History Main / EarnYourBadEnding

** Due to the series' heavy reliance on the gimmick of an OldSaveBonus, this is mostly averted in the first game. However, you can plant seeds for a worse ''Mass Effect 2'' by [[spoiler: failing to get Urdnot Wrex to stand down at Virmir]] and weaken the galaxy's chances against the Reapers in ''Mass Effect 3'' by [[spoiler: destroying the last rachni queen]].

** ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'' escalates in this regard. Getting the lowest possible War Asset score requires planning and precision to make sure there are no loose ends. And then there's the "N7 Special Ops Team" asset, obtained through promoting characters in multiplayer (75 per promotion). Unless you're on the PC version of the game, there is no way to remove the asset, giving you a permanent boost in the war effort for better or worse.

Sometimes it's a {{Deconstruction}} or [[SubvertedTrope Subversion]] of EarnYourHappyEnding, in that the developers may intend to show that just because you worked hard and killed the SuperBoss, does not mean that you've actually made things better; in fact, [[NiceJobBreakingItHero you might have actually made things WORSE]]. If the game has a KarmaMeter, then the effort needed to get the worst ending(s) may be [[VideoGameCrueltyPunishment the game actively trying to stop you from doing horrible things]]. This can also be done so that most players will earn the better or best endings by default, preventing the hair-pulling scenario of a player getting a bad ending and either wondering why or regretting not picking up an important key item about 15 hours ago in a [[OneTimeDungeon non-revisitable dungeon]].

---> '''[[spoiler:Sans]]:''' i know your type. you're, uh, very [[ArcWords determined]], aren't you? you'll never give up, even if there's, uh, absolutely NO benefit to persevering whatsoever... no matter what, you'll just keep going. not out of [[BlueAndOrangeMorality any desire for good or evil]], but just [[TheUnfettered because you think you can]]. and because you "can"... you "have to".

* In the Famicom version of ''VideoGame/KidIcarus'', you can have the end where Palutena turns Pit into a monster if you defeat Medusa without any life or arrow upgrades, no special weapons, and with a minimalist score. This, however, has been cut in the NES version.

** To get Ending A, the player must escort The Girl (a very weak character) all the way to the end of the game, including through several difficult boss fights and a punishing gauntlet full of traps and enemies. Should they succeed in this, [[spoiler:The Girl will transform into the God of Fear and Hunger]], one of the hardest bosses in the game. Winning the fight results in a special ending where [[HeadsIWinTailsYouLose the player's party dies anyway]], [[spoiler:having created and released a malevolent force rivaling the Old Gods into the rest of the world]].

* The Ascended version of the Swarm that Walks path in ''VideoGame/PathfinderWrathOfTheRighteous''. Unlocking the swarm path alone not only requires to take several actions that multiple NPCs beg you not to do (unleashing Vescavors on Drezen, interrogating Xanthir and deciding to preserve his notes), but for a good part of the game pursuing it only serves to cripple your progression for most of the game, since it requires sacrificing chunks of your army, conducting horrifying experiments that turn most of your party against you, and weakening you personally as you carry your first attempts at becoming a swarm [[ProfessorGuineaPig on yourself]]. To also pursue the Ascended version of the ending you have to pursue all the needed research and acquire the needed components before completing Iz, as that is the point where your path becomes locked and every friendly NPC abandons you. Your "reward" is an ending where your Swarm, infused with godly power, extinguishes all life on Golarion and starts devouring away at reality itself with nobody able to stop it.

** Getting the absolutely worst ending in which only [[spoiler:Ayuto and Kyosuke]] survive involves you having to fight the FinalBoss alone (which is exactly as difficult as it sounds, especially if you're under-leveled), subsequently followed by a seven-man strong BossBonanza.

* ''VideoGame/PresentableLiberty'' has this in spades: by the end of the game, the player character's friend dies by electrocution when trying to break them out of prison, the baker down streets commits suicide minutes before you can reach her as she believes no one is left alive in the town, your caretaker realizes the daughter that was held hostage to ensure his compliance is long dead and lets himself waste away from illness, and even your captor later [[LaserGuidedKarma dies from the same virus he had unleashed upon the world]]. All this while your character [[ControllableHelplessness can do nothing except pace around their cell and play video games to pass the time]].

** The first, in ''Justice for All'', is achieved if the player fails to convince Shelly de Killer that [[spoiler: Matt Engarde]] had betrayed him ([[spoiler: if he is convinced, he'll release Maya, whom he was holding hostage on Phoenix defending Matt]]), which results in the innocent Adrian Andrews being convicted in place of the real killer, and Phoenix giving up lawyering in despair. It also requires ignoring some fairly obvious hints that [[spoiler:the evidence you need was the videotape, because it contains the blackmail recording Matt made]], and/or presenting it to anyone ''other'' than the obvious obstacle in the way of the correct ending.
** In ''VisualNovel/ApolloJusticeAceAttorney'', the final case hinges on a player choice [[spoiler:as a juror]]. If they decide that Vera Misham is guilty despite the trial making it insanely obvious that she was actually another victim of the true killer, then the trial is postponed [[spoiler:because of a hung jury-the others voted for the obvious 'not guilty']], but Vera dies from the BigBad's poison and the case is declared a mistrial, with the true killer getting away.

* ''VisualNovel/SchoolDays'' is so infamous for its bloody, over-the-top Bad Ends that the AnimeOfTheGame based its ending on them. However, you won't see them unless you go out of your way to make the protagonist act like a two-timing jerk to both of his main {{Love Interest}}s.

* ''VideoGame/DyztopiaPostHumanRPG'': The Evil Runi route is the most depressing outcome, since [[spoiler:Gemini will convince Runi to mind wipe herself. As a result, Gemini becomes the FinalBoss and kills all party members except Akira. Then Zazz turns out to have survived, and he kills Akira by flinging them from the top floor of Zetacorp, allowing him to enact his human supremacist dystopia and take over the world. This ending also has very strict requirements, since it requires the player to never use activity points and to reject Runi's friendship. Additionally, not using activity points means most characters will have a very low link level, making them slightly weaker than on a normal playthrough]].

* ''VideoGame/PizzaTower'' [[EndGameResultsScreen ranks you based on your completion percentage]] after beating the FinalBoss and getting to the credits. Finishing the game with under 50% completion has Peppino cheerily say "YOU SUCK!" with both thumbs up. It's actually pretty tough to get under 50% accidentally; you basically have to skip playing some levels, get a D grade on every level you do play, not find any secret rooms, and actively avoid collecting pick-ups beyond the bare minimum needed to unlock the boss fights (for the record, the absolute lowest percentage you could complete the game with is 37%).

* ''[[VideoGame/PoliceQuest Police Quest II]]'' concludes in a climactic shootout between [[TheHero Sonny Bonds]] and his arch-nemesis [[BigBad Jessie Bains]], in which Sonny shoots Jessie dead. Afterwards, Sonny is temporarily suspended until the police review board rules his shooting justified as self-defense… ''unless'' you fire on Bains first, which you have a window of less than two seconds to do before Bains start shooting. In this case, [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome Sonny shooting Bains dead is ruled as unjustified, and Sonny is arrested for murder]].

* ''VideoGame/GreyArea2023'': The bad ending is obtained by getting all of the secret items and completing a BrutalBonusLevel after [[spoiler:[[NiceJobBreakingItHero Hailey accidentally destroys the anchor holding reality together]]]]. It starts off identical to the normal ending, but [[spoiler:gets interrupted by a JumpScare when Hailey's mom suddenly gains a NightmareFace, leaving you with no real plot resolution]].

* ''VideoGame/DyztopiaPostHumanRPG'': The Evil Runi route is the most depressing outcome, since [[spoiler:Gemini will convince Runi to mind wipe herself and the party has no choice but to kill her as the FinalBoss. This results in Akira becoming much more bitter towards the archdemons, unlike in the normal route where they part with the archdemons as [[FriendlyEnemy friendly enemies]]. However, it's difficult to achieve this route without prior knowledge, since it requires the player to both reject friendship with Runi and to ensure Edgar sacrifices himself in Vulcanite Mines]].

* In ''VideoGame/TheDig'', near the end, if you go grab a life crystal (after losing all that were on you) before proceeding with the natural course of events, you can use it at a certain point to eventually get the game's somewhat secret bad ending.

* Playing as a Chaos Knight in ''VideoGame/{{ADOM}}'' is a trial in and of itself, since most of the {{Non Player Character}}s will be unfriendly or hostile to your character and not committing enough atrocities to stay Chaotic will strip your character of all their powers and constantly damage them. The "reward" for completing the main quest and closing the Chaos Gate? Since it was the source of your very essence, you immediately wink out of existence. The ending in question is dubbed "Most stupid follower of [=ChAoS=]".
** Getting any other ending as the Chaos Knight also requires temporarily becoming Neutral or Lawful to gather the needed artifacts, and ends with you replacing the BigBad.

Sometimes it's a {{Deconstruction}} or [[SubvertedTrope Subversion]] of EarnYourHappyEnding, in that the developers may intend to show that just because you worked hard and killed the SuperBoss, does not mean that you've actually made things better; in fact, [[NiceJobBreakingItHero you might have actually made things WORSE]]. If the game has a KarmaMeter, then the effort needed to get the worst ending(s) may be [[VideoGameCrueltyPunishment the game actively trying to stop you from doing horrible things]].

* ''VideoGame/ZoneOfTheEnders'' has a hidden ending that requires the player to completely fail every SOS mission in the game (no survivors and all buildings destroyed), something that players typically have to go out of their way to accomplish. Once the condition has been fulfilled, when you approach the endgame, a plot-critical character will abruptly die as a result of the space colony's failing infrastructure. ADA will waste few words saying that Thunderheart died because of your actions.

** ''VideoGame/FatalFrameMaidenOfBlackWater'' has the ''In the Reliquary'' ending for Ren. The player has to do the [[ViolationOfCommonSense complete opposite]] of what battling ghosts usually entails, and let Shiragiku drag or push Ren into the Black Box in the room. Without knowledge, no player would ever let this happen, leading many to not know that this ending exists.

* ''VideoGame/PeretEmHeruForThePrisoners'': Getting the absolutely worst ending in which only [[spoiler:Ayuto and Kyosuke]] survive involves you having to fight the FinalBoss alone (which is exactly as difficult as it sounds, especially if you're under-leveled), subsequently followed by a seven-man strong BossBonanza.