Rawest emotion you've felt during a game.

[Johnny Impact]

Some spoilers below. Games are a few years old now but just in case.

Fear: Silent Hill 2. I have never before or since been scared enough to stop, actually stop my game avatar, rather than move him around the next corner and see what was making that horrible noise. Dead Space and Doom are good at jump scares and all but the ridiculous arsenal takes away a lot of fear. I only stop for weapons checks. To date, only Silent Hill has instilled true primordial dread in me.

Admiration: BioShock, when you finally meet Andrew Ryan. He knows what is coming, suspects he is very probably about to die, and spends his last few moments trying to help you while you beat him to death. Society would judge him amoral but he is a man of great achievements and ironclad principles who would rather die than compromise either.

Revulsion/Contempt: The very same scene in BioShock. Scumbags just don't get any lower than Fontaine. What he makes you do, and laughs about it.....man. Just man. I was probably supposed to be scared going into the final battle. Honestly, I hated Fontaine so much at that point it never even occurred to me that I could lose. He was just a roach, and I was wearing the heaviest boots ever made. Fortunately the fight actually was easy or I probably would have been very upset.

Triumph: Beating Left 4 Dead on Expert for the first time. My brothers and I completed Dead Air after several attempts. Our final victory included an epic last-second rescue of a downed teammate, three of us running back out of the plane to save him. First Expert campaign any of us had ever beaten, and all four of us survived it. We still talk about it.

Awe: God of War. Sometimes bigger really is better. That game (series) redefined the term "epic." No matter how badass other game companies think their combat is, God of War proved there is ALWAYS room for bigger and better.

Rage: The only game ever to instill pure, volcanic, controller-smashing rage was an old Genesis title, Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle or somesuch. I...let's just say I felt the game wasn't made very well, and, ah....punished the cartridge for its many failings.

 

[Johnny Impact]

I just slew my first colossus in Shadow of the Colossus (I'm late I know) and I'm still felling a sort of sinking in my chest...It was such a beautiful creature and it seemed so pathetic when it fell...I feel like a bastard right now which is a bit more than most other bosses have made me feel. Hell, I didn't feel this guilty when I killed Wolf in MGS1 (after listening to her final speech that is)

It's rare for a game to introduce such elements of moral ambiguity without lampshading them. We're never exactly certain the prince is doing the right thing in SotC -- in fact, I was pretty sure he was opening the way for something much worse than a few stone giants. Realizing you may not be the good guy is part of what makes the game interesting.

 

[The journey man]

*Spoiler for Ace Comabt 5* The moment when Chopper dies in Ace Combat 5 really put me into rollercoaster of emotions (sadness, anger, revenge and remorse). It was such a well done moment that every time I hear Blurry by Puddle of Mudd I think of it.

 

[Hyper-space]

Oceanside Mansion in Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines.

I ended up crouching the entire level, hesitating at every corner which made the entire thing last MUCH longer than it should.

 

[CleverCover]

Fear: Walking in a broken hospital in Bioshock 1, waiting for something to jump out at me, but nothing comes. I end up scaring myself on a frozen body that looks like it's going to reach out at me but never does. Dropped the controller like a hot potato./Hearing Sonic drown. I couldn't play again for a while.

Rage:When Quentin had my mother in DA2/Losing again to Eugene in Evolution

Bloodlust: Fighting Gary in the last chapter of Bully/Killing Howe in DA:O as a Human Noble

Excited:Watching Shepard walk away from the Council and the credits roll in at end of ME1/Watching Reapers roll out at end of ME2

Tears of Joy: Watching the Normandy be reborn for the first time/Good Ending of Bioshock 1

Accomplishment: Beating Super Magnetic Neo/Getting Insanity Achievement at end of ME1/ME2

 

[Valanthe]

Hmm, particularly strong emotions?

Well the most recent would be the ending to Portal 2, which all I'll say is the Achievement description was pretty much exactly what I was thinking, "Did... did that just happen?" Followed by the immense sense of relief and accomplishment as you finally head out of the lab, it was like I had actually just accomplished a life goal, that no matter what becomes of the Portal series, I saved the one part of it that mattered, and for that, I am awesome... Just like the other several million who did the same thing.

And for one I always come back to, simply because it was so memorable for being so absolutely unexpected, and the moment I realized that I was definitely meant to be a Bioware Fanboy, was the "Joker" section of Mass Effect 2, and the part right afterwards. That short little interlude really shook me, because for both games up until that point, your ship symbolized safety, the Normandy was Home, and it's crew, most of them nameless entities who don't even get name tags, were my family. Seeing the chaos of the invasion of the Normandy, and playing as Joker, who can't just grab a gun and blast everything in his path to kicking ass, really drove home the feeling of wrongness, like my entire world was being flipped upside down.

And on the same token, afterwards, wandering the empty decks, it really drove home how much Bioware, through just the subtlest little things, like someone giving your cook a hard time about his cooking, to the crewmen talking about themselves about their fears and desires, really made the ship feel alive, and it had been so subtle, that until that life was forcibly removed, I'd never realized how much I cared. It actually pumped me up for the finale, and made the stakes a lot more personal than just saving a faceless, nameless, and thankless galaxy, I was now in this fight for my new family.

Short version, It may be sappy, but that little unintentional moment stands out as the most emotional, poignant moment I've ever had in a video game, and little moments like that are what keep me coming back to this hobby.

 

[spartandude]

anger- The city elf origin in dragon age (doesnt help after just watching District 9... i hate humanity)

Awe - In the witcher 2 where geralt and triss are in that underground Elven ruin, even on lowest graphics it was one of the most beautiful things ive actually seen, i was in complete awe, whoever designed it deserves a reward

Fear- First bit of bioshock where that guy gets murdered
Also Limbo made me never want to remember my childhood (i cant remember anything past age of 7, but now i definately dont want to)

Sadness- Ending of HL2E2

Joy- everyone died in fable 3 and i had ended so i dont have to play it ever again

accomplishment- The turret opera at the end of Portal 2

 

[pyrosaw]

Portal 2 ending gave me true joy, John Marston's death gave me true sadness, and Silent Hill 2 gave me true horror.

 

[The_Lost_King]

Pure and utter rage. WHAT!!!! MORE THORIAN CREEPERS!!! I'M NOT ON FEROS, I WILL RIP OUT THE INTESTINES OF WHO EVER IS RESPONSIBLE!!!! I was playing an infiltrator and the thorian creepers were infuriating because i had my sniper maxed out, and snipers are not good for creepers.

or maybe the complete sadness of infamous 2's evil ending. I was depressed for the rest of the day.

or the disbelief of Red Dead's ending, WHY JOHN!!!!! WHY!!!!

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

pure awesome enjoyment: End of mass effect 1, right before you take on saren (basically the cutscene beforehand and the fight of finally getting sweet revenge on the bastard.). I can't tell you how many chills shot up my spine the first time i went through this.

pure sadness/depression: after playing heavy rain for 4 hours straight, and getting past the "sean!" part where he couldn't "get" his son...i was fucking depressed like no other, i remember it was 85 degrees out with perfect sunshine, a beautiful day, and all i wanted to do was sit there and mope and be a pile of shit. i immediately sold back the game, i couldn't take playing that fucked up game anymore.

otherwise there have been tons of other random moments..just these two stick out the most in my mind.

 

[Singularly Datarific]

The game was Mechwarrior 2. My older brothers picked it up, but I ended up playing it the most.
I remember stomping around the playground pretending to be a mech, if that says anything about my age back then.
Didn't get a new computer til about 2003 so I played the crap out of it. Sad part was finding out the new Mac couldn't run it. It was sad for a long time.
Anyways, the emotional bit was a couple of years back, I found an old iMac at my church nobody was using, so I got to set it up and got to relive childhood for a bit. Being able to watch that intro again after all those years was a combination of Nostalgia and Awe.
Goodness, I love that game.

 

[Burntpopcarn]

"Dom Dies"
Me: BOOHOOOHOOOHOOOHOOHOOHOOOHOOHOHOOWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! "sobs" "sniffles" Rest in piece Dom

 

[Durgiun]

The strongest emotions I've ever felt.

Sadness when talking to Wayne Haas in Deus Ex: Human Revolution.

And utter, fucking, teeth-grinding, bone-breaking, skin-lacerating, life-taking HATRED for any cheap-ass boss, enemy or game.