Assassin’s Creed III
The first divisive ending that causes a lot of discussion has nothing to do with our boy Connor Kenway in Assassin’s Creed 3. His ending was more or less fine. Desmond’s, on the other hand, is one that gets mixed reviews.
The fact that he had no other choice but to sacrifice himself in an effort to save the world from the apocalypse would be fine if the actual modern-day plotline was fleshed out a bit more. All of this seemed a bit rushed and you can argue that killing off the main character when a series isn’t done never really goes well.
Though, you could also say that this was a fitting way for Desmond to end because his character development led him to be able to make this decision. Regardless, a lot of us can agree that the Assassin’s Creed series hasn’t been the same since his death.
Either way, we are absolutely ready for what Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla will bring.
Halo 2
The Halo series is fantastic. Or, well, depending on who you are, you could say it’s been fantastic up until Halo: Reach. You could also say that Halo 2’s kind of divisive ending leaves much to be desired as compared to the rest of the game and to the others in the series.
Cliffhanger endings more or less work depending on how you structure them but Halo 2’s abrupt ending made the entire journey up until that point feel like it suddenly just left you hanging.
It was such an obvious lead up into Halo 3 but you could also argue that this ending just showed how badass Master Chief is. He had to leave Cortana behind on High Charity and, as he says, finish the fight without any hesitation.
Either way, we’re glad Halo 2 has finally been released in the Master Chief Collection.
Borderlands
Borderlands 1 isn’t as popular as its sequels and that’s probably because of everyone’s mixed feelings about the ending. Vaults are a key part of the lore and setting within the series and throughout the first Borderlands, they were made out to seem like some incredibly powerful and important structures.
However, we finally reach the end of the game to open up the fabled vault only to…close it again. There are parallels to Greek mythology here with the planet of Pandora, Pandora’s Box, and the vaults but it was still kind of lackluster.
Of course, you could also say the ending is a bit poetic and that the vault does serve a purpose. Just like Borderlands 3, the first game’s ending may or may not give you the satisfaction you were expecting.
Half-Life 2
Half-Life 2 is a cult classic at this point and maybe one day we’ll finally get a Half-Life 3. Regardless, the ending the game has left us with for the past 16 years is something a lot of people have discussed.
Gordon more or less saves the world, gets snatched up by G-Man, and goes to sleep for the foreseeable future. For those of you who like the G-Man as a character, you probably think this ending is fine. However, it also makes people scratch their heads and just become the personification of “????”.
Maybe Valve knew they weren’t going to make a Half-Life game for the next 20 years and they were just bidding their time. Either way, with Half-Life: Alyx’s positive reception, we might get that new Half-Life game sometime soon.
BioShock Infinite
First of all, BioShock Infinite is a wonderful game. Its atmosphere is fantastic and its characters are complex and interesting. The story grabs your attention for much of the game but once we get near the end it takes a trip on the wild side.
It brings in paradoxes, parallel universes, and hundreds of Elizabeths. The way they “fix” the cyclical problem they are faced with is by drowning Booker so that none of these terrible events can unfold again.
Some people understand it and some people don’t. I personally like it even though it makes my head hurt but it is a tad bit convoluted and enormous in scale.
Everything was meant to come full circle at the end of this and, depending on your opinion, it does but just in a cosmic way. The game’s DLC, Burial At Sea, does the same thing but that’s its own can of worms.
Mass Effect 3
Mass Effect 3 is notorious for having a divisive ending. Three incredible games tell an epic and grand galactic journey that ends in a way that a lot of us weren’t expecting.
The Mass Effect series is heavily defined by the choices you make and their consequences so when Mass Effect 3 literally just gives us three (well, four) choices to pick from for an ending, it makes everything we’ve done up until this point feel fixed upon a specific path.
However, in true Mass Effect fashion, the game’s ending is still as epic as you could expect especially since the whole galaxy has come together to beat up the Reapers.
Teamwork makes the dream work here but this ending could have been so much better. We still want that Mass Effect series remaster though.
Fallout 3
Fallout 3 revived the Fallout series and paved the way for the types of Fallout games we would get after it. It was a great game but its ending is quite literally just an end.
Once you finish the last mission, that’s it. There’s no exploring the map afterwards or finishing up side quests you have left. Technically, if you have the DLC, then you can but having the post-game dependent upon something you have to buy isn’t fun.
Though, like New Vegas, some could say that since the story for your character is essentially over then the game should just end. Everything should be contained within the “canon” time frame. Regardless, Fallout 3 is still a pretty great game and we’re glad the series took a turn to open world.
Fable II
In a way similar to Mass Effect 3, Fable 2’s rather divisive ending is a bit of a discussion. In true Fable fashion, you’re left with a choice to make, and, of course, it’s between three options.
In theory, the choices are pretty simple but when you do choose one over the other, they generally don’t go the way that you expected them to. Even then, the fact that you only have three choices could be seen as a little bit limiting. The things that you have to choose between are also related in a weird way.
Though, you could also say that this is all apart of Fable’s charm and that picking between people, money, or your dog is absolutely unsurprising. The Fable series has that special something that just makes it unique and Fable 2’s ending(s) make that more apparent.
Prince of Persia (2008)
Prince of Persia (2008) is an incredibly fun parkour adventure full of angry gods and Nolan North. It has some pretty unique boss designs and gameplay aspects that make it a very exciting game. Its ending, however, leaves much to be desired.
After cleansing and purifying every section of the kingdom, Elika sacrifices herself to fully prevent the world from falling victim to Ahriman. However, the Prince doesn’t take too kindly to this and destroys the tree keeping the entire world together.
This brings Elika back even though this effectively does exactly what her father had done at the beginning of the game. The world is doomed again. Great.
The game essentially comes full circle but in a more negative ctrl+z way. Everything you did to get to the end is completely undone and you’re left wondering what the hell the point of everything you did was.
However, on a more positive note, it’s also appealing in the fact that you understand Elika’s dad a little better and the development in the Prince’s character becomes well-rounded. Either way, the game has some pretty gnarly parkour.
God of War III
Before the newest God of War, God of War 3 was essentially the end of Kratos’ story. The game is meant to have a satisfying conclusion but, depending on who you are, it has a very divisive ending that can seem very cheesy.
Kratos sacrificing himself for the greater good is nice and all but it felt like a cheesy cop-out for such an emotionally driven journey towards revenge. A lot of us would have rather seen Kratos beat down Zeus and then take over the world.
On the other hand, this shows the blatant change in Kratos’ character which was originally just so intensely full of rage. Kratos has come so far and it’s good to see that he didn’t lose himself at some point in the journey.
Now, he’s just a very tired old man who’s done with gods and just doesn’t want his son to die.
The Last of Us
The Last of Us is one of the best games of the last decade. There’s no doubt about that but its ending is a bit of a discussion topic among the community. Regardless of your opinion on what happened, it’s still a very memorable ending.
On the one hand, Joel shouldn’t have lied to Ellie but on the other, you can understand why he did the things that he did. He literally stopped a world-ending virus from being cured because he didn’t want Ellie to die.
Some might say that’s selfish. Some might say that that was the only way his character arc was going to go. He didn’t want to lose another daughter so his actions make sense.
We are simply just incredibly excited for The Last of Us Part II and the wild, emotional ride it will surely take us on.
Call of Duty: Black Ops III
Black Ops III is incredibly confusing. It doesn’t really start off that way but it progressively gets more convoluted the further and further you get through the game.
Its rather divisive ending is the culmination of ambition, philosophy, psychology, and guns. The idea of the unattainable Frozen Forest and the illusions caused by augmentations turns into a weird Inception-esque roller coaster that finishes in a bunch of question marks.
For those of you that did understand the ending, the game can be seen as one of those psychological thrillers that excitedly throws a curveball at you.
Either way, I think we can all agree that Black Ops III’s story is just weird.
Kingdom Hearts 3
We finish up with Kingdom Hearts 3 which has a rather divisive ending. Granted, KH3, on its own, has a rather mixed reception. Some people love it and some people hate it. Because of that, its ending can be taken one of several different ways.
Xehanort’s defeat is expected because this is the end of the incredibly long arc within the Kingdom Hearts franchise. However, Sora’s sudden off-screen journey to find Kairi makes everyone’s characterizations take a weird left turn.
Goofy and Donald would have absolutely gone with him and it’s out of character for Riku, Kairi’s other best friend, to just let Sora go on this journey by himself. Then, it culminates in a #KingdomHearts music video ending with Sora turning into dust.
From the game’s post-credits scene, we know Sora isn’t actually dead and this will absolutely lead into Kingdom Hearts 4. This ending also gives people so much material for theories and speculation about why everyone acted this specific way and why certain events went the way they did.
Kingdom Hearts has the kind of story that has a lot of implications and the only way to have our questions answered is to impatiently wait for the next game to come out.
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