Video game narratives have some incredible highs, and a ton of lows, as the art form has evolved and matured over the past few decades. As part of that evolution, gaming started using narrative conventions from other mediums, including twists. A twist is when a story takes a sharp turn. While the best twists are set up in the story, but not made too obvious, there are also plenty that aren’t supported and don’t work. The best twists in gaming come as culminations of hours’ worth of build-up across the game, before getting hit with a twist that changes everything. While these are often emotionally devastating, they also tie into the themes of the game, creating incredible moments of storytelling.
This article contains spoilers for the following games: Bioshock, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Red Dead Redemption, Persona 3, and Silent Hill 2.
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5 Bioshock
A modern classic
Bioshock is perhaps one of the most iconic video game twists, largely due to it being a popular and beloved game. The big twist here is that after reaching Andrew Ryan, the founder of Rapture and the apparent villain of the game, it’s revealed that you have not been helping people with the kindness of your heart. Instead, you are a sleeper agent programmed to do anything asked of you, along with the phrase “would you kindly?” It’s also revealed that the person you are working with, Atlas, is actually the criminal Fontaine, and he has been manipulating you to take control. It’s a compelling commentary on video games, as you happily do whatever NPCs ask of you without a second thought, but its impact comes from the scene itself. Andrew Ryan, seeing that he has been defeated, goes out on his own terms, handing you a golf club and commanding you to take him out with it.
BioShock
4 Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Hiding in plain sight
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic has a massive twist, almost in a similar vein to Bioshock’s. After starting the game with missing memories and under attack by the Sith Lord Malak. You are told that his master, Revan, is missing and potentially dead, and you are tasked with helping a Jedi with taking down Malak. Later in the game, it’s revealed that you are Revan, with the Jedi wiping your memories and manipulating you into doing their dirty work. While you have the option to go to either the light side or the dark side from here, this reveals and recontextualizes everything. The Jedi Council has done something arguably evil, but you have also committed heinous acts prior to the start of the game. It not only flips your story on its head, but it also turns any potential black-and-white view of the Jedi and Sith into a much more gray conversation.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
3 Red Dead Redemption
No happy endings for outlaws
Red Dead Redemption follows John Marston, tasked with killing his former gang on behalf of the US government in order to protect his family. After killing everyone and completing his task, John settles into his new quiet life. But the US Marshals aren’t interested in letting anyone in the gang live. John can take a ton of agents with him, but ultimately, John is going to get put down, leaving his son and wife alone. This tragedy is tied to the theme of the game, which is the death of the Wild West as civilization comes in, and John is one of the remaining ties to the past. There is an epilogue where John’s son gets to hunt down the government officials who killed his father, but that won’t bring John back.
Red Dead Redemption
2 Persona 3
Losing a party member is always a shock
Persona 3 pulls a trick that other RPGs have done, like Final Fantasy VII did in iconic fashion, but the tragic nature of it makes it hit hard. In Persona 3, two party members join your squad towards the middle of the game: Ken Amada and Shinjiro Aragaki. It’s clear that Aragaki not only recognizes Amada, but that the two might have history. It seems at first that Amada might know something, but doesn’t let on. Later, Amada prepares to kill Aragaki for killing his mother in a tragic accident where Aragaki lost control of his persona. Aragaki tells him to just do it, but that it won’t heal the wound. Amada hesitates, but leaves an opening for one of the villains to shoot Amada, but Aragaki dives in the way, saving his life at the cost of his own. For a game so heavily focused on death, and how people learn to live with it, this tragic moment provides both fuel for Amada, and a heavy weight to carry for the remainder of the game. That’s not the only twist in Persona 3, but it’s the one that hits the hardest.
Persona 3 Reload
- Released
- February 2, 2024
1 Silent Hill 2
What are we, some kind of Silent Hill?
Silent Hill 2 is an all-timer, and with the Silent Hill 2 remake revitalizing the series, it feels like a perfect entry for the list. Silent Hill 2 is all about the mystery, with James Sunderland receiving a letter from his wife, who has been dead for a couple of years, inviting him to Silent Hill. As James works his way through the hellish town and runs into a couple of other tortured souls, it becomes clear that the town is some kind of manifestation of everyone’s darkest moments. As you descend further into what becomes a pretty literal manifestation of hell, the question of James’ failures starts to reach a head. While his treatment of his wife never seems great, and neither does his relationship with other women, it becomes clear that James chose to kill his sick wife, rather than stay by her side until the end. This moment doesn’t necessarily redefine his character, but it confirms all of your worst suspicions about James and Silent Hill.
Silent Hill 2
Some of the best gaming narratives have big twists
While a big twist isn’t necessary to tell a great story, a well-executed one can be a memorable moment, leaving an impact on players. There are plenty of other examples of great twists, along with an endless supply of bad ones, but the above twists feel like the best executions of twists in video game storytelling.
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