The end of God of War (2018).

Played through Before Your Eyes and it absolutely broke me. I'd 1000% recommend using a camera and going in blind. Very emotional experience.

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, right near the end. I don't want to spoil too much, but I never thought a game mechanic would make me emotional.

There was this challenge in VVVVVV that left me with tears of rage in my fro

the one time I was totally not expecting was Ghost of Tsushima

the whole plot around samurai, „honor” and stuff felt a bit over dramatic, but the gameplay was great so I didn’t mind

right until the end. the honorable ending is heartbreaking

To The Moon, The Beginner's Guide, and Night in the Woods all made me cry like a lot. Probably have been a few others, but those were the big ones.

Wuthering waves had me tear up a few times actually. They have some really good stories around their characters, tie that in with some of the best music I've heard in a game and it just plays with your emotions.

I'm sure anyone who has played it knows the encore story lol

I'm almost 40 years old and have been playing games my entire life, like way too much, and I can't believe I'd actually be saying wuthering waves, a freaking predatory gacha game, is probably in my top 5 best games I've ever played when considering overall quality along with how fun it is. I only found it like 2-3 months ago and I've already put over 200 hours in it... There's a joke that Kuro games is a music/anime company that attaches a game to their art.

I can't believe no one is mentioning Chrono Triger few days after it was named as one of best video games. Geez I cried a lot with 2 finals.

A few times.

Most notably, when playing Outer Wilds. I was playing it during the pandemic and had lost two friends, my grandfather and my cat within the span of around 3 months. I was struggling with depression and I got to one specific spot in the game and the revelation caused me to just sit there and cry for like 10 minutes, I was so emotionally shut down at the time that the tears felt like a life preserver. I had to stop playing for a bit, but it definitely helped me process my grief.

I also cried during a couple of quests in FFXIV. The post-Shadowbringers content especially, not because it was sad, just very poignant. And again in the last area of Endwalker, where Masayoshi Soken's incredible composition combined with some very emotional content just got to me (especially the Endwalk, jfc).

I think I cried a bit at the end of Journey just because it was a powerful experience, but I had an amazing partner in that game who stayed with me through the whole thing.

Actual cry? No

Really felt something when Tali died in Mass Effect 3. Made a bad choice and she was the penalty of that choice.

The end of Mass Effect 3 had me crying

Many times.
Nier Automata
RDR2
Danganronpa 2
Just to name a few where I really ugly cried.

Cyberpunk, but only because that fucking song came on the radio.

Twice. Once at the end of Final Fantasy IX, realising who was monologuing the ending at what that meant.

Second one was at the end of What Remains of Edith Finch, pretty much for exactly the same reasons.

In life is strange 2 there's a scene where you have a dialogue option to come out of the closet to your dad. It was such a a personal experience I related to and the exchange felt authentic.

I've got a weird one. Saints Row 4, near the end. Such a strange, unexpectedly emotional experience.

Maybe an outside one here, but when Dragon Age: Origins was still new, I was much younger and hadn't had a serious girlfriend yet. And in general, I got quite a bit more attached to characters in games, including the romantic interests especially.

Spoilers ahead if you haven't beaten the game

Now a days I struggle to connect with characters in games. They will never be as real as my friends or my partner, so it's hard to form such an emotional connection as I did when I was a teenager.

Oh my, yes:

Red Dead Redemption 2

Final Fantasy 7 (original and Rebirth)

Silent Hill 2

Undertale

Starbound (because of the soundtrack)

Stardew Valley (because of the soundtrack)

Okami (because of the soundtrack)

Many times in many games.

Probably the most in Mass Effect series, so many emotional moments. ME2: Overlord's end hits the hardest.

"Jade Shadows" quest in Warframe.

All around me are familiar faces...

RDR2. RIP Arthur Morgan.

Death Stranding 2. And I’m not even finished yet.

Braid's ending.

Tim (the player) is likely the villain. His quest was never about saving the princess but about his own selfish desire to reclaim something/someone that no longer wants him. The game masterfully subverts expectations, making players reflect on perspective, responsibility, and consequences.

MGS4…

Everyone Dies. You can't stop it. You can't run from it. Let me tell you something... Don't... Don't waste the life you have left fighting.

• Big Boss

I think most recently I cried while playing Wandersong; such a great game!

VVVVVV

You were talking about challenge, right?

RDR2. Miss you, Hamish, thanks for the good times.

RDR2, in my defense I was very drunk

Final Fantasy IX and X, Detroit: Become Human

One I haven't seen in this thread yet: the last playable bit of Bastion, if you choose to take Zulf with you. An early example of Supergiant's mastery of interactive storytelling, coming to a head with a recognition of humanity in the midst of apocalyptic war.

When I was a child I was very moved by the sequence in Homeworld where they returned to Kharak. Everything was burning and Adagio for Strings playing.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons, in the early months of the pandemic, when the villagers threw me a surprise birthday party. I was living alone at the time and missed my real friends so much.

The first one I remember crying from (because the game itself and not just out of frustration anyway) was when Arith dies in (the original) Final Fantasy 7.

Modern games, with more sophisticated stories and actual acting tend to elicit emotional responses more than when I was a kid; though some of the epic CRPGs still hold up because they were just better written.

The last encounter with Alexander the Warrior Jar in Elden Ring made me cry. What a brave jar and a good friend.

I think I might've cried for other reasons too when playing Elden Ring. :')

• The last of Us 1 and 2
• Signalis
• Outer Wilds
• Nier: Automata