renaming the hero Lans Tartare. Yes, the same Lans Tartare who set fire to Golyat in the first game, revealing the entire game to be a prequel.

* Subverted in ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes2DesperateStruggle''. Right before the final battle with [[BigBad Jasper Batt Jr.]], Batt reveals to Travis that Henry, Shinobu, and Sylvia were all brutally killed off by having some {{Mooks}} deliver him their severed heads on platters. And then right before Batt goes all OneWingedAngel, Henry shows up...and reveals that the heads were just very good replicas. And then [[BigDamnHeroes Sylvia saves Travis]] from his [[DestinationDefenestration fall from the top of Pizza Batt tower]]. Shinobu is [[BrotherChuck nowhere to be seen]], but she later turns up alive and well in [[VideoGame/TravisStrikesAgainNoMoreHeroes the sequel]].

** The ending of the main game, once you can parse out the MindScrew: you've defeated Comstock, driven back the Vox Populi, and destroyed the siphon that limits Elizabeth's powers. Well, you've defeated ''one'' Comstock, out of an infinite number of alternate universes. "You" are not the first Booker to be called to Columbia - the Lutece twins have brought over a hundred alternate Bookers to take down Comstock, but you are the first to succeed at killing even one. And, as it turns out, Booker and Comstock are alternate universe versions ''of each other'', decided by whether he is baptized following the Battle of Wounded Knee. To kill all Comstocks permanently is to snip the rose at the bud by drowning Booker at his baptism, which destroys Elizabeth, his at-that-time-unborn daughter, as well. There's [[HopeSpot the implication that some version of Booker and baby Elizabeth somewhere survived this process]], but no confirmation is ever given.

* ''VideoGame/{{Pylons}}'': Near the end of the game, when the pylons have come to life and the workers are chasing the PlayerCharacter down, we're informed it's because the noise frequency is summoning the [[BigBad Mettle Mother]]. You're given a frequency scrambler that will mess up the noise and send them all packing, and you place it on top of the radio tower to get the best chance... then you find out that doing so actually [=SUMMONED=] the Mettle Mother.