If the game’s conclusion falls short of expectations, it won’t matter how well the rest of it is made. Having the tale end on a cliffhanger is the worst possible way to conclude it, and it may bring down even the best game. Here are some of the most disappointing conclusions to video games ever created, so you can save yourself the heartbreak.

Games with the worst endings ever

The majority of these endings make the cardinal sin of storytelling by failing to fulfill the expectations set by the rest of the game. The gamer is likely to feel disappointed, wishing something more significant had occurred. For this list, we looked for games that were solid in many respects but ultimately fell short due to some combination of subpar story design and/or gameplay.

Batman: Arkham Asylum

This is one of the best Batman games ever made, providing players a Dark Knight that is both formidable and insightful. The game as a whole is excellent, with many of fun nods to the comics, but the climax, in which Joker injects himself with the Titan formula and turns into a huge monster, lacks the excitement and brain teasers of the rest of the game. Ultimately, it’s just another standard battle that requires somewhat better timing than usual to win.

Dragon Age 2

Dragon Age 2’s rushed and monotonous gameplay didn’t assist the game’s already uphill battle against its predecessor’s high standards. However, the finale was the largest problem for many viewers because it didn’t provide the variety of options they were hoping for. Regardless of your final alliance, you’ll still encounter the same two bosses and watch as Hawke drives out of town. It’s annoying and artificial, and it’s something BioWare has had trouble with in previous games as well.

Enslaved: Odyssey To The West

This was a great game if you enjoy modern adaptations of Journey to the West. Monkey was as brash and powerful as we’d hoped, and Trip presented us with some fun challenges. Up until the announcement that robots are kidnapping humans to put them in a safe and comforting virtual reality world, the game was a decent action-adventure. It’s incomprehensible in light of the game’s development to this point and comes out as hasty, unimaginative, and cheap.

Fable

Although later entries in the Fable series have fallen short of their lofty goals, the original was a groundbreaking experience. The morality of the final decision was the most obvious and forced I have ever seen. You have two options: either save your sister, the driving force behind your adventuring, or kill her to amass immense power. Though potentially intriguing, the decision is made after the game’s final boss has been defeated, so it has no bearing on how the plot progresses.

Final Fantasy VIII

While the endings of all Final Fantasy games tend to get strange, the games themselves usually attempt to follow some sort of internal logic. Due of its wildly varying narrative, Final Fantasy VIII ranks among the series’ lowest. However, the finale, which involves accelerated time and distorted memories, ignores important developments and even contradicts the player’s prior understanding. Even in a game with so many flaws, this conclusion stands out as one of the worst.

Halo 2

In a trio, it’s not easy to be the middle child. The first game serves as an opportunity to introduce the players to the world and the cast of characters. Third-place game gets to wrap things up. In many games, the section in the middle feels like an afterthought, serving only to prime the audience for the conclusion. In Halo 2, the Master Chief leaves a mysterious message saying, “Finishing this conflict,” before the credits roll. The cliffhanger set up Halo 3, but that’s little consolation to the players who had to wait years more to find out what happened.

Heavy Rain

Despite its outward presentation as a murder mystery, this Quantic Dream title breaks some of the genre’s core conventions in its final act. Heavy Rain breaks one of the cardinal rules of detective fiction by placing the onus of solving the mystery squarely on the reader’s or player’s shoulders by identifying Scott Shelby as the Origami Killer despite a plethora of evidence to the contrary. It’s lazy and disingenuous, like the creator just threw a curveball at the end without giving the player any warning.

Indigo Prophecy

This game, known as Fahrenheit elsewhere, marked a turning point for creator Quantic Dream and prefigured many of the hallmarks of their subsequent works. The plot follows a supernatural murder mystery that gets out of hand, and it is recounted from many perspectives. The majority of the game is excellent, but the ending involves a fight between the protagonist and a mysterious Mayan shaman in the style of an anime episode. It doesn’t fit in with the rest of the game at all, and it makes no sense.

Infamous: Second Son

Infamous: Second Son is a fantastic game and a strong PS4 launch release, so this choice could be met with some resistance. It offers a humorous and interesting tale of a new hero struggling to make it in a world where people suddenly have abilities again. A major issue is how abruptly it finishes. The game abruptly stops, the credits begin to roll, and the story seems to be entering its climax. The game seems to have been hurried to console release, ending a potentially great series.

Mass Effect 3

Sure, you may have been surprised to see this game here, but admit it: you knew it would make the cut. The finale is so disappointing that it has become nearly a cliche, yet that is partially justified by how well the remainder of Mass Effect 3 is executed. Every incredible moment in the game, from Morden’s death scene to the end of the endless conflict between the Geth and the Quarians to the final assault on the Reapers themselves, is ruined by the conclusion, which does away with all of the player’s decisions up to that point and presents a boring binary ending.