I know I talk a lot about crying over video games, but it’s only because it’s true.
I’ve always found myself getting overly emotional about certain video games. For a game to have the ability to trigger something in my psyche that makes me blubber like a baby, that’s truly something else.
There are quite a few that have had this effect on me. I would say the games that stick out the most would be:
- Undertale – There’s a reason why this is one of my favourite games of all time. The characters in Undertale very quickly grow on you, especially if you do the True Pacifist route first as I did. Making the world right for these monsters who are also my besties made me emotional, and attempting to do a Genocide route later proved difficult when I encountered the consequences of my actions: the characters being horrifically sad and scarred by my actions. Even listening to the music makes me emotional.
- Spiritfarer – OOF. This game hurt (in a good way). Spiritfarer is undeniably a beautiful story about helping others move on, and similarly to Undertale it makes you care about the characters that come on your boat. I cried very early on in this game and continued to do so every time I helped a new spirit.
- Journey – This one was a tearful experience that I couldn’t even understand at that moment. I was weeping while the credits rolled and remember saying out loud, “I don’t know why I’m crying right now”. Journey is an undeniably beautiful game for many reasons, and is another one where I still get emotional listening to the soundtrack. Honking away to my mystery co-op partner to the very end… Sorry, thinking about it now is once again making me feel wistful.
I’m not one to think that my experiences are entirely unique, as there are over 7 billion people on planet Earth so surely someone has felt things the way I have. In saying that, I decided to go on the internet (as one does) and ask the Twitter public about what games left their mark on them, made them feel something, made them cry, or just left them thinking about it long after they were done.
As we know, I did a little something like this not too long ago, asking people what games they have the most playtime in. This post, on the other hand, comes from personal curiosity. While I love writing about video games, what I love even more is listening to others talk about their experiences with video games.
Different forms of media can have an effect on us in different ways, but video games feel a little bit different to me as the experience is interactive, so in a way you’re acting out the main characters’ possibly emotional experience, leading it to make you feel a similar way. I think it’s beautiful.
So it turns out, a fuckload of people cry over video games. I got a LOT of responses, so here are a few of them. You can check out all the responses here.
Its been eight years since I played Valiant Hearts: The Great War, and every now and then I am crushed by the memory of it.
— David Smith (@RhunWords) August 1, 2022
Answer to every question is Outer Wilds.
— Mark Serrels (@Serrels) August 1, 2022
assassins creed black flag i will be taking no further questions
— Luke Plunkett (@LukePlunkett) August 1, 2022
The entire Danganronpa series has taken up permanent lodgings inside my head. The third/final game wasn’t my favourite and had a janky ending but I still feel sad, confused and overwhelmed by the outcome.
— リノ (@rinoaskyes) August 1, 2022
Pokemon Mystery Dungeon got me GOOD. I was an emotional mess the moment I saw my partner Pikachu crying over my disappearance 🥺 They didn’t have to go so hard on the feels.
— Isabella Noyes 🦋 (@belnoyeswriter) August 2, 2022
Inside. I finished that in one sitting on a rainy afternoon and sat looking at the final screen long after it was over, tears in my eyes
— liam™ (@muchliam_) August 1, 2022
this moment from The Beginners Guide definitely made me cry and has remained very important to me. it’s a motto I’ve carried in my life pic.twitter.com/DdyestUhkN
— sleepy (@sleepy_nice) August 1, 2022
Spec ops:The line. I still think about the white phosphorus scene often and am horrified whenever I hear it being used in wars.
— scree (@scree06) August 2, 2022
Spider-Man PS4s ending made me ugly cry in my living room followed by an immediate hit of bimbo desire when I went straight into the black cat sequel dlc.
— Dylan Bishop (@iamdylanbishop) August 1, 2022
Life is Strange: True Colours already hit hard but add the lockdown on top of that and I was a mess
— Lauren Rouse (@LRouse19) August 2, 2022
Not cry but just supremely depressed. The Last of Us 2 was a great story of someone losing everything because they couldn’t let go of their hatred. Amazing.
— Dr. Ryan (@dr_ryan) August 2, 2022
Celeste. Finished it and sat with it for months. Drunkenly yelled at friends to play it. Still bring it up to people.
— Dan Crowd (@itsdancrowd) August 1, 2022
Probably a cliche answer but Walking Dead S1. Easily the most invested in + devastated by narrative choices I’ve ever been, and I’m not even huge on zombie horror/survival drama, let alone TWD the franchise
— dale bastion (@DaleBastion) August 1, 2022
The first Kingdom Hearts game – and many of the other games from that series.
But the final moment from that game where Sora & Kairi get separated again and he promises to come and find her :’)
— Radio Mike (@itsradiomike) August 1, 2022
That was Rime for me. Made me an emotional wreck. I cry every time I play that game and when I do play, I feel emotions I’ve never really felt before and I don’t know why.
— Aliesha (@liessshy) August 1, 2022
Environmentally, the heart shaped lake in BOTW ruined me. I don’t play that game much anymore, but every now and the. I’ll load it up and slowly make my way without any fast travelling to the lake and just sit there for a bit and reflect. Has enormous sentimental value to me.
— wolfjay (@wo1fjay) August 1, 2022
Beyond Good & Evil
It has a gorgeous world and family of outcast characters to fall in love with. There are consequences to your actions in the story that damage both you and them.
Things do resolve but characters are changed and it leaves on an introspective but hopeful note.
— We Made a Thing 🔜 Gamescom (@wemadeathingtv) August 1, 2022
I’ll never stop preaching the word of Mutazione, it did such a stellar job at endearing me to its setting and characters, so saying goodbye to that world when the credits came hurt my soul.
Also there are pinpoint moments in Sayonara Wild Hearts that live in my head rent free.
— Kieron Verbrugge (@hash_braun) August 1, 2022
Everything makes me cry but probably Brothers A Tale of Two Sons, super powerful game, clever mechanics that have real payoff
— Jess McDonell (@JessMcDonell) August 2, 2022
Shed massive gamer tears in Before Your Eyes. Like had to pause the game for a little sook 😭
— ClassicMiddleton (@ChrisLMiddleton) August 2, 2022
literally heart wrenching pic.twitter.com/2eJVaN6iuu
— your future favorite regret (@punchthegoose) August 2, 2022
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter. Ruinously sad reveal at the end.
— Cherished Rapscallion (@16Tacos) August 1, 2022
1) Fall Out New Vegas – when you play The Lonesome Road as the last of the DLC 2) The Witcher 3 when you finish Blood and Wine, I cried so much because no matter what choices you make somebody shows up to Geralts place 😭😭😭
— princess gia 💕 (@Giajamesxox) August 1, 2022
Eastshade got me real good. Small open world game where you paint and do errands for animal folk instead of combat. Ideas like community, the passage of time, love and art are played with and the final minutes still make my chest tight.
— James W. 🏳️🌈 (@OmgMoreJames) August 1, 2022
Planescape: Torment didn’t make me cry, but did make me thoughtful: the sad and seemingly inescapable nature of the endings, the planes, your friends’ courage at the end…
The game I wept over, though? Planetfall. And now I will find an ice floe.
— Isabel Cooper (@ICooperAuthor) August 2, 2022
Gone Home is probably the one that has kept me thinking about longest after I played it. Finished it in one sitting about 8 years ago, never played it again, but it still jumps back into my mind occasionally, and I tend to forget game details very quickly.
— Alex Dullard (@alexdullard) August 1, 2022
Celeste. I love platformers and pixel art but was not ready for the impact and themes of the story. The soundtrack was brillant and helped amplify every feeling. I was going through a tough time around then and that game was almost like therapy. I felt “seen” & wasn’t alone pic.twitter.com/874eAOoGOH
— Buddy Watson (@BuddyWatson12) August 1, 2022
I’m the first to mention Disco Elysium???????
— extra fungible (@interestingdan) August 2, 2022
The Gardens Between – especially with the @timshiel soundtrack
— Anatole (@anatolemusic) August 2, 2022
I also came here to say Undertale. Like a ton of bricks.
— Kev Likes Games (@TheLudologist) August 2, 2022
this is an easy one but Spec Ops: The Line. being asked “does killing people make you feel good or something” during the loading screen makes you think a bit
— Tom Cruise IS Vincent Collateral 💉💉 💉 (@simonlayne) August 1, 2022
Journey made me cry like a baby.
I may have been projecting a bit because my uncle, who I was close to, was dying from cancer when I played it. The ending was kind of like seeing him off.
— Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes Enthusiast (@UnbearableDutch) August 1, 2022
Now I’m thinking about the FAQ where they said characters who aren’t easy to love still need to find peace, and it’s your job to help them anyway
— Tyler Petty (@TylerJPetty) August 2, 2022
What Remains of Edith Finch really shook me. Loved it.
— James O’Connor (@Jickle) August 2, 2022
That Dragon, Cancer. There are a couple of sevens in particular that just break you, particularly one which is basically the calm after the storm and you sit there in silence and I just bawled for like 5 min
— Joshua Apter (@Aptermus) August 2, 2022
I think it is gentler games for me… Spiritfarer or A Short Hike. Games that give you the time to just sit and reflect on the actions you took, or fly through the air after calling your mum.
— Robbie Nicol (@RobbieNicol) August 1, 2022
The big finale of Ghost Trick fucked me up. Surprisingly beautiful game!
— LEVINS (@levinsonline) August 2, 2022
The Last Guardian. I got so attached to Trico that I started crying uncontrollably when I realised I had to send him away at the end. So much so I almost missed the epilogue that was hopeful.
I then just sat in the shower for an hour, staring at nothing.
— .\ussiemuser (@aussiemuser) August 2, 2022
And now, I turn it over to you folks. Reading your experiences with the games that you play in the comments over the past few months has been awesome, and I value it more than you know.
I’d love to know now: What video game stuck with you? Made you feel something? Maybe even made you cry? Let me know!
For me it was two games
Ghost dying in MW2 and the finale of Endwalker, particularly that final walk. FFXIV players will understand what I’m talking about.
A LOT of people mentioned FFXIV!!
Endwalker takes the knife, stabs you, stabs you several more times and then twists them all at once. As you progress, it just adds stabs. It is incredibly emotional, and yet, hopeful.
I’m incredibly cynical and was like yeah, they’ll be back.
Meanwhile, my tweet about Spec ops made it in. I seriously was messed up when I found out that you didn’t *have* to follow the options given in one scene and could shoot the sniper. It isn’t a game, it’s an experience and an awful one at that.
Mine is cliche but far from the twitch cliche.
It was the death (more the laying to rest) of Aeris In FFVII.
KH got me at the end too.
Played a lot of emotional stuff since that have broken my heart but nothing that’s got me to tears that I can recall.
There is something that absolutely rolled me in my adult years though that I often laugh about…it wasn’t a game though.
I read One Piece at work and when I got to the infamous death of Merry I was hit pretty damn hard. (Shaken but not crying)
My partner happened to call me and could tell something was wrong but thought I was a crazy person when I told her a boat had died.
Some years later we got around to watching the anime and I had the opportunity for some revenge, believing prior knowledge and experience would mean I could hold it together while she lost it.
As she ugly blubbered on the couch next to me I managed to stay composed…..right up till Merry spoke.
The combination of the voice, music and her wailing beside me was a bit too much unfortunately.
Afterward we both belly laughed for a good ten minutes and she finally conceded that she understood.
This is beautiful, there is NO shame in crying over a boat dying.
Ori and the Blind forest and it’s follow up, Will of the wisps.
Absolutely gutted me at multiple points. The end of the second game was so tragically beautiful, I just cried.
Mordin in Mass Effect 3. That hit hard. And the fact you hear his song trail off…
Also, I unashamedly choked up at Dom’s death in Gears of War 3. For such a meathead game, the fact it could pull of such an emotional scene was impressive.
No video game has made me “cry” yet, but there are some games where I have gotten teary eyed, and they really pulled at my heart strings (I don’t know if that’s “crying” or not, sorry).
Anyway, I’ll try to minimize spoilers, but the games that jump out immediately off the top of my head, in no particular order:
– Red Dead Redemption 2
– Marvel’s Spider-Man
– The Last of Us
– Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy
– Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End
– Final Fantasy XV
– Final Fantasy X
– Mass Effect 3 (after playing the trilogy with all DLC back to back)
There’s probably more, but I can’t think of ’em… from the current list above, if I had to select one to “take the cake”, it would probably be Marvel’s Spider-Man.
I don’t cry, but I can tell you what made me go ‘awww that sucks’
Lufia 2 ending, where everyone was celebrating the bad guys defeat, and awaiting the heroes return so they could take part in the celebration, and it shows little cutscenes of all the towns you’ve been to, and characters whom have had their lives affected by the heroes efforts, and then it shows the main heroes’ baby being all cute and going gaga mama dada
But yeah during all this, the main heroes’ are spirits watching all of this… Cause they’re dead, they died saving everyone, and nobody knows this, end credits
Max Payne 2.
When Mona Sax is killed at the end, I sat there stunned. I actually wne t and played the game on its hardest level, because that ending is different to all the others.
Cyberpunk: The Suicide Ending
Going through the final act, and the subsequent video messages, plus an excellent soundtrack, really made it an emotional ending
Modern Warfare 2
The betrayal by Shepherd was a real gut punch.
First one?
OG Final Fantasy VII – Aerith’s death. That absolutely ruined me. I hadn’t played Phantasy Star IV so the mere thought of them killing off the female lead like that was unthinkable.
Over the years there have been many that have hit me hard, with Life is Strange’s ending, and various Cyberpunk 2077 endings right up there.
But the greatest absolute heartbreaker that has me bawling my eyes out every time I even hear the music?
Fate/Stay Night. Unlimited Bladeworks route with THE fight between Archer and Shirou in the mansion. Where despite all the abuse, all the insults, despite the agony of his body breaking apart and being beaten down, Shirou refuses to give up his dream, to prove to his future self that despite knowing all the pain, loss and betrayals that would come until the end of his days, that he would hold to the dream that truly was his, to be someone’s hero as Kiritsugu was his.
Thats the reason why ‘I am the bone of my sword’ has such an impact.
… even if that totally trash Heaven’s Feel route tries to ruin everything that makes UBW the best route. 😛
Bioshock infinite DLC.
Elizabeth turning into ‘that’ then getting knocked off just so Kenny could tie it all together. I felt so utterly betrayed like it was all a waste.
Oh wait, you mean the other type of crying.
Uncharted 4. I Really thought they were gonna bump off Nate but when he got his happy ending instead.
Last of us 1.
When i replayed the Mass Effect trilogy.
Spiderman when X dies.
Actually….tbh…i cry a lot, so it doesnt take much.
Just tug on some heart strings, maybe dealing with some parental figure or sacrifice for love, put on some sappy music and it probably got me.
To The Moon. A beautiful thing that everyone should experience. Sat for a good five minutes blubbing after the end.
This was the one that showed me games can be art. It’s wonderful, and if you haven’t played it, you’re missing out.
I absolutely LOVED To The Moon!! I also cried.
Outer Wilds – Not because I was sad, not because I was happy, but rather because I was just feeling everything.
Telltale’s The Walking Dead – Almost obligatory in these sort of lists, but here for a great reason. Probably still the best protagonist and non-protagonist relationship in any game in my opinion.
Metal Gear Solid 3 – For a game that mostly was incredibly silly and full of ridiculous nonsense there was a particular scene at the end that absolutely got me.
Half-Life: Alyx – This one surprised me, but the ending got to me in a way I didn’t think it would.
Telltale’s The Walking Dead: The Final Season – Honestly this one just felt manipulative and almost entirely reliant on what attachment I had built to Clementine in the first game, but all the same it was effective.
Undertale – Also pretty obligatory, but also here for good reason.
Life is Strange – It got to me in a way few games have – so incredibly earnest that despite some lines falling ‘hella’ flat it still conjured up the intensity, feelings and headspace I remembered from being a teenager, along with the emotional weight that entailed.
Mass Effect 3 – While not my favourite of the series it had some damn good moments and fantastic finishes to specific character arcs.
I’m pretty sure I missed a bunch, I tend to cry pretty easily, though usually more so in films and TV than games.