Best video game plot twists (spoilers!!!)

[Burn2Feel]

Probably the Higurashi games, the best one being when you realise that every "evil" character is acting perfectly normally, it's just a virus causing you to become paranoid on such a level that you end up psychotic. Best of all, it took me several play-throughs to fully understand it making it one of few twists which I had to work for to get.

 

[The Wykydtron]

Per-so-na *guitar solo* 4 and Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney, i just love melodramatic mystery games far too much.

Love mystery, love melodrama 2+2 = "the one who actually committed the crime... IS YOU! *epic point*"

Though Trials and Tribulation's final reveal was probably the best of the series, closely followed by the end of the original game.

Persona 4 is 1#, naturally...

 

[StorytellingIsAMust]

Phoenix Wright: Trials and Tribulations had a good twist.

Spoiler

Phoenix went through the trouble of proving a thief innocent and finds out that he had unwittingly provided the evidence to indict his client as a murderer by clearing his name for theft.

One I definitely did not see coming was in CoD:BO

Spoiler

The fake Reznov

 

[javelinstark]

oddworld strangers wrath

something strikes me to see somebody who really does not give a fuck take responsibility for the fate of an entire culture

 

[moxretroero]

Golden Sun.

Spoiler

the revelation that the villains, Saturos and Menardi, were not attempting to destroy the world, but rather restore life to it, and that you had basically been lied to by the Wise One who had set you on this quest was completely unforeen. Very well done, Camalot.

 

[Bazaalmon]

Nobody's mentioned Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time? Sheik IS Zelda. An oldie but a goodie.
Also Bioshock.

 

[MysticToast]

The revelation of the true villain of System Shock 2 is the ultimate "shit just got real" moment.

Thank you so much for mentioning that. I can't believe it took two pages for this to come up

 

[Wolfram23]

Would you kindly...

Understand my reference.

 

[imnot]

Halo.

It's the reason I'll defend Combat Evolved to the death if I see it derided as a mindless shooter. That level is the most perfectly executed reveal I've ever seen in a video game.

Reveal of what exactly? the flodd? thats what people normally mean. And yes I agree with Halo.

I like Ammnesias one too.

 

[Sixcess]

Halo.

Reveal of what exactly?

Yep, the Flood. The level 343 Guilty Spark is the most effectively done shift of tone and pacing I've ever experienced in a game, and a brilliant display of how to tell a story through the environment and gameplay. Halo gets a lot of flack, some deserved, some not, but in that level they knocked it out of the park.

 

[Exius Xavarus]

Golden Sun.

Spoiler

the revelation that the villains, Saturos and Menardi, were not attempting to destroy the world, but rather restore life to it, and that you had basically been lied to by the Wise One who had set you on this quest was completely unforeen. Very well done, Camalot.

This indeed has got to be one of my favorites of all time.

And there are many twists in Takes of Symphonia, and that game is still among my all-time favorites ever.

Spoiler: So many twist both for the story and the characters.

The Chosen's journey of world regeneration is actually an effort to destroy Sylvarant/Tethe'alla.

Kratos is actually Lloyd's father.

Zelos betrayed the party and sided with Cruxis, but TWIST#2 it was actually a facade needed
to get something he needed and rejoin Lloyd's group. That and Zelos is actually much smarter and much more of a respectable and deeper character than his initial appearance leads on.

Mithos is actually Yggdrasil.

The Renegades are not inherently the bad guys, as their main goal is actually the restoration of the Giant Kharlan Tree.

 

[Rariow]

This is starting to sound pretty Cliche, because everyone's saying it but... KotOR. The twist is masterfully executed. There are JUUUUST enough hints at it that it isn't unbelievable, but there are JUUUUUUST few enough that you're most probably not expecting it. There's a reason why it's the game I've replayed the most times (Despite it NOT being my favourite. That would be Deus Ex).

BioShock's was pretty sweet as well, but I think it ruined the part of the game that came after it. The story lost all impetu, the gameplay became bland, and, at least I, didn't give a damn about anything. If it had been about one hour into the game later, it would have worked a lot better. I wouldn't call it the best twist out there, because good twists are supposed to make the part after them BETTER not completely horrible.

 

[DioWallachia]

Obviously, the Twist at the end of Legacy Of Kain: Soul Reaver 2 stands up pretty well and if you have pay any attention to the plot until now, you will realize that all the set up was foreshadowed

 

[DioWallachia]

This is starting to sound pretty Cliche, because everyone's saying it but... KotOR. The twist is masterfully executed. There are JUUUUST enough hints at it that it isn't unbelievable, but there are JUUUUUUST few enough that you're most probably not expecting it. There's a reason why it's the game I've replayed the most times (Despite it NOT being my favourite. That would be Deus Ex).

BioShock's was pretty sweet as well, but I think it ruined the part of the game that came after it. The story lost all impetu, the gameplay became bland, and, at least I, didn't give a damn about anything. If it had been about one hour into the game later, it would have worked a lot better. I wouldn't call it the best twist out there, because good twists are supposed to make the part after them BETTER not completely horrible.

And was, you know, copying the same story game structure of System Shock 2 that LEAD to that twist

 

[sextus the crazy]

9 hours, 9 persons, 9 doors twists were pretty good.

 

[WaffleCopters]

Halo with the flood.

the way it so suddenly went from "shoot aliens with shields that take a full clip to die" to "fight the amorphous mass of zombielike beings" and then the shitstorm that followed.

 

[ninjapenguin1414]

Well I'm gonna go in a completely different direction and say Prince of Persia: WW. Finding out your the sand wraith and then going back in time to see you future self and technically saving your self was really well done and actually saved the game for me, cause other than that it was nowhere near as good as SoT

 

[Olivia Faraday]

Baten Kaitos was a pretty terrible game that I couldn't even finish, but I admit, the BIG BIG plot twist halfway through was probably the best one I've ever seen. There was a lot of foreshadowing for it that we all completely ignored because of the way the game played with who was the protagonist. It got resolved a little easily and with a little too much power of friendship bullshit, but the big reveal made me leap to my feet and gasp outloud.

I have very little good to say about Baten Kaitos, but I definitely, proudly award it with "best plot twist ever."

 

[plugav]

I'd add Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines to the list. There are a few more or less predictable twists along the way, but the big reveal at the end really blew my mind.

 

[Digitaldreamer7]

Deadspace. I kinda saw it coming, but, the ending totally got me.. After the initial OMFG moment, I cheered out loud.