Happy or sad endings in video games?

I picked In between, as to me that means bittersweet. Generally, this has been the only consistently good ending I've experienced.

I prefer happier endings, or otherwise bittersweet.

I don't dislike tragic ends but most games that attempt them are bad at it and can't avoid the trap of making it feel like you wasted your time playing the game.

Happy, cuz I'm a sap.

I don't get anything from sad endings, i don't exactly play games for escapism but i'm never trying to be less happy, i want to see something cool or uplifting.

Starcraft: Brood War ending for life.

I choose "none of the above", because to me the most important would be that the ending is "consistent".

A game that takes a 180 at the last minute to deliver an ending with a tone that doesn't match the rest of its tone feels cheap (looking at you, MGS4).

sad 4 lyfe, baby! everything else is for cowards!

Why wouldn't I want to leave a game not feeling happy?

i'm ok with either but it depends on the game really . some games handle a good sad ending amazingly n others you feel why did i waste my time for this .... same can be said for happy tho too.

The ending doesn't matter as long as its done well and makes sense compared to how the story was progressing. Not some surprise ass pull type of stuff that doesn't add up, which is a trope btw.

Put me down for "poignant". You gotta have somebody die.

I'd also be okay with utter despair. But I cannot think of a game ending that bleak.

Ultimately, I'd rather have a "well-written" or "satisfying" ending. I picked "happy" in the poll just because I feel like it's easier for game devs to stick the landing doing that. It's seemingly very tough for them to do truly sad or even bittersweet endings with any degree of quality.

I mean, Ghost of Tsushima has an excellent ending, despite being very bittersweet. However, I feel like that's the exception rather than he rule. When the devs try to get too artsy, it usually goes very bad. You either end up with something like Mass Effect 3, where the ending is wholly unsatisfying and inconsistent with the rest of the story, or you end up with something like Dying Light 2, where the ending is nearly incomprehensible.

I don't think happy or sad has much to do with how good an ending is or whether I like it or not. I've loved and hated both ends of that spectrum. But I suppose "sad" endings do tend to be a little more memorable to me. E.g., the question put me in the mind of the fact that I ended up with the "bad" Witcher 3 ending in which Geralt basically does a suicide-by-monsters and I actually loved it. Super well-done, absolutely slayed me.

I prefer happy endings in video games in general so I can finally feel relieved as I complete their story mode.

The ones I'm mostly satisfied with are:

• GRID Legends: Seneca Racing Team finally dethrones Ravenwest Motorsport team at the end of the story, due to Driver 22 (The main protagonist)'s excellent driving skills which made the team feel so proud of him plus Ryan Mckane (The main antagonist & founder of Ravenwest Motorsport team) getting arrested at the end of 2021 season for conspiracy and reckless endangerments.
• Gran Turismo 7: The player wins the final championship event and receives the world champion trophy while their opponents congratulate him/her.
• Forza Horizon 2: the player becomes the Horizon festival champion as they take the title, trophy and big prize of money.
• BlazBlue: Central Fiction: when Hades Izanami and Yuuki Terumi are both defeated for good, Noel Vermillion lives as a nun for the restored church, then visited by Tsubaki Yayoi and Makoto Nanaya as they offer her to return to NOL in the near future.
• Fire Emblem: Three Houses: At the end of the Crimson Flower route, Edelgard & Byleth both finally defeated Rhea, freeing humanity, and then both start the silent war against the TWSITD (Those Who Slither in the Dark) to end them for good.

@wollywoo: tons of games end with all the cast losing. I'm not putting it here...but look up some rpgs

Happy, because games rarely have well-developed or believable enough characters to make me care about them if they die or whatever plot device is being used. There are exceptions, of course (Arthur in RDR2 is an example of an exception), but it isn't common.

I prefer happy endings. If those characters have been with me for a while, I want them to be happy, damn it

Can't I have both?

When a sad ending is appropriate, it's stunning.

When a happy ending is appropriate, it's inspiring.