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Betrayals in story-based video games are very common. Rarely in a long narrative does everyone stay on the sides they start on. There are always some who turn on their friends or teammates. In some cases, the betrayal is even justified because the individual has been mistreated or lied to. In most cases, though, it’s a good person losing their morals for money or power.
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The key to a successful betrayal is the shock value it creates. If you can see a backstab coming hours before it happens, it isn’t very fun or impactful. However, those that happen out of nowhere stick with you forever. That is the case with the following instances of betrayal.
8 Vincent Is A Cop
A Way Out
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Nudity, Blood, Intense Violence, Sexual Content, Strong Language
- Developer(s)
- Hazelight Studios
- Publisher(s)
- Electronic Arts
- Platform(s)
- PC, PS4, Xbox One
A Way Out is a two-player co-op game where each player controls a convict. The characters are named Vincent and Leo, and they are both in prison at the start of the game. Together, they must escape and exact revenge on the person who wronged them. After this occurs, Vincent reveals himself to be an undercover cop and tries to arrest Leo, leading to a fight between the two protagonists.
Even if you’re playing as Vincent, you don’t know the betrayal is coming. It’s certainly hard to predict since rarely does a playable character betray someone out of nowhere.
7 The Government Kills John Marston
Red Dead Redemption
Red Dead Redemption
In Red Dead Redemption, you play as a former outlaw known as John Marston. Government Agents order him to hunt down and stop his former running buddies. Once he does just that, he gets to return to his ranch and spend time with his family again. Not long later, though, those Government Agents return to the ranch along with many of their allies. John tries to fend them off, but he ends up being gunned down by them all.
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Everyone really should have seen this heartbreaking ending coming. After all, you’re always told not to trust the Government, and main characters being gunned down in Westerns isn’t exactly a rare sight. That said, as Red Dead Redemption is a video game, it was easy to believe that you were going to get a happy ending.
6 General Shepherd Sees Roach As A Loose End
Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009)
- Released
- November 10, 2009
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language, Suggestive Themes, Use of Drugs
- Developer(s)
- Infinity Ward
- Publisher(s)
- Activision
- Platform(s)
- PC, PS3, Xbox 360, macOS
In Modern Warfare 2, you play as members of Task Force 141, primarily a soldier called Roach. General Shepherd is Roach’s commanding officer. That is, until the Loose Ends mission, where he kills both Roach and his friend Ghost. He does so to stop Task Force 141 from uncovering his plot to begin a war between the US and Russia.
The betrayal is so sudden, as the guy just abruptly shoots Roach at the end of a mission. Prior to this, there is no reason to suspect the General of anything. Plus, in Call of Duty games, the guy giving you orders during missions is typically trustworthy, as they’re usually only there to tell you where to go and what to do. Not in this case, though.
5 Big Smoke And Ryder Betray CJ
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language, Strong Sexual Content, Use of Drugs
- Developer(s)
- Rockstar Games
- Publisher(s)
- Rockstar Games
- Platform(s)
- PS2, PS3, Xbox (Original), Xbox 360, PC, macOS, iOS, Android
The main character of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is CJ, who returns to his childhood home at the start of the game after his mother’s death. He also reunites with his fellow Grove Street Family gang members. These are your closest allies during the early hours of the game, until it’s revealed that two of them, Ryder and Big Smoke, are working with other gangs and groups. In fact, they actually played a role in the death of CJ’s mom.
While there are some subtle hints of their real allegiance before the reveal, they aren’t easy to pick up on. The fact that Ryder and Big Smoke are both part of your core group of allies means you don’t really suspect them of treachery.
4 Lucy Is Still A Templar
Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood
Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood
- Released
- November 16, 2010
At the end of Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood, the protagonist, Desmond Miles, gets his hands on a powerful artifact. Then, an otherworldly being takes control of him and makes him kill his closest ally, Lucy. Later, you discover that Lucy had secretly betrayed Desmond. For the first few games, she pretended to be on the side of the Assassins, but was actually a Templar, who are their rivals. So, she’s been working against the protagonists in secret.
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The betrayal is a strange one because there isn’t really a big reveal. And once you do find out, she’s already dead. That doesn’t make the betrayal any less surprising, though. After all, in the first game, it’s revealed that she’s an Assassin pretending to be a Templar. Therefore, you wouldn’t suspect that she’s actually a Templar pretending to be an Assassin who’s pretending to be a Templar.
3 Wheatley Goes Mad With Power
Portal 2
Portal 2 is set in a science facility run by a sadistic AI named GlaDOS. She loves making the protagonist, Chell, do tests while insulting her along the way. Chell gets some backup, though, in the wisecracking robot called Wheatley. He helps Chell put a stop to GlaDOS’s reign, as the protagonist puts him in charge of the facility instead. He then immediately goes mad with power and stops his former friend from leaving, becoming the new sadistic AI that runs the place.
It’s hard to see this coming because Wheatley disarmes you with his witty humor. Yes, villains can be funny, but typically, the antagonist’s humor is dark or mean-spirited, as seen with GlaDOS. Wheatley’s comedy seems fairly wholesome, which makes him easy to trust.
2 Atlas Manipulates You
Bioshock
BioShock
In the original Bioshock, you play as a guy called Jack, who ends up in the Underwater city of Rapture. It’s a confusing place to navigate, but Jack has a man named Atlas giving him information and instructions. Most of these instructions follow the phrase “Would You Kindly.” You later learn this is a hypnotic trigger that Atlas is using on you to get you to do his bidding. This is because it turns out that Atlas isn’t just a friendly guy. He is a criminal named Frank Fontaine, who has been trying to take over Rapture.
You probably never consider this until the reveal, since he’s pretty much the only helpful person you meet in the underwater city. Plus, in video games, the person speaking in your ear the whole time is usually trustworthy.
1 Sam Lies To His Brother
Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End
At the start of Uncharted 4, Nathan Drake’s older brother, Sam, convinces him to come out of retirement. He does so by revealing that he owes a drug lord who helped him escape from prison. So, the older bro needs Nate’s help to find something, or he’s dead.
Later on, though, you discover that Sam lied. He’s not under threat from a drug lord. A man named Rafe let him out of prison, and they’ve been trying to find the item together. Yet, Sam double-crossed Rafe to work with Nate. What makes the twist all the more surprising is that you play a flashback where the drug lord helps Sam escape. So, you assume that the story really happened since you played through it. However, that gameplay sequence was a lie, too.
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