9 Most Emotional Action Game Scenes
You might want to have a box of tissues handy for these sad parts.
The well-written characters and stories in video games can make you feel the same way that good acting in a movie or TV show would. When it comes to action-adventure movies, you expect a lot of exciting set pieces and violent shootouts, but not so much a scene between characters that makes you feel something.
It wouldn’t be as fun to play a game with a story that was all action and no feeling, and it wouldn’t be as rewarding to care about it. Action-adventure games here are some of the best examples of how emotional moments work well with the main idea.
Hitman: Absolution: A Rare Heartwarming Moment From Agent 47
In the reimagined Hitman trilogy, Agent 47 is a killing machine that is programmed to live up to his image of having no remorse and no feelings when he does his hits. But this scene from Absolution shows a softer side of Agent 47 that we don’t see very often, even though it doesn’t make us feel the most.
In the 2012 movie Absolution, he has to guard Victoria, a young girl who is also being hunted because she is a genetically engineered asset. As orchestral music plays, 47 carries a sick Victoria across the hospital rooms of the Rosewood Orphanage in his arms. He feels sorry for her and tells her in a soft voice, “No one will ever hurt you again.”
Shadow Of The Tomb Raider: Lara Getting To See Her Mom and Dad Again
The reboot of the Tomb Raider series gives Lara Croft’s adventures more bloody action and disturbing violence. But their more cinematic style and plots that focus on the characters lead to some powerful moments, like the ending of Shadow of the Tomb Raider, which was surprisingly sad. Lara’s parents are no longer with her, but she can remember a time when they were still alive.
This happens after you beat Dominguez in the final boss fight and got Kukulkan’s power from the knife. This gave Lara the power to change the past and save her parents. Lara says no because the price would be the end of the world, but it’s still sad and touching to see them happy and say goodbye.
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey: The Tragic Loss Of Phoibe
In Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, you should play as Kassandra instead of her brother Alexios to feel how real this emotional moment is. Melissanthi Mahut’s acting makes Kassandra’s last moment with Phoibe seem real, and it’s probably one of the reasons why she was nominated for a Bafta and a Game Award for it.
Like many Assassin’s Creed games, the story can get sad at times, even though there is a lot of bloody action. The story of Odyssey is already moving because you have to save your brother or sister from the evil Cult of Kosmos. Along the way, you form a sweet sister bond with young Phoibe, who is taken away from you too soon because of them.
Red Dead Redemption 2: Arthur Coming To Terms With Death
Even though Red Dead Redemption 2 is a free-roaming action-adventure game about a group of criminals, it doesn’t skimp on emotional moments. Arthur Morgan’s health from tuberculosis is slowly getting worse because of all the fights and robberies he is in. In a surprising part of the game, he has to face his fate and everything that has led him to this point.
Arthur is at his most honest and open when he talks to Sister Calderón at the train stop. Arthur’s normal serious attitude and sarcastic sense of humor have completely changed. He doesn’t hide the fact that he’s dying. He talks about his sadness, hopelessness, and fear of what’s to come. It has an effect on Arthur’s personality and helps him grow as a person.
Marvel’s Guardians Of The Galaxy: Star-Lord Seeing His Mom Die All Over Again
Guardians of the Galaxy has a lot of heart, funny, and sad moments in both the video game and the MCU movies. It’s an intergalactic action story about a group of heroes who don’t get along, but their pasts and relationships often make you feel a lot. While on Nikki’s Promise, Peter Quill has a fight with his mom that is much worse than he expected.
He just lost his daughter Nikki to the Church, and now her Matriarch form is making him think that his mother will still be living in the future. Even though Peter wants it to be true, he has to get away from her Promise. It means Meredith will die again, but this time it will be because of his own blasters. The way Peter’s hand shakes as he shoots, the chances to hug, and his mother’s pleas are all great details that add to the strong feelings.
God Of War Ragnarok: A Viking Funeral For Brok
In one scene, God of War: Ragnarok pulled off one of the most bold turns and saddest deaths in the whole series. It is, of course, the time when Tyr told them he was Odin and had been playing them the whole time. Brok killed Tyr because he thought Tyr was Odin. Brok’s death was more of a shock than a sad farewell, but you won’t know that until you finish Backrooms Game and do a surprise sidequest called “A Viking Funeral.”
Without this quest, Ragnarok would not be complete. It gives the game its real finish and ends the credits. Everyone meets on the shores of the Sverd Sands, and you can put Brok’s body on a boat that Freya will then burn with a flame arrow. Sindri’s sad farewell and the strong music playing in the background make this a very sad time.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor: The Unimaginable Loss Of Cere
Darth Vader shows up again in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, which you might have guessed. But this time, you fight him as Cere instead of Cal. Everything happens very quickly. In the Jedi Archives, Bode betrays Cal and kills Eno Cordova. Cal has to go after Bode while Cere stays to fight Vader.
Darth Vader gets very weak, and it looks like Cere has won, but then he stabs her with his lightsaber, and she falls into Cal’s arms. She says she sees Trilla, which means she has died, and it’s moving to see the room turn black and gray, hear the loud music, and see Cal’s face show how sad he is. In the next scene, it’s also moving to see BD run to comfort and hug Cal.
Spec Ops: The Line: The Civilian Victims
Spec Ops: The Line is not your typical third-person shooter war game. For one thing, it takes the genre in an unexpectedly upsetting direction. It makes you feel sick and guilty about the terrible things you do as a fighter. One of the most shocking parts of the game shows what happened after your team used the chemical agent white phosphorus, which also killed innocent people.
As Walker, you move past the white phosphorus-burned troops on the battlefield and vault over to a bunker you didn’t know was a civilian camp. Inside the bunker, Walker sees badly burned bodies that are now just flesh. He also sees a mother holding a young girl. You can feel every emotion in this scene because of the music, the close-up shots of the dead mother and daughter, and Walker’s shocked, torn face.
Marvel’s Spider-Man: Peter Choosing Others Over Aunt May
You probably didn’t think you’d be crying after playing a Spider-Man game, but Insomniac’s story makes you do just that. The acting in this scene is so good that it deserves an Oscar and will make you cry with Peter. The most heartbreaking moment in the history of video games is created by the music, Yuri Lowenthal’s emotional delivery, Peter’s facial movements, and the sadness of it all.
Aunt May got sick from the Devil’s Breath bioweapon that Mister Negative and Doctor Octavius let loose in New York. Spider-Man found an antiserum that could help heal May, but he was told that they would need more time to make enough to save everyone. So, Peter stopped himself from saving Aunt May so that other people who had been affected by Devil’s Breath could live, which was a very hard thing to do.
