History BittersweetEnding / VideoGames

* ''VideoGame/GoodbyeVolcanoHigh'': Fang achieves their dream and manages to pull off an amazing concert, Worm Drama becomes the biggest band in town, and they mend all their relationships... but all of it is a day before the asteroid hits.

* ''VideoGame/UntilDawn'''s AnyoneCanDie mechanics mean that most of its MultipleEndings are this, but even the ending where ''everybody'' lives is depressing: everyone is clearly traumatized and injured, a few of them might be going to jail, and Josh is turning into a {{wendigo}}.

* The ''VideoGame/GodOfWar'' series:
** In ''VideoGame/GodOfWarIII'': All the Gods are dead at Kratos' vengeful hands, but in process, the whole of Greece is left in Chaos and ruins. That said, the Olympians were [[JerkassGod Jerkass Gods]] and Kratos, realizing the error of his ways, sacrifices himself to release the power of Hope to be used by mankind, giving them a chance to rebuild without having to rely on the Gods. The Norse era games later clarifies that Greece has in fact recovered due to Kratos' sacrifice, although as the vase depicting the Ghost of Sparta made clear, Kratos' infamy is still present there, meaning any chance of Kratos ever returning or being able to show Atreus Greece is moot, and ''Ragnarok'' reveals that the magic of Greece has died, meaning the mortals there are surviving purely by their own merits.
** In ''VideoGame/GodOfWarPS4'': Kratos, along with his new son Atreus, has successfully scattered the ashes of his wife Faye, their strained bond has been healed over the journey, and they return home... Except in the process Kratos is forced to kill Baldur, Magni, and Modi, earning Freya's hatred for killing her son and the wrath and attention of the Norse Gods, as evidenced by Thor arriving to face them in Atreus' dream. Killing Baldur has also activated Fimbulwinter, meaning Ragnarok will begin soon. All this means Kratos can now face a future along with his son, but the road ahead for them will be filled with peril.
** In ''VideoGame/GodOfWarRagnarok'': While ending on a much more happier note, the final game of the Norse era is still not without bitter elements. Asgard has been destroyed and Odin is killed for real, freeing the Nine Realms from the oppressive reign of the Aesir, the remnants of whom make peace with the Vanir and can now life in Vanaheim in peace without Odin forcing them to be tyrants. However, with Thor dead shortly after he finally redeems himself, the Aesir has no powerful protector in the present, with only Sif there to lead them, but there is hope that Thrud could eventually replace her father in that regard as she finds Mjolnir and uses it to begin training with Sigrun. The ''real'' Tyr is also found and freed and while he still needs time to adjust, there is a chance he will be able to help the Aesir and Vanir. Kratos has ''finally'' found redemption for all his deeds in Greece by saving the Norse realm and is left with joyful hope as he learns that in the future he will unite all of the Norse and become the new All-Father, setting off to repair the damage caused by Ragnarök, but there is much to fix before he could truly become the leader the Realms. While Kratos is proud of Atreus finally maturing into a responsible man who could now go and fulfill his own path, Atreus is heading outside of the Norse lands to find the surviving Giants, meaning it will be years before the family could be back together. Most bitterly is Brok's death, which shatters Sindri's friendship with Kratos and Atreus. While moments of care and tolerance shows there is still hope to earn Sindri's forgiveness, with Sindri disappearing after Brok's funeral, it will take a long time.

*** "Synthesis", [[TakeAThirdOption the third option]], in which Shepard sacrifices themself to introduce their DNA to [[MacGuffin the Crucible]], sending out a wave through the Mass Relay network that transforms all life, both synthetic and organic, into hybrids of the two. Changed and with their reason for invasion gone, the Reapers cease hostilities and help the survivors to rebuild. With access to the nearly limitless knowledge of the previously harvested civilizations, it's possible the galaxy will enter a new GoldenAge. However, Shepard is gone for good, and his/her crew can do nothing but mourn for them.

** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXVI'': [[spoiler:Clive ultimately kills the corrupt GodofGods Ultima, stopping his goals to terraform the world and turn all of humanity into Akashic forever, fully revives Joshua, and also manages to fulfill everything he hoped for and more: His goals of abolishing the Bearer slavery system is achieved along with ending the Blight, and all the surviving nations are now at peace due to his actions while leading the Hideway, with the post-credits scene showing that the world is now thriving. However, the social order around Valisthea has been destroyed in the process, which would mean hard times are ahead for the Hideway and the rest of the world, even if it's shown that the world recovered in the end at the post-credits scene, and to cure the Blight and truly bring about peace required Clive to completely destroy the Mothercrystals and remove magic itself entirely, which combined with the power he used to revive Joshua may or may not have killed him and prevented the brothers from reuniting and Clive and Jill from truly getting together]].

** The second game ends with Blitzkrieg deafeated, the timeline restored, all the damage done by Entropy reversed and Man-Bot back on Earth, having been freed from the Celestial Clock ... but in order to save the world from [[SuperpoweredEvilSide Entropy]], Alchemiss had to wipe herself from existence; meaning none of her friends even remember that she ever existed.

* ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'':

* The UsefulNotes/TurboGrafx16 Creator/{{Toaplan}} ShootEmUp ''Hellfire S'' ends with Karou [[HeroicSacrifice sacrificing herself by ramming her ship into the enemy core by use of a kamikaze attack.]]

* ''VideoGame/ChronoCross'':
** In the game's GoldenEnding, the split timelines are mended together and Schala is saved... but to what extent, from either? Much is left almost [[GainaxEnding deliberately unclear]], but it is highly evident that several elements of the two timelines were mutually exclusive, and Schala's fate afterward - particularly whether she and Kid merged into a single person, or if she ever found Serge (though at least one version of her did) - is unknown. Worse yet, it isn't clear at all whether or not her brother Janus remembers her ''at all''...
*** A secret EasterEgg in ''[[UpdatedRerelease The Radical Dreamers Edition]]'' suggests not only that he does, but she and Zeal are in fact ''all'' he remembers about his past (by virtue of being the only things he ''wants'' to remember.) That said, much like the game itself, it is left distinctly unclear what happens after Schala is freed, or if Janus will or even ''can'' be there to greet her when she's reinserted into our world...

---> How long will he keep on fighting? [[HurtingHero How long will his pain last?]] Maybe only the [[ArmCannon X-Buster]] on his hand knows for sure...

** "Yharnam Sunrise": the Good Hunter severs their connection from the DreamLand that gave them [[DeathIsASlapOnTheWrist infinite revives]] and the ability to LevelUp. They are now mortal like previous moon-scented Hunters who did the same (e.g. Eileen and Djura), but have presumably [[EmpoweredBadassNormal kept their superhuman strength and other powers]], also like them. The night is over and Yharnam, while an empty city, appears to be free of beasts, so the Good Hunter could rendezvous with the survivors to either leave permanently or rebuild, and the surrounding civilizations won't be molested. The most straightforwardly optimistic ending on the surface (due to the visuals and the protagonist getting more or less what they wanted), but it's ambiguous whether this will be a long-term solution, because all it would take to restart the plague is another Great One paired with another [[CorruptChurch corrupt institution]] willing to abuse the power of its blood (the fate of Yharnam might make them think twice this time, though).

* ''VideoGame/WhatRemainsOfEdithFInch'': Edith dies giving birth to her son, her last narration stating that if he ever reads her journal, it means she never got to know him. He's returned to the family home, and has a cast on his arm, suggesting that he might perpetuate the family curse. However, the Finches are still standing, still take pride in their family history, and now there are two branches (Christopher and Monroe), implying that the curse is wearing down.

* ''VideoGame/SpongeBobsBoatingBash: After Seymour is exposed as a fraud, SpongeBob stops him from escaping and gets him sent to jail, but this unfortunately means the driver's license he got from his classes is completely worthless. He's at least thrilled that he can keep taking classes with Mrs. Puff, but she isn't exactly looking forward to it.''

** VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV: Noctis ascends to the True King and kills Ardyn, purging the Starscourge from Eos once and for all, while Niflheim has been defeated, but Noctis has to sacrifice himself to end Ardyn and the Starscourge, ending the Lucis Caelum line forever, and with the death of Luna, the two bloodlines that can use magic and contact divinity have ended. Many people have died over the course of 10 years, and the world may recover in the end, but there is still much work to do, although Gladio, Ignis, and Prompto being alive leaves the future hopeful, especially with how there are still people like Cor and Aranea who can lead and guide new generations of humanity to rebuild.
** VideoGame/FinalFantasyXVI: [[spoiler:Clive ultimately kills the corrupt GodofGods Ultima, stopping his goals to terraform the world and turn all of humanity into Akashic forever, fully revives Joshua, and also manages to fulfill everything he hoped for and more: His goals of abolishing the Bearer slavery system is achieved along with ending the Blight, and all the surviving nations are now at peace due to his actions while leading the Hideway, with the post-credits scene showing that the world is now thriving. However, the social order around Valisthea has been destroyed in the process, which would mean hard times are ahead for the Hideway and the rest of the world, even if it's shown that the world recovered in the end at the post-credits scene, and to cure the Blight and truly bring about peace required Clive to completely destroy the Mothercrystals and remove magic itself entirely, which combined with the power he used to revive Joshua may or may not have killed him and prevented the brothers from reuniting and Clive and Jill from truly getting together]].

* Several of the MultipleEndings of ''[[VideoGame/HenryStickminSeries Completing the Mission]]'' end like this. Examples include:

** "Toppat Civil Warfare": Henry seizes control of the Toppat Clan, only for half to desert him in favor of Ellie, [[TheDogBitesBack the very same woman Henry left behind]]. Notably, it ends on a cliffhanger, though [[FanficFuel let's try to imagine that Henry still has several other members living in the jungle aside three people and possibly take advantage of the fight...]]

* ''VideoGame/ElohimEternalTheBabelCode'': The ending is more bitter than sweet, with the only good thing to come of it being that [[spoiler:the Jehudans, Attikans, and Cainites are likely too busy trying to survive on their shattered planet to go to war with each other. Not only do the Kosmokraters [[KarmaHoudini get off scott-free]] for splitting the planet in half, the Kenomans kidnap Ruthia and take Kaphar, meaning there's no way for the party to go after them. Additionally, the Cainites are still likely to die out, since they don't have many sources of manna left, and Lamech's minions killed most of the Cainite prisoners]].