Game Endings: The good, bad, infuriating.......

I've just finished Nostradamus & enjoyed it very much except.....
the timed sequence towards the end! I thought that it dominated over the actual ending which I thought should have been made more of.

The timed sequences consisted of a sequence of 'logical puzzles' that only a genius could work out in the time you had so you had to repeat over & over (& in my case with the help of the walkthrough) I thought the puzzles in themselves were good enough & didn't need the overkill of a timer.

So for me the ending was fairly good but so infuriating!

So I'm interested to read thoughts on that & other game endings - which were bad, any you thought were particularly good & those that drove you mad!

The good: Syberia I & II. Both endings brought a lump to my throat and a tear to my eye.

The bad: ECHO: Secrets of the Lost Cavern. Ended so abruptly it left me thinking "Eh?". Great game with an unsatisfying conclusion.

The infuriating: Still Life. Again, a GREAT game, but to play all the way through and become completely involved and excited by the story, only to be left on tenterhooks...?

What?


I think the worst "ending" I've seen is the one in Dreamfall. If that's what the developer considers the way to end a game, I have no interest in paying money to see more "endings" like that.

Still Life was disappointing, but at least in that case it was because they ran out of money and couldn't end the game the way they wanted to. It wasn't intentionally infuriating.

The best ending for me was "Art Of Murder" at least you were left with who done it ..

The worst was Dreamfall also What was that game all about? Don't answer that...I don't think we will ever know

I gave up on Nostradamus at the timed sequence, perhaps I'm running out of patience a little but I game play for fun and timed sequences are not fun - for me.

I was happy with the end to "ECHO: Secrets of the Lost Cavern" but how good an ending is will be subjective.

"Cassandra Galleries" still gets my vote for worse ending of the games I've finished (among which "Dreamfall" is not included.)

I don't like timed sequence too. If I need to play something timed, I'll play an arcade game, not adventure game

I agree with Rushes and several others who thought that the Syberias both had effective endings. I also thought that MYST V was an effective and well done conlusion to the entire MYST saga. The best ending I've found in the last few years was in OUTCRY. It was not negative or violent, but gave me something to ponder for several days.

I think my favorite ending was in Neverhood, but of the newer games I thought the endings of Outcry and Rhiannon were well done.

I have played many adventure games with very good endings but the most outstanding, brilliant finish to a game that I have played to date, one that I didn't see at the jaw dropping time. One that was on my mind and it took me quite a few days of pondering the ending to realize what a great ending it was. A fantastic piece of writing, one befitting a great novel...The Game? Paradise

Very interesting to read the responses, as I have had a very different experience to many. I found the ending to Syberia II to be one of the most disappointing and incomplete endings of all the games I have played. For me, lots of big graphics and music, but no real conclusion to the main character (not surprisingly Sokal's other games end the same way to me). Also, despite the fact the Dreamfall was set up for a "final" chapter, I just loved the ending. One of the most moving I have experienced.

I agree with Nickie, The Neverhood was a wonderful ending, truly a classic.

The best: Back to my favorite game of all. Journeyman 3: Legacy of Time. Wraps the story up solidly (the whole game plays like a really good movie anyway) and you get to see the "real" Arthur. Just sad there was no more of this incredibly well done series. I definitely still love Gage Blackwood!

Keepsake: Incredibly good ending, but so emotional!!

Journey to The Center of The Earth - the longer (and I guess morally better) ending option - Awesome.

The worst: Beyond Time. Completely anti-climatic and pointless. You go through so much - many difficult tasks and puzzles to unravel the "mystery" only to find out there really isn't much of one at all.

The ending to Black Mirror. I found that really unsettling and disturbing. I guess it was supposed to be. Just can't wait for Black Mirror 2!!

Mixed feelings: If you can't tell by my signature, The Watchmaker! I loved that game. The ending seemed oddly appropriate for the storyline, yet left me wanting much more. I would love to see further adventures with the two main characters!

I guess I really need to get on the ball and play some newer games as well!

Two of the best endings were the Syberias endings. Some other games with good endings are Farenhait, Black Mirror ang Keepsake. For a strange reason i liked the ending of Ghost in the sheet.
I can't even remember how many bad endings i've seen in the games i've played so far. Some examples are: NIBIRU, Midnight Nowhere and Still Life.

Might I also add to my above selection that the endings to Rhem 1 - 2 & 3 were very satisfying that gives a feeling of accomplishment. Nothing frilly or meaningful just a great sense completing the many, many tasks that were in front of you during the game.

I am looking forward to what Knut will have in store for the ending to Rhem 4 that is allegedly ending the series of a game that has to be the best adventure games that gives the player the feeling that they are the main part of the game.

Note to Knut Muller: Please don't stop with Rhem 4, keep going, you are the best, the master, #1 in my book.

The Good ??
Most of the endings I have enjoyed have come from old games - really old games - Return to Zork being one that immediately springs to mind

Bad endings, for me, include the timed extravaganzas.
They have always been around, of course, but some are much worse than others and they show me just how inept I really am !!!!

As for infuriating, well ....
When I don't know in advance that a game doesn't HAVE an ending and that I will have to buy another full game in order to find out what happened ....
I feel absolutely infuriated

Cheers.

Mad

Really good ending: The Last Express.

Really bad ending: Lighthouse. The "GOOD" ending The "BAD" endings

That's bad all right. I didn't notice that's what had happened the first time I played it. And I've never replayed the whole game because I only enjoyed the first part. The second part (that took place underground) had too many mazes.

I wonder if I'm the only one who would replay half a game.

Played along time ago,but The Dig had a good ending.
Never finished Still Life,could never get past the lasers.

DeVon -- Good point -- the worst ending is the one you can't see at all.

Jenny -- I liked the first part of the game much more than the second part too. Not just the mazes -- the scene where you see

There are plenty of unsatisfying endings but the "honour" of the worst end ever goes to Gord@k. You have to play a puzzle against the AI that is Gord@k, and if you lose, its game over and the single save game the game allows is automatically deleted - which means you have to start the game again if you want to get to the end
What's more, there is no warning this will occur, and when the puzzle is triggered, you start reading the instructions but Gord@k starts playing. The only time I played the game, Gord@k had won by the time I finished reading the instructions
Doesn't get much more horrible than that!

You're right, Flotsam.
That ending defines a whole new level of bad.

I know people loved Portal, but the actual battle where you defeat the computer by shooting off these little round balls, that was ... disappointing.