History YouCantGoHomeAgain / VideoGames

* In the ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}}'' universe, those High Elves who remain loyal to the Alliance, after most of their brethren join the Blood Elves who defect to the Horde. Also those humans and elves who fled the kingdom of Lordaeron when it fell to the [[ZombieApocalypse undead]].
** Recent developments in ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'': [[spoiler:The blood elves of formerly-neutral Dalaran have all been arrested, kicked out, or killed as the city-state joins the Alliance. Also, Vol'jin, leader of the Horde's trolls, lived through an assassination attempt from one of Garrosh's soldiers and is now hiding out in Pandaria while the Horde believes him dead.]]

** The original ''VideoGame/{{Fallout1}}'' ends with the Vault Dweller being banished from his Vault, due to having been radically changed by his experiences in the wastes and possible hero worship amongst the Vault's younger dwellers causing them to leave en masse. They left anyway.
** Averted in ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 2}}'': Saving the tribe means The Chosen One gets to STAY with the tribe, wherever they're forced to go.
** At the beginning of ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'', [[PlayerCharacter the Lone Wanderer]] is living with their father, James, in the underground shelter Vault 101. However, when James leaves the Vault, the paranoid Vault Overseer tries to have the Wanderer killed, forcing them to flee into the Wasteland to find their father. Later, the Wanderer returns to the Vault to find that its inhabitants are embroiled in a civil war over whether or not to keep the Vault locked down. If the Wanderer finds a peaceful solution, their childhood friend Amata becomes the new Overseer. However, as she explains, a lot of people still blame them for everything that went wrong. For the sake of peace in the Vault, the Wanderer is forced to leave again, this time for good. And of course, if the Wanderer kills innocents or outright sabotages the life support systems, everyone in the Vault yells at you to leave.

** ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 4}}'': After 210 years in experimental cryo, your house is still standing, and even a few of your family members survived. But the house isn't the same after centuries of aging, and you lose your family (sans butler) in the end.

* Link in VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime is a bit of an odd case. Raised as a Kokiri, he sets off on an adventure and is, in the process, blamed for the death of the Kokiri's guardian spirit, the Deku Tree. He returns after a seven year TimeSkip only to discover that his childhood friends haven't aged a day in his absence, leading to the reveal that he isn't a Kokiri at all. Although his house is still there (and Malon will even send a cow there if you win her race), the game implies that Link cannot truly return to his hometown after his adventure due to being a Hylian (especially given that [[spoiler: his guardian fairy, Navi, leaves him in the aftermath of his adventure]]. This is reinforced by the opening for [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask the sequel]], where it is revealed that, after his adventure was complete, Link disappears from the land that made him a legend...

* ''VideoGame/DeadOrAlive'': After leaving her village to [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge take revenge]] on Raidou for crippling Hayate when no one else would, this seems to be Kasumi's fate thus far, in addition to being marked for death by the Mugen Tenshin Clan. While the endings of ''Dimensions'' and ''[=DOA5=]'', [[AmbiguousSituation called this into question]], ''[=DOA6=]'' confirms that she is still not welcome.

* ''VideoGame/DeadOrAlive'': After leaving her village to [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge take revenge]] on Raidou for crippling Hayate when no one else would, this seems to be Kasumi's fate thus far, in addition to being marked for death by the Mugen Tenshin Clan. While the endings of ''Dimensions'' and ''[=DOA5=]'', [[AmbiguousSituation called this into question]], ''[[=DOA6=]]'' confirms that she is still not welcome.

* ''VideoGame/DeadOrAlive'': After leaving her village to [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge take revenge]] on Raidou for crippling Hayate when no one else would, this seems to be Kasumi's fate thus far, in addition to being marked for death by the Mugen Tenshin Clan. While the endings of ''Dimensions'' and ''[=DOA5=]'', [[AmbiguousSituation called this into question]], ''[[=DOA6=]'' confirms that she is still not welcome.

* ''Franchise/GuiltyGear'': Axl Low is a cheery, goofy British guy who got ripped out of his home time and keeps skipping through time randomly. His whole mission is to find out what's wrong with him and how he can get back to his friends and his girlfriend Megumi. [[spoiler:Then in '''Xrd: Revelator'', he's hit with the TomatoInTheMirror that basically he's a sentient bundle of time magic who can erase and rewrite timelines at will, that his old timeline may not even exist anymore, and that returning to his original time will mean wiping out the world as it exists now as they're mutually exclusive. In the climax, he's faced with the choice of either returning home to Megumi and leaving this world and all his new friends to their fate, or using his powers to help Sol and being stranded in this time. [[HeroicSacrifice He decides on the latter]].]]

* ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear'': Axl Low is a cheery, goofy British guy who got ripped out of his home time and keeps skipping through time randomly. His whole mission is to find out what's wrong with him and how he can get back to his friends and his girlfriend Megumi. [[spoiler:Then in '''Xrd: Revelator'', he's hit with the TomatoInTheMirror that basically he's a sentient bundle of time magic who can erase and rewrite timelines at will, that his old timeline may not even exist anymore, and that returning to his original time will mean wiping out the world as it exists now as they're mutually exclusive. In the climax, he's faced with the choice of either returning home to Megumi and leaving this world and all his new friends to their fate, or using his powers to help Sol and being stranded in this time. [[HeroicSacrifice He decides on the latter]].]]

** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' have Cloud and Tifa where they can't go back to their hometown because it was [[DoomedHometown burned to the ground]] by Sephiroth. Although [[spoiler:the town is rebuilt by Shinra and stocked with actors to cover up the event later in the game, the implication is still the same.]]

* In ''VideoGame/{{Okami}}'', your NinjaButterfly Issun [[spoiler:ran away from home rather than become a celestial envoy]] and refuses to accompany you when you have a chance to go to his hometown. Also, [[spoiler:the celestial beings murdered by Yami]] can't ever go back to the Celestial Plane.

* ''VideoGame/DeadOrAlive'': After leaving her village to [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge take revenge]] on Raidou for crippling Hayate when no one else would, this seems to be Kasumi's fate thus far, in addition to being marked for death by the Mugen Tenshin Clan. However, the endings of ''Dimensions'' and ''[=DOA5=]'', the two most recent games in the franchise, have [[AmbiguousSituation called this into question]].

* He's only in a couple of missions, but in ''VideoGame/Injustice 2'', Reverse-Flash. He reveals that one of his ancestors was killed while he was in the past, meaning that, while he can remember the future he came from, it doesn't exist for him to go back to any longer. He's pretty cut up about it.

* ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIII'': In the end, when the dust has settled, [[spoiler:Zoma has been slain and both Alefgard and their home world have been saved...but, subsequently, the hole in the sky that bridged the two has closed. They're left in Alefgard, heralded a savior, for the rest of their days]].

** In ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'': Lonesome Road'', the Courier finds out that they [[WhereIWasBornAndRazed destroyed their implied hometown]] by delivering a mysterious package from Navarro that detonated the Divide's nuclear missiles.

* In ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'', Hawke's DoomedHometown of Lothering is destroyed by the Darkspawn horde at the beginning of the game. It's eventually rebuilt at some point over the next seven years, but by that time Hawke is pretty enmeshed in Kirkwall's problems and has begun to set in roots. However, Hawke's mother comments that Hawke and his/her siblings "are Fereldan to your toes," and dialogue in one minor quest can have Hawke state that despite their role as Champion of Kirkwall, s/he will always consider Ferelden to be their home.

--> '''Aveline''': You can't go home again. That's supposed to be about maturity. It's not the same if you don't have the option.

** The [[OurElvesAreBetter Maormer (Sea Elves)]] were banished from Aldmeris, the ancient homeland of the {{Precursors}} of the races of Mer (Elves), after attempting a rebellion. There is said to be a literal veil of mist that they cannot penetrate surrounding their former home.

* ''VideoGame/DragonsWake'': The PlayerCharacter is a young dragon that was adopted by a village of lizardfolk. When the player returns from destroying a village of goblins, they find that the lizardfolk village has also been destroyed by a BlackKnight.

* ''VideoGame/WorldOfMana''
** ''VideoGame/SecretOfMana'' for the SNES kicked off the plot with this, when TheHero is kicked out of his home village for removing a rusty sword from a stone, thus drawing monsters to it. In order to SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong, he has to find a way to unlock the sword's true potential. With a little glitching, he can go home again, [[GameBreakingBug but he can't get out.]]
** In ''VideoGame/TrialsOfMana'', if you have Duran in your party and try to enter his house in Valsena, he will say that he can't return home until he has killed the Crimson Wizard, and the party will be unable to enter the house. Even after you kill the Crimson Wizard you still can't enter his house!
* In ''VideoGame/LuminousArc3'' [[spoiler:Sara and Sion come from a hundred years in the past, but were sent forward in time due to an experiment. While Sion adapted to living in the future, Sara still wants to return to the past. In the end [[IChooseToStay both of them give up and continue their current lives]], with Sara becoming the principal of Urgard and Sion becoming a famous actress. Depending on who you choose, the main reason they want to stay is they want to be with Levi.]]
* For most of ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'', Lloyd is exiled from his hometown due to a petulant proclamation by an arrogant mayor who scapegoats him for the town's problems. Admittedly, Lloyd did cause Iselia to be damaged, but it was accidental and more the fault of the Desians attacking the town after they spotted Lloyd. It's ultimately averted, since he's let back in during the game's second act, despite the mayor's protests.
** There's also a more literal example with Presea, after [[spoiler: Ozette is destroyed by Cruxis]].

* In ''[[VideoGame/WildArms1 Wild ARMs]]'' as well, Rudy is exiled from his adopted hometown by the town's mayor for releasing monsters into the village, after said mayor [[NeverMyFault orders him to go into a dank cave and poke random things with a stick until something interesting happens]].
** Made stranger by the fact that not even an hour later he is in the company of a knight and a princess, both of whom could have easily stood up for his character and cleared his name.
** Less strange when you realize he was exiled for using forbidden LostTechnology (even if, in the original, you choose not to; TheRemake changes things so that the gun is the only weapon Rudy has.)
** In the remake, a sidequest is added where Rudy can get the entire village to ask for his forgiveness [[spoiler:when the same monster he had to take down with said gun comes back. Such sidequest is necessary to access one of the game's ultimate summons]].

* ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'':
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' have Cloud and Tifa where they can't go back to their hometown because it was [[DoomedHometown burned to the ground]] by Sephiroth. Although [[spoiler:the town is rebuilt by Shinra and stocked with actors to cover up the event later in the game, the implication is still the same.]]
** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'', this happens to a lot of the characters due to the massive property damage over the course of the game, but special mention to the Terrans ([[spoiler:including Zidane]]), whose home planet gets [[EarthShatteringKaboom blown up]], and the summoners Eiko and [[spoiler:Garnet]], whose village was nuked in the backstory.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'': Tidus spends most of the game looking forward to returning to [[DoomedHometown Zanarkand]], which he discovers is pretty impossible seeing that it's been in ruins for the past thousand years and [[spoiler:wasn't even really ''his'' Zanarkand anyway because he had been living in a literal dreamworld.]]
** Fran in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'' chooses to abandon her home in the woods in order to live freely and she runs away with Balthier, who is a Sky Pirate. Because Fran left her village, she effectively abandoned her duty as a guardian of the wood and is unable to communicate with it. Fran's abandonment effectively has her ousted and is not allowed to returning home. Fran does eventually return to her village for the sake of assisting her party, though she chooses to remain at the entrance so that she doesn't see her sisters in shame.
** The Ala Mhigans in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'' were ousted by the [[TheEmpire Garlean Empire]] from their homeland and were unable to return. By the events of the ''Stormblood'' expansion, the player character liberates Ala Mhigo from the Garleans, allowing most of the refugees to return home after being away for decades. Player-created Rava viera in the ''Shadowbringers'' expansion are also exiles who abandoned their hometown, in a similar vein to the aforementioned Fran.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV'': early in the game, Noctis's hometown of Insomnia falls under Imperial occupation, preventing him from returning. [[spoiler:{{Subverted}} in the last act of the game, as Noctis and his allies return to Insomnia to confront [[BigBad Ardyn]]. The Insomnia they return to, however, has been ravaged by daemons.]]

* Rath from ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBlazingBlade'' was outcast from the Kutolah tribe at a very young age, due to a prophecy that said he'd have a great future if he saw the world on his own. In his solo ending, he returns to the tribe after the end and his tribesmen welcome him back warmly; in his paired ending with Lyn, Rath comes back alone but some time later Lyn joins him. His daughter, Sue, becomes a playable character in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBindingBlade''.
* This is a recurring trait in the ''VideoGame/{{Suikoden}}'' series:
** ''VideoGame/SuikodenI'' has you [[spoiler: being branded as traitors to the Empire, and being forced to flee from Gregminster. After taking up arms against them and fighting their forces back for the entire game, you finally return to and invade Gregminster at the very end of the game]].
** In ''VideoGame/SuikodenII'', [[spoiler: you become branded as traitor's to your home country, and upon first returning to Kyaro, are arrested. After being rescued from your imminent execution, you're unable to return there until quite late in the game, around the time when you lay siege to the country's capital]].
** In ''VideoGame/SuikodenIII'', [[spoiler: Hugo]] experiences this early on when [[spoiler: the Zexen Knights invade and burn down Karaya Village]]. Also implied for [[spoiler: Watari, whose ninja clan is set to kill him for abandoning them]].
** Averted in ''VideoGame/SuikodenIV''. Though you are scapegoated and exiled for a crime you didn't commit early in the game, you do eventually come back. Given the circumstances of your return, it's not a very happy occasion. [[spoiler:And it's not really your homeland anyway. Ironically your original home is one of the first places you visit after you are exiled.]]
** In ''VideoGame/SuikodenV'', [[spoiler:you are forced to leave home when the palace is attacked and the hero's parents are killed, and are unable to return to Sol Falena until winning every battle in the game.]]
* ''Manga/InuYasha: Secret of the Cursed Mask'' (which has little to do with a cursed mask) the main character is yanked out of his or her time and can't return. Kagome's normal method of using the well is established early on to not work for the protagonist.
* In ''VideoGame/StarOcean1'', Roddick and his friends are invited by Captain Ronyx to join him on his starship in the hopes of finding a cure to a plague that is petrifying the inhabitants of his homeworld of Roak. Ronyx warns them, however, that should they accept, they would not be able to return home ever again, in accordance with the [[AlienNonInterferenceClause Undeveloped Planet Preservation Pact]].
* In ''VideoGame/{{Terranigma}}'', Ark is literally unable to return to his home in the underworld, as the portal in the ground closes after he goes to the surface. The game plays with this idea, allowing him to purchase a home in the surface world, but it only serves to heighten a sense of homesickness which the character comments on in one of the climaxes. In the end, he is finally allowed to return home... [[spoiler:only for him to seal it away by necessity, since his home was the domain of Dark Gaia.]]

* In ''VideoGame/JadeEmpire'', the village where the Spirit Monk and Dawn Star grew up is [[DoomedHometown burned to the ground at the end of the prologue]]. Subverted in that [[spoiler: the Spirit Monk actually gets to go to Dirge, their real home, later in the game]].

* In ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'', the trope is both played straight and averted for the six origins. Five of the six are not only able to return home, but ''have'' to return there in the course of playing the game. The Mage returns to the Circle of Magi during the "Broken Circle" quest; the City Elf helps drive slavers out of the Alienage where they grew up; the Dalish Elf returns to the Brecilian Forest to recruit members of another elven clan to help fight the darkspawn; and the Dwarf Noble and Dwarf Commoner both go back to Orzammar to settle the question of who becomes king. The trope is played painfully straight, however, for the Human Noble, whose ancestral home - Castle Cousland - is never seen again after the origin is completed, which is probably for the best since it's littered with the corpses of everyone else who lived there.
** Sten also has this issue, as he cannot return home to give his report because his sword was lost. As he explains it, the sword was forged for his hands, and he "was to die wielding it." If he returned home without it, he would be slain on-sight by the Qunari border guards as it would mean he was 'without his soul'.
** Zevran has quit his role as an Antivan Crow, and thus if he ever goes anywhere near Antiva again they'll probably have him assassinated.
** Leliana is in Ferelden after a botched mission left her with treason charges in Orlais.
* In ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'', Hawke's DoomedHometown of Lothering is destroyed by the Darkspawn horde at the beginning of the game. It's eventually rebuilt at some point over the next seven years, but by that time Hawke is pretty enmeshed in Kirkwall's problems and has begun to set in roots. However, Hawke's mother comments that Hawke and his/her siblings "are Fereldan to your toes," and dialogue in one minor quest can have Hawke state that despite their role as Champion of Kirkwall, s/he will always consider Ferelden to be their home.
** Invoked by Aveline when discussing her own reticence to return to post-Blight Ferelden in Act One, much like Hawke's family.
--> '''Aveline''': You can't go home again. That's supposed to be about maturity. It's not the same if you don't have the option.
** Fenris doesn't ''want'' to go home after all the Magisters of Tevinter did to him. Merrill's character arc begins with her leaving her clan to live in the Kirkwall alienage - [[spoiler: and the ''least'' bloody ending still leaves her exiled forever.]]
** The shipwrecked qunari platoon spend roughly four years "waiting for a second ship", when in reality they're stuck in Kirkwall until their Arishok recovers [[spoiler: their sacred text and the one who stole it.]] As Kirkwall is almost the perfect opposite of ordered qunari society, this really gets to the Arishok.

* In ''VideoGame/BaldursGate'', Gorion's influence was pretty much the only reason Ulraunt tolerated your presence in Candlekeep. When he dies, the fortress becomes as off limits to you as it is to the rest of the world. The sequel touches on this a few times as well: as time passes, you become a big fish in a very small pond -- even if they did let you go back home, [[StrangerInAFamiliarLand could you ever be content there?]]
** You can (and in fact have to) go back to Candlekeep some time after Gorion's death while following the conspiracy you have been embroiled in all this time, only to discover [[spoiler:that nearly everyone you knew there was killed and replaced by doppelgangers.]]
* In the ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}}'' universe, those High Elves who remain loyal to the Alliance, after most of their brethren join the Blood Elves who defect to the Horde. Also those humans and elves who fled the kingdom of Lordaeron when it fell to the [[ZombieApocalypse undead]].
** Recent developments in ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'': [[spoiler:The blood elves of formerly-neutral Dalaran have all been arrested, kicked out, or killed as the city-state joins the Alliance. Also, Vol'jin, leader of the Horde's trolls, lived through an assassination attempt from one of Garrosh's soldiers and is now hiding out in Pandaria while the Horde believes him dead.]]

* In ''[[VideoGame/{{X}} X: Beyond the Frontier]]'', Terran test pilot [[PlayerCharacter Kyle Brennan]] is marooned in a distant star system after the [[XtremeKoolLetterz Xperimental Shuttle's]] [[FasterThanLightTravel jumpdrive]] goes haywire during a test flight. He spends the rest of the game surviving, and the expansion pack ''[[StealthPun X-Tension]]'' building a MegaCorp called [=TerraCorp=] to try and develop a way to get back home.
** In ''X3: Reunion'', three games and several dozen years later, the Solar System is reconnected to the X-Universe's PortalNetwork at the end of the main plot. By this time, Kyle Brennan has a grown son in the X-Universe, is a war hero, and is the head of a multibillion-[[WeWillSpendCreditsInTheFuture credit]] company. At best, he'd likely be a StrangerInAFamiliarLand.
** The ''[[AllThereInTheManual X-Encyclopedia]]'' included in the X-Superbox series collection states that he did return to Earth after ''Reunion'', and began working as a political activist in favor of closer diplomatic relations between the Terrans and the Community of Planets. It didn't help much; Earth soon became embroiled in a SpaceColdWar with the Commonwealth, which erupted into a hot war about a decade later.

* This seems to be a common theme in ''Fallout'':
** The original ''VideoGame/{{Fallout1}}'' ends with the Vault Dweller being banished from his Vault, due to having been radically changed by his experiences in the wastes and possible hero worship amongst the Vault's younger dwellers causing them to leave en masse. They left anyway.
** Averted in ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 2}}'': Saving the tribe means The Chosen One gets to STAY with the tribe, wherever they're forced to go.
** At the beginning of ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'', [[PlayerCharacter the Lone Wanderer]] is living with their father, James, in the underground shelter Vault 101. However, when James leaves the Vault, the paranoid Vault Overseer tries to have the Wanderer killed, forcing them to flee into the Wasteland to find their father. Later, the Wanderer returns to the Vault to find that its inhabitants are embroiled in a civil war over whether or not to keep the Vault locked down. If the Wanderer finds a peaceful solution, their childhood friend Amata becomes the new Overseer. However, as she explains, a lot of people still blame them for everything that went wrong. For the sake of peace in the Vault, the Wanderer is forced to leave again, this time for good. And of course, if the Wanderer kills innocents or outright sabotages the life support systems, everyone in the Vault yells at you to leave.
** In ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'': Lonesome Road'', the Courier finds out that they [[WhereIWasBornAndRazed destroyed their implied hometown]] by delivering a mysterious package from Navarro that detonated the Divide's nuclear missiles.
** ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 4}}'': After 210 years in experimental cryo, your house is still standing, and even a few of your family members survived. But the house isn't the same after centuries of aging, and you lose your family (sans butler) in the end.
* Played with almost to the point of MindScrew in ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights2''. The [[PlayerCharacter Knight-Captain's]] DoomedHometown actually ''fights off'' the attack that normally destroys it in that trope, with only four villagers (a GuestStarPartyMember and three militia {{redshirt}}s) confirmed dead. About two-thirds of the way through the plot, the village actually ''is'' destroyed by the BigBad, [[spoiler:but most of the villagers survive and, in the good ending, return to rebuild]]. ''[[ExpansionPack Mask of the Betrayer]]'' takes the tack of moving the Knight-Captain to the other side of the continent. [[spoiler:In two of the MultipleEndings, s/he gets to go home and potentially get married there. Another two endings play it straight by either having the Knight-Captain stay on the Fugue Plane permanently to bind the Spirit-eater there, or having him/her embrace their hunger and go on a rampage through the universe eating every spirit in sight.]]

* In the first ''VideoGame/TheSims1'' game, if a child fails school, s/he will be sent to military school and will never be seen or heard from again. Same thing for couples who break up. One of them will leave the house and will never be seen or heard from again.
* In the ''Franchise/AceAttorney'' series, Misty Fey was forced into hiding after she was publicly disgraced after the DL-6 Incident. [[spoiler:Even after her name was cleared, in the first game, she isn't able to return to her old life.]]
* In ''VideoGame/LittleInferno'', the ArcWords are "You can go as far as you like, but you can't ever go back". [[spoiler:And when your home burns down, that's it - it's time for you to to walk away, go on an adventure, and find something to do in the world more worthwhile than burning things in a fireplace.]]
* In ''VideoGame/LufiaCurseOfTheSinistrals'', after Daos threatens all who ally themselves with Maxim, the people of every city in the world refuse to allow Maxim and his allies to enter—even Elcid and Parcelyte. [[spoiler:Once acquaintances of the party convince the world leaders to stand up against Daos and help stop Daos from inflicting his wrath, Maxim and his party are allowed back in.]]
* In ''VideoGame/DistortedTravesty'', after the heroes get warped into an amalgamate video game world, their first priority is finding a way to get back home. After a few levels, it's revealed that while they can technically go home, [[spoiler:their home has been warped into the same world. The "real" world is forever beyond their reach.]]
* This is the title of one of the achievements in the game ''VideoGame/DinoDDay'' awarded when an Axis(Nazi) player kills the two "defectors" Jakob Frank[[note]]The Allies team Heavy Weapons and German-born Jew[[/note]] and Trigger the Protoceratops[[note]]The Allies' TeamPet and rejected German dino[[/note]].
* ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear'': Axl Low is a cheery, goofy British guy who got ripped out of his home time and keeps skipping through time randomly. His whole mission is to find out what's wrong with him and how he can get back to his friends and his girlfriend Megumi. [[spoiler:Then in '''Xrd: Revelator'', he's hit with the TomatoInTheMirror that basically he's a sentient bundle of time magic who can erase and rewrite timelines at will, that his old timeline may not even exist anymore, and that returning to his original time will mean wiping out the world as it exists now as they're mutually exclusive. In the climax, he's faced with the choice of either returning home to Megumi and leaving this world and all his new friends to their fate, or using his powers to help Sol and being stranded in this time. [[HeroicSacrifice He decides on the latter]].]]
* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls''
** The [[OurElvesAreBetter Maormer (Sea Elves)]] were banished from Aldmeris, the ancient homeland of the {{Precursors}} of the races of Mer (Elves), after attempting a rebellion. There is said to be a literal veil of mist that they cannot penetrate surrounding their former home.
** The mythology of the ''ES'' universe is suggested to include a cycle of death and rebirth. However, souls which are claimed by a specific deity (such as a [[OurGodsAreDifferent Daedric Prince]]), are removed from this cycle and are taken to the realm of the deity in question to serve for eternity. Some mortals voluntarily serve deities and pledge their souls in this fashion, so it may not be too bad for them. (Such as [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent werewolves]] who enjoy this state of being and will gladly serve in Hircine's Hunting Grounds.) Some souls may end up this way involuntarily, such as those who die under the effects of a [[YourSoulIsMine Soul Trap spell]]. They are doomed to enter the [[SpiritWorld Soul Cairn]], created and ruled by the Ideal Masters ([[WasOnceAMan formerly mortal sorcerers]] who entered Oblivion as {{Energy Being}}s and traffic in souls).
* ''You'' if you're a player character in ''VideoGame/NexusClash''. Just being pulled into the titular Clash means that the entire universe you came from has been destroyed and no longer exists to go home ''to''. The best you can do is help win the war in the name of a [[PowersThatBe Power]] who will shape a new world more in line with your ideals, but even then you're stuck in the war and can't go live there.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Shadowverse}}'', this is what Rowen fears the most, [[spoiler:as the Black Dragon cursed him to transform into a dragon if his desire to protect someone is strong enough. At least not until he breaks the Black Dragon's curse, or else he'd be forced to kill his family.]]
* As we find out in ''VideoGame/CloseYourEyes'', this is emphasized in the "Husk" and "Recollection" endings, where [[spoiler:the world is a nuclear wasteland, thus escaping the V.I.E.W facility means escaping to nothing]].
* This happens to [[TheHero Rourke]] and [[CombatMedic Adair]] in ''VideoGame/LongGoneDays''. Following the game's FirstEpisodeTwist, Adair attempts to transfer Rourke to a field hospital, but they're spotted by a drone which misconstrues them being outside the mission area as desertion; this, combined with [[spoiler:Sgt. Branna hearing Rourke and Adair planning their escape]], forces the two of them on the run, unable to return to the Core.

* This is the title of one of the achievements in the game ''Dino D-Day'' awarded when an Axis(Nazi) player kills the two "defectors" Jakob Frank[[note]]The Allies team Heavy Weapons and German-born Jew[[/note]] and Trigger the Protoceratops[[note]]The Allies' TeamPet and rejected German dino[[/note]].

* This happens to [[TheHero Rourke]] and [[CombatMedic Adair]] in ''VideoGame/LongGoneDays''. Following the game's FirstEpisodeTwist, Adair attempts to transfer Rourke to a field hospital, but they're spotted by a drone which misconstrues them being outside the mission area as desertion; as a result, they're both forced on the run and unable to return to the Core.

** The Ala Mhigans in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'' were ousted by the [[TheEmpire Garlean Empire]] from their homeland and were unable to return. By the events of the ''Stormblood'' expansion, the player character liberates Ala Mhigo from the Garleans, allowing most of the refugees to return home after being away for decades.