What makes for a good plot twist in a video game? A plot twist is supposed to leave gamers gasping and screaming “No way!” and “I didn’t see that coming!”. I swear, BioShock’s plot twist will always be my favorite because it made me realize that throughout the entire game, I was being manipulated with that stupid phrase “Would you kindly?”! But there have been some games that were recently released with great plot twists (as well as terrible ones, but we’re not talking about those right now), and I believe they’re worth talking about.
#1: Signalis – 2022 (Supported Platforms: PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S)
Signalis - Launch Trailer | PS4 Games
In Signalis, space is not only the final frontier, but your final resting place. Elster, a Replika unit, wakes up on a crashed spaceship and she must find her partner Ariane. But as you play through Signalis, you'll find out more about the ship and Elster's mission.
For about eight years, Elster and Ariane have lived on their ship, the Penrose 512, trying to search for a new, habitable planet. But the Penrose was not built to last forever, and Ariane kept that a secret from Elster as she wanted to spend her final moments with her lover in peace. Due to radiation poisoning, Elster placed Ariane in a cryo-pod and she made a promise to soon end Ariane's suffering.
Elster accidently got ketchup all over her face
#2: Inscryption – 2022 (Supported Platforms: PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S)
Inscryption - Announce Trailer | PS5 & PS4 Games
A puzzle-adventure mixed with horror? That's exactly what you get in Inscryption, where you're forced to play a card-building game in order to survive. The more you play, the more you'll uncover about the world of Inscryption.
The scariest thing about the characters in Inscryption is that they're very much aware. And I mean, they're aware of the fact that they're in a game! They know about Luke, the character you play as, and the real world and that kind of awareness is really scary!
A Monster Mash in the creepy world of Inscryption
#3: God of War Ragnarok – 2022 (Supported Platforms: PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5)
God Of War Ragnarök - PlayStation Showcase 2021 Reveal Trailer | PS5 Games
There’s a reason why God of War Ragnarok won so much at the D.I.C.E Awards! During Ragnarok’s story, Kratos and Atreus are trying to live their lives in peace despite Fimbulwinter. But after a surprise visit from Thor and his father Odin, the two find themselves preparing for the coming of Ragnarok, something Kratos had hoped to avoid.
One of the allies Kratos and Atreus gain in Ragnarok is the Aesir god of war Tyr, whom fans were very excited to see. Although Tyr isn't exactly the warrior he once was, most players didn't think anything of it because of how long Tyr had been locked up. Something in the back of my mind was telling me there was something up with Tyr, but I could have never imagined that Tyr was Odin in disguise all along!
Kratos and his crew heading to kill Odin (oh yeah, and Thor’s there too)
#4: Omori – 2020 (Supported Platforms: PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S)
OMORI Trailer
Now Omori is a game that had me in tears by the end of it. Throughout this horror RPG, you will play as Omori, or Sunny in the real world, as he goes on amazing adventures with his friends. But as the game goes on, you'll start to encounter "Something", which is this dark mass that follows Omori and Sunny.
In the true ending of the game, it is revealed that Something is Sunny's guilt and trauma made into a physical form. The reason for this is because of the death of Sunny's sister Mari, who Sunny had killed by accident. And because Basil helped Sunny make his sister's death look like suicide, Something has been haunting him too.
Omori, Aubrey, Basil, and Mari…poor, sweet Mari
#5: Pokemon Scarlet & Violet – 2022 (Supported Platforms: Nintendo Switch)
Pokémon Scarlet & Pokémon Violet – Overview Trailer – Nintendo Switch
You know, Pokemon games are usually kid-friendly, but boy does Pokemon Scarlet & Violet have a dark twist at the end. Once you create your trainer, you can choose between two Pokemon academies to attend, Naranja and Uva. Depending on which academy you choose, you'll go down the Scarlet or Violet route.
Near the end of the game, you will journey into Area Zero where you'll learn the truth about the primary professor of your academy. During a conflict between two Pokemon from a different timeline, Professor Sada (Scarlet) or Professor Turo (Violet) are killed and replaced with an AI. The final boss of the game will be the AI construct of the professor, who asks you to defeat them to stop their work with time travel.
Juliana and Florian riding their Pokemon like motorcycles
#6: Dead Space Remake – 2023 (Supported Platforms: PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S)
Dead Space Official Launch Trailer | Humanity Ends Here
It's because of games like Dead Space that makes me so scared of what's out there in outer space! Dead Space is a horror survival game where you play as Isaac Clarke, an engineer who answers a distress call from a mining ship. Now he must survive being on the ship while being hunted by Necromorphs, which are horrific mutated corpses.
The twist comes in chapter 12, the final section of Dead Space, where one of the characters named Kendra Daniels betrays Isaac. She takes Nicole, Isaac's girlfriend, hostage and Daniels tells Isaac the truth. The real Nicole has been dead way before Isaac's encounter with the mining ship and the Nicole with them now is just an illusion.
Isaac in his engineer suit (and me wondering how he’s able to see)
#7: Doki Doki Literature Club Plus – 2021 (Supported Platforms: PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S)
Doki Doki Literature Club Plus! - Official Launch Trailer
Doki Doki Literature Club took YouTube by storm after its release in 2017, but it returned in 2021 to bring on more scares. At the beginning, Doki Doki seems like a normal dating simulator, where you get to choose between three love interests named Sayori, Natsuki, and Yuri. But players soon realize that this seemingly innocent dating simulator is much darker than it led us to believe.
Monika, the president of the Literature Club, actually turns out to be completely aware of us. Yep, at the end of the game, Monika breaks the fourth wall and addresses the player directly, basically saying that the "main character" is our puppet. This was something no one saw coming!
Yuri, Natsuk—MONIKA, MONIKA, MONIKA, MONIKA
#8: Resident Evil Village – 2021 (Supported Platforms: PC, Apple IOS, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S)
Resident Evil Village - Announcement Trailer
Ethan Winters just can't catch a break, can he? Sometime after the incident at the Bakers' house, Ethan and Mia have been living happily with their baby Rosemary. But when little Rose is kidnapped by someone called Mother Miranda, Ethan is dragged back into a world of horror to save his daughter.
Resident Evil Village had plenty of revelations and twists, but I think the biggest plot twist of them all was Ethan himself. Near the end of the game, Ethan learns from a vision of Eveline, the main antagonist of RE7, that he died that day when he visited the Bakers' home! Ethan's entire body is made of the mold that gave Eveline power and that's the only thing that's been keeping him alive all this time.
Chris being a beast, figuratively and literally
#9: Elden Ring – 2022 (Supported Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S)
ELDEN RING Official Launch Trailer
As the game that beat God of War Ragnarok for Game of the Year, you know Elden Ring has to be good! You take control of a Tarnished, an individual who was banished from the Lands Between by Queen Marika. Now your mission is to collect an item known as the Elden Ring and become the next Elden Lord.
While the story can be confusing, there were a few cool plot twists in Elden Ring. The biggest one would have to be the truth about Queen Marika and her second husband, Radagon. This will come as a shock, especially to those who didn't collect enough lore throughout Elden Ring to put it together, but Marika and Radagon are actually one and the same!
Malenia, your Vegeta's showing
#10: Undertale – 2015 (Supported Platforms: PC, Android, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S)
Undertale - Release Trailer - Nintendo Switch
Nyeh heh heh! Meet the wonderful cast of characters in the hit game Undertale! In this charming role-playing game, you take control of a human child who has fallen into the Underground, and you must escape before your soul is taken by the monsters who live there.
The biggest surprise to me in Undertale was meeting Chara in person at the end of the Genocide route. Depending on if you did this route first or not, you may not know who this child is, but they turn out to be the adopted human child of Asgore and Toriel. Not only that, Flowey, or Asriel who is revealed at the end of the Pacifist route, even comments that Chara wasn't that good of a person and that she hated humanity.
Frisk with their monster friends secretly thinking about how to murder them all
If I explained every plot twist in each of these games, we would be here forever! So, I suggest you play them on your own and experience every twist and turn their stories have to offer. It's much better that way, because I'm sure you don't want me to spoil everything, right? Trust me, it'll be worth it.
