I see that as a nice little tease to what could be in the future rather then a full on cliffhanger. I'm more then happy to see endings like that.
I agree that Cliffhanger endings that feel more like "End of part one" can die in a fire though.
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Games should not end with cliffhangers
- Thread starter Jingo
- Start date
I agree that Cliffhanger endings that feel more like "End of part one" can die in a fire though.
Valonquar
Member
I remember when I saw Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest in the theater, the entire audience audibly groaned when the movie ended completely open ended. No one knew.
The worst "to be continued" in a game for me was Halo 2. I borrowed the system & game from a friend to play through it. It was like JUST when the action was picking up from a snorefest...it ended.
The worst "to be continued" in a game for me was Halo 2. I borrowed the system & game from a friend to play through it. It was like JUST when the action was picking up from a snorefest...it ended.
I know. I was giving examples of cliffhangers in the first part of the post and giving examples of games in the second part that end with endings left to interpretation, but aren't actually cliffhangers.
spazchicken
Member
I agree OP. Anyone who has played Psi-Ops knows why they are so bad.
This is literally the ending
And there was never a Psi-Ops 2 was there?
SilverArrow20XX
Walks in the Light of the Crystal
I don't mind cliffhangers as long as the sequel's already a done deal and guaranteed to happen. I actually quite like them sometimes and they get me more hyped for the next game.
It's bullshit when developers end games on cliffhangers before being greenlit for a sequel and end up never resolving it though. Way too many "was supposed to be a trilogy but the first installment didn't sell well enough to fund it" instances.
It's bullshit when developers end games on cliffhangers before being greenlit for a sequel and end up never resolving it though. Way too many "was supposed to be a trilogy but the first installment didn't sell well enough to fund it" instances.
If we're talking about cliffhanger endings then MGS2 is the one to go. There are more unresolved mysteries by the end of that game than answers. And I love it for that, but I don't know if I believe in Kojima when he says he had no intention of ever following it up.
10/10
RavageDark
Member
Cliffhangers...
If it happens because they want to do a sequel, I'm okay with that.
If it happens because of planned DLC, it's stupid.
If it happens because they want to do a sequel, I'm okay with that.
If it happens because of planned DLC, it's stupid.
Yep. Games are never guaranteed to have a sequel. a number of factors can go wrong from being a bomba to having dev issues on the sequel, etc. Movies usually are more consistent with this. You'll occasionally get a franchise that doesn't hit like the fantastic four reboot but that is of an exception to the rule.
Aaronrules380
Member
I feel end of part one cliffhangers can also work (See my post on trails in the sky) as long as part one feels like a sufficiently complete story arc, and as long as it was made with a good amount of certainty that the follow up is in the works
If a developer has respect for their audience they will try to give you satisfying endings, being them good or bad, uncharted with 4 games , its a good example of this, last of us too, no wonder why they are holded in such high regard.
Jawmuncher
Member
Nope. If midway was still around i'd bug for it as much as I do Dino Crisis.
Aaronrules380
Member
I mean, sometimes stories are way too big to be told in one game. Sometimes you need a cliffhanger to work as a transition between the story from game one and that from game 2. I think that by saying every game needs a complete sense of closure, you ultimately limit the amount of story possibilities
I have problem with cliffhanger endings if they are genuinely well done and keep us on the edge of our seat... wanting answers and a sequel immediately. For example, I can't deny that I loved AC2's cliffhanger ending
. I don't mind more of these.
Minerva speaking to Desmond by using Ezio as a messenger, and Ezio having no concept of who Desmond is
Danny Dudekisser
I paid good money for this Dynex!
Also the only interesting part of the story, I would argue. It was like they finally conspired to attempt a plot in the last 5 minutes.
Same here. I only accept cliffhangers when I'm sure they will be solved in the next title.
Teasing_Pink
Member
Yeah, but Psi Ops 2 was so great, being able to pick up right where the first one left off, wasn't it?I agree OP. Anyone who has played Psi-Ops knows why they are so bad.
This is literally the ending
...
I always wondered what the hell the Psi Ops team was thinking. Did they get six months cut off their schedule, and were told they had an hour to submit whatever they had? Was there so much hubris that they thought people wouldn't care, and their ip was an instant franchise?
The Last Wizard
Member
I'll never get to know the ending to Ghosts
This doesn't make sense to me. Unless the game is entirely story driven like a movie. But then we could say its bad that a movie ends with a cliffhanger too.
No seriously, its all good. If a game is planned with a sequel and you want to end the first one with a cliffhanger, its good design.
Also, its the sum of its part that is important, as much in a movie than in a game. A story can conclude in a way you don't like but that doesn't necessarily make the movie bad. And for the videogame, your fun is in the journey, if it ends good its a nice bonus, like with a movie.
No seriously, its all good. If a game is planned with a sequel and you want to end the first one with a cliffhanger, its good design.
Also, its the sum of its part that is important, as much in a movie than in a game. A story can conclude in a way you don't like but that doesn't necessarily make the movie bad. And for the videogame, your fun is in the journey, if it ends good its a nice bonus, like with a movie.
Depends. Not all cliffhangers!
I'd say.. if you're doing a new IP (especially big budget one that, if it fails, won't likely get a second chance), maybe first try to tell a more or less self-contained story that has some world building, lore & subtle setupt that leaves room for a sequel. If it's super successful and they want to expand the story, then I see less problem with a cliffhanger in a sequel since they are possibly financially secure enough that they are likelier to be at least able to finish a trilogy, even if the second turns out to be a bit less successful than the first or something (but doesn't completely bomb).
I'd say.. if you're doing a new IP (especially big budget one that, if it fails, won't likely get a second chance), maybe first try to tell a more or less self-contained story that has some world building, lore & subtle setupt that leaves room for a sequel. If it's super successful and they want to expand the story, then I see less problem with a cliffhanger in a sequel since they are possibly financially secure enough that they are likelier to be at least able to finish a trilogy, even if the second turns out to be a bit less successful than the first or something (but doesn't completely bomb).
Morning Star
Member
I disagree. You have have a conclusive ending, one that wraps the story up in a neat bow, and follow it up with a cliffhanger. I think the issue is when the cliffhanger introduces too much of what's to come to the player and then you end up feeling cheated or that the ending somehow didn't resolve anything. At that point you don't feel like there was an ending.
For example: CoD: Ghosts -
Bad cliffhanger.
For example: CoD: Ghosts -
You spend a great deal of the game trying to kill this guy and two minutes after you do and leave him in his watery grave he drags you away from your brother to Dath Vader you or some shit.
True, it has to be handled well. Something major has to have been wrapped up by the end. Too many cliffhangers feel like an arbitrary chosen separation point, which I just can't stand.
Mors_Verigo
Banned
I'm still waiting to see the ending to Medal of Honor: Rising Sun...
the game all but directly tells you that none of it was ever meant to be resolved, i don't even really think there is much room for interpretation. it was an extended admission that the story was nonsense that existed only to prop up the game's message and theme
i mean the final speech was more or less "don't worry about it, all that stuff that just happened was bullshit. instead of trying to make sense of it, just think about how it made you feel"
hemo memo
Gold Member
Beautiful.
TheLostBigBoss
Banned
That's not a cliff hanger, that's a twist. MGS2 had a cliff-hanger done right, because it was a complete red-herring and was actually supposed to be an anti-climatic explanation for the origin of the Patriots.
OP is talking about The Walking Dead (TV Show) type of cliff-hanger, where the entire arc/plot failed to be resolved and they simply have a hook to try and get a sequel out or to get people invested more than they would otherwise.
Usually a cliff-hanger is from a game that ran out of time and the needed some way to end it, and they didn't have enough time to actually wrap up enough plot points. Or because the people writing the game are fucking hacks who think cliff-hangers with zero resolution are a smart and cool thing to do
There are good cliff-hangers. Killzone 2 had one of the best cliff-hangers of the last generation. The plot was completed, the mission of the game was done, however the overall story was yet to be concluded and the set up was pretty amazing (even though they completely botched it in the third game)
Sword Of Doom
Member
I don't think I get invested enough in 90% of video game stories to care about cliff hangers
chillybright
Banned
It is a problem when the sequel is nowhere to be scheduled. It just feels like incomplete and sequel bait.
OnimaruXLR
Member
I don't mind sequel teases, but straight up halts to the story is annoying. Fuck Halo 2, for instance.
Mass Effect did a decent job of annoying this, I thought.
Mass Effect did a decent job of annoying this, I thought.
Aaronrules380
Member
Oh I definitely agree on this. It's why I thought for instance that Gravity Rush's end was complete garbage, because the only thing it wrapped up was a last minute storyline that was never very interesting in the first place
PhantomZone
Member
The Rainbow Six Vegas ending was rage inducing lol. To top it off the story was concluded TOO quickly in the sequel Vegas 2 - should have been a mission DLC instead of a full game in it's own right (as it was too short).
erotic grandpa
Member
I still wanna know how my boys Kane & Lynch are doing after boarding that plane from Shanghai
I get why devs, much less any storyteller, goes and does a cliffhanger ending. But when that "to be continued" never comes, man does it sting.
I get why devs, much less any storyteller, goes and does a cliffhanger ending. But when that "to be continued" never comes, man does it sting.
Zomba13
Member
For me I'm ok if a game doesn't end with a proper conclusion and instead leaves stuff unfinished for the next game if it is sold and set up as some trilogy or ongoing saga. Like Mass Effect, from the start was always this Star Wars like, multi-part space epic where your choices would matter and carry over so when ME1 ends with the main threat of the game dealt with but the impending threat of the real big bads then I was fine.
If it's some new IP or a new entry and it's just billed as its own thing and it ends with a cliffhanger or DLC ending sold after then fuck off. Like Prince of Persia 08 or Asura's Wrath. If you want an ending and then a little tease then fine, Metal Gear Solid does this with post credits phone calls where the plot is wrapped up and the thing at the end hints at a larger picture and can clarify some things and also provides potential set up for future games.
If it's some new IP or a new entry and it's just billed as its own thing and it ends with a cliffhanger or DLC ending sold after then fuck off. Like Prince of Persia 08 or Asura's Wrath. If you want an ending and then a little tease then fine, Metal Gear Solid does this with post credits phone calls where the plot is wrapped up and the thing at the end hints at a larger picture and can clarify some things and also provides potential set up for future games.
More_Badass
Member
Depends on the kind of cliffhanger. When it feels like they stopped the story abruptly, it sucks. But when that entry's story has a complete narrative, and the tease at the end hints at a larger scope or a direction you hadn't envisioned before, that's exciting
The show Fringe did that well. Season 1,
The show Fringe did that well. Season 1,
when it zooms out and you realize she's in an alternate history parallel universe, the possibilites suddenly seem endless.
bobawesome
Member
Virtue's Last Reward has one of my favorite endings. Kinda wish we never knew what happened next.
I think it depends on how well the overall narrative was in the main game.
I really didn't mind the cliffhangers in Shenmue since the game was good by itself and I was already prepared since Suzuki talked about multiple sequels ahead of time.
Then there is stuff like Assassin's Creed. I played the first game, the Ezio games and Black Flag, but I don't feel like a whole lot happened in the real world. I know something important happened in 3, but it always feels like they introduce twist after twist to expand the backstory to keep that stuff going. That cliffhanger at the end of Assassin's Creed 1 was bullshit.
I really didn't mind the cliffhangers in Shenmue since the game was good by itself and I was already prepared since Suzuki talked about multiple sequels ahead of time.
Then there is stuff like Assassin's Creed. I played the first game, the Ezio games and Black Flag, but I don't feel like a whole lot happened in the real world. I know something important happened in 3, but it always feels like they introduce twist after twist to expand the backstory to keep that stuff going. That cliffhanger at the end of Assassin's Creed 1 was bullshit.
SatelliteOfLove
Member
4 and a half years.
No guarentee that it would ever come out in English.
Every hopeful turn being answered with inexplicable setback.
For 4 and a half years.
And I still want more. This scope cannot be done without that sort of narrative form. This quantity, this quality.
Read a book.
/s
he who dwells
Member
came to say this, one of the best endings in gaming history imo.
"No, not alone" Chills man I tell you.
I agree with this and I guess this is one of the reasons the endings of Xenoblade Chronicles, The Last Story, Final Fantasy XII and VI and even Okami felt so great to me because every single plot thread ended (or at least was closed enough that felt self-contained even if there was potential for more explanations) with every single character getting a good send off and conclusion to their characters arcs.
One thing I do hate with all my soul is when they decided that a game that has a nice and conclusive ending like Final Fantasy XIII needs an unnecesary sequel and THEN that decides to do this:
I let out a little scream when that scene happened... I hated you so much Square-Enix
One thing I do hate with all my soul is when they decided that a game that has a nice and conclusive ending like Final Fantasy XIII needs an unnecesary sequel and THEN that decides to do this:
She must not be forgotten
I let out a little scream when that scene happened... I hated you so much Square-Enix
Magnet_Man
Member
It just feels so manipulative. It's like the person behind the game is telling me "AHA! I gotcha! Now you have to buy the sequel" and I'm like "I was already interested in the series. You didn't need to 'trick' me into playing the next game by making this game I just beat incomplete".