The 10 Best Video Game Endings of All Time, Ranked

Published Aug 1, 2026, 5:18 AM EDT Lucas Kloberdanz-Dyck is a writer for Collider. He grew up creating lists, stories, and worlds, which led to his love of anime and video games. He attended Sheridan College where he earned an Honours Bachelor of Game Design. Lucas and his group won 1st place for technical innovation at LevelUp Toronto 2023, and he was also an intern for the Oakville Film Festival of Arts. Sign in to your Collider account Content Warning: The following article contains spoilers.Fans can put hundreds of hours into a video game and then not even be done with it, and that is the glory of replay value and the personal connection players have with their games. However, at some point, players will have to put down their controllers one last time, no matter how painful it will be. Titles like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild are hard to put down since they are so addicting to play. These aren't times to fear, but embrace, as a good video game ending can make all the difference. That is why this list will rank the ten best video game endings of all time based on aspects such as memorability, originality, narrative, gameplay, design, connection, and overall quality. Some games are so good that players will never want them to end, but the best games know how to wrap everything up perfectly. 10 'Halo 3' (2007) Image via Microsoft Game Studios Xbox boasts a handful of incredible games, and many of them come from the Halo franchise, including the game that should have ended the trilogy, Halo 3. Master Chief and the Arbiter team up to take down the immense threat of the Flood, ending with the Arbiter making it back safely to Earth and Master Chief floating in the dead of space in cryo sleep. Some fans don't like open-ended conclusions, but this one was so perfect and badass that it cemented itself as the perfect finale. Halo 3 should have ended the franchise, leaving it off on an epic note that wrapped up the main war between factions and even had a send-off fitting for one of the most iconic video game characters, Master Chief. 9 'Shadow of the Colossus' (2005) Image via Sony Computer Entertainment Fumito Ueda is a legendary game designer who is best known for his magnum opus, Shadow of the Colossus, which also has one of the most tragic, yet perfect, endings in the medium. After the player successfully kills all 16 Colossi beings, their loved one, Mono, is resurrected. However, the entity that players made a deal with possesses them, now being sealed into a pool where they are stuck forever, leaving the lover alone. Shadow of the Colossus makes every "victory" a tragic moment, subverting any triumph players thought there was, but gamers only notice this when it is too late. By the time reality hits, every Colossi is dead, and the reward is bittersweet. The protagonist doesn't get to experience the love they fought for, and the loved one is now alone and afraid in a barren world with nothing, not even the Colossi, truly making it a bleak video game ending. 8 'Outer Wilds' (2019) Image via Mobius Digital The majority of the games on this list are AAA blockbusters, but there is one indie that proves low-budget masterpieces can also end well: Outer Wilds. After constantly being in a 22-minute loop, the player finally stops it, accepting that the universe is doomed to perish. However, gamers unite the remaining races in the galaxy to have one final campfire song before a new Big Bang. What should be a depressing and bleak ending to the universe collapsing is suddenly turned into a bittersweet farewell for all the characters and races the player encounters. Outer Wilds is all about experimentation and exploration, and that is paid off with the final moment of unity, leading to the birth of a new universe. 7 'Red Dead Redemption 2' (2018) Image via Rockstar Games Rockstar is home to some of the greatest video games ever, including the prolific Grand Theft Auto franchise. However, the game with the best ending is arguably Red Dead Redemption 2. The game sees Arthur Morgan set out on one last adventure seeking redemption after learning of his tuberculosis. The ending depends on the player's honor rating, but each is a fitting end. What makes the ending so perfect is that it is directly tied to how the audience played the game, reflecting their choices and bad or good deeds. It could be a bright ending that secures the future for the ones he loved, or a depressing finale with him being killed. Red Dead Redemption 2's ending is the culmination of one of the best character arcs in gaming history. 6 'NieR: Automata' (2017) Image via Square Enix, Toylogic Some endings are great because they tie the narrative together perfectly or have a memorable moment, but NieR: Automata is renowned because of its meta finale. As the credits roll, players have to fight through them to save the protagonists from being erased. By the end, players must sacrifice their save data to help future players. NieR: Automata makes gamers play the game twice, with the second time being even better than the first. But it goes a step further with its ending, which is the ultimate meta conclusion. Not only is it a fun idea, but the thematic relevance of deleting your save data ties into the core theme of sacrifice in the game, making it a connected and memorable resolution that is the perfect way to end a game. Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Survival Quiz Which Sci-Fi World Would You Survive? The Matrix · Mad Max · Blade Runner · Dune · Star Wars Five universes. Five completely different ways the future went wrong — or sideways, or up in flames. Only one of them is the world your instincts were built for. Eight questions will figure out which dystopia, galaxy, or desert wasteland you'd actually make it out of alive. 💊The Matrix 🔥Mad Max 🌧️Blade Runner 🏜️Dune 🚀Star Wars TEST YOUR SURVIVAL → 01 You sense something is deeply wrong with the world around you. What do you do? The first instinct is often the truest one. APull on every thread until I understand the system — then figure out how to break it. BStop asking questions and start stockpiling — food, fuel, weapons. Questions don't keep you alive. CKeep my head down, observe carefully, and trust no one until I know who's pulling the strings. DStudy the patterns. Every system has a rhythm — learn it, and you learn how to survive it. EFind the people fighting back and join them. You can't fix a broken galaxy alone. NEXT QUESTION → 02 In a world of scarcity, what resource do you guard most fiercely? What we protect reveals what we believe survival actually requires. AKnowledge. If you understand the system, you don't need resources — you can generate them. BFuel. Everything else — movement, power, escape — runs on it. CTrust. In a world of fakes and informants, a truly reliable ally is rarer than any commodity. DWater. And after water, information — the two things empires are truly built on. EShips and credits. The galaxy is big — you survive it by being able to move through it freely. NEXT QUESTION → 03 What kind of threat keeps you up at night? Fear is useful data — if you're honest about what you're actually afraid of. AThat reality itself is a lie — that everything I experience has been constructed to keep me compliant. BA raid. No warning, no mercy — just the roar of engines and then nothing left. CBeing identified. Once someone with power decides you're a problem, you're already out of time. DBeing outmanoeuvred — losing a political game I didn't even know I was playing. EThe Empire tightening its grip until there's nowhere left to run. NEXT QUESTION → 04 How do you deal with authority you don't trust? Every dystopia has a power structure. Your approach to it determines everything. ASubvert it from the inside — learn its rules well enough to weaponise them against it. BIgnore it and stay out of its reach. The further from any power structure, the better. CAppear to comply while doing exactly what I need to do. Visibility is the enemy. DManoeuvre within it carefully. You can't beat a system you refuse to understand. EResist openly when I have to. Some things are worth the risk of being seen. NEXT QUESTION → 05 Which environment could you actually endure long-term? Survival isn't just tactical — it's physical, psychological, and very much about where you are. AUnderground bunkers and server rooms — cramped, artificial, but with access to everything that matters. BOpen wasteland — brutal sun, no shelter, constant movement. At least the threat is honest. CA dense, rain-soaked city where you can disappear into the crowd and nobody asks questions. DMerciless desert — extreme heat, no water, and something enormous living beneath the sand. EThe fringe — backwater planets and busy spaceports where the Empire's attention rarely reaches. NEXT QUESTION → 06 Who do you want in your corner when things fall apart? The company you keep is the clearest signal of who you actually are. AA tight crew of believers who've seen behind the curtain and have nothing left to lose. BOne or two people I'd trust with my life. Any more than that and someone talks. CNobody, ideally. Alliances are liabilities. I work alone unless I have no choice. DA community bound by shared hardship and mutual survival — people who need each other to last. EA ragtag team with wildly different skills and total commitment when it counts. NEXT QUESTION → 07 Where do you draw the line — if you draw one at all? Every survivor eventually faces a moment that tests what they're actually made of. AI won't harm the innocent — even the ones who'd report me without hesitation. BI do what I have to to protect the people I've chosen. Everything else is negotiable. CThe line shifts depending on who's asking and what's at stake. DI draw a long-term line — nothing that compromises my people's future, even if it'd help now. ESome lines, once crossed, can't be uncrossed. I know which ones they are. NEXT QUESTION → 08 What would actually make survival worth it? Staying alive is one thing. Having a reason to is another. AWaking others up — dismantling the illusion so no one else has to live inside it. BFinding somewhere — or someone — worth protecting. A reason to keep moving. CAnswers. Understanding what I am, what any of this means, before time runs out. DLegacy — shaping the future in a way that outlasts me by generations. EFreedom — for myself, for others, for every world still living under someone else's boot. REVEAL MY WORLD → Your Fate Has Been Calculated You'd Survive In…Your answers point to the world your instincts were built for. This is the universe your temperament, your survival instincts, and your particular brand of stubbornness were made for. The MatrixYou took the red pill a long time ago — probably before anyone offered it to you. You're a systems thinker who can't help but notice the seams in things. You're drawn to understanding how the system works before figuring out how to break it. You'd find the Resistance, or it would find you — your instinct for spotting constructed realities is the machines' worst nightmare. You function best when you have access to information and the freedom to act on it. The Matrix built an airtight prison. You'd be the one probing the walls for the door. Mad MaxThe wasteland doesn't reward the clever or the well-connected — it rewards those who are hard to kill and harder to break. That's you. You don't need comfort, community, or a cause larger than the next horizon. You need a vehicle, a clear threat, and enough fuel to outrun it — and you're good at all three. You are unsentimental enough to survive that world, and decent enough — just barely — to be something more than another raider. In the wasteland, that distinction is everything. Blade RunnerYou'd survive here because you know how to exist in moral grey areas without losing yourself completely. You read people accurately, keep your circle small, and ask the questions others prefer not to answer. In a city where humanity is a legal designation rather than a feeling, you hold onto something that keeps you functional. You're not a hero. But you're not lost, either. In Blade Runner's world, that distinction is everything. DuneArrakis is the most hostile environment in the known universe — and you are precisely the kind of person it rewards. Patience, discipline, and political awareness are your core strengths — and on Arrakis, they're survival tools. You understand that the long game matters more than any single victory. Others come to Dune and are consumed by it. You'd learn its logic and earn its respect. In time, you wouldn't just survive Arrakis — you'd begin to reshape it. Star WarsThe galaxy far, far away is vast, loud, and in a constant state of violent political upheaval — and you wouldn't have it any other way. You find meaning in being part of something larger than yourself — a cause, a crew, a rebellion. You'd gravitate toward the Rebellion, or the fringes, or whatever pocket of the galaxy still believes the Empire's grip can be broken. You fight — not because you have to, but because standing aside isn't something you're capable of. In Star Wars, that willingness is what makes all the difference. ↻ RETAKE THE QUIZ 5 'The Last of Us' (2013) Image via Naughty Dog The Last of Us was such a good game with an impeccable narrative that they had to make it into a TV show, whose ending still cannot compare to the original. After spending the entire time together, Ellie awaits her death in order to save the human race. However, Joel kills the fireflies and saves Ellie, lying to her, saying that they had stopped looking for a cure. This ending was completely unexpected and the result of an entire game's worth of character development for Joel. It was a deeply selfish choice and a poignant detail that emphasizes Joel and Ellie's dynamic. This grand revelation was a spectacle to witness and a perfect ending to The Last of Us, proving that it boasts one of the best narratives in video game history. 4 'The Walking Dead: Season One' (2012) Image via Telltale Games There are a lot of TV adaptations of video games, like The Last of Us, but the opposite is rarely successful. One exception to this rule is The Walking Dead: Season One. Playing as Lee Everett, players help Clementine survive the zombie apocalypse. However, when Lee is bitten by a zombie, Clementine is forced to chain him up and learn one last lesson: whether to kill him or make him suffer as a zombie. Having a character kill someone they're close to is always sad, but what makes The Walking Dead: Season 1 even more ruthless is that gamers played the game through Clementine, making the decision more personal. This ending was a personal and intimate finale that broke everyone's hearts, especially since it was so gruesome and haunting. The other seasons were also great, but none could top how the first one concluded a flawless story. 3 'BioShock Infinite' (2013) Image via Irrational Games BioShock could have also made the list, but the plot twist isn't actually the ending, with the actual conclusion not nearly having the same effect. That is why BioShock Infinite has the best ending in the franchise. When Booker realizes he is an alternate version of the main villain, he has the multiple versions of Elizabeth drown him at the exact moment where he would become Comstock. Some say that BioShock Infinite's ending was rather confusing and convoluted. However, it is actually a masterclass of foreshadowing and plot twists. It brings together the multiple themes of string theory, parallel worlds, and choice into one mind-bending conclusion. It is complicated, but it is also a dazzling way to end a franchise, highlighting the excellence of the BioShock franchise. 2 'Portal 2' (2011) Image via Valve Portal 2 is so revered for its gameplay and innovation that players often forget about its writing and ending. With Wheatley turning on Chell, she comes back with a vengeance, shooting a portal at the moon and sucking him through it, stranding him in space. GLaDOS takes control over the facility again, and Chell finally gets her freedom. The enemies-to-allies plotline with Chell and GLaDOS was unexpected, but it paid off through the ending, where both characters got what they wanted, including Chell's long-awaited and much-deserved freedom. Portal 2's ending of shooting the moon was a puzzle solution and narrative resolution, making for an even more memorable moment on top of the iconic final song that wrapped together the absurdity and charm of the franchise. 1 'Silent Hill 2' (2001) Image via Konami A lot of horror games have depressing endings, and Silent Hill 2 is no different except that it is the best video game conclusion in general. James Sunderland spent the entire game fighting monsters to try and learn the cause of his wife's death. However, the realization is more tragic than anyone could have imagined: he remembers that he killed her, prompting him to drive his car into the lake, drowning himself. Silent Hill 2 has some of the best character development in video games, and the ending is just the cherry on top to cement this as a masterpiece of the medium. Each monster was a manifestation of his repressed guilt, punishing James for what he did and providing some of gaming's most ruthless and eerie visuals. This shocking twist made so much more sense when looking back on it, with the themes and imagery further enhancing the experience, which made Silent Hill 2 such a legendary video game. Return to Silent Hill Release Date January 23, 2026 Runtime 106 minutes Cast Hannah Emily Anderson Mary Sunderland / Maria