History Main / RayOfHopeEnding

** Persona 3 ends with the [[spoiler: Protagonist [[HeroicSacrifice sacrificing their life]] by becoming the Great Seal in order to stop Nyx from destroying humanity]]. However, ''VideoGame/Persona4Arena'' reveals that Elizabeth is embarking on a journey to [[spoiler: find a way to save him]]. Given that she is immortal and one of the most powerful beings in the universe she ''may'' eventually succeed in her quest.

* ''Franchise/Persona'':

* In the second part of ''VideoGame/VacantSky'', it turns out Auria is really the BigBad after all, one of the second heroes Serijala has made a pact with the Virad, and Mia is dead. Things are looking kinda grim. ...And then, we discover that the Virad are infected by demons, meaning demon-killing weapons have a chance of permanently killing them off, and also there is the hope that stopping Ejaro will put an end to the Virad.
* ''VideoGame/SpecOpsTheLine'': In the best ending, it is implied that despite all the horrible things Walker did, he still has a chance at possible redemption. The achievement for getting this ending is even called "The Road Back". Also, the loading screen for the final level shows it raining in Dubai. Given the fact that the water supply was destroyed by Walker's actions, the arrival of fresh water from the rain would at least give the people of Dubai a bit of a chance to survive by the time outside aid actually arrives.
* The [[FactionSpecificEndings Purple Clan's ending]] in ''VideoGame/{{Fahrenheit}}'' would be a downer ending, had it not been for Lucas and Carla's child who has potential to save humankind where his/her father failed.
* ''VideoGame/InfinityBlade'': In the second game, Siris manages to defeat Radriar the God King for the second time and makes sure not to kill him. He takes Radriar to the Worker of Secret's cell so that the Worker will be freed and Radriar will be imprisoned in his place. Unfortunately, Siris discovers too late that his "old friend" is a ConsummateLiar and a BitchInSheepsClothing. The Worker takes the Infinity Blade with plans for world domination and leaves Siris and Radriar to rot in his cell, as well as claim that Ausar/Siris was the one who imprisoned him there in the first place. By all accounts, this is a Downer Ending, but the last scene shows Isa approaching the castle.
* ''VideoGame/IronLung'''s bleak premise and [[DownerEnding ending]] is as dark as they come, with the titular submarine being destroyed by the creature lurking in the Blood Ocean, and the researchers unable to obtain any of the data or pictures that the player character took. However, despite having [[AllForNothing no data to show for it]], they don't give up, deciding that the existence of the Blood Ocean itself is a sign that there ''has'' to be an explanation for the [[ApocalypseHow Quiet Rapture]] out there, it just isn't ''there.''

* The ending of "Ranger Sign: Bravo" event in ''VideoGame/GranblueFantasy'': Jade's body was destroyed in order to stop her rampage; however, Walder manages to rescue a fragment of her core. The heroes have no idea where to find a working Astral laboratory that could reconstruct Jade's body, let alone how to operate such a place even if they could find one, but Walder and the heroes remain optimistic, clinging to the hope that perhaps one day Walder and Jade can be reunited.
* ''VideoGame/HaloReach'': [[ScaryDogmaticAliens The Covenant]] conquer Reach and burn its entire surface to glass. Humanity's second most important planet is lost. The fleet's attempts to stem the invasion end in failure every time. Almost all of NOBLE Team is killed including the player. The only thing that keeps the story from being a complete tragedy is that the player manages to evacuate the ship ''Pillar of Autumn'' with Master Chief and Cortana aboard, who will turn around the course of the war in the subsequent ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' games. In the final cutscene, Dr. Halsey gives your eulogy and assures you that your HeroicSacrifice was worth it, as shown by Reach now being a green paradise being colonized again.
* The "Bad Ending" when you lose all your lives and choose not to continue in ''VideoGame/MetalBlack''. TheHeroDies, but inspires the rest of the military to fight the aliens. 20000 Black Fly ships set out for battle.
* ''VideoGame/ArcTheLad II'''s ending would be a DownerEnding in the vast majority of games, being a PyrrhicVictory in which the only success Elc and the survivors of the party can claim is that they survived TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt, and saved some portion of humanity as well. But this was better than anyone expected, and probably the best that humanity could hope to win.
* The "Refusal" ending of ''VideoGame/MassEffect3''. The Reapers wipe out most life in the galaxy, but the epilogue implies that the next cycle's races managed to defeat them for good.
* ''VideoGame/BioShock2'' has an example that's both figurative and literal in the Neutral ending. Because of Delta's actions, his "daughter" Eleanor has made herself into a monster by murdering a room full of Little Sisters to empower herself. However, he turned from his dark actions in the process of saving her, and at the end stops her from saving him in order to stop her from continuing down her dark path. He dies and she wonders if she can possibly be redeemed for what she's done. And fittingly, the final shot of the game is a lighthouse lit by a single ray of sunlight surrounded by dark clouds.
* End at the beginning of ''VideoGame/{{Destiny}}''. Most of humanity is wiped out by [[ScaryDogmaticAliens the Darkness]] but the Traveler sacrifices itself to create the Last City, which leads to the beginning of the game.
* Ending 3 of ''Videogame/EternalSenia1'', where Senia still fails to save Magaleta. However, Magaleta is still alive and trapped in the tower and Senia is freed from the tower's curse, which means she still has another chance to make things right, as opposed to the other two endings where Senia and Magaleta are both trapped or Senia kills Magaleta.
* The video game adaptation of ''Literature/ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents'' ends with a literal example with the Baudelaires walking towards a ray of sun in the cloudy sky, with Violet's voiceover saying "At times the world can seem like a terrible place, but there is much more good in it than bad. And what seems to be [[TitleDrop a series of unfortunate events]] may in fact be the first steps of a journey."

* ''Videogame/SeriousSam3BFE'' ends with Mental successfully destroying Earth, but not before Sam successfully sends himself to the past to stop Mental at his weakest. The "Hero" theme played in the end credits signifies this.

** The Verdant Wind route ends like this. A majority of the existing powers of Fódlan except for the Leicester Alliance are gone and the church is potentially crippled with the loss of Rhea as an authority figure. However, with the truth of the history of Fódlan revealed, those in the present can truly give Fódlan a completely fresh start, free from the system that is born from many years of lies that created prejudices and various problems to the society of Fódlan, and change the land for the better.
** The Silver Snow route also has this. Every single one of the existing powers of Fódlan are decimated along with the church being potentially crippled with Rhea's death (unless you choose to S-Support her). Fódlan as it was is gone by the end of the Silver Snow route, but those in the present can still create something new for the future of the land.
* Jill and Carlos from the ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil3Remake'' try to save Raccoon City when they discover a vaccine for the T-virus has been developed, and get as far as making a sample while trying to contact the American government to hold on off the missile strike. However, Nicholai destroys the vaccine, dooming the city and anyone still alive in pursuit of his own goals, which forces the strike to go on as planned. The good news is Nemesis is finally destroyed after dogging Jill through the city, Nicholai gets his comeuppance and left for dead, and Jill and Carlos make it out alive, with the former dedicating her life to stopping Umbrella.
* ''VideoGame/TheNewOrderLastDaysOfEurope'': The [[NonStandardGameOver nuclear apocalypse ending]] is treated as this, as the world is destroyed and many people die, but [[DistantFinale eventually]], it is shown that a new civilization arises based on progress, peace and understanding. They even have the technology to land on the Moon, where they [[BookEnds find the flag that the Nazis planted there]] which has long-since been bleached white - their hateful and racist ideology is forgotten and [[AllForNothing they had no lasting impact on the world]].

* The ending of ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep'' is possibly the closest thing to a full-on DownerEnding the series has. ''None'' of the three protagonists have an ending that could be considered good. Terra? Has lost his body to [[BigBad Master Xehanort's]] machinations, and has no attachment left to the world except through the AnimatedArmor known as the Lingering Will. Ventus? Has lost his heart thanks to [[TheDragon Vanitas]]' failed attempt at a FusionDance, leaving him comatose. Aqua? Has utterly failed to save Terra from Xehanort, [[UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom has unknowingly doomed the worlds]] [[NiceJobBreakingItHero to suffer at Xehanort's hands for 12 years]], and is now trapped in the Realm of Darkness in his stead. But despite everything, when she's ready to give up, Aqua is saved by her friends' Keyblades flying in and destroying her aggressors, reminding her of everyone she's forged connections with. This renews her courage as she looks down at her Wayfinder and remarks "There's always a way".

* ''VideoGame/{{Viewfinder}}'' ends with the player character, having learned the Weather Manipulator they were seeking never worked and later destroyed the virtual space where it was located to escape back to reality, finding a thriving sapling in the space's remains. Somehow, they bring it back with them to the real world, the implication being that that becomes the key to restoring the earth's climate to safe levels.

* ''VideoGame/{{Viewfinder}}'' ends with the player character, having learned the Weather Manipulator they were seeking never worked and later destroying the virtual space where it was located to escape back to reality, find a thriving sapling in the space's remains. Somehow, they bring it back with them to the real world, the implication being that that becomes the key to restoring the earth's climate to safe levels.

* ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManAcrossTheSpiderVerse'': While Miles is trapped on the wrong Earth being held captive by an alternate version of his uncle Aaron and himself, who is the Prowler in this universe, Miguel and the Spider Force on are hunting him to make sure Jefferson does die, and the Spot has returned with more power than and is intending to do some damage. But Gwen, while she has lost Miles’ trust, with Hobie’s help she is able to continue to travel across the Multiverse as assembled a team of her own to help find Miles and rescue him.

* ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManAcrossTheSpiderVerse'':[[spoiler:While Miles is trapped on the wrong Earth being held captive by an alternate version of his uncle Aaron and himself, who is the Prowler in this universe, Miguel and the Spider Force on are hunting him to make sure Jefferson does die, and the Spot has returned with more power than and is intending to do some damage. But Gwen, while she has lost Miles’ trust, with Hobie’s help she is able to continue to travel across the Multiverse as assembled a team of her own to help find Miles and rescue him.]]

* ''VideoGame/MentalOmega'': The ending of the [[WellIntentionedExtremist Epsilon]] [[VillainProtagonist Campaign]] in Act 2 is treated like this. Despite a ''ferocious'' and [[DeathOrGloryAttack desperate]] all-out assault by the remnants of the Allied Nations forces, bolstered by their SuperweaponSurprise in the [[TimeStandsStill Paradox]] [[TheBattlestar Engine]], [[OneWomanArmy Libra's]] intervention and prior sabotage of the Paradox Engine's Prism Cannons before the final attack ensures the invasion force is all but destroyed and they're unable to destroy the Epsilon Army's [[MindControlDevice Mental Omega Device]] before it's activated, mind controlling ''the entire planet''. However, despite the seeming victory, all is not yet lost. The [[PlayerCharacter Allied Commander's]] sacrificial ramming of the Mental Omega with the Paradox Engine delayed its activation long enough for [[ScienceHero Siegfried]] to Chronoshift the Allied remnants and the Paradox Engine wreckage to Point Hope, Alaska, where they form up with Scorpion Cell [[DefectorFromDecadence renegades]], American resistance and Chinese defectors to form the Foehn Revolt. Partially repairing the Paradox Engine and using [[FlingALightIntoTheFuture Siegfried's leftover notes]], they use an altered Time Freeze to de-sync Point Hope from the world at large, allowing them to build up their forces and plan to strike back in peace. Meanwhile, the [[PlayerCharacter Soviet General]] resisted the Mental Omega's mind control wave long enough to warn the Soviet garrison on the moon to not return to Moscow, cluing them in that something's wrong and leaving them free to act against Epsilon in the future.

* ''VideoGame/MentalOmega'': The ending of the [[WellIntentionedExtremist Epsilon]] [[VillainProtagonist Campaign]] in Act 2 is treated like this. Despite a ''ferocious'' and [[DeathOrGloryAttack desperate]] all-out assault by the remnants of the Allied Nations forces, bolstered by their SuperweaponSurprise in the [[TimeStandsStill Paradox]] [[TheBattlestar Engine]], [[OneWomanArmy Libra's]] intervention and prior sabotage of the Paradox Engine's Prism Cannons before the final attack ensures the invasion force is all but destroyed and they're unable to destroy the Epsilon Army's [[MindControlDevice Mental Omega Device]] before it's activated, mind controlling ''the entire planet''. However, despite the seeming victory, all is not yet lost. The [[PlayerCharacter Allied Commander's]] sacrificial ramming of the Mental Omega with the Paradox Engine delayed its activation long enough for [[ScienceHero Siegfried]] to Chronoshift the Allied remnants and the Paradox Engine wreckage to Point Hope, Alaska, where they form up with Scorpion Cell [[DefectorFromDecadence renegades]], American resistance and Chinese defectors to form the Foehn Revolt. Partially repairing the Paradox Engine and using [[FlingALightIntoTheFuture Siegfried's leftover notes]], they use an altered Time Freeze to de-sync Point Hope from the world at large, allowing them to build up their forces and plan to strike back in peace. Meanwhile, the [[Player Character Soviet General]] resisted the Mental Omega's mind control wave long enough to warn the Soviet garrison on the moon to not return to Moscow, cluing them in that something's wrong and leaving them free to act against Epsilon in the future.

* ''LightNovel/FateZero'' ends this way, as a prequel to the more optimistic ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight''. The Fourth Holy Grail War ends in tragedy where Kiritsugu and Saber are almost shattered by the pointlessness of their efforts, while the villains are free to plan the next War. But Kiritsugu manages to save the life of one boy, Shirou, who inherits Kiritsugu's ideals and will eventually fight in the Fifth and final War. The AnimatedAdaptation makes this more explicit, with a timer at the end of each episode counting down to the exact moment (the "zeroth second") Kiritsugu rescues Shirou, marking the the instant ''Fate/Zero'' ends and ''Fate/Stay Night'' begins. Saber herself more blatantly sees a ray of light pierce through the cloud choked battlefield of her past, symbolizing how she'll be redeemed in the next War.

* ''Film/{{Dune|2021}}'' (2021): While the Harkonnens succeed in recapture Arrakis, Paul joins the Fremen at the end, and will lead a rebellion to defeat the Harkonnens once and for all (in [[Film/DunePartTwo Part Two]]).

!!As this is an {{Ending Trope|s}}, unmarked spoilers aplenty. Beware.

* Used on a very small scale (literally) in the ''Franchise/DoctorWhoExpandedUniverse'' story "Model Train Set" by Jonathan Blum. The Eighth Doctor has decided Seventh's meticulous, intricate, and entirely creator-controled model railway is boring, and so he programs the little robot people to form their own construction crews and schedulers, and delights in the emergent phenomenon of a system he could never have designed. But the next time he looks in, the trains are wrecked, the stations are in disrepair and the little robot people are either destroyed or milling about in confusion. For a moment, he thinks his past self was right and wants to shut the whole thing down. Then he notices one group of little robot people are trying to salvage some of the engines, and decides it's still worth waiting to see what happens next.

* Used on a very small scale in the ''Franchise/DoctorWhoExpandedUniverse'' story "Model Train Set" by Jonathan Blum. The Eighth Doctor has decided Seventh's meticulous, intricate, and entirely creator-controled model railway is boring, and so he programs the little robot people to form their own construction crews and schedulers, and delights in the emergent phenomenon of a system he could never have designed. But the next time he looks in, the trains are wrecked, the stations are in disrepair and the little robot people are either destroyed or milling about in confusion. For a moment, he thinks his past self was right and wants to shut the whole thing down. Then he notices one group of little robot people are trying to salvage some of the engines, and decides it's still worth waiting to see what happens next.

* The ending of ''Film/{{Se7en}}''. The villain has won, as Mills gives in to his anger at his wife's and child's death at the hands of John Doe, and Doe's agenda, a recreation of the SevenDeadlySins in the form of murders, comes to fruition as Mills' execution of him makes him embody the seventh sin, wrath. Mills, clearly emotionally traumatised by the events, has been taken into custody. The hope comes in the form of Detective Somerset, who is a generally selfless and moral KnightInSourArmor until a short time before the beginning of the film when he decides to actually retire and get on with his life. However, throughout the film, he just can't keep out that selfless part inside of him that wants to keep on fighting for the innocent, which is pushed on by Mills who is like a reminder of Somerset at a younger age. He does decide to stay on for a few days, but at the end of the film, it is implied that he has decided to stay on completely. The last words of the film are Somerset: "The world is a fine place, and worth fighting for. I agree with the second part" which shows that even in the worst of places and after seeing the worst in humanity, people will still fight for good.
** Also; Mills can still get a lesser sentence when circumstances for the execution are considered and there's always therapy. Doe's plan is a PyrrhicVictory since Doe is...well...'''dead'''. Sommerset could perhaps keep in touch with Mills and help him recover.