Gaming

In my mind there's no question: the opening of The Last of Us is absolutely tragic.

When the big brother dies in Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons. The game is short, but does a great job of getting you emotionally attached to these brothers. Even through the controls, you control both brothers at once with each getting half of your controller. When he dies, it also essentially kills half of your controller. I found myself trying to move the brothers together as I have for the rest of the game.

People have already said two of mine (Aeris and Sarah), so I'll go with a third:

"Had to be me. Somebody else might have gotten it wrong."

To The Moon.

I think the game is full of different emotional triggers. The one that got me was the revelation why the person in question actually wanted to the moon. All the mysteries in the game around weird behaviors and circumstances suddenly made sense and the implication of what the moon really meant to this person made me cry. That was so damn sad. It still makes me cry just thinking about it.

Ending credits of Nier Automata. Weight of the World.

Red Dead Redemption 2 - >!the death of Arthur Morgan!<

Tales from the Borderlands - >!Scooter's sacrifice!<

Edit: can't figure out how to use spoiler tags, oh well.

all of Outer Wilds?

MyHouse.wad. It's astonishing that a fucking Doom level can do better environmental storytelling than most modern games. Don't read much about it, just download it and play!

I also played Life is Strange: True Colors with my daughter and she was amazed at how a video game can just influence our emotions.

The entire questline of Alice (hedgehog grandma) in Spiritfarer. After that, I just couldn't finish the game. I don't know why it affected me so much.

The ending of Soma.

There's a big moment in SOMA that really stuck with me. Not gonna spoil it. Mostly it's a horror game but it engages with some pretty intense ethical questions and does so in a way that feels very personal.

Super Mario Bros, when I learned the princess was in another castle.

Like at least a few other comments, the Last of Us sticks out. Just, the whole thing.

Lots of things in mass effect 1-3

Also, Roland's death in Borderlands 2 just because the game up until then may have some dark-ish moments, but for the most part is still a nigh-brainless looter shooter. Angel's ark makes you feel like they've hit their important-character-death-quota and then Roland dies as well.

Final Fantasy 7 when Aeries dies. I was a teen then and it was the first RPG I ever played and the first time I experienced a main character just die and is gone from the game.

I don't think I experienced anything like that again until maybe Destiny 2 when Cayde died. Little different with that though as they should his death in a live stream about the launch of that DLC. Had a different impact but had to be done since the entire premise of that DLC was getting revenge so couldn't hide it from the promo materials.

Omori. Finally understanding what is it that the protagonist has been trying to repress so hard and coming to terms with that. That game took some ideas that are pretty much a cliche in surreal RPG circles, yet the build up and execution around them is masterful. The art and music do a lot to fully convey all the emotions involved. By the end of it all I could feel the entirety of it, and it was overwhelming. I could understand why that affected the protagonist and everyone around him so much.

Not me, but my little sister was bawling at the end of Undertale.

For me, it's maybe beating Sword Saint Isshin. I think I almost cried in relief, since I'd been hitting my head against that wall for like a week.

I also liked the Dragon Age Inquisition endings, the one DLC with the Qunari and the palace and going threw Elven ruins shattered through space. The song on the mountains when you find the new headquarters was cool too.

Rosalina's story in Super Mario Galaxy.

I haven't played the second version, so idk if it's there.

I remember the first time I cried because of the events of a video game.

Final Fantasy 7. Aerith's death scene.

Up to that point, you're given several romance options between her and Tifa and I basically friend-zoned Tifa and was pursuing Aerith. So when Sephiroth murders her out of nowhere, it was like he really murdered my girlfriend. FWIW, the game came out when I was 12 and I was probably 13 or 14 when I actually got to own a copy and play through the whole thing.

The most latest game, tho, that hits hard is Cyberpunk 2077. The overall main plot is just a mashup of cyberpunk films like Johnny Mnemonic, Strange Days, 6th Day, 5th Element, Dredd, etc; but the side stories with the main characters are where the real beauty lies. Shit had me choked up like every time there was a lengthy bit of dialogue. The reason your character is dying might be goofy, but the way they portray someone who knows they are going to die is pretty fucking good. And the unique thing is that it's you. Your own character, not some other character you're just meant to empathize with.

dialog between alucard and dracula at the end of symphony of the night

I'll throw out the final twenty minutes of Abzu. It's not one specific moment, more a combination of things that come together to make a truly incredible sequence that sees you doing things inside the game that you hadn't previously done, alongside some truly incredible visuals and music, it's really incredibly moving.

I got yelled at for saying this on a reddit thread about emotional moments in video games. But I still feel bad for killing Mordin in ME3. I cried. And regret it.

The end of Half Life 2 Episode 2 before HL:Alyx retconned it - that fade to black with Alyx sobbing 😭

Dragon Quest 11.

The little mermaid side story was sad. Then, I spent the entire second act just grinding along to get the best character in my party back only to end up super depressed about it when that didn't happen.

The entire hour-or-so-long finale sequence of Tears of the Kingdom is ASTOUNDINGLY good. It hits ALL emotions: fear, joy, suspense, sorrow, elation. Also, the Dragon Tears Quest throughout the regular game.

The Dream No More ending of Hollow Knight. I felt that in my soul. Largely due to the musical score.

The ending of Outer Wilds made me feel an emotion I really had trouble describing. Bittersweet, maybe? Mixed with awe? Same for the DLC ending, but with a distinctly more sorrowful vibe.

Subnautica had me literally drop my jaw, with the Sunbeam questline, midway-through the game.

Plus more that have already been mentioned.

I don't know if this is an emotional moment for everybody, but I have been playing video games with my daughter ever since she was 4. When she was around 5, we played Majora's Mask. There is a part in the gerudo desert where a dad and his little girl live in a house, but the dad went missing, so the daughter is waiting for him at the house. As part of the quest, you go talk to the daughter, then go rescue the dad from underground. So far, so good.

We go down to the dungeons, and the father finally escapes and reunites with his daughter. The moment the dad meets his daughter, my daughter starts bawling.

'Where were you dad? I was alone and missing you! Some strangers (referring to link) even visited the house! Why did you leave me alone??'

I was absolutely stunned by her words and emotions, and it was tough to console her while I was getting emotional myself. I'm getting emotional right now as I type this.

So yeah, that was the most emotional moment in a game for me.

One other emotional moment was from Brothers: A tale of two sons, which I've replied to one of the comments.

All of The Last of Us (Part I), but especially the prologue, the ending, and the DLC.

The end of Telltale's The Walking Dead: Season 1.

The end of Life is Strange, but only if you choose Bay.

Finding Ciri in Witcher 3.

The final dream in Disco Elysium. After picking up clues all game about your past, your broken relationship and the reasons you are the way you are, the heart wrenching emotional impact had me reeling. Not mention it's written and voice-acted beautifully.

Suddenly everything makes sense as Harry gets constantly dressed-down, his futile attempts to cling to the past denied and his insanity laid bare. The letter in the ledger, the little Headless FALN rider figurine, the obsession with Dolores Dei, that awful phonecall on the payphone, everything comes together in a beautiful climax of absolute sadness, ending on that devastating final line:

"This is real darkness. It's not death, or war, or child molestation. Real darkness has love for a face. The first death is in the heart, Harry.

See you tomorrow"

When Aloy's adopted father dies in Horizon Zero Dawn.

Since I just played it: Life is strange both the ending and when they find rachel. Don't want to elaborate more for those who haven't played it yet

The ending of Link's Awakening

The Last of Us 2 is the only game to make me cry every single time I play it, ever. It also is so emotionally painful that I genuinely get minor depression after I do my yearly playthrough for at least a few days. I honestly don’t think there’s a game out with nearly as much of an emotional impact on me as that game.