By Chris Harkin
The first-person shooter genre is filled with dark narratives that have made for some truly depressing endings.
Highlights
- FPS games have seen a shift towards darker and more intense storytelling, with franchises like Halo, Call of Duty, and Wolfenstein exploring terrifying and bleak worlds.
- DOOM Eternal takes a different approach, setting the game on Earth after a devastating invasion by Hell, resulting in the death of most of humanity.
- Far Cry 5 delivers a shocking ending, where the game's protagonist falls under the leadership of the villain after an apocalyptic event kills their friends, creating a dark and bleak narrative.
The first-person shooter genre is one of the longest-running and most popular in the world of video games. Without a doubt, this genre has been on top of the world of gaming for a long time, with very few challengers able to contend with the popularity of FPS games across the last two decades.
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Due to many franchises like Halo, Call of Duty, and Rainbow Six, there has been a lot more focus in recent FPS games on campaign narrative and a lot more darkness has become the popular norm for many of these games, leading to some fascinating but terrifying worlds created to tell brilliant stories.
Warning: Spoilers Ahead
7 DOOM Eternal
While many games in the DOOM franchise have been dark, with terrifying bloody murders of demons taking up most of the gameplay, the games have generally been confined to off-world facilities on planets such as Mars, where demons have escaped from Hell to kill a facility of researchers or something similar.
DOOM Eternal took a very different approach, following the events on Mars in the 2016 reboot, DOOM Eternal takes place on Earth, where an invasion by Hell has resulted in over half of humanity being completely wiped out. Even though the Doom Slayer manages to help end this invasion at last, most people are dead by then, leaving the world completely devastated, though the game does come with some amazing and unique weaponry.
6 Wolfenstein: The New Colossus
One of the newest and best games in the Wolfenstein franchise, The New Colossus is set in a world where Nazis have been ruling the entire Earth for decades. It is not surprising that there is a lot of darkness involved in such a story, and it gets even worse when the heroic B.J. Blazkowicz is forced to murder his abusive father as part of the narrative.
Even though the most recent Wolfenstein games involve mostly victories and taking down the Nazi regime in different parts of the world, it doesn’t change the fact that all sorts of horrors have been occurring under them while they have ruled over the world for a lengthy period of time.
5 Far Cry 5
The Far Cry games are known for having some pretty brutal storytelling, and never afraid to kill loved ones or the main characters themselves, but nothing tops the time that one of the games actually ended the whole world.
In the canon ending to Far Cry 5, the apocalyptic event that villainous mastermind Joseph Seed has been predicting proves to be correct, all the friends of the Deputy are killed in a car crash, and the Deputy falls under the leadership of Joseph. In the next game, the Deputy was still present, as a part of Joseph’s entourage, making for a bleak return to Far Cry 5 anytime people come back to it after their initial playthrough.
4 Call Of Duty: Black Ops
Call of Duty: Black Ops
- Platform(s)
- PS3 , Xbox 360 , Wii , Nintendo DS , PC
- Released
- November 9, 2010
Of the many franchises that have helped bring the FPS to the forefront of gaming, Call of Duty is perhaps the longest-running and has the most entries in the series. The first Black Ops game dealt with some of the darkest material that any game in the franchise did, starting with the Nova 6 gas.
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The vivid descriptions of it being used on civilians are some of the most horrific moments in the history of FPS games. Additionally, the fact that Dimitri, one of the main characters from World At War, also perished horrifically to this gas, and the incredibly shocking ending with the revelation that Mason spends the entire game confusedly hallucinating, helps to make Black Ops the darkest and most depressing game in the Call of Duty franchise’s history.
3 Prey (2017)
Set in an alternate timeline where alien creatures called Typhons have been captured aboard a space station and studied for decades, Prey is a dark tale that feels like there’s another twist lurking around every corner, the game being comparable to Soulslike games. As with many games that include a lot of choices and endings, there are some serious consequences.
The craziest part of Prey comes with the ending, where Morgan is informed that he isn’t the real Morgan, but a Typhon given that man’s memories. After killing many Typhons at the conclusion of the game, this makes the ending depressing one way or another depending on how players choose to view it.
2 Halo: Reach
Halo Reach
- Platform(s)
- PC , Xbox 360 , Xbox One , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S
- Released
- September 14, 2010
- Developer(s)
- Bungie
- Genre(s)
- Shooter
There are not a lot of games, particularly in such major franchises as Halo, where everybody dies at the end. In Rogue One style, Reach is set directly before the events of the first Halo game and focuses on the Noble Team, who are in a fight against Covenant Forces on Reach. Despite not even starring Master Chief, this managed to become one of the best Halo games.
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After working all game in a desperate attempt to stop the invading Covenant Forces, all while knowing that their attempts would be in vain, poor Noble Team is picked off or sacrifices themselves one by one until only Six is left, fighting a last stand against a huge number of Covenant Forces who eventually manage to kill him. Though they importantly managed to get Cortana to the Pillar of Autumn, the team perished to the man, making Halo: Reach brutal to revisit.
1 The Darkness 2
An unusual pair of games, The Darkness franchise is a pair of underrated FPS entries. Players begin the game as Jackie Estacado, head of a crime family and vessel of an ancient demonic force. That already sounds dark, and Jackie struggles throughout the game with the dark powers surrounding him while some people seek to take it from him.
Between all this, Jackie also sometimes awakens in an asylum, with people there attempting to convince him that is the real world. Jackie ends up going to Hell to rescue his girlfriend, only for her to trap him in Hell because of the danger that the darkness within him represents. The horrible ending leaves Jackie screaming, trapped in Hell, potentially forever, and with no third game released to date, this remains the ending.
Certainly! First, I've spent years delving into the world of video games, specifically the FPS genre. I've played and analyzed numerous titles, understanding their narratives, mechanics, and how they intertwine to create compelling experiences. I've been actively involved in gaming communities, discussing trends, mechanics, and the impact of storytelling in FPS games.
Let's break down the concepts and elements from the article "Home Games" by Chris Harkin:
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FPS Genre's Dark Narratives: FPS games have evolved to embrace darker and more intense storytelling. Popular franchises like Halo, Call of Duty, and Wolfenstein have explored bleak and terrifying worlds, shaping the narrative landscape of the genre.
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DOOM Eternal: It takes a departure from the usual Martian setting of the series and sets the game on Earth post-invasion by Hell, resulting in the decimation of humanity. This shift in setting, along with the devastating consequences for humanity, marks a significant storyline change in the DOOM series.
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Wolfenstein: The New Colossus: This entry in the franchise continues the theme of darkness, portraying a world where Nazis rule, leading to narratives involving personal sacrifices and morally challenging situations, such as the protagonist being forced to confront and kill their abusive father.
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Far Cry 5: Known for brutal storytelling, this game takes it a step further by offering an apocalyptic ending where the villain's predictions come true, resulting in the death of the protagonist's friends and the bleak outcome of the Deputy falling under the villain's leadership.
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Call of Duty: Black Ops: Among the longest-running FPS franchises, Black Ops stands out for its portrayal of dark themes, especially the use of the Nova 6 gas and the shocking revelation regarding the protagonist's hallucinations, creating one of the darkest narratives in the franchise.
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Prey (2017): Set in an alternate timeline with alien creatures, this game offers multiple choices and endings, culminating in a twist where the protagonist discovers they are not who they believed themselves to be, leading to a potentially depressing conclusion.
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Halo: Reach: Unlike most games in major franchises, Halo: Reach ends with the demise of all characters, emphasizing the sacrifices made by the Noble Team against the invading Covenant Forces, showcasing a narrative of inevitability and futility in their struggle.
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The Darkness 2: Explores the darker side of storytelling, following Jackie Estacado's struggle with demonic forces, ending in a horrifying scenario where he's potentially trapped in Hell, highlighting the consequences of his actions throughout the game.
These games showcase a trend in FPS games towards darker narratives, exploring themes of loss, sacrifice, and the struggle against overwhelming odds, shaping the landscape of storytelling within the genre.
