Rock, Paper, Shotgun

RPS Asks: Which Games Made You Weep?

By John Walker on November 9th, 2011 at 2:27 pm.

From 1886, you know.

As Adam and I lay out boxes of tissues (for crying, you disgusting pig) in order to discuss To The Moon for a Verdict this afternoon, it makes us wonder: what games have made you cry? Yes, yes, Tomb Raider: Angel Of Darkness. We’ve all done that joke. But really, bravado aside, when did you get moved to weeples?

I’ve written about the two previous games that saw me shed a tear a couple of years ago, and I talked to Charles Cecil about the process four years ago (wow, our site’s really old). (I mention these to stave off complaints from those claiming we always go on about this – twice in four years, whingebags.)

So go on – defy convention and name the game that made your eyes all dribbly.

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383 Comments »

  1. 09/11/2011 at 14:29 Brumisator says:

    Amnesia: The Dark Descent… amongst other terror-induced bodily excretions.

  2. 09/11/2011 at 14:29 danthat says:

    I’ll admit: when Lola died in Grim Fandango and SPOILER blew away in the wind, I welled up a bit.

    EDIT: oh no wait, turns out I’m a sissy it’s fine: http://youtu.be/wBtXiZFylko?t=2m10s

    Maybe I was more emotionally involved in the characters? Or maybe I was an idiot teenager.

    • 09/11/2011 at 14:57 Hodge says:

      I came here to say exactly that. I’ve been known to choke up just thinking about that scene.

      Fuck, I’m choking up right now.

      EDIT: Just watched that video and it evidently still works for me – I’m a blubbery mess now. *sob*

    • 09/11/2011 at 15:10 danthat says:

      It’s odd because this time when I watched it I couldn’t help notice what a dick Manny is being. She’s *dying in front of him* and all he can do is question her about puzzle solutions and won’t even utter some comforting words about their relationship.

    • 09/11/2011 at 15:20 Gnoupi says:

      @danhat – Manny isn’t much of a liar, and tends to shoot sentences straight from his mind, without making them “look nice”.

      But besides, yes, eyes wetter at the “Lola. Lola!” moment when she goes by the wind. Not actual tears though, but a thrill of emotion still.

    • 09/11/2011 at 15:30 Jeremy says:

      Not to mention .7 seconds of grief. “Oh, Lo… Hey, a clue!”

    • 09/11/2011 at 15:33 Eric says:

      I logged in to say Grim Fandango too. I also welled up a little bit at the ending, just because I honestly didn’t want to say goodbye to the characters.

      One of the best games I’ve ever played.

    • 09/11/2011 at 15:49 sfury says:

      Ah Grim Fandango… a game so fine throughout that it broke my heart by just reaching the end credits. :/

      “Un, dos, tres, quattro…” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8gCpLdgK3Y

      The only 2 other games that made me regret I cannot play further are Planescape and Braid, but GF was my first true love, so to say. :)

    • 09/11/2011 at 21:21 piedpiper says:

      registered for this site just to say – at the end of this summer I played GF first time and it was amazing. I was not crying, but there were a lot of really emotional moments. Somehow song “Let it shine” in 3rd chapter made listen to it repeatedly more than five times.
      Oh, this video made me feel such a strong melancholy just right now
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiEn8Ti84Ow&feature=related

    • 09/11/2011 at 22:41 LionsPhil says:

      It has been far too long since I’ve played Grim Fandango. Thank you for drawing this to my attention.

    • 10/11/2011 at 13:48 BPLlama says:

      The end of Grim Fandango for me, with the farewell to all the characters.

      *SPOILERS*

      The entire final act – from when Manny returns to the office where his story began to REALLY take on the mantle of the Grim Reaper, to that final goodbye in the train station – had great emotional impact, ranging from “OH MY GOD THAT’S SO AWESOME!” to that final sad goodbye.

    • 10/11/2011 at 16:09 Igor Hardy says:

      Definitely the ending moments of Grim for me too. Perhaps a few other situations during the game as well, but I don’t remember.

  3. 09/11/2011 at 14:30 oceanclub says:

    No actual tears, but the good ending of Bioshock possibly put a small lump in my throat.

    P.

    • 09/11/2011 at 14:33 Rinox says:

      Pretty much the same answer I was going to give. That, and the ending of HL2: Episode 2. And Portal 2!

    • 09/11/2011 at 14:39 CrowbarSka says:

      Same here, the end of Half-Life 2: Episode Two moves me every time.

    • 09/11/2011 at 15:16 OlliX says:

      I have to admit that the ending of HL2:EP2 brought some tears to my eyes as well.

    • 09/11/2011 at 15:35 Beebop says:

      But it was so predictable!

      “Gordon, I have some vital information for you. It’s really vital. make sure I remember to tell you. What? Why don’t I just tell you now? Good point… I’ll tell you in a minute. No Gordon, in a minute! It’s vital, seriously, you’ll kick yourself”

      For the next thirty seconds I was trying to spot which window/wall/door the fatal object would come in through…

      J

    • 09/11/2011 at 15:40 Rinox says:

      @ Beepop

      Sure, but the scene isn’t any less harrowing because of it. :-) For me the point where I almost broke was Alyx’s sobbing and pleading as the screen fades to black. Damn.

    • 09/11/2011 at 16:25 IDtenT says:

      You people cried after playing a FPS? Lol.

    • 09/11/2011 at 17:05 Maktaka says:

      Oh I do love a good block list.

      Bioshock 1 didn’t do it for me as the last portion of the game was spent burning away any emotional investment I had in the story up to that point. Bioshock 2 though, damn, that one was building right up until the climax and the ending really worked because of it.

      And HL2: Ep2 natch. Whatever they’re paying Merle Dandridge (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1617568/), it’s not enough.

    • 09/11/2011 at 20:07 FunkyBadger3 says:

      What happened at the end of Ep 2? Is that where Gordon met Frohman? That was awesome. Did Alyx die? How could anyone tell?

    • 09/11/2011 at 20:46 Jason Moyer says:

      Bioshock 1′s ending didn’t really move me much, but the ending of 2 was a tear jerker.

    • 09/11/2011 at 21:26 piedpiper says:

      Bioshock hadn’t touch me emotionally in any way. As well as Half-life 2

    • 09/11/2011 at 22:38 LionsPhil says:

      Yeah, the sheer formulaic predictability of that Ep2 scene meant it completely failed to have the intended effect on me. I just laughed at the soap opera-ness of it all.

      BioShock kind of fumbled its emotional payload with that godawful tail end of the game, too.

    • 09/11/2011 at 23:20 skalpadda says:

      The HL2 ending didn’t make me cry, but it sure made me feel awful. That something terrible was about to happen was pretty clear, sure, but the voice acting in that absolutely hammered my heart.

  4. 09/11/2011 at 14:31 Jams O'Donnell says:

    I am the most manly man when it comes to video games, though I was close to tears when my video card died and I had to stop playing. Does that count?

  5. 09/11/2011 at 14:31 Blackcompany says:

    Ruins.
    .
    If that “game” did not at least make you sad, you should perhaps consider talking to someone. A Very Qualified Someone, in fact. Perhaps the saddest interactive media I have ever encountered. But masterfully done, for all of that.
    .
    Oh, and Bastion might make me weep just for having the privilege to play a game this good. Such an amazing experience, Bastion, and I cannot recommend it highly enough. You owe it to yourself to play Bastion even if you do need to use a controller to do it. Amazing game.

    • 09/11/2011 at 19:11 LazyGit says:

      Yes to Bastion. SPOILER: It nearly brought me to tears when I carried Zulf through the Ura.

    • 09/11/2011 at 22:11 michaelar says:

      Yes, yes, yes about that scene in Bastion. The act itself, the song, the desperation as your health dwindles, the song, the slowly changing reactions of the others, and the song. Took my breath away.

    • 10/11/2011 at 04:02 Mr. Hawn says:

      Most recent game to make me weep was bastion. More accurately, through the end of the last mission and the end of the game I was crying like a wee baby. One of the best games I’ve played.

    • 10/11/2011 at 12:37 mogofogo says:

      Yes to Bastion as well. I gotta admit, that it was one of the few games that got the ending just right.
      Also people weren’t kidding about the soundtrack were they? It really is that good.
      At the risk of straying; i thought the *SPOILER* level Prosper Bluff where you first meet Zia was hauntingly good. *SPOILER*

    • 10/11/2011 at 14:43 Saaz says:

      I’m amazed there aren’t more people mentioning Ruins. Maybe nobody has played it?

      I must have made choices that led to a longer playthrough, about 20 minutes, and it was devastating. At one point I walked around the edge looking for a way to escape. I didn’t want to talk to any more rabbits.

      I have a short list of movies that I’m really glad I’ve seen, but I never want to see again. (Breaking the Waves and Requiem for a Dream, for example) Ruins is the first game to make the list.

  6. 09/11/2011 at 14:31 Baboonanza says:

    I ONLY CRY WITH RAGE

    • 09/11/2011 at 15:51 Beebop says:

      I had no idea that Rage was a sad game…

    • 09/11/2011 at 17:21 krankyboy says:

      Then you never tried to get it to work.

    • 10/11/2011 at 00:05 starclaws says:

      Yup terrible games make me cry. Rage, parts of BF3, DNF, Dungeon Defenders getting delayed for nearly a year just so they can cut the amount of maps in half and release the other half as DLC, From Dust, knowledge that there’s another Sims release, movie games, Stronghold 3, MW3, all CoD, Tropico 4, Dungeons, and many others I can’t think of.

      Many had great starting series games but slowly over the years they keep screwing it up as they release the next in the series. Cutting content in half and improving graphics and selling it for twice the price. Id rather just replay the older games until true games with full content come out. Having more than ten maps is usually nice folks.

  7. 09/11/2011 at 14:31 JakeOfRavenclaw says:

    The good ending of Bioshock 2 is the only time I can remember actually crying over a video game. Very moving stuff.

  8. 09/11/2011 at 14:31 Sweedums says:

    I have yet to cry because of a game, though the closest i got was playing the Project Zomboid demo and accidentally smothering my wife to death.

    that was such a horrible feeling.

  9. 09/11/2011 at 14:32 Karucifer says:

    *that* moment in Final Fantasy 7. One playing, four spectating, no dry eyes to be seen.

    • 09/11/2011 at 14:35 Jams O'Donnell says:

      I was just annoyed that I’d lost my healer.

    • 09/11/2011 at 14:40 InternetBatman says:

      I was annoyed that I had leveled her up so much. What a waste.

    • 09/11/2011 at 14:40 AmateurScience says:

      I think I actually went through all of the 5 stages of grief when that happened.

    • 09/11/2011 at 14:52 DrGonzo says:

      I just found it unintentionally hilarious.

    • 09/11/2011 at 15:01 mondomau says:

      Dr Gonzo: Thank you.

    • 09/11/2011 at 15:09 MidoriChaos says:

      “That” moment of FF7 got ruined for me because Vincent’s leg got stuck up on the air as if he was doing a ballet dance during the following scene. Even while moving. Which made it “unintentionally hilarious” as DrGonzo says :(
      Bastion, like others have mentioned, made me tear up a little (would include reasons but spoilers are easy to read by accident). Also Gabriel Knight 1 in certain points.
      Edit: Oh yes, Syberia 1/2 as well. Such a sad story.

    • 09/11/2011 at 15:34 Quellan says:

      Yeah, this made me cry and stop playing for a few days.

    • 09/11/2011 at 15:55 airtekh says:

      The moment that got me most in FF7 was when you’re exploring Cosmo Canyon, and find out the truth about Nanaki’s (Red XIII) cowardly father.

      I’ve never cried at a game, but that’s probably THE moment that nearly did it. The music in that game is fucking amazing.

    • 09/11/2011 at 17:11 magnus says:

      Are you sure it was his leg?

    • 09/11/2011 at 18:43 jalf says:

      Sure. it made me cry. I cried with frustration at the long, unskippable cutscene which, with absolutely no sense of pacing or drama, told you clearly what was about to happen, and then just slowed it down infinitely.

      I cried at the absurd inconsistency in getting gunned down, stabbed and hit by f’ing meteors in every other battle until that point, but one guy stabbing one girl with a sword was “different”.

      And I despaired at the fact that apparently some game designer somewhere actually believed I’d care about this girl, whom the game had given me zero reason to care about.

      Sure, that was probably the most depressing moment in my gaming history. It shook my faith in the games industry.

      What, some people cried because she died? You must be crazy…

    • 09/11/2011 at 19:25 Zyrxil says:

      I treat sadness over the FF7 death scene as evidence of a character defect. There was zero relationship buildup, zero character development, and zero reasons for the death scene to be in any way meaningful.

    • 09/11/2011 at 19:57 mod the world says:

      Yup, the one and only time i had tears in my eyes because of a video game. FF7 sucked me in like no other game and being a lonely teen boy at that time probably helped getting feelings for her.

  10. 09/11/2011 at 14:32 Anthile says:

    The ending of Baldur’s Gate 2: Throne of Baal, when you read what happens to your companions after you are, uhm, gone. Especially the Sarevok one.
    Also, the ending of Immortal Defense almost got me.

    • 09/11/2011 at 15:23 Icarus says:

      I thought I was the only one. (Throne of Bhaal)

    • 09/11/2011 at 15:56 mangrove says:

      I liked the bittersweet moment before the final battle. All your crew gather round and each have their own “nice knowing you” speech. Even Korgan had something moderately pleasant to say.

      At this point you’ve known some of these characters for maybe 100+ hours, and they are your companions, not just pack mules who bark out some nonsense every so often. So to me it felt quite poignant.

    • 09/11/2011 at 16:01 Ralphomon says:

      Oh Immortal Defence! Powerful ending.

    • 09/11/2011 at 16:07 Dubbill says:

      My personal ToB epilogue got to me. As a paladin I romanced Viconia and managed to turn to her to Good. We settled down together, looking forward to a long life of gardening and drinking tea but Lolth is vengeful and cruel.

    • 09/11/2011 at 20:41 InternetBatman says:

      I thought the good Viconia one was particularly sad. She didn’t get a happy ending no matter what.

  11. 09/11/2011 at 14:33 Firkragg says:

    The only game ever to really push a tear out the eye was the ending for Metal Gear Solid on the ol’ playstation one. After the first playthrough and Meryl dies after all those hours of running, jumping and sneaking around? Heartbreaking.
    Gods I loved that game as a kid. Perhaps I was more easily moved back then.

  12. 09/11/2011 at 14:33 Gundato says:

    Jade’s Soliloquy in Beyond Good & Evil. Gets me very time.

    And, from the console land, the end to Metal Gear Solid 3 always gets me a bit misty-eyed. Especially after having played the entire series and understanding just how much that sucked for everyone involved.

  13. 09/11/2011 at 14:33 Spliter says:

    Bioshock 1 and 2. Both of them made me shed a single manly tear.
    And then I cried my eyes out.

  14. 09/11/2011 at 14:33 SiUnit says:

    I thought Heavy Rain was going to. I welled up a couple of times but didn’t cry. It ruined the game. SHAUUUUN?! JASOOOON?!

  15. 09/11/2011 at 14:33 Faceless says:

    None, honestly, which is a bit disappointing to me, now that I think on it.

    There are games that bestowed a heavy sense of depression or dread, but none that really made me shed a tear. The games that did that were Planescape: Torment, The Longest Journey, Syberia, and especially Silent Hill 2.

    When I reached that sensitive plot crossroad in Silent Hill 2, I frankly had to pause the game and continue it a short while later.

    Edit: Oh, yes, and Bastion instilled a sense of sadness, too.

  16. 09/11/2011 at 14:33 Vagrant says:

    The ending to Lucid made me weep for a long time. Not even To the Moon made me that sad.

  17. 09/11/2011 at 14:34 max pain says:

    Dreamfall The Longest Journey was the only one I think.

    • 09/11/2011 at 15:36 Ross Angus says:

      That game did me in something proper, at the end. It was the sheer hopelessness of the ending.

    • 09/11/2011 at 16:56 Rozza says:

      Yeah ditto; I couldn’t quite believe that a videogame could end that way.

    • 09/11/2011 at 19:32 Gittun says:

      Not entirely sure it was the only one for me, but if someone would ask me this, Dreamfall is the first game that comes to my mind. The ending is indeed, beautiful in it’s bleakness, but the bit that always does it for me is the room below the factory, especially after playing the recording. You know what I mean if you’ve played the game.

      It is one of the few games that I have ever replayed (I have actually played it 4 times now I think, and recently felt like I should give it another go.) It’s not really a stellar _game_, but as an experience its one of the best IM(H)O. Really makes me wish funcom would start making adventures again…

    • 09/11/2011 at 21:28 piedpiper says:

      Oh yes. Dreamfall made me drop a single tear. Even two or three times.

    • 09/11/2011 at 22:01 ecat says:

      Yes, this is the one.
      The game could have just ended but no. Instead it left you helpless and allowed time for everything to sink in and then, and then. Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! Zoe!!!!!!!!!!! And April too!

      There are a few games when upon finishing I’ve cast the ‘net in search of sequel news but never have I searched so soon and with such sincerity as I did on finishing this game, all the while wiping a tear and muttering no, no, no.

  18. 09/11/2011 at 14:35 Njordsk says:

    No tears, but the ending of machinarium somehow made me sad. I wonder why, maybe because that great journey was over.

    • 09/11/2011 at 15:02 mondomau says:

      I agree. I can’t put my finger on it, but that whole game had a certain melancholy to it.

    • 09/11/2011 at 15:26 MattM says:

      I think that the robots were unable to maintain the civilization that they lived in and were doomed to a slow decay as parts and resources ran out.

    • 09/11/2011 at 15:38 Ross Angus says:

      What? Dancing robots? What’s not to like? I have to admit, the entropy of their civilisation didn’t occur to me, but it was running through my head in Portal 2. I was glad to get out of there. Depressing place.

    • 09/11/2011 at 15:55 Skabooga says:

      I found the ending to Machinarium to be more pensive than celebratory and, for whatever reason, it did have these sad undertones (maybe it was the music?). But I was certainly most happy for the little robots, and thought it was a nice ending

  19. 09/11/2011 at 14:35 thegooseking says:

    Final Fantasy VII would be the obvious one. But that was mainly because I replayed it shortly after my grandmother died, so the Aeris death moment had some resonance.

    Hm. Not many games have made me cry. Which is odd, given that I’m the sort of person that it would be quicker to list the films that didn’t make me cry. I seem to remember Beyond Good & Evil brought me somewhere near tears. And the happy ending of American McGee’s Alice, for some reason. Braid maybe a little bit.

  20. 09/11/2011 at 14:35 TheBigBookOfTerror says:

    Not happened yet but I came close with Mafia. Lump in the throat when the fates of the people I thought I had saved were revealed and the finale just left me feeling very bleak. It was odd when the free roam unlocked. Yay, I got a hot rod! … oh yeah, that really sad thing happened… the hot rod doesn’t seem so sweet now.

  21. 09/11/2011 at 14:36 Vartarok says:

    I think those would be ICO and Silent Hill.

  22. 09/11/2011 at 14:37 dare says:

    Planetfall. I think there have been more recent examples but I cannot really recall any. I think I cried at the end of Pathologic, but I’m not sure.

  23. 09/11/2011 at 14:37 jalf says:

    Dreamfall (the ending, specifically)

    John Walker would be proud!

  24. 09/11/2011 at 14:37 spec10 says:

    Dreamfall: The Longest Journey.

  25. 09/11/2011 at 14:38 SAeN says:

    Nothing to provoke tears, but Garrus being carried away by space bees during the final mission of ME2 came quite close. Stupid Miranda…

    • 09/11/2011 at 15:06 Tyshalle says:

      Yeah, that was a shame. It sort of had the opposite effect on me, though. For some reason when that happened I was less accepting of it and had a more reaction more akin to: “Oh, fuck this game!”

    • 09/11/2011 at 15:21 Nick says:

      Should have made better choices! My Garrus is fine.

    • 09/11/2011 at 15:26 Vinraith says:

      I can only point and laugh at anyone who trusted Miranda to do anything. I’m still trying to figure out why I don’t have the option to load all the Cerberus folks into the airlock and dump them into hard vacuum, actually, along with that damnable AI.

    • 09/11/2011 at 15:41 RabidOyster says:

      Throat lumpage in FF7, and HL2:E2

    • 09/11/2011 at 17:02 SAeN says:

      In my defence, it was Miranda I was hoping would be carried off. As you can tell, it backfired quite spectacularly.

  26. 09/11/2011 at 14:39 Kaira- says:

    Silent Hill 2 (In Water-ending), Silent Hill: Homecoming Shattered Memories, Dreamfall: The Longest Journey.

    It’s bit curious how SH’s are such strong emotional games, being survival horror, but I don’t mind.

    [E] God damn how could I write Homecoming? NO GOD, NO.

  27. 09/11/2011 at 14:40 wearedevo says:

    Planescape Torment. When you get the best possible ending (which is still rather awful) and say your farewells.

    • 09/11/2011 at 14:41 InternetBatman says:

      Yeah. I didn’t exactly cry, but I was pretty stricken with sadness.

    • 09/11/2011 at 15:07 Craig Stern says:

      The ending was pretty sad, but I was actually sadder when I first arrived at the Fortress of Regrets and they killed Nordom. *sniff* I loved that little modron.

    • 09/11/2011 at 15:12 merc-ai says:

      Planescape: Torment, when your companions are killed.

    • 09/11/2011 at 17:16 Someblokius says:

      [PS:T Spolier] :P

      Yeah. That moment when Annah realises that the player, the one person ever to give a damn about her in her entire life, is going away forever. My uber-many 20-something self blubbed like a schoolgirl.

      I’ve never decided whether cutting the alternative endings out was a tragedy or a moment of genius.

  28. 09/11/2011 at 14:40 Jarenth says:

    I cried at the endings of Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening and Mystic Quest (which sources tell me is also called Final Fantasy Adventure as well). I was 12 at the time, but I still get a little misty-eyed thinking about it.

  29. 09/11/2011 at 14:41 c-Row says:

    None so far, though the first ending of Red Dead Redemption left me back a bit depressed.

    • 09/11/2011 at 15:08 Tyshalle says:

      Yeah, I’d say so too, except they telegraphed it soooo damn much it was kind of hard not to see it coming. Given, I didn’t expect it to end quite like it did, but you know that after you’ve essentially killed all of your enemies and had your final climactic battle, and then they send you off on like half a dozen missions involving you doing boring shit like rounding up cattle and stuff that tragedy is around the corner.

    • 09/11/2011 at 15:16 c-Row says:

      The greatest tragedy in my opinion was being stuck playing as his son. Couldn’t stand the brat. Also, obligatory comic:

      http://www.virtualshackles.com/181

    • 09/11/2011 at 15:18 Tazer says:

      I thought the end of Red Dead Redemption was pretty moving, even with them basically telling you it was coming. I think the combination of knowing that Marston was just working this whole time to get back to his family only to be killed, and that ending song with the slow pull away form the headstones, was really good.

    • 09/11/2011 at 16:17 Reapy says:

      Agree here. Also agree I was mad to be stuck as his son. Went from great voice actor to this guy, no way to go back.

      But those barn doors flying open in slowmo were perfect. I wanted to make that a desktop background but was unable to find a good enough screenshot.

  30. 09/11/2011 at 14:41 cw8 says:

    The ending of Grim Fandango

  31. 09/11/2011 at 14:41 sneetch says:

    Some of the stories in Lost Odyssey had me shed a single, manly tear that glistened in my manly eye as I stared manfully into the setting sunset while my manly cloak fluttered manfully in the manly wind.

    • 09/11/2011 at 15:29 Maldomel says:

      The memories you can collect were all sad stuff designed to make you feel…sad.
      Also, THAT moment where Kaim finds out his daughter lived and she dies in his arms, my eyes are wet just by thinking about it.

    • 09/11/2011 at 15:50 sneetch says:

      I think I had to pause the game and go have a walk after that bit.

    • 09/11/2011 at 17:27 Pole04 says:

      Lost Oddesy’s memories really got me too. That game was amazing from start to finish. His daughter dying and the funeral got me outside chain smoking for an hour…

      FFVII will always make me tear up too.

  32. 09/11/2011 at 14:42 Spielo says:

    Final Fantasy VII and Passage.

    It’s quite remarkable that Passage provoked such a strong emotional response considering that the whole game lasts about five minutes.

  33. 09/11/2011 at 14:42 Flint says:

    The ending to Outcast.

  34. 09/11/2011 at 14:43 djbriandamage says:

    I’m a pretty touchy feely guy but in my quarter-century-plus of gaming the only one to make my lip quiver was Digital: A Love Story.

  35. 09/11/2011 at 14:43 Dyst says:

    Mercy killing my only bro in Far Cry 2 felt pretty shitty.

    • 09/11/2011 at 16:26 JakeOfRavenclaw says:

      Yeah, that’s a big one. Also the fact that, even if you save all of the companions

      FAR CRY 2 SPOILERS

      you end up having to murder them all anyway when they try to steal the diamonds from you at the end. Actually, I’m pretty sure there are only two named characters who you *don’t* end up killing. It’s a bleak game for sure.

  36. 09/11/2011 at 14:44 RickyButler says:

    MGS4. Don’t make fun of me. :| DON’T YOU DARE.

    Another World’s ending. So ~powerful~ in its simplicity and quiet development.

    Almost at the power of RDR’s strongest moments. And certainly in the horror pushed onto a child’s mind playing System Shock 2.

    • 09/11/2011 at 15:02 Dominic White says:

      You’ll be happy to know that Lester didn’t die at the end of Another World! There was an official sequel called Heart of The Alien, where Lester returns only to die pathetically like a chump in a completely anticlimactic scene, ruining the ending of the first game.

    • 09/11/2011 at 21:33 piedpiper says:

      I cried at the end of System Shock 2. Because it has such a crap insted of final boss and ending sequence

    • 10/11/2011 at 04:00 MadMatty says:

      Another Worlds ending for sure!

      Also, i whooped a bit over Mass Effects ending (Jennifer Hale variant) – even though it was quite cliché.

      Mmmm a bit lumpy sometimes in Final Fantasy 7 aswell

  37. 09/11/2011 at 14:44 p3ya says:

    Woah i think i cried on Final Fantasy 8s ending… a bit.
    Also when i finished Terranigma the first time as a kid.

    • 09/11/2011 at 15:20 Ralphomon says:

      Oh me too with the FFVIII ending, especially the Laguna and Raine bit

    • 09/11/2011 at 21:26 HSuke says:

      Terranigma definitely had an epic story that weaved through our own history. It was heartwarming in that one part where all all your friends and even your enemies from the start of the game band together (nearly sacrificing their own lives) just so that you can reach the final boss. The ending was bleak too.

      *Spoilers for FF6-8 below*

      As for FF8, Laguna’s story was definitely the saddest part for me, especially when you finally meet Laguna. I still think FF6 had some sadder moments, mainly General Leo’s story and Celes’s taking care of a dying Cid after the world fell apart.

      Sadly, Aeris’s death in FF7 had no effect on me since it had long been spoiled for me :(

  38. 09/11/2011 at 14:45 rapier17 says:

    HL2: EP2 moved me greatly. Also when I chose to sacrifice my character to end the blight in DA:O.

    • 09/11/2011 at 15:12 Bostec says:

      Yep the ending of HL2:EP2, I second that, the only game that brought me close to a *something in the eye* moment. And i’m a man who shits bricks, headbutts walls and sleeps atop rubber sheets.

  39. 09/11/2011 at 14:48 The V Man says:

    well, way back in the day Final Fantasy 3/6 had me on the edge when I finsihed it, but I don’t recall cracking. In recent years though, Portal 2 chocked me up at the end. Bit of a mixture of relief and a lot of ‘Well now it’s (finally) over’. Plus the journey you’re more or less forced on through Chell going from a complete non-entity in Portal 1 to GlaDOS’ personal thorn-turn-potato saviour.

  40. 09/11/2011 at 14:48 DrGonzo says:

    None! Don’t see why that matters though. No film has ever made me cry either, but it doesn’t make me think it’s a lesser art form.

  41. 09/11/2011 at 14:49 CaLe says:

    No game has ever made me cry. No movie has ever scared me. I wish it were possible, but so far, nothing.

  42. 09/11/2011 at 14:52 Tobisas says:

    Until quite recently no games managed to make me weep, even though I’m pretty easily moved to tears by movies or tv series.

    Last week though I bought and played the game To the Moon after reading RPS’s article on it.

    You bastards.

  43. 09/11/2011 at 14:52 Strangeblades says:

    Mass Effect. When Shephard walks out of the rubble at the end of the game to the smiles of her comrades that made me cry in triumph. :`)

  44. 09/11/2011 at 14:53 Rao Dao Zao says:

    The end of Unreal II: The Awakening. ;_;

    I’m sure RPS has asked this question before.

  45. 09/11/2011 at 14:53 omgitsgene says:

    Final Fantasy 4, Palom and Porom. Wtf.

  46. 09/11/2011 at 14:55 Necron99 says:

    Dragon Age, Bioshock 2 (the good ending) and the end of Oblivion when I realized how the first dragon statue got there.

  47. 09/11/2011 at 14:55 Joyo says:

    In general it will take me quite a lot to cry at a game…and this is as someone who will gleefully shed tears over a sad looking dog in the park. To the Moon got me last night. I don’t think there’s really been another game since I was a teenager that actually made me cry.

    FFIX I did actually bawl at, weirdly. I don’t remember precisely where, I just remember it was to do with Vivi discovering his origin. I think I sniffled at FFX but I will only admit that if I preface it with “I was 17″

    So yeah, To the Moon. Good, honest tears there. I’m quite curious what part(s) got John and others.

  48. 09/11/2011 at 14:57 actionthom says:

    None. I’m usually wondering when the cutscene/emotional moment will finish so I can get back on with the game.
    I am dead inside though

  49. 09/11/2011 at 14:57 OpT1mUs says:

    Only 1 games afaik, ending of Mafia 1. Dear god.

  50. 09/11/2011 at 15:00 Dominic White says:

    Most recently, Nier (360 version). The second ending, especially – it’s just a great big bag of tragedy heaped on top of tragedy.

    Can’t think of anything else in the recent couple of years, though.

    Edit: Oh yeah, had a bit of a lump in my throat after beating Xenoblade, but the ending for that was just straight-up joyful and I was just sad to see all the characters say their goodbyes.

  51. 09/11/2011 at 15:01 Tyshalle says:

    Dragon Age: Origins messed me up pretty badly for like a week after I finished it. Maybe it was just because I played with Morrigan, Alistair and Lelianna from start to finish, and so I had grown quite attached to them, but I felt pretty empty over the decisions you had to make (and live with) at the end of the game.

    That’s the only one I can think of that really tugged my heart strings, though I remember feeling somewhat sad when Ian and Dogmeat died from a Supermutant’s flame thrower in the original Fallout. They didn’t have a ton of character to them, but it was interesting how attached you can grow to characters who will help you out as you go on, but do experience permadeath.

  52. 09/11/2011 at 15:01 Nim says:

    Final Fantasy X ending has a way of putting my face in a sappy state.

  53. 09/11/2011 at 15:01 Hellraiserzlo says:

    I didn’t cry but shed a tear with Planescape Torment with it’s best ending, it was a really good closure…and MGS3.

  54. 09/11/2011 at 15:02 Helios1337 says:

    The ending of Grim Fandango

  55. 09/11/2011 at 15:02 Kinch says:

    Portal 2 and Bioshock 2…
    Guess I’m 2 emotional.

  56. 09/11/2011 at 15:03 frenz0rz says:

    Chrono Trigger, more than once.

    If I had to choose something from the PC, probably Dreamfall or BG&E.

    Music often makes me well up the most, I find. Most recently it was the end of Mass Effect 2, where poor Mordin died for me holding the line, a quick glimpse of his fallen corpse whilst Shepard runs for the Normandy. Pure, brilliant sci-fi drama.

  57. 09/11/2011 at 15:04 Theoban says:

    I’ll weep buckets at films, books and tv, yet games have yet made me cry.

    I think I must be a monster

  58. 09/11/2011 at 15:05 PatrickSwayze says:

    When Ashley died in Mass Effect I was actually distraught. I thought it was some kind of mean trick.

    And I had a tear in my eye throughout parts of Mass Effect 2 because I couldn’t bear anyone dying through the last act after the collectors had already stolen my Kelly…

    But the biggest case of Manly Tears for me came from World In Conflict, when Bannon stayed to keep the Russians from advancing past the detonation radius of the nuke. Surely it must be the case of the biggest asshole in gaming undergoing the biggest redemption…

    • 09/11/2011 at 15:38 Maldomel says:

      I remember that in World in Conflict. They’re presenting the man like a total arsehole but even his superior who cannot stand him praises him at that time. It feels a bit over patriotic, but it works because you don’t expect Bannon to sacrifice himself willingly.

  59. 09/11/2011 at 15:05 Jubaal says:

    Bizarrely I don’t think I have cried in any games. That isn’t me trying to be macho as ever since I’ve had kids I’ll happily blub at a film or something on the TV. Strangely though it isn’t as much the “kids with cancer” that I shed a tear at but kids films. I had to hide my weeping face several times when taking the kids to the cinema to see Toy Story 3. I even had a tear in my eye at the end of watching Shark Tale yesterday with my boys.

    So it does perplex me that I’ve never shed a tear on any PC game. I’ve cried reading books, watching films and listening to people on the radio, but not in my favourite media, gaming. Maybe I haven’t played the right games or maybe I’m not connected enough with the subject matter. In all honesty though I think it is because in gaming I am the one in control and I’m probably too conscious of that. Whereas in a film or book I can get lost in the story, following the trials and tribulations of others but maybe in gaming the focus on “me” as the player and the extra layer of interactivity has made me more self conscious and removed me somewhat from the subject. Either way I’m looking forward to my first blub in gaming in the future. Bring on the tissues!

    • 09/11/2011 at 16:48 NathanH says:

      Yeah, it seems much harder to get weepy in video games. THe only thing that’s ever come close for me was when playing the online gamebook Sryth, which may suggest that video game graphics can hinder the experience. Also that game isn’t about gameplay at all, so that might support your argument too.

  60. 09/11/2011 at 15:06 Oozo says:

    Ico and Planscape Torment really imbued me with sadness.

    The only game that wet my eyes, though, was Shadow of The Colossus – and it was, strangely, toward the beginning or middle of the game. I guess it would have been the 4th or 5th colossus – one of the helpless, easy ones. Somehow, seeing it break down under my sword with that pity-inducing animalistic movement made the whole thing feel completely wrong.

    I know that there’s more to come, but to this day, I haven’t completely finished it yet… maybe I’ll be able to do so with the HD release.

  61. 09/11/2011 at 15:10 Tuan says:

    Max Payne 2

    • 09/11/2011 at 15:46 Rinox says:

      Was it at

      I had a dream of my wife. She was dead. But it was allright.

      ?

    • 09/11/2011 at 15:46 Ilinx says:

      Ditto on that. Specifically, the part when you get separated from Mona as the walkway collapses in the funhouse. Struck a weird emotional chord for me.

    • 09/11/2011 at 22:51 LionsPhil says:

      Finally, back here on page 4.

      I’m not sure it got tears for I am British and emotionally stunted, but that was probably one of the most moving games, hitting its odd sweet spot between hamming it up for parody and actually pulling off emotions with sincerity.

    • 10/11/2011 at 01:47 carrion says:

      I only registered to second Max Payne 2. Very sad stuff. Though it was very satisfying to get the Happy End after completing with the hardest difficulty settings. Few games ever motivated me to complete nightmare modes, this one did.

  62. 09/11/2011 at 15:12 Seth says:

    Kharak is burning.

  63. 09/11/2011 at 15:12 mondomau says:

    Never cried at a game (Films, TV shows, Books but never a game), which tells me I’m either playing the wrong games, or the medium still has a way to go. Seriously though – Aeris? Come on guys.

    The closest I ever got to being genuinely upset was the bit with the Dog at the end of Fable 2 (I know it’s not a PC game, though it fucking well should be). I have never , ever killed murdered a game character with as much satisfaction and spite as I did after that. Worrying.

    Edited for bug-fuck weirdness with the posting system.

  64. 09/11/2011 at 15:13 yoggesothothe says:

    Blade Runner. After I had played it twice. When the impact finally set it. Dragon Age messed me up pretty badly though (not to the point of weeping, but still disturbed), couldn’t convince Alistair not to finish it.

    These weren’t moments of sad empathy so much as they were much more deep seated, considerably unsettling stretches of lingering, grappling disconnect. Like that feeling you get when your expectations are shattered. The kind of experience that you come out a more aware person when you recover from it because you’ve had to think about why the hell you were so devastated.

  65. 09/11/2011 at 15:14 Harvey says:

    Many of the endings to the SNES version of Chrono Trigger had me teary, Especially the ones with Marle, my first videogame crush… ><

  66. 09/11/2011 at 15:16 yoggesothothe says:

    Double post :(

  67. 09/11/2011 at 15:18 cylentstorm says:

    Honestly, I don’t believe that I’ve shed any actual tears, but there have been misty-eyed moments. I think that it’s because the number of games that I develop a strong emotional attachment to are exceedingly rare. Or maybe I’m having trouble recalling the specific titles. So many games over the years… Anyway: FF7 (of course,) Shadow of the Colossus (wow,) Ico, and even Okami left me all choked up. I know that there are others…sometimes a game/book/movie will resonate with something within and evoke emotions that I cannot control. Joy, anger, and fear seem to be the most common for a variety of reasons, but my favorite experiences run through the entire spectrum. Some games seem to focus only upon one or two emotions, and are possibly remembered a little more vividly because of that.

    I forgot about Red Dead Redemption…Now THAT is the way to tell a story..

  68. 09/11/2011 at 15:20 archimandrite says:

    The end of Half-Life: Episode 2.

    The end of the orc campaign in Warcraft III, when Grom sacrifices himself to save all orckind!

    The end of Starcraft II, when Raynor saves Sarah Kerrigan.

    In Red Dead Redemption, I have expected his family to get killed off at the end — or at least his son — and I probably would have cried.

    The end of Shadow of the Colossus.

    I cry way too easily!

  69. 09/11/2011 at 15:20 glix says:

    Tali’s mission in ME2. I get teary every goddamn time I play through that.

  70. 09/11/2011 at 15:21 mondomau says:

    Argh! Site just ate my ****ing reply.

    I have never cried at a video game – Books, Films, even TV shows, but never a game. This tell me the I am playing the wrong games, have no soul, or maybe that the medium still has a way to go. Whichever it is, I still maintain the death of Aeris was only sad if you were 12 at the time – any adult that tears up at that clunky, screeching melodrama is far too emotionally invested in the game for it to be healthy.

    * Oh, I lied: I did get quite upset at what happens to your traveling companion at the end of Fable 2 (Not a PC game, I know. Should be.) – I didn’t cry, but I was suitably distraught that I carried out possibly my most gleefully vindictive murder ever in a video game a short while later. Maybe the Daily Mail is on to something….

  71. 09/11/2011 at 15:21 Synesthesia says:

    None yet, but maybe it’s because games only look for the emotional part of sadness, like loos and death, and unbequeathed love and such. I started playing to the moon yesterday, maybe this may be the one, though all the centering on the wife might just not hit me again.
    I need something not as human. I want herzog to do a videogame and show me seagulls or whatever those were flying across a waterfall. Now that made me cry like a little girl. To all those who havent, go see The White Diamond. Now. I am not asking.

  72. 09/11/2011 at 15:23 Nick says:

    Prof Layton 3.

  73. 09/11/2011 at 15:24 translabyrinth says:

    Silent Hill 2′s “Leave” ending, ending #5 of Drag-On Dragoon (Drakengard) and killer7 (when he opens the briefcase, before the epilogue).

    • 09/11/2011 at 17:18 Kaira- says:

      I thought the “Leave”-ending was the least sad of all endings in the game (well, except the dog and UFO-endings, but those are jokes anyway). But in a way still quite sentimental.

  74. 09/11/2011 at 15:24 Casimir Effect says:

    Dreamfall was the cause of some tears like many others it would seem. The voice actress for Zoe was just incredible.

    And Planescape Torment utterly broke me several times on subsequent playthroughs, because knowing what you do by the end of the game makes so many of the things you see and stories you hear – both from companions, enemies and randoms – during the game all the more poignant. Closest game to The Green Mile I can think of (in terms of emotional destruction).

    I’m sure there are other games. I think Eternal Sonata might have made me sniffle a bit if it weren’t for the god awful Message bit at the end. If the game had closed with Chopin playing the piano while talented woman sings it would have been perfect. Bu after 4 mins of preaching it killed the mood. Need to pick up To The Moon as soon as possible.

  75. 09/11/2011 at 15:24 Berzee says:

    I don’t have any answers for this, but every time you mention crying, I always immediately think of King’s Quest VI when you meet The Lord Of The Dead and he says,

    “MAKE….ME……….CRY.”

  76. 09/11/2011 at 15:25 airtekh says:

    I’ve never shed tears due to a video game.

    I have been very moved by some moments though:

    The (good) endings of Bioshock 1 and 2
    The ending of Grim Fandango
    Some parts of Final Fantasy VII
    Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening (still my favourite Zelda game)

    & probably more that I can’t think of off the top of my head.

    For me, a lot of it has to do with music. If a game has a great score, then the chances of me being swept up by emotional moments increases dramatically.

    • 09/11/2011 at 15:33 Kdansky says:

      Yes! Link’s Awakening! Such a wonderful game, highly underrated. It’s like LttP (which is still the best Zelda), except with better story and a lot shorter. LttP wins only because it’s about five times as vast.

    • 09/11/2011 at 16:31 Rao Dao Zao says:

      Link’s Awakening never used to get me as a child, but when I played it more recently it definitely did send out some distinctively un-manly pangs.

  77. 09/11/2011 at 15:29 Snegletiss says:

    I actually cried a bit in Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas. Sometimes you put so much effort in to it, and then you see the consequences. That makes me weep.

  78. 09/11/2011 at 15:30 shoptroll says:

    Super Mario Galaxy’s side-story about Rosalina almost made me cry >_>

    No, seriously. I had lost my mom and grandmother about a year before I played that, so it definitely resonated with me when that bit of optional content ended.

    • 09/11/2011 at 15:44 Thunderbeak says:

      Oh yeah, I remember now, you mean the storybook in the library. That story didn’t make me weep but I did not expect such a tragic story in that game at all. I don’t know what to make of it.

  79. 09/11/2011 at 15:30 Kdansky says:

    Planescape Torment: When I found Deyonarra at the Fortress of Regret.

    No tears, but I was sullen and depressed for many hours after finishing Shadow of the Colossus, and went to bed about three hours earlier than usual, which is about as rare a tsunami in the Sahara. I recommend this game.

  80. 09/11/2011 at 15:30 Ralphomon says:

    I think Digital: A Love Story had my vision blurring, and the Black Mages in Final Fantasy IX talking about how some of them ‘stop moving’ and completely misunderstanding the whole concept of death was a weepy moment. Oh and the bit near the beginning of Xenoblade Chronicles where Metal Face attacks the village and Bad Things Happen. Otherwise, I seem to be more affected by films, TV and manga than by games.

    • 09/11/2011 at 15:34 Ralphomon says:

      Oh man, oh man oh man, I forgot about Breath of Fire 4! When you finally find Elina. The whole fucking hex cannon thing. Urgh that game – for a brightly-coloured anime-style JRPG where you could summon a baby dragon that sneezed star-shaped Weetabix at your enemies it did NOT pull its punches.

    • 09/11/2011 at 20:34 FunkyBadger3 says:

      The Black Mages was a wonderful moment.

  81. 09/11/2011 at 15:30 Thunderbeak says:

    The only thing coming to mind for me is the ending of Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time — mostly because back then I was an emotional teenager.

    However, when thinking of PC games, recently Portal 2′s ending has moved me greatly. I would say because it was unexpected and the (how can I say this spoiler-free?) elevator music was so very good.

    • 09/11/2011 at 15:42 Red|Exergy says:

      Yeah, Portal2 moved me as well. Tears may or may not have been included. Curious though, because it was definitely as much of the setting (the elevator music man, Ive rewached that part on YT so many times) as the actual story itself.

    • 09/11/2011 at 16:21 Thunderbeak says:

      If you by any chance haven’t seen the lyrics yet, they’re also quite interesting.

    • 09/11/2011 at 16:47 mondomau says:

      I think the bit where you realise who GLaDOs actually is was one of the only times I have said ‘oh god!’ with any real feeling while playing a game. I think I actually put my hand to my mouth. Sublimely written and very sad.

  82. 09/11/2011 at 15:31 Babachenko says:

    Half Life 2: Episode 2 ending where Vance died, also when my gnome finally went to space! It was a sad, but joyous day.

    Also Amnesia: The dark decent, which was more of pure pee my pants crying.

    Super Meatboy was just rage inducing tears.

  83. 09/11/2011 at 15:32 noggin says:

    I’ve also, since having kids, found myself welling up over the most unlikely things on screen, but curiously video games have never have that effect on me.

    Ok this isn’t much of a comment but I wanted to say how much I like Odilon Redon

  84. 09/11/2011 at 15:33 Dexemplu says:

    Unreal 2′s ending. Braid. Bioshock 2′s ending made me cry badly.

    The worst has to be Legacy of Kain: Defiance’s ending.

  85. 09/11/2011 at 15:35 Nihi says:

    I’m not vulnerable to Pathos, and games so far rely too much (only?) on it, but movies are for vast majority the same.
    I love Odilon Redon, and i almost cried when i saw his paintings, there was a lot of people so i had to hold on…

  86. 09/11/2011 at 15:37 Smouticus says:

    The newish Tales of Monkey Island. Partly because it punched me in the heart when I really wasn’t expecting it.

    I did spend a silly amount of time protecting all of my ME2 crewmates though, after spending a whole day choosing between Kaidan and Ashley… No way I’m going through that again.

    And I’m about half way into To The Moon, and I can see big manly tears coming a mile away.

  87. 09/11/2011 at 15:41 A7K says:

    Homeworld
    Return to Kharak
    Samuel Barber’s “Agnus Dei” Adagio for strings-Choral Version
    The impact of the event and its magnitude sent me into tears.
    Yeah I’m a little bitch but thats one of the events in gaming that shaped my perceptions of what games COULD be.

  88. 09/11/2011 at 15:42 haowan says:

    I cry every time I get to the Red Moon chapter in Disgaea. The end of ICO made me cry.

  89. 09/11/2011 at 15:42 12kill4 says:

    weirdly, the death of your crew in Unreal 2. THE SHAME OVERWHELMS!!! [..the signal ends here..]

  90. 09/11/2011 at 15:43 killbilly says:

    I got a little weepy at Deekin’s monologue near the end of Shadows of Undrentide.

  91. 09/11/2011 at 15:47 Maldomel says:

    I can’t remember if I really wept while playing. Of course I was deeply moved by some moments, like FF VII, FF X’s ending, Dragon Age: Origins ending, MGS 3 ending ans so on,…but I don’t usually cry with games, unlike movies, books or mangas where I can shed tears for any dramatic moments.

    Also, you can laugh all you want but I was moved by Dom’s story in Gears of War 2 and Gears of War 3.

  92. 09/11/2011 at 15:47 resignation.speaks says:

    I’m gonna shed a tear right now, because so many of you mentioned crying with Planescape: Torment and The Longest Journey..

    You sweet, beautiful people!

  93. 09/11/2011 at 15:48 portchd says:

    I think the game that made me cry the most was Demons souls, that game kicked me so hard my mother felt it…

  94. 09/11/2011 at 15:49 BobbyFizz says:

    I know it’s not a PC title, but in Shadow of the Colossus when your horse sacrifices himself to save you… that really got me. AGRO!!!

  95. 09/11/2011 at 15:51 Gunsmith says:

    FF7 had an effect of me as did Bannon’s death in World in Conflict.

    the worst offender was the visual novel “Planetarian: Chiisana Hoshi no Yume” ok its not a game but i still blubbed like a girl at the end. :/

  96. 09/11/2011 at 15:55 Jimmy Jazz says:

    it’s been mentioned once before, but Okami was the only game that really made me cry, sure others have choked me up, but the ending of Okami…. man that was sad. and part of the reason it was is because you spent so much time playing the game and you were so invested in these characters.

  98. 09/11/2011 at 15:57 Baraqyal says:

    I can’t believe nobody has mentioned Braid yet.

    The level where you push rewind and get your mind blown. Also the bit in the epilogue (the final piece of text).

    • 10/11/2011 at 13:00 Dexemplu says:

      I have mentioned it :P

    • 10/11/2011 at 14:22 scumblr says:

      I’m surprised Braid hasn’t figured more strongly. I know that the underlying thematic was different, but the story of such massive miscommunication and total separateness of two partners who thought they were in love just moments before, becoming little more two strangers passing in the dark… well, maybe it was the time and the place. But I still feel gutted, thinking about it.

  99. 09/11/2011 at 16:03 Crowl says:

    Everquest 1 – When I came within 30 minutes of loosing everything to corpse decay in Plane of Fear.

  100. 09/11/2011 at 16:04 Dominus says:

    the ending of Syberia 1

  101. 09/11/2011 at 16:07 HVO-Jetfire says:

    Final Fantasy VII, because come on man, I was eleven.

    Seconding the ending of Dreamfall. Masterful storytelling, it wasn’t any single moment but just the overwhelming despair and the human nature of everything that happened.

    Bastion got me pretty damned close as well.

  102. 09/11/2011 at 16:07 Teddy Leach says:

    No game has made me cry. None. Which is why I don’t like games that deliberately try to make me have a sad. Because it doesn’t work.

  103. 09/11/2011 at 16:12 The Army of None says:

    To The Moon was the first game to get me to up and weep proper greek style.

  104. 09/11/2011 at 16:13 faelnor says:

    - Loom, when I was quite small and all those things were new to me. Tears of lasting sadness and saudade for a lost magical experience that would never come again. I think Blade Runner, too.
    - Homeworld, tears of shock as the music and visual exposition of one dramatic event and the fact it happened so unexpectedly early in the game were terribly effective.
    - The first two Phoenix Wright games, can’t remember exactly when. This time I was crying with joy. Psychonauts may have done that too. Oh, and World of Goo.

  105. 09/11/2011 at 16:14 TheJimTimMan says:

    First game I can remember having me struggling to hold in the tears for is Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness.
    It was something of a shock, considering A) the subject material, B) the fact that I knew what was coming and C) the fact that no game had ever managed such a feat beforehand.

    Well, maybe Mass Effect 2. That was more a morose guilt over the crew that I failed to save, though.

  106. 09/11/2011 at 16:14 PatrickSwayze says:

    Taking the ghost home on Zelda: Link’s Awakening induced baby like roaring in me. The music really seemed to fit well.

  107. 09/11/2011 at 16:15 Inglourious Badger says:

    This is the wrong site to admit this on but the Fable 2 ending where you lose your dog had me completely choked. It’s not that the ending is well done (it’s actually a totally pointless and arbitary ‘please choose from one of the following…’ ending) but foolishly I carried on playing for a bit trying to build up my property empire. Going around the same old locations without your faithful companion just got to me. I had to stop playing to avoid the overwhelming sadness.

    So that and ending Grim Fandango. It’s just that feeling of ‘the adventure’s over’ that gets you. After a few emotional moments it all catches up with you as you think ‘what the hell am I going to do now I’m not Manny anymore’.

    • 09/11/2011 at 16:41 mondomau says:

      Commented this further up, glad I’m not the only one that got attached to the furry little bastard.

      *SPOILERS* At the end, when I was given the choice of reward, I was all “The dog. Oh sorry, were you still talking? You were going to make me choose right? Yeah, the dog. Fuck all those other people”. *SPOILERS*

  108. 09/11/2011 at 16:16 nblake42 says:

    Silent Hill 2, a bit. Silent Hill: Shattered Memories – a lot. Though that wasn’t released on PC, I realise.

  109. 09/11/2011 at 16:18 Julio Biason says:

    I had to hold myself to not cry with Vekk reaction when he learnt that Gadd died, and you just learn that Gadd was Vekk father and that “quibbles between father and son are quite normal” in one of the final Guild Wars quests.

  110. 09/11/2011 at 16:21 ShadowNate says:

    The Longest Journey (the original, not Dreamfall). That final scene….
    Deadly Premonition (sadly not for PC). In a certain unexpected twist scene.
    The DIG (LucasArts)
    Out of this world (aka Another World)
    Blade Runner (I am not sure if a certain *something* happens in every scenario, but it was a horrible thing).

  112. 09/11/2011 at 16:23 CelticPixel says:

    I’ve never cried because of a game, but perhaps the strongest emotional response I had was playing Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines, when *SPOILER* You have to go and kill that rather gentle stuttering guy on the beach, and I really didn’t want to do it. The music’s rising and he’s saying “Look in your heart! Look in your heart!” My heart was racing and I’m thinking ‘Please give me another way out of this’. I let him flee town in secret instead of killing him.

    Humanity +1!

    • 09/11/2011 at 18:22 Rinox says:

      The thing is, the options you get (or don’t get) to let him go are directly linked to your humanity at that point, and as such to your behavior during most of the game before that. Which is pretty cool. Sure, a begging and crying poor confused stuttering kid is bad, but is it really that much worse than killing and cruelly treating all those other humans in the game?

  113. 09/11/2011 at 16:24 Apples says:

    Sorry to talk about console games, but – the ending of Deadly Premonition was unexpectedly sad for such a funny game, and I had to turn it off and take a break at a point just before the end. Won’t say why since I don’t want to spoil anything! Grim Fandango made me upset as a kid because I genuinely thought Glottis had died when he went over the edge ): Lots of people mentioning Planescape Torment – didn’t make me cry, but that memory sphere where you see how you behaved to Deionarra was amazing.

    And on a different note, I welled up when I saw the Normandy 2 in ME2. I don’t know why. I think I just really, really want to live in an age when there are spaceships and aliens. Boohoo.

    edit: forgot, I also cried at the Portal ending song. Didn’t know why at the time, still don’t.

    • 09/11/2011 at 17:21 Kaira- says:

      Oh yes, Deadly Premonition. The ending just came out of nowhere and punched me to the gut. It was so sad, and quite out of the blue, considering the silliness of the game. Honestly, how did they do that?

  114. 09/11/2011 at 16:31 phlebas says:

    Off the PC:
    Chrono Trigger (Robo)
    Ico (the ending)

    On the PC:
    The ending of Syberia (though I maintain it’s not a great game)
    The ending of Keepsake nearly got me too.
    Myst 4
    Half-Life 2 (something involving Dog)
    Today I Die

    Some of these were only nearly, I think.

  115. 09/11/2011 at 16:35 Anton says:

    Bastion… the part where the protagonist carries the antagonist (if you chose to save him) towards the exit while being shot at by onlookers…

  116. 09/11/2011 at 16:41 IDtenT says:

    Bioware and FPS games? Are you guys nuts? :P Seriously. FPS games have the most straight forward storyline known to man and Bioware games lack so much soul that all the characters they’ve ever created feels forced.

    That said, To the Moon was the first game to do it to me. Really really awesome game.

    • 09/11/2011 at 16:46 Apples says:

      You might think those FPS-criers are silly, but I thought To The Moon was soppy, overblown and eyeroll-inducing, so there you are :V different strokes, eh?

    • 09/11/2011 at 19:08 IDtenT says:

      Oh, it was sheer manipulation. The Deus Ex Machina was completely and utterly unnecessary. It’s just a point to try and get you into a certain mood. Ethical issues that come to light after the climax? Also manipulation.

      You know what though, it was good because it tried. Games just don’t try. I’m completely dumbfounded when people cry at games that have no soul. I just don’t get it.

  117. 09/11/2011 at 16:41 Ian says:

    The “Little Pamela” quests in WoW are pretty sad. Not tear-inducing though.

    • 09/11/2011 at 17:56 Someblokius says:

      Yeah. The little Pamela quests are very sad. The Cataclysm revamp toned a lot of the Plaguelands down but they certainly used to give the impression of a place where a lot of terrible things happened to a lot of innocent people. Amzing how much emotional involvement you can get in an MMO if the designers are trying.

      Yep, I’m aware this is WoW, the butt of at many a comment about shallow gaming. It has it’s moments though. :)

      Also in WoW the Crusader Bridenbrad questline, where you go all over the gameworld looking for help to cure a dying paladin of the disease that will turn him into an undead monster. The end where, you fail to save him, but win him the chance to die free of the curse, is a heck of a moment.

      Finding out that the whole questline was set up to honour a Blizzard VP’s late, wow-playing brother, really did get to me.

  118. 09/11/2011 at 16:43 BreadBitten says:

    Console – Metal Gear Solid 3. Big Boss’s salute sent me over the edge.

    PC – Dreamfall: The Longest Journey. Such a bittersweet ending, and the fact that Zoe is one of the most grounded and relatable characters as a whole didn’t help much either…

  119. 09/11/2011 at 16:44 Moonracer says:

    SHODAN’s return scene in System Shock 2. It was admittedly more of a weep of fond nostalgia, but it was also like the return of an old lover and the promise of another sweet, sweet dance.

  120. 09/11/2011 at 16:44 Myros says:

    I have to admit I found one of the elven starting stories quite sad in Dragon Age … where your wife gets raped etc was great motivation for the rest of the playthrough.

  121. 09/11/2011 at 16:46 DRoseDARs says:

    The end of Portal 2 when the full weight of what had just happened hit me. Chell was a small child on Bring Your Daughter to Work Day between 8-12 years old when she was first put into stasis. When she was awoken for the first experiment, her body had matured some 20-ish years, but her mind was still the same. That test lasted all of a few hours, a few hours of consciousness, before she was put right back into stasis. She’s awoken a second time centuries later, but her mind is STILL only a few hours older than when she was first captured. That test lasted an in-game day or two tops. She learns all kinds of secrets about her origin, gets almost deadified numerous times, gets sung a lullaby imploring her to stay far away and never return by the digital ghost of her mother, then gets plunked out in the middle of a field with a useless metal box.

    Despite being engaged in a fantastic and horrific experience at the facility, she’s still an 8-12 year old little girl who is centuries away from anyone or anything she might have known in her brief pre-GLaDOS life, in a future world she knows nothing about (but we know had been ravaged by alien invasion around the time of the first game) and God knows if there even is anyone left alive on the surface, never mind if she even has the non-portalgun related survival skills to even begin to search for them.

    Are you kidding me?

    • 09/11/2011 at 16:56 Eldiran says:

      That wouldn’t make any sense… she couldn’t mature 20 years in stasis, otherwise the stasis that lasted centuries would have killed her. I’m pretty sure she’s consciously lived out 20-some years (and thus has a mental age of over 20, albeit with a minor case of severe brain damage).

  122. 09/11/2011 at 16:48 mentally extrabalanced says:

    .

  123. 09/11/2011 at 16:52 Eldiran says:

    I’ve never actually cried at a video game, (or movie, etc) but there was one game that got really close, and that was the ending of Sonic Battle for the GBA. Yeah. I didn’t expect it either. (I wasn’t even 12 years old or anything)

  124. 09/11/2011 at 16:52 verminspeaker says:

    Other people have probably already mentioned these, but:
    - Half-Life 2: Episode 2 (The ending, obviously.)
    - Mass Effect (That bonus quest for characters with the Colonist background where you meet a former slave. Seriously, I’m tearing up just thinking about it).
    - Bioshock (The Good ending. The Evil/Extra Evil endings are hilarious.)
    - Bioshock 2 (The intro cutscene.)

  125. 09/11/2011 at 16:53 mentally extrabalanced says:

    Sanitarium. The only game that made me cry. Anyone remembers that one? Or am I really that old?

  126. 09/11/2011 at 16:53 mentally extrabalanced says:

    triple post, AWAY!!

  127. 09/11/2011 at 16:54 dheinecke says:

    Ultima 7: Serpent’s Isle. Finding Cantras’ body had me bawling like a baby.

  128. 09/11/2011 at 17:00 PedroBraz says:

    The glottis hug at the ending of Grim Fandango

    and

    Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers when

    SPOILER

    Wolfgang rip his own heart out to save Gabriel

  129. 09/11/2011 at 17:00 Bodylotion says:

    Final Fantasy VI & The Longest Journey Dreamfall are the 2 games that come to mind but i’m pretty sure these are not the only ones.

    games like Max Payne, Brothers In Arms (hell’s highway), Outcast & Resident Evil also got some emotion in it but i dont think i really cried there.

    This thread does show there are not many real emotional games out there.

    I did cry a couple of times if i just paid 50 bucks for a game that totally sucked ass, does that count ?

  130. 09/11/2011 at 17:02 Shakermaker says:

    I cried manly tears at the end of RDR, when you ride back home and the song ‘Far Away’ starts playing. Such a beautiful moment.

    • 11/11/2011 at 06:07 awickedone says:

      I didn’t cry at the end of RDR but I thought it was a strong moment that was capitalized with the going out in a blaze of glory moment, and then years later his son gunning down the man responsible for his death. That games story had its ups and downs but the ending was amazing.

  131. 09/11/2011 at 17:05 Robert says:

    Gabriel Knight 1
    Beyond Good & Evil
    Zelda: Link’s Awakening
    Zelda: Majora’s Mask
    Phantasy Star 2&4
    Tales of Symphonia
    Mass Effect

    But the one that sticks with me the most/is the biggest tearjerker was

    Soleil on the Sega Genesis/Megadrive. It still haunts my youth.

    • 09/11/2011 at 19:14 greenbananas says:

      Good grief, Soleil.

      Now there’s a game that lets the player know about the error of his ways. And by lets a player know, I mean bends the player over one knee and spanks him ’til he cries tears of regret. I’ll not spoil the ending, but if it was any worse, we’d be talking emotionally scarring, here.

  132. 09/11/2011 at 17:07 Post-Internet Syndrome says:

    Don’t believe I’ve ever wept playing a game, but Mafia was the closest.

  133. 09/11/2011 at 17:10 Squiddity says:

    Bioshock 2.

    My choices (and not silly button prompts) allowed me to influence and save both Eleanor and the world. I also managed to defeat Sofia on an ideological level, which was infinitely more satisfying than proving Ryan right in Bioshock.

  134. 09/11/2011 at 17:13 magnus says:

    For me it was the end of Minerva’s den and the end of Ico.

  135. 09/11/2011 at 17:14 magnus says:

    Oops, double post.

  136. 09/11/2011 at 17:25 Carra says:

    Never actually. It very rarely happens at all, I even have trouble to list five movies where I almost cried and those are mostly disney movies.

  137. 09/11/2011 at 17:28 Pathetic Phallacy says:

    Video games continually fail to evoke any emotional response in me, primarily due to the fact that narrative is not the first thing considered in the development process.

    Hopefully popular digital narrative can reach the same level of maturity in story-telling that literature and film have achieved.

  138. 09/11/2011 at 17:28 McCool says:

    For me, console toy games tend to be better at pulling the old heart strings. The first piece of anything (films, tv, games, whatever) to make me cry was FFVIII, the scene when Riona floats through space.

    Shadow Of The Colossus’s ending, with the..yeah..the bit where you hold on, at the end, is probably the best moment in gaming for me, and made me sob. End of MGS3, too.

    When it comes to PC Games..that’s a little harder. The proper start of Grim Fandango’s third act came very close, but was more just emotionally devastating (when you find yourself on the bottom of the ocean). GM’s end comes close as well.

    The closest a PC game has got me in years would probably be Minecraft. When that lonesome piano kicks in, you look up and realise what a lonely, lonely man your character is, making his little existence on this island. Sends chills up the spine.

  139. 09/11/2011 at 17:31 tomemozok says:

    Dreamfall:The longest journey,
    Final Fantasy 7
    and those are about it…
    Althou i played FF7 when i was 8 years old or smthing like that…:D

  140. 09/11/2011 at 17:32 mpk says:

    The only game that springs to mind is One Chance, that beautiful, horrible little experience.

    On the last day I decided to go to the park, and there was a bug where my daughter appeared for just one second – when she really shouldn’t have, as she’d died. Man, that just about broke me.

  141. 09/11/2011 at 17:32 tomemozok says:

    And i forgot Half-Life 2: Episode Two when Eli dies… Wasn’t crying,but was sad after that…

  142. 09/11/2011 at 17:36 Jesse L says:

    Did someone say Photopia yet? Photopia.

  143. 09/11/2011 at 17:40 Bosscelot says:

    Homeworld. Kharak is burning.

  144. 09/11/2011 at 17:43 Keirley says:

    The Void – when I finally reached Ole after what felt like weeks of just trying to scrape together enough colour to survive and to get to her.

    Shadow of the Colossus – when your horse takes a tumble.

    Dear Esther – at various points over different replays, but especially when the narrator talks about sitting and holding the ashes of his partner:

    “I’d sit still, quite still, for hours just holding the
    diminishing powder in my palm and noting its smoothness. In time, we will all be worn
    down into granules, washed into the sea and dispersed.”

  145. 09/11/2011 at 17:46 Shazbut says:

    Double post. Sorry

  146. 09/11/2011 at 17:49 Shazbut says:

    Kono Yo no Hate de Koi wo Utau Shoujo YU-NO, Kana: Imouto, Crescendo, Ever 17, and Swan Song.

    Obviously.

    Carry on, everybody.

    • 09/11/2011 at 18:03 WarpRattler says:

      Oh, hey, someone else commenting on visual novels.

      Except I was going to be obvious and just mention Clannad.

    • 09/11/2011 at 18:19 Shazbut says:

      Hooray! :D

      I’ve yet to play any of Key’s stuff except Kanon, which I’m not sure has aged well. The soundtrack is still great though.

    • 09/11/2011 at 18:36 WarpRattler says:

      I started Kanon but didn’t play much of it, possibly due to the overwhelming dread of “crap, there’s going to be porn in here,” since the all-ages version doesn’t have a translation. The art didn’t help much either, but then, I read through all of what’s been translated of Umineko no Naku Koro ni, so that’s not too big a concern…

      I haven’t played as many VNs as I’d like, partially because a couple of the ones I’m interested in haven’t been translated (or are still in the process of being translated, or got a crappy MangaGamer translation that I won’t deal with). In a couple of those cases, it’s because, whoops, they’re PSP games and no one cares. For the ones that are translated that I haven’t played, it’s mostly just a matter of not having much time anymore.

    • 09/11/2011 at 19:16 Ravenholme says:

      Hah, someone commented on visual novels and Umineko got mentioned, this is a good day (I love Ryukishi07′s stuff – He tends towards a lot of pointless verbiage, especially in Higurashi [Which is a very moving series btw], but he’s still a damn good writer.)

      But yes, Clannad is the OBVIOUS one to mention here, but there are plenty of others… like Kanon.

    • 09/11/2011 at 21:32 HSuke says:

      Oh god. That story where the sick girl dies, and then is brought back to life, only to die again. This is followed by a flashback to her past life, where she dies yet another time. After returning to the present, the main character gives up his life to prolong the girl’s, but she dies again anyways.

      Hearbreak x4

      I just remembered the name: Air

  147. 09/11/2011 at 17:54 Grygus says:

    I cry at all kinds of things. Movies. Commercials. Unemployment. But oddly never a video game, though I do love them dearly. They can inspire real anger, though; Logain’s betrayal in DA: Origins kept my anger forge fired for over 100 hours of playing time, and when I finally had that son of a bitch and the game offered to let me show him mercy, it seemed an absurd possibility that I never even considered. I still hate that dick far more than I’ve ever hated anyone in real life.

    There was a (probably made-up) story based on Animal Crossing that got dust in my eyes once. If that counts.

  148. 09/11/2011 at 18:19 thenagus says:

    Dreamfall, on multiple occasions. I’ve never cried at any other game.

    It’s funny: the the actual gameplay was terrible, but I’ve never played anything that’s come even close to it in terms of storytelling.

  149. 09/11/2011 at 18:20 Jengaman says:

    Chrono trigger was one.

    Earthbound didnt make me cry i guess, but it was very moving… you know (no homo)

  150. 09/11/2011 at 18:23 Beelzebud says:

    HL2 EP2. I was fine right until the screen went black and Alyx kept going. That voice actress is amazing.

  151. 09/11/2011 at 18:25 zerosociety says:

    “What can change the nature of a man?”

  152. 09/11/2011 at 18:32 climax says:

    I’m not sure about anyone else, but I cried at the end of Mother 3. It was pretty moving.

  153. 09/11/2011 at 18:34 lith says:

    Deionarra’s sensory stone in Planescape: Torment.

    The Longest Journey’s up there, too.

    A Lola – LOLA!

  154. 09/11/2011 at 18:35 suibhne says:

    The Last Express, hands down. Incredible conclusion.

  155. 09/11/2011 at 18:42 kdh says:

    Hasn’t happened. I guess The Graveyard from Tale of Tales was what came closest.

  156. 09/11/2011 at 18:56 Symbul says:

    I stopped just shy of an ocular spill (as I remember it) but… Unreal 2, when your friends on the spaceship are blown out of the sky.

  157. 09/11/2011 at 18:59 pastinople says:

    Cooking mama… the onions
    Bioshock… meeting that first girl

  158. 09/11/2011 at 19:01 Pointless Puppies says:

    I’ve never physically cried, but there have been several games that greatly moved me. The ending of EarthBound, for instance, where you’re peacefully walking around the world that is completely peaceful now (which, honestly, EVERY game should do. Why is it that games NEVER let you roam around the game world in the aftermath, only existing if there’s a conflict?), and you say goodbye to your mates one by one, until you make the trek aaaalll the way back home, where your mother greets you and makes delicious food for you. Brought the game to a close in a very fantastic and emotional way.

    Another game (incidentally from the same era) was Secret of Mana. Kind of worked the same way, except one of the major playable characters dies as a result of defeating the big bad final boss, so there’s that lingering thought as the credits roll and the other two characters make a journey back home following the protagonist all the way back to his hometown from where he was banished at the beginning of the game, and the game closes on the ghost of the dead character gazing at the moon. *tear*

  159. 09/11/2011 at 19:02 coldvvvave says:

    Never wept, but death of a girl you save in the beginning of VtmB really made me sad. I replayed from an older savegame and forced her to leave, then I went through all boring combat to see her dying again. Ughh.

  160. 09/11/2011 at 19:03 greenbananas says:

    Non-cry camp here, not for movies, books or games. What does well me up on occasion is music. During a game that’s happened twice iirc.

    That’s the start of Homeworld (Barber’s Agnus Dei, as someone’s already mentioned) and the ending of World of Goo.

    In fact, music aside, the WoG ending turns from lol to disturbing in about 5 seconds as you witness cruel murder. THAT was uncalled for.

  161. 09/11/2011 at 19:12 Risingson says:

    Syberia 1 and 2. These are the only games that really moved me.

  162. 09/11/2011 at 19:13 coldvvvave says:

    In the end I saved Malik, but her numerous deaths really made me sad and angry. I had like 15 piraxis points I never intended to use since I tried to preserve whats left of my humanity and I wasted them all on Typhoon and combat enhancements. Felt really dirty and wrong, but Malik was alive and that made things a little better.

  163. 09/11/2011 at 19:17 Sami H says:

    The first time I heard Still Alive (end of Portal). Not tears of sadness, more tears of surprise. And sort of sadness that it had ended, but mainly surprise and joy.

    Bastion made me well up but didn’t break me (I chose Zulf’s ending) – currently on New Game Plus to do the other. Mostly because the game was over.

    Grim Fandango, again mainly out of sadness that the game had ended.

    Hmmm I’m seeing a pattern developing here…

  164. 09/11/2011 at 19:25 Codi says:

    Phantasy Star IV.

    There is a certain point where a character you never thought would die, dies. When that happened I had my naivete shattered. I no longer looked at the world with innocent eyes, I had traveled and fought alongside a true comrade and after they were gone all I had in my heart was vengeance. There was nothing I could do to save them, it was inevitable.

    It took me 2 years to beat that game, it was the first RPG I ever beat. After countless hours of grinding I had conquered the game, but inside me I still felt empty. Through countless scenarios I had traveled, but my friend was still gone. I had come out a Hero and the victor. I had the girl, the world, the spaceship, but my friend was still gone.

    I think that’s about the point where my Social life died.

  165. 09/11/2011 at 19:39 neolith says:

    Today I Die

    … and what was the name of that flash game you could only play once where you try to safe the world from some virus you created?

  166. 09/11/2011 at 19:43 Saiwyn says:

    The first game to make me cry was the ending of the original Klonoa on the PSX. I was 20 years old, living by myself for the first time and the revelation at the end made me a mess for hours.

    The most recent was Lost Odyssey. Those memories are just so well written and Kaim’s daughter….

    Homeworld had me on the verge as well and so did Link’s Awakening.

  167. 09/11/2011 at 19:48 NieA7 says:

    ICO made me feel quite strange all the way through, especially at the end, and Final Fantasy Tactics was miserable enough that I probably had a manly cough or two at some points, but the only game where I’ve really broken down in floods was Chrono Cross. I didn’t get the “good” end first time which made me feel hollow and crushed (I’ve gone through all that and THIS is what happens?), then when I reloaded from a while back and played it right I utterly broke at the finish. Still not sure I completely follow the plot, but even just hearing the final song will bring a lump to my throat.

    Chrono Cross is a wonderful game, and I love it to pieces.

  168. 09/11/2011 at 19:52 Lethys says:

    I haven’t cried at a game, but I’ve definitely been emotional for Heavy Rain and Braid. Say what you will about plot flaws, but the part of the game involving the drug dealer was the hardest decision I’ve ever made in a video game and really made me question myself and my own morals in a way no form of media ever has.

    And the end of Braid was just ingenious. No other way to describe it.

  169. 09/11/2011 at 19:57 sethhuber says:

    This isn’t a PC game, but Final Fantasy 6. I replayed it a few years back, and some of the stuff that went over my head as a kid really affected me as an adult. I’m mostly thinking about the scene in which Celes, in complete despair after being abandoned after the end of the world, tries to commit suicide. You can tell the translators tried to make the scene ambiguous so kids wouldn’t get it, but when you do get it it’s really quite the tearjerker moment.

    If you want to watch it it’s here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ok6qjPj7O3g

  170. 09/11/2011 at 19:57 BrokenSymmetry says:

    Quite a few times, actually:
    - Dreamfall: The scene at the end with Faith in the doll house
    - Beyond Good & Evil: When Jade returns to the burnt-down lighthouse
    - World of Warcraft: The conclusion of the Shady Rest Inn quest in Dustwallow Marsh
    - World of Warcraft: The end of the quest-line with Kingslayer Orkus in Hillsbrad Foothills
    - Lost Odyssey: Quite a few of the short stories
    - Guild Wars: The stories in the Bleached Bones in the Crystal Desert

  171. 09/11/2011 at 20:03 Skusey says:

    I’m not sure, but I think Machanarium did. And there were moments in GTA4 and RDR that made me really sad, but not, I think, to the point of weeping.

  172. 09/11/2011 at 20:13 Spindrift says:

    Terranigma.

    ;_;

    • 09/11/2011 at 22:19 Drayk says:

      I remember that i cried at some point in FF8… don’t remember when, a scene in space I think…
      And also at some point in Xenogears… don’t remember when too…

      How and the end sequence of Terranigma… Heartbreaking.

  173. 09/11/2011 at 20:25 FunkyBadger3 says:

    Coming home from an especially long and arduous expidition in Minecraft always makes be feel, wistful…

  174. 09/11/2011 at 20:28 werix says:

    I seem to cry up a lot:
    1. End of Dragon Age; Origins. Having everyone eulogize my character for his heroic sacrifices jerked some tears.
    2. For some reason the end of FF8. I think the whole like handheld video camera effect it had sort of caused me to reminisce about the game.
    3. As as been said, the good ending in Bioshock 2. I just beat it for the first time the other night, so yeah.
    4. Mass Effect 1 and Two, more tears of joy than anything. Epic music does that to me.

  175. 09/11/2011 at 20:50 Nenad says:

    I’m not sure. Not much, if any. Maybe Shadow of a Colossus a little, but nothing, even in other media ever compares to Deionarras’ sensory stone. Here, read it online :)

    That’s all I can remember at the moment. Torment is always on top of my head. For the rest I would have to think too long just to put a comment here.

  176. 09/11/2011 at 21:01 purple light says:

    its cool that none of these have anything to do with gameplay.

  177. 09/11/2011 at 21:11 HelderPinto says:

    The fighting scene of Snake vs Liquid in MGS4 did it for me, the whole ending did.

  178. 09/11/2011 at 21:15 etho says:

    The first two that come to mind are not PC games. Sorry. Shadow of the Colossus and Persona 3. Oh man. Other than that? No full fledged tears, but Portal 2 choked me up a bit.

  179. 09/11/2011 at 21:35 piedpiper says:

    Dreamfall and Grim Fandango. Maybe System Shock 1 because it was not just a good game – it was perfect. From first second and to the last one

  180. 09/11/2011 at 21:37 pH-unbalanced says:

    No one’s mentioned it yet, but Valkyria Chronicles made both of my children cry. (They played it independently, without spoilers, too.)

    I made it through without crying when I played it, but lost it each time it got to them.

    Oddly enough, the *music* to Mirror’s Edge puts me close to tears all by itself, though the game itself doesn’t come close.

    • 10/11/2011 at 00:25 greenbananas says:

      Ah, the “lesser known” Still Alive. As someone who wells up to music rather than movies, books or games, I can totally see it. The theme (the bit that’s played on piano on Still Alive and at times on other songs in the M’sE ost) is pretty powerful stuff.

      Games whose music made the hair on the back of my neck stand up are Homeworld during the opening (Barber’s Agnus Dei / Adagio) and World of Goo during the ending (why so mean, Telescope?).
      To a lesser extent, the theme of Panzer Dragoon and the Epilogue to PD Zwei (although I’m forced to admit that the game’s end did have some bearing on that one).

  181. 09/11/2011 at 21:42 Jimbo says:

    N/A (British Male)

  182. 09/11/2011 at 21:48 Lazarius says:

    I didn’t cry but it had me sighing for days afterwards: Prince of Persia (2008).

    **SPOILER**
    As Prince, the game is spent working with a princess to defeat an evil god that her father unleashed to save her life. By the end, the god is only banished when the princess gives up her soul. Driven by grief, you retrieve her soul, allowing the evil god to escape, and (presumably) to wreak havoc upon the world.

    Essentially, you spend the whole time fighting this evil god but in the end you’d rather let him live than have the princess die. Choked me up it did.

  183. 09/11/2011 at 22:50 TheTourist314 says:

    I hate to admit it, but I did when E.E. died in Metal Gear Solid 2. I honestly have no idea why, it’s such a strange thing.

  184. 09/11/2011 at 22:51 mundox says:

    I cried after playing Modern Warfare 3… thats $60 that arent coming back :’(

  185. 09/11/2011 at 22:55 Shortwave says:

    I shed a single tear after beating MG1 on psx, the ending theme music urged it on.
    I just thought the game was so epic it blew my mind, and I was sleep deprived..

  186. 09/11/2011 at 23:10 wengart says:

    Brother’s in Arms: Road to Hill 30. When Allen and Garnett died I teared up and literally couldn’t play the game for a solid day.

  187. 09/11/2011 at 23:15 Undermind_Mike says:

    Me too for Merle Dandridge’s performance at the end of HL2 E2

  188. 09/11/2011 at 23:38 Saiko Kila says:

    Thinking about this… it is strange, but I don’t weep when playing games, or after. Strange, because I’m not stranger to it when it comes to cinema films (I don’t have TV). And games are quite strong in terms of conveying emotions and such. Maybe it is because in films I can’t affect the outcome? I don’t know. Anyway, the games I was closest to are: Syberia series and Dwarf Fortress. They made me really sad.

  189. 10/11/2011 at 00:01 Wahngrok says:

    I had tears in my eyes when Maggie died in “The Dig”. Probably personal circumstances helped to push me over the brink but still it was a sad moment and to keep the promise not to revive her.

  190. 10/11/2011 at 00:19 coldvvvave says:

    I almost cried durning Fast Five when all Rocks squadmates died.

    ;_;

  191. 10/11/2011 at 00:20 massive man - solid gold suit says:

    I’d like to echo the comments made on Homeworld. That moment is so powerful that I still tell people about it when discussing great works of sci-fi.

    Machinarium had me close, when you meet the girl robot. That was a pretty emotional encounter.

    Also I remember in Ocarina of Time, when you first meet Zelda, she says something about Link sounding like a familiar name. I remember thinking that there was something intensely sad about that, as if these two people are destined to go through so much together, only to forget all about each other and start over.

  192. 10/11/2011 at 00:51 Cpfoxhunt says:

    Has anyone mentioned Tribes Vengeance yet?

    ‘We could have changed the world Princess – look at us now’ – or something. Not quite in tears but surprisingly emotive nonetheless.

  193. 10/11/2011 at 02:04 Boarnoah says:

    Brothers in Arms made me get quite moist eyed specially in Earned in Blood

  195. 10/11/2011 at 02:24 AutoCyclist says:

    There have been a few. Most of them were indie titles, but a particular scene in The Darkness always comes to mind when I think of manly tear-inducing games. It broke me down completely ;-;

  196. 10/11/2011 at 02:28 Walkerboh64 says:

    Personas 3 and 4 had me tearing up, but Phoenix Wright T&T had me in hysterics for a half-hour! That game still takes my personal prize as the most emotional game I have ever played.

  197. 10/11/2011 at 02:41 Kloreep says:

    Grim Fandango: I’m pretty sure I cried at the end, but perhaps my memory exaggerates. I’m sure I was close to tears if not.

    Mass Effect 2: The Genophage stuff on Tuchanka hit me hard, especially as it was on some unsuspected lines of background dialogue. Mordin had talked me into seeing the genophage through his own clinical, tragic-but-it’s-better-than-the-alternative point of view. Then I overheard a conversation that plays between a couple Krogan guards, one of which is excited about becoming a father. It could have triggered at any time, I’m sure, but for me it came at just the right moment.

  198. 10/11/2011 at 02:49 Johnny Go-Time says:

    The 2 that choke me up are largely due to the accompanying music:
    - The Final Fantasy opera with Maria & Draco, esp. the recent symphonic version from the Distant Worlds album which gets me every time I hear it. Strangely, it’s as much about the evil king for me as it is for the good guys.
    - The trailer (of all things) for Metal Gear 2 with the arrangement by Harry Gregson-Williams, where Snake keeps advancing & firing through the rainstorm.

    Yeesh!

  199. 10/11/2011 at 03:00 Lucretiel says:

    Half Life 2 Episode 2 is the only game that’s ever driven me to tears, and I am not ashamed to say it.

  200. 10/11/2011 at 03:12 ghost55 says:

    Mass effect 2. The first time I played it, I rushed through, and made a ton of mistakes on the final mission. watching everyone die including shepard was heartbreaking.

  201. 10/11/2011 at 04:05 Petethegoat says:

    I didn’t cry when I killed Red. I told myself that he wanted to die. It was merciful.
    Then I found that fucking letter in his drawer, and THINKING about it makes me tear up.
    Just the thought that he had been trapped down there, for all his life makes me want to stop moving and just cry.

    Penumbra is the only game that I’ve tried to write a song about.

  202. 10/11/2011 at 06:10 shlork says:

    I did not cry, but these games have made me sad: Photopia, Dear Esther, I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream

  203. 10/11/2011 at 06:31 Mister_Inveigler says:

    People might find this weird, but Homeworld hit me deeply. The emptiness of Karen Sajet’s voice really spoke volumes to me.

    • 10/11/2011 at 08:35 amishmonster says:

      Nope, not strange at all. The music and narration in that game did drive me to tears when they returned to find Kharak in ashes.

  204. 10/11/2011 at 06:58 Screamer says:

    I can’t really remember now, but Uncharted 3 tugged at the strings once or twice. The father and son thing gets to me sometimes.

  205. 10/11/2011 at 07:34 nmute says:

    Dreamfall.

    i cried several times during several scenes, including:

    convo with dad at the very start got me misty.
    april’s hard edged bitter new nature.
    april’s apparent SPOILER at the end.
    faith notes.
    faith scenes.
    various zoe scenes, especially THAT scene omfg. WHY WHY WHY.

    i blubbered so much with that game i got angry at ragnar and fc for making it so sad.

    also:

    Fallout 3. MOM, DAD, NOOOOO.
    the Kotor 2 light side epilogues.
    Sonic the Hedgehog 2 ending. i was like 10 or 11 ok. and i love animals.

    i’m weird.

  206. 10/11/2011 at 08:08 Spatula says:

    I must say, the HL,Ep2 ending, while not making me cry DID put a not insignificant lump in my throat.

    For the game that made me blub, it’s actually the rather mediocre and suprising Homefront. It was just a throw away scene, probably only added to give a reason for hating the invaders, but it;s where the two parents are executed in fron of their son while you’re driving past on the bus.

    I’d just become a father at the time and seeing that, the mother telling the baby to look away, and then the child toddling over in tears after they were shot REALLY affected me. Still affects me now, thinking about it to be honest- not least for the fact that these sorts of things actually happen.

    Damn, something in my eye again…

  207. 10/11/2011 at 08:37 amishmonster says:

    Homeworld, as mentioned above. Okami just for the raw beauty and bittersweet taste of things at the end. Bastion, after choosing the “evacuate” option at the end. I think the common theme there is just how beautiful and heavy with emotion the games were throughout, and then the catharsis of actually finishing them.

  208. 10/11/2011 at 09:55 Giftmacher says:

    I don’t really consider it possible to incite tears with the amount of anvilicious clumsiness presently present in video games’ stories and characters.
    HOWEVER; the ending of Episode 2 did put me in a mood for several days.

  209. 10/11/2011 at 10:24 Towercap says:

    I think the bit in Thief 2 where [SPOILER] Viktoria goes on a suicidal rampage to draw the Mechanists away from Garret and give him a chance to stop Karras [/SPOILER] got me teary.

    The ending of Dreamfall did me in, too.

  212. 10/11/2011 at 20:51 tailzdru says:

    I think I may be broken because I am yet to cry at a movie let alone a game,

    I do remember Chrono trigger and lost odyssey to have some sad moments in them especially the memories you collect in the latter. I also think the music in these games were great too really added to it.

  213. 10/11/2011 at 22:32 Angryinternetman says:

    Baldurs Gate 2 ending stories made me cry. Thief 3 ending made me real sad but happy (I played Thief marathon).

  214. 11/11/2011 at 00:50 McNoguff says:

    When I found out James Sunderland’s secret.

    When Jack’s surrogate daughters all held his dying hand.

    When Argo fell. Then when Wander succeeded, and paid the price.

    When Ico was on the beach, when I thought I’d lost him.

    When I could do nothing to save Eli Vance.

    Most recently, when I helped Zulf get home.

    And many others. I think the very first time I cried at a video game, it was the Seventh Guest’s ending, when the boy finally goes into the light. That was probably ’94. I was ten. I never cried at an Uncharted, or a Resistance, a God of War or even a Red Dead Redemption. But I love video games, and as long as that medium makes me feel things, I’ll keep coming back.

  215. 11/11/2011 at 23:07 qplazm says:

    Until 3 months ago, no game, movie, book, tv, or entertainment product made me cry. Since then, Narcissu, Ever17 (Why am I outside the washing machine?), G-Senjou no Maou, and Kana: Little Sister have all made me cry very unmanly tears.

  216. 11/11/2011 at 23:13 qplazm says:

    accidental double-up

  217. 12/11/2011 at 16:00 0positivo says:

    Not really crying, but very close to it. Homeworld (the first, of course), had me running shrills down my spine in the intro sequence, and nearly cry at mission 3 (if you played it, you know it)

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