Horror Games With The Best Endings

Key Takeaways

• Games need satisfying conclusions that match the quality of the story, not necessarily happy endings.
• Henri’s bleak fate in Amnesia: The Bunker and Simon’s remain in SOMA offer dark conclusions.
• Player choices affect the ending in BioShock, where saving the Little Sisters leads to a good ending.

All good things must come to an end, and a good ending can make or break most games. After dedicating hours to exploring the world, facing off against a dangerous threat, and bonding with the character they are playing as, gamers need to feel a sense of closure and that everything they did was all worth it.

This doesn’t necessarily need to mean that the ending was a happy one or that even their character survived. It needs to be a satisfying conclusion that matches the quality of the rest of the writing, whether it is happy, sad, a twist ending, or a cliffhanger hinting at a possible sequel in the near future.

8 Amnesia: The Bunker

Escaping Offers Henri No Reprieve

In the midst of a WW1 battle, Henri flees enemy bombardment into a dark bunker, but what lies inside might even be worse. Henri must manage limited fuel to keep parts of the bunker lit, or he may be vulnerable to attacks from the Beast, a horrifying creature that dwells in the shadows.

After a grueling experience of trying to survive the bunker and the Beast, Henri eventually escapes back onto the surface, regardless of the fate of the creature. He falls into a crater full of corpses as enemy forces draw near, which most likely means his fate is sealed. It’s a bleak ending that offers no happiness or safety for Henri, in or outside of the bunker.

7 SOMA

One Version Of Simon Remains Left Behind

The survivor of a car accident, Simon Jarrett, did not escape unscathed. He suffered major damage to his brain, prompting him to agree to an experimental brain scan that could result in his injuries being completely healed. However, he wakes up in an underground water facility, and it would seem during the time he was unconscious, the world suffered an apocalyptic event that has wiped away nearly all life above the sea.

The only chance Simon has at escaping the facility is by launching the Ark, a digital blackbox that houses a simulated world where all the consciousness of the staff have been placed. The ending begins with a peak into paradise. Simon is now in a human body, meeting back up with Catherine. Then, players are taken back to the dark. In this chilling ending, only a copy of Simon has been sent, and another version of him remains trapped forever.

6 BioShock

Players’ Treatment of the Little Sisters Determines Their Ending

Jack finds himself arriving in the dilapidated underwater city Rapture after a plane crashes into the ocean, with only a lighthouse serving as any sort of landmark. This once hidden utopia for the upper echelons of society has fallen far from grace. The glittering and glamorous folk who once lived here have devolved into splicers, and the only other forms of life are the eerie Little Sisters and dangerous Big Daddies.

The latter two play a pivotal role in how Jack’s story wraps up. Harvesting too many Little Sisters results in the bad ending, in which Jack seizes control of Rapture and steals nuclear weapons. The good ending comes from saving the Little Sisters, which shows Jack and the rescued sisters escaping to the surface and leading a good life. After enduring all the horrors of Rapture, it is what these characters deserve.

5 The Last Of Us

Joel Destroys Everything To Save Ellie

In times of zombie apocalypses, the promise of a cure is the most wanted and wished for thing there is. It offers a chance to reverse the infection that has seized control of the entire world and maybe even bring civilization back to what it was before the outbreak. It’s this promise that spurs Joel into reluctantly traveling across the country with young Ellie in tow, who is said to be immune to the bite of the clickers and the key humanity needs for synthesizing a vaccine.

Their tenuous bond develops over the course of the game until the two are like family, with Joel acting as a father figure in Ellie’s life. What he doesn’t learn until delivering Ellie to the hospital is that she must die in order to create the cure, so Joel decides to not allow the operation to happen, shooting his way through the hospital and saving Ellie’s life. Not all players might agree with Joel’s choice, but there is no denying that it’s solid proof of how much he loves Ellie, prompting players to also consider what they would do in the same situation.

4 Signalis

The Promise Ending Offers A Heart-Shattering Conclusion

Signalis takes place in a totalitarian future, in which creations known as Replikas are used for workers and soldiers. Players control one of these Replikas, a ship technician who awakens from a crash and sets off to find Ariane, someone important she once made a promise to. Decisions made throughout the game can result in influencing which ending the player achieves, with a possible total of 5 including the false ending.

The promise ending is not the ‘good’ ending of the experience, but it is one to aim for if players like a good dose of tragedy to close things with. In it, Ester finally finds Ariane, remembers the promise she made, and kills her. Having suffered injuries, Ester herself succumbs to death right next to her, resulting in a tragic scene that matches the sober theme of this dystopian game.

3 Little Nightmares 2

An Unforeseen Betrayal Reveals a Dark Secret

Fans of the original Little Nightmares were no doubt overjoyed to see Six returning in the sequel, which had players controlling series newcomer Mono through the horrors of the Pale City. On his way, he will meet Six, and the two set off together, helping each other overcome various obstacles, and escape the dreaded Thin Man. Such an adventure would surely bond the two together for life as close friends, but even this bond was not enough.

After saving Six, the two jump over a gap – Six first, and then Mono, who almost falls. Six catches him, only to let go, allowing him to plunge down into darkness and unveiling a dark secret about the character. It turns out that Mono was the Thin Man all along. This revelation paired with Six’s betrayal marks this ending as one of the most shocking in horror video game history, and one that will stick with fans for a long time.

2 Resident Evil Village

The Winters’ Storyline Reaches Its Bittersweet Conclusion

Resident Evil broke away from casting a tried and true hero as the player character in the seventh installment, introducing Ethan Winters. Village sees him return, exploring a remote Romanian village in search of his infant daughter Rosemary. He quite literally risks life and limb in order to save her from the Four Lords and the village leader, Mother Miranda, who intends to use her in a ritual to resurrect her own daughter.

In the end, he, of course, saves his daughter just as he did Mia in the previous installment, but he knows that he needs to put a stop to the megamycete once and for all. In order to save Rose, he detonates the bomb himself to save his family. It is a bittersweet send off to this family, showing the love Ethan had for his daughter and leaving the stage open for a new or returning character for Resident Evil 9. There are few who could honestly say they made it through this ending without shedding a tear or two.

1 Silent Hill 2

The Leave Ending Provides Closure For James And The Player

The second installment in this fabled psychological horror game features a break in the storyline laid out in the first game, focusing on the more grounded and personal tale of James Sunderland, who traveled to the titular town after receiving a letter from his deceased wife, inviting him to meet her at their special place. What he finds when he reaches the town, however, are monsters more horrifying than he could ever comprehend and other characters braving the town for their own reasons.

Decisions and items collected along the way influence the outcome of James’s story, with the Leave ending being considered among the best. In this ending, players will see James and Laura departing town together, with the audio of Mary reading her letter, adding a layer of tragedy over this otherwise tranquil scene. It shows that James has finally accepted what he has done and how it’s also time for him to let go. This ending offers resolution for James and closure for both him and the player.