Between the freedom offered by open-world games and the customization and narrative flexibility that is native to RPGs, most games that combine the two genres into an open-world RPG tend to offer a variety of endings. These endings are often dependent on your choices throughout the game, culminating in a moment that is (hopefully) a satisfying conclusion to your personal journey with the story.
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Typically, these games offer a "good" ending and a "bad" ending at a bare minimum, and these days, there are usually several endings that blur the lines between good and bad rather than just the two ends of the spectrum. However, even when several endings are on offer, these open-world RPGs deliver a "bad" ending that is truly dark and depressing, and they will stick with you for a long time.
Cyberpunk 2077 (Path Of Least Resistance)
It's Not Just The Ending; It's The Video Calls Afterwards
Cyberpunk 2077
- Released
- December 10, 2020
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Nudity, Strong Language, Strong Sexual Content, Use of Drugs and Alcohol
- Developer(s)
- CD Projekt Red
There are four main endings to Cyberpunk 2077, including the new one added with the Phantom Liberty DLC. They're all a bit dark (like letting Johnny Silverhand permanently take over V's body), but the bleakest by far is the ending titled "Path of Least Resistance."
In this ending, V recognizes that any plan where they assault Arasaka will result in their friends dying, so they choose to kill themself instead, saving them from the consciousness-corrupting virus that they can't cure. In the end, V makes a decision for themself while they still can, rather than leaving their fate in someone else's hands. The darkest part isn't even V's suicide; it's the video calls you watch while the credits roll, as each of V's friends and acquaintances reaches out and expresses how their death has affected them. It's a hard watch, but it's deeply affecting.
Fallout: New Vegas (Legion Ending)
Slavery And Slaughter Abound
Fallout: New Vegas
- Released
- October 19, 2010
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Use of Drugs
- Developer(s)
- Obsidian Entertainment
- Genre(s)
- RPG
The ending of Fallout: New Vegas is mostly influenced by which faction you decide to align with. While you don't have to choose any of them, siding with a particular faction will result in them gaining control of a majority of the Mohave wasteland by the game's conclusion. Each faction has its own ideological beliefs, which naturally shape its vision for the desert. The darkest of these ideologies belongs to Caesar's Legion.
The Legion is heavily inspired by the Roman Empire, both visually and in their beliefs. They are ruthless, violent, and uncompromising in their efforts to conquer the Mojave. Siding with them will bring their plans to fruition, and the ending you get for doing so results in the Legion conquering the Wasteland, either enslaving or killing most of the people who live there.
Elden Ring (Multiple)
How Will You Destroy The World?
Elden Ring
- Released
- February 25, 2022
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence
- Developer(s)
- From Software
Much like all of FromSoftware's Soulsborne games, each of Elden Ring's six endings is pretty vague on what they actually mean for The Lands Between. Well, except for one aspect: you either assume the Elden Throne, or you destroy the world, seeking to remake it in a new image.
The "Blessing of Despair" ending, which involves completing the Dung Eater's questline, dooms everyone in The Lands Between to a life afflicted by the Seedbed Curse, preventing their souls from returning to the Erdtree for reincarnation and instead damning them to an eternity of torment. The "Lord of Frenzied Flame" ending might be even worse, depending on your perspective. In this ending, the Tarnished embraces the Three Fingers and effectively brings about the apocalypse. The Erdtree burns, along with most of The Lands Between and the people within it.
Diablo
He Can't Be Killed, Only Contained
Diablo
- Released
- January 3, 1997
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ // Animated Blood and Gore, Animated Violence
- Publisher(s)
- Blizzard Entertainment, Ubisoft
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG
Defeating Diablo is always the primary goal in Diablo. He's the Lord of Terror, and at the end of the game, it's revealed that he's possessed Lord Albrecht by piercing his head with a Soulstone. Once you defeat Diablo in battle, his form reverts to Albrecht, and that's when things take a dark turn.
The Hero determines that Diablo cannot actually be killed; instead, he must be contained within a mortal vessel. The Hero sacrifices themselves for this cause, piercing their own forehead with the Soulstone and becoming Diablo's vessel. The game ends with a shot of the Hero, clad in a heavy cloak, looking out over a desert with a light shining from under their hood. Things get even worse in Diablo 2, where it's revealed that the Hero from the first game wasn't strong enough to contain Diablo and was eventually possessed by the Lord of Terror, just like Albrecht.
NieR Replicant (Ending D)
Humanity Dies, The Hero Dies, And Everyone Forgets It Even Happened
NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139...
- Released
- April 23, 2021
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood, Strong Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Cavia, Toylogic
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG
The fourth ending for NieR Replicant, titled "Ending D," is a harsh and bittersweet way to end a game that's full of deeply lovable characters. It starts with Nier killing Shadowlord, who is actually a copy of Nier (it's complicated, but bear with us). After Nier wins the fight, Kainé begins to relapse, a term for when Gestalts lose their sentience and become hostile.
Nier is then given two options: kill Kainé, his love, or erase his own existence, saving Kainé but ensuring that neither she nor anyone else will remember that Nier existed. While Ending C is pretty dark, Ending D is even worse. For one, the romance between Kainé and Nier is the crux of the entire story, and seeing them separated immediately after their ultimate victory hurts a lot. Worse still, the Black Scrawl plague is still rapidly spreading, dooming humanity in the process. For a final gut punch, Ending D will delete your save file, permanently driving home the point that Nier is so utterly forgotten that any impact he had on the world has been completely erased. While Ending E lets you restore your save file (and Kainé's memories) for a slightly happier ending, it still doesn't save humanity.
Assassin's Creed Odyssey (Alone Ending)
Just You And Your Bird
Assassin's Creed Odyssey
- Released
- October 15, 2018
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Strong Language
- Developer(s)
- Ubisoft Quebec
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG, Open-World
The ending of Assassin's Creed Odyssey — that being the ending that connects the modern storyline to the story of Alexios/Kassandra — doesn't change, no matter what decisions you make. What can change is the personal ending of Alexios/Kassandra's journey, also known as the Family Arc, and it all depends on how you handle the Eagle Bearer's relationship with their family.
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The Eagle Bearer has four family members — Stentor, Nikolaos, Myrrine, and Deimos (the other sibling that you choose not to play as) — and throughout the game, you'll interact with each of them. If you either kill or fail to save all four, then your protagonist will return home to what would typically be a family dinner scene, only they'll be there by themselves. This is absolutely the game's "bad" ending, and it's pretty hard to achieve without actively trying to, but witnessing this scene after everything Kassandra/Alexios went through is heartbreaking, even if you know what you're getting into.
The Witcher 3 (Bad Ending)
Geralt's Life Loses All Meaning
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
- Released
- May 19, 2015
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Use of Alcohol, Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Nudity, Strong Language, Strong Sexual Content
- Developer(s)
- CD Projekt Red
Most people know that the narrative of The Witcher 3 will change depending on the choices you make. This is usually reflected in the outcomes of quests, how NPCs feel about Geralt, or which characters show up to help the Witcher when he needs them. However, when it comes to the ending itself, the choices that have the most impact are the moments where you interact with Ciri. To get the bad ending, all you have to do is admonish her, be strict during her training, and generally doubt her abilities.
During the battle against the White Frost, Ciri will lose faith in herself, and she will die. This understandably sends Geralt into a downward spiral, and he sets out to get revenge on the Crones of Crookback Bog because they stole Ciri's amulet. He gets the amulet back, but instead of bringing him closure, it makes Geralt's grief worse. He's last seen running through a forest as a wave of monsters descends upon him, his fate ultimately unknown.
Dredge (Bad Ending)
Resurrection At A Price
Dredge
- Released
- March 31, 2023
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- E10+ For Everyone 10+ Due To Animated Blood, Fantasy Violence, Mild Language, Use of Tobacco
- Developer(s)
- Black Salt Games
- Genre(s)
- Adventure
After gathering every relic requested by the Collector in Dredge, he'll point you to a location in the water, the same location where the Fisherman's wife died. Sail there, and the Collector will toss those relics into the water and kick off a ritual that will resurrect the fisherman's wife. This may seem like a bad idea, and it's actually worse than you even imagine going into it. Shortly thereafter, a ghostly woman will rise from the waves, along with something else bigger and much, much scarier.
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A giant monster covered in tentacles emerges from the deep, and it brings about a series of apocalyptic events that tear the small game world asunder. The screen cuts to black, but as the credits roll, you are treated to a series of vignettes displaying the horrific events that take place following the ritual: massive storms, red skies, and the mansion you visited so often up in flames. You, as the Fisherman, get your wife back, but the cost of doing so is unimaginably steep.
Pathologic 2 (Nocturnal Ending)
The Beasts Rule Now
Pathologic 2
- Released
- May 23, 2019
WHERE TO PLAY
The theme of nature versus civilization is prominent throughout Pathologic 2, and in the game's "Nocturnal Ending," nature earns a resounding win. By choosing to destroy the Inquisitor's Orders regarding the fate of the town and the Polyhedron on Day 11, you trigger this ending. Immediately, the town is consumed by an ever-present and suffocating darkness as the Sand Plague, the plague that you fought to cure all game, is instead allowed to run rampant, and it blots out the sun.
The Kin, the steppe's original citizens before the town arrived, are welcomed back to the land, while the town's inhabitants are forced underground, hazy and confused, with their sole focus turned towards leaving the town forever. Aurochs (giant bull spirits) appear in the sky, ushering in an age where, while humanity may suffer, the Earth will thrive. It's not exactly a "bad" ending in the traditional sense, but it's hard to view it as a success either.
Yume Nikki
Does It Even Mean Anything?
Yume Nikki
- Released
- June 26, 2004
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- t
- Genre(s)
- Adventure
Yume Nikki is an odd choice here, as it's not your traditional open-world game, nor is it a traditional RPG. With that said, it has the expected RPG elements of character customization and gear upgrading, and the open-world requirements of open-ended exploration and non-linear storytelling. However, at its core, Yume Nikki is a psychological horror JRPG, and as such, its incredibly bleak ending shouldn't come as a surprise.
Your goal is to enter Madotsuki's dreamscape and track down 24 Effects, then drop them in the Nexus room, which will then turn each one into an egg. Leaving the room and then re-entering will reveal that the eggs have been moved into a strange pattern. Once that's done, you need to wake up. Upon returning to the real world, move Madotsuki out onto her balcony, and she will jump over the edge. Roll credits. There's a lot of speculation about what this ending means. Some players see it as a metaphor, while others think it's a bluff, and that Madotsuki is still in a dream. Regardless of the intended meaning, there's no denying that, after braving the terrors of Medotsuki's dream world, concluding with her suicide is a very dark way to wrap things up.
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