Horror games with the best endings

Key things

• 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 stay in SOMA offer dark conclusions.
• Player choices affect the ending in BioShock, where rescuing 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 spending hours exploring the world, facing a dangerous threat, and bonding with the character they play as, players need to feel closure and that everything they did was worth it.

It doesn't necessarily mean that the ending was happy or that their character even survived. It must be a satisfying conclusion that matches the quality of the rest of the writing, whether it's happy, sad, a twist, or a cliffhanger hinting at a possible sequel in the near future.

8 Amnesia: The Bunker

He offers Henry an escape without delay

In the middle of a World War 1 battle, Henri flees enemy bombing into a dark bunker, but what lurks inside may be even worse. Henri must manage a limited amount of fuel to keep parts of the bunker lit or he may be vulnerable to the attacks of the Beast, a terrifying creature that dwells in the shadows.

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

7 SOMA

One version of Simon remains behind

Car crash survivor Simon Jarrett did not escape unscathed. He suffered severe brain damage, prompting him to agree to an experimental brain scan that could lead to a full recovery from his injury. However, he wakes up in an underground water facility, and it would seem that during the time he was unconscious, the world suffered an apocalyptic event that wiped out almost all life above the sea.

Simon's only chance to escape the facility is to launch the Ark, a digital blackbox that houses a simulated world where all of the staff's consciousness has been placed. The end begins with a peak into paradise. Simon is now in a human body and reunites with Catherine. The players are then led back into the darkness. In this chilling ending, only a copy of Simon has been dispatched and another version of him remains trapped forever.

6 BioShock

The players treatment of the little sisters determines their end

Jack finds himself arriving in the dilapidated undersea city of Rapture after a plane crashes into the ocean with only a lighthouse as a landmark. This once hidden utopia for the upper echelons of society is far from grace. The glittering and glamorous people who once lived here have turned into splicers, and the only other life forms are the terrifying Little Sisters and the dangerous Big Daddies.

The latter two play a key role in how Jack's story ends. Harvesting too many Little Sisters results in a bad ending in which Jack takes control of Rapture and steals the nukes. The good ending comes from the rescue of the Little Sisters, which shows Jack and the rescued sisters escaping to the surface and leading the good life. After surviving all the horrors of Rapture, these characters deserve it.

5 The last of us

Joel destroys everything to save Ellie

In the age of the zombie apocalypse, the promise of a cure is the most wanted and desired thing there is. It offers a chance to reverse the infection that has taken over the world, and perhaps even return civilization to the state it was in before the outbreak. It's this promise that prompts Joel to reluctantly travel across the country with young Ellie in tow, said to be immune to clicker bites and the key humanity needs to synthesize a vaccine.

Their tenuous bond develops over the course of the play until the two are like family, with Joel acting as a father figure in Ellie's life. It isn't until he delivers Ellie to the hospital that he finds out that he has to die in order to create the cure, so Joel decides not to allow the surgery, shooting his way through the hospital and saving Ellie's life. Not all players may agree with Joel's choice, but there's no denying that it's a solid proof of how much he loves Ellie, forcing players to also consider what they would do in the same situation.

4 You signaled

A promising ending offers a heartbreaking conclusion

You signaled is set in a totalitarian future in which creations known as Replicas are used for workers and soldiers. Players control one of these Replicas, a ship technician who wakes up from a crash and sets out to find Ariane, someone important to whom she once promised. Decisions made during the game can affect which ending the player reaches, with a total of 5 including the false ending.

A promising ending isn't a “good” ending to the experience, but it's one to aim for if players like a good dose of tragedy to wrap things up. In it, Ester finally finds Ariane, remembers the promise she made, and kills her. The injured Ester herself succumbs to death right next to her, creating a tragic scene that fits the sobering theme of this dystopian play.

3 Little Nightmares 2

An unforeseen betrayal reveals a dark secret

Fans of the original Little nightmares were no doubt overjoyed to see Six return in the sequel, which had players controlling series newcomer Mono through the horrors of Pale City. Along the way, he meets Six and the two set out together to help each other overcome various obstacles and escape the dreaded Thin Man. Such an adventure would surely bind them together for life as close friends, but even this bond was not enough.

After rescuing Six, the two jump over a gap – first Six and then Mono, who almost falls. Six grabs him but lets go, allowing him to plunge into the darkness and reveal a dark secret about the character. It turns out that Mono was the Thin Man all along. This revelation, coupled 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 a bittersweet conclusion

Resident Evil broke away from casting the tried and true hero as a player character in the seventh installment and introduced Ethan Winters. Village sees him return and explore a remote Romanian village in search of his young daughter, Rosemary. He literally risks life and limb 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, of course, he saves his daughter just like he did Mia in the previous installment, but he knows he has to stop the megamycete once and for all. To save Rose, he detonates the bomb himself to save his family. It's 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. Resident Evil 9. There are few who can honestly say they made it through this ending without shedding a tear or two.

1 Silent Hill 2

The end of the holiday provides closure for James and the players

The second installment of this legendary psychological horror game features a break from the storyline outlined in the first game and focuses on a more grounded and personal story of James Sunderland, who traveled to the titular city after receiving a letter from his late wife, with an invitation. to meet her in their special place. However, when he gets to the city, he discovers that the monsters are far more terrifying than he could ever fathom, and other characters who defy the city for their own reasons.

Decisions and items collected along the way affect the outcome of James' story, with Leave's ending considered one of the best. In this ending, players will see James and Laura leaving town together, with the sound of Mary reading her letter, adding a layer of tragedy to this otherwise peaceful scene. It shows that James has finally accepted what he did and that it is also time for him to let it go. This ending offers resolution for James and closure for both him and the player.