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However, ambiguous endings in games, films and books are a risk, as they’re often divisive, and a poorly written ambiguous ending can leave people frustrated that they invested time into a story and didn’t get a conclusion. A handful of classic gaming releases have ended ambiguously, and some people still debate their meanings to this day.
6 Limbo
The puzzle-platformer Limbo was originally released in July 2010 and is of the most influential indie games of all time. Limbo caught the eye of gamers with its uniquely dark setting and lack of context that tantalized players and made them want to see what the game was all about.
However, Limbo doesn’t provide many answers. Its ambiguity continues in the ending, where the protagonist comes across what appears to be a young girl next to a ladder. The game then cuts to black, leaving virtually everything about the game up to the player’s interpretation.
5 Inside
Following the success of Limbo, the game’s development team Playdead released a successor six years later. Inside features very similar side-scrolling puzzle-platformer gameplay to Limbo and retains its ambiguous nature.
Insidehas two endings, the main ending, and an alternate ending. The main ending sees the protagonist, a young boy, be sucked into “the Huddle,” which appears to be some sort of monster. The most common theory about this ending is that the player was always controlling the Huddle and that they were mind-controlling the boy to release it, which would partially explain why he moves in a straight line.
The alternate ending sees the game cut to black after the boy pulls a plug and is theorized to be a meta ending.
4 Final Fantasy 7
Final Fantasy 7 was first released on the PlayStation 1 in 1997. The RPG featured an epic tale that was pouring with emotion and had players constantly second-guessing what was going to happen next.
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Final Fantasy 7 quite literally goes out with a bang, as the power of Holy is used to destroy Meteor, mere seconds before it caused ultimate destruction. It is initially made unclear if any damage is caused as the game cuts to black.
However, a post-credit scene plays after the text “five hundred years later” with Red XIII looking over Midgar, which is in ruin but covered in greenery. Players are left to guess about what happened to the protagonists or if they even survived, which was frustrating for those who had become attached to the characters.
3 The Last Of Us
Like Final Fantasy 7, The Last of Us was an important release in the quest to have video game stories that are comparable to films. The Last of Us was developed by Naughty Dog and released in 2013 on the PlayStation 3 before being remastered on the PlayStation 4 the following year. The story is predominantly centered around Joel and Ellie, the latter of which is immune to an infection that ravaged the world.
At the end of the game, a group called the Fireflies is about to operate on Ellie, believing that they can create a vaccine. However, when Joel is told that the process will kill her, he doesn’t take the news too kindly and escapes with her while gunning down everyone in sight; Joel then lies to Ellie about what happened.
The final scene shows Ellie struggling with survivor’s guilt before asking Joel to swear that he’s telling the truth about what happened. After Joel swears he’s telling the truth, Ellie’s face is shown with a hint of doubt before she simply says “okay,” and the game ends.
2 Bloodborne
Bloodborne was released in 2015 and is considered to be one of the best entries in FromSoftware’s so-called “soulsborne” series. Like many games in the series, Bloodborne has multiple endings, which will all leave most players scratching their heads, wondering what on earth just happened.
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The supposed “good” ending where the player is beheaded is arguably the most ambitious of the lot. Although it appears to be a good ending, as Gehrman promises that it will let the player leave the Nightmare, some suspect that he is an unreliable narrator and that it may not be as clear-cut as it initially appears.
1 Dark Souls
From one soulsborne game to another, Dark Souls was released in 2011 and is today regarded as one of the most influential titles in modern gaming. Dark Souls went against the grain in 2011 with its infamously punishing difficulty, old-school emphasis on boss fights, and interconnected level design.
Like a few other entries on this list, Dark Souls isn’t just ambiguous in its two endings, but throughout most of the game. Most players will follow the guidance of Frampt and Gwynevere, who tell the player that they should link the fire and succeed Lord Gwyn. However, if players go through the convoluted steps of speaking to Darkstalker Kaathe instead, they will be instructed to let the flame die out.
Unfortunately for those seeking answers, both endings leave much to the imagination, and there is still some debate today as to which is the better ending.
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