11 Most Emotional Video Game Openings

Much like meeting a new person, playing a new game is all about first impressions. Whether the rest of the game is bad or not, a well-executed opening will have you looking back fondly, remembering the strong emotions invoked by that opening.

A strong opening makes all the difference in setting up the tone for the rest of the game, as it tugs on your heartstrings and leaves a lasting impression on you even when you’re hundreds of hours deep into the game.

We’ll be ranking these video game openings based on how emotional they get, especially feelings like dread, awe, and even gut-wrenching sorrow. Maybe even a combination of the three.

Spoiler Warning: This list contains spoilers for the opening moments of the below titles.

11

Life Is Strange 2

A Tale Of Two Brothers

Nobody was prepared for just how out of control things could turn out for the Diaz brothers in Life is Strange 2.

Shifting from Chloe and Max to Sean and Daniel Diaz, the story revolves around the brothers running away from the authorities after a tragic accident.

The first hour of Life is Strange 2 sets up this air of mystery and impending dread by showing you dashcam footage and then transitioning to Sean’s perspective, who goes about his mundane teenage life talking to his crush, until he finds his brother being shoved around by a bully.

The ensuing altercation escalates uncontrollably into a traumatic encounter with an officer, who shoots the brothers’ father, causing Daniel to destroy half the block with his latent supernatural powers.

The fear and desperation in this opening scene creep up on you throughout the episode before exploding into this deeply tragic moment. With the weight of the world on his shoulders, Sean has no choice but to run away with his brother and leave behind his father’s body.

10

Fallout 4

War Never Changes

Fallout 4 gives you a false sense of security by placing you in the idyllic life of a 1960s nuclear family, complete with a happy couple, a baby, and even a robot butler.

But anybody familiar with the series knows that a comfortable life in any Fallout game doesn’t last long, as dread envelops the scene when you find out that your life is about to change forever when the nuclear war finally begins.

The sense of impending doom is palpable, especially when you see a nuclear bomb go off in the distance right as you’re about to evacuate into a vault with your family.

On top of that, Fallout 4 even makes you helplessly watch your spouse get killed by mysterious figures and take your son away. The game even allows you to take your spouse’s wedding ring to remember them by as you set off into a post-apocalyptic Commonwealth to find your spouse’s killer and your son.

9

Mass Effect 2

Commander Shepard Dies

If you’ve played the first Mass Effect and have imported your save, then you’ve most likely already grown attached to your crew and the Normandy ship.

But Mass Effect 2 destroys all of that, wrecking the Normandy and killing the crew in a brutal attack by an unknown assailant.

Commander Shepard is thrown out the Normandy and suffocates from a suit breach, and there’s nothing you can do but watch your beloved character die.

Mass Effect 2 makes a first impression by–you guessed it–killing Commander Shepard at the very beginning of the game. This was incredibly shocking for Mass Effect fans as Shepherd has become one of the most beloved protagonists in gaming.

Thankfully, Shepherd doesn’t stay dead for more than a minute, as the Illusive Man had already created plans in motion to resurrect Shepherd with the Lazarus Project. Still, this hit hard for a lot of people as this meant that their valuable gear and progress were gone.

8

Stray

No Cats Were Harmed

This rule applies to both movies and games: if an animal is the protagonist, then the story is guaranteed to tug at your heartstrings. Stray is no exception.

As a relatively short game centered around an adorable tabby cat, Stray has no dialogue, and yet it tugs the heartstrings so well in the opening, as you and your cat family are traveling through an abandoned city after a storm.

But of course, things don’t go smoothly, and the cat is separated from its family, slipping from a pipe and falling into a deep, dark ravine. The most heartbreaking moment is when the cat struggles to cling to the concrete ledge while its family watches helplessly.

You can’t help but yell “NOOOOOOO!” when the cat loses grip and lets out a sad yelp. The extra emotional damage was just too much.

Thankfully, the cat survives and licks its wounds, but damn if it isn’t sad to watch a cat limp helplessly and call out in vain to its family before setting off on its journey.

7

The Walking Dead: Season 2

The Pain Of Losing Lee Lingers

It’s been more than a decade, and Telltale Games’ The Walking Dead still has an emotional impact on the gaming community after the heartbreaking loss of Lee in Season 1.

Whether Clementine decides to shoot Lee or leave him to turn, she survives and reunites with Omid and Christa, leading to the events of Season 2.

Clementine is probably one of the most resilient young protagonists in gaming, perhaps even in fiction. She’s survived through so much, and even after losing a father figure like Lee, she still can’t catch a break.

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At the beginning of Season 2, she’s forced to deal with losing Omid when she gets robbed at gunpoint by a random bandit at a rest stop.

The grief of losing Omid hangs heavy with Clementine and Christa, and things don’t get any easier for Clementine for the rest of her story in Season 2 and beyond.

6

God Of War

Lo, There Do They Call To Me

Both God of War (2018) and God of War Ragnarök begin with the death of a loved one. And unlike their Greek predecessors, Kratos’s new story in a world of Norse mythology is a lot more somber and quiet.

Between Faye’s funeral and Fenrir’s passing, Faye’s funeral made a much more memorable first impression due to its dramatic shift in tone compared to the original trilogy. No shade to the good boy™.

While we don’t know much about Kratos’s late wife in God of War (2018), nor do we meet her until her appearance in flashbacks in God of War Ragnarok, her presence and emotional impact can be felt through Kratos and Atreus as they prepare for her funeral.

The game opens with Kratos chopping a tree down, and the way he composes himself shows how much grief and pain he’s got pent-up deep inside.

Combined with Bear McCreary’s masterful musical composition, Faye’s funeral is an emotional send-off to a character only the father-son pair have known and loved. It’s a somber yet beautiful opening that sets the tone and message for the rest of the game, setting off the beginning of a meaningful and epic journey to Jotunheim shared by father and son.

5

That Dragon, Cancer

In Memory Of Joel Green

I once read that “When someone has cancer, so does their family and everybody who loves them.” That Dragon, Cancer is an artistic autobiographical story about parents Ryan and Amy Green as they show you the heartbreaking and touching story of their son Joel, who lost his battle with cancer at the age of four in 2016. Ranking this entry any lower would be doing an injustice, and its placement here is well-deserved.

That Dragon, Cancer opens with a seemingly happy scene where the Green family is enjoying a day in the park with Joel, until you leave the area, transitioning to a sullen hospital room where Ryan is carrying Joel in his arms, who’s hooked up to an IV.

Using real-life clips from home videos and voice notes from the Greens and their friends and family, That Dragon, Cancer paints a visceral picture of what it’s like to have a loved one fight cancer. It’s a poetic portrayal of the long and grueling battle, the terrifying uncertainty and despair that creeps inside, and the fear of the inevitable.

There’s a sense of raw authenticity to every single moment of this, and the love that Ryan and Amy had for their son is palpable here as they hold on to their faith through this beautiful demonstration of “video games as an art form.”

4

Ori And The Blind Forest

An Orphan Once More

Inspired by works like The Iron Giant, The Lion King, and Hayao Miyazaki’s works, Ori and the Blind Forest weaves together a beautiful and heartfelt dialogue-less story about Ori’s quest to restore the withering forest of Nibel.

The first ten minutes of the game introduce Ori, a guardian spirit, who is adopted by a fuzzy creature named Naru, who raises him as her own. Throughout those minutes, we witness their bond strengthen as they build bridges, gather fruit together, and snuggle during the night.

But a beautiful story isn’t just going to leave things all fine and dandy, as the Spirit Tree withers and so does the surrounding flora, causing Ori and Naru to starve. Naru dies of starvation because she gave him her last fruit, but not before Ori ventures out to collect some food for her. Ori has no choice but to leave, and eventually collapses and dies near the Spirit Tree before it revives him, beginning one of the best Metroidvanias in recent memory.

Maybe the real blind forest was the players blinded by the tears flooding their eyes.

3

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

Tomorrow Comes

Here’s one that’s hot off the presses at the time of writing, and if you’re looking for a new game to make your eyes wet, Clair Obscur manages to make that a reality in record time.

Playing as Gustave in the fractured safe zone of Lumiere, you’ll explore this beautiful city, which is preparing for a grand festival, and there is a real party atmosphere. But, even still, something seems off.

Well, as it turns out, The Paintress who sits on the monolith beyond the mountain is about to trigger The Gommage. An annual ritual where a new number is written upon the Monolith, and everyone of that age dies, evaporating in thin air and drifting off in the wind as a flurry of rose petals.

It’s a harrowing scene where you must say goodbye to your romantic interest, and watch what feels like half the city’s population dwindle in an instant. It’s brutal, it’s poetically beautiful, and if that wasn’t enough to make you blubber, the rousing score will push you over the edge for sure.

2

Firewatch

Stop Running Away From The Here And Now

Firewatch is a considerably short exploration game where you play as Henry, a middle-aged man who volunteers as a lookout in the Shoshone National Forest in the Rocky Mountains.

His only form of human connection in the middle of nowhere is Delilah, a fellow lookout who speaks to him through his walkie-talkie.

The game sets the tone with a slow and wistful opening, shifting between Henry’s two-day trip to his tower and a text-based flashback of Henry’s love story with his wife, Julia.

Despite having absolutely no spoken dialogue throughout the opening sequence, the game makes you take your time to choose the tiny details in Henry and Julia’s relationship, which blossoms from a meet-cute to a beautiful and grounded romance.

Things seem fine until Julia develops early-onset dementia at the ripe age of 43, and you understand why Henry has chosen to get away from it all and volunteer as a lookout.

As someone who has witnessed family members suffer from dementia, this opening made me cry. Watching a loved one’s consciousness deteriorate is heart-wrenching, and though it is only for an opening sequence, Firewatch portrays dementia with terrifying accuracy.

1

The Last Of Us

That Soldier Deserved Worse

Both The Last of Us and its sequel are uniquely emotional rollercoasters that excel at tearing your heart out and ripping it to shreds.

Sure, Joel’s death in The Last of Us 2 will always be controversially heartbreaking, but Sarah’s death remains one of the most traumatic in gaming history.

The first game sets this up by thrusting you into Joel’s daughter Sarah, showing cozy father-daughter moments before yanking it all away with the cordyceps outbreak, as you view the world through Sarah’s eyes.

This all culminates in a cutscene where Joel and Sarah are stopped by a soldier who’s been given orders to kill on sight, despite them not being infected. While Joel survives, Sarah is shot and dies in his arms.

Sarah’s death is gutwrenching, as we watch Joel cry while cradling his daughter’s body. This death scars Joel (and us) forever, and foreshadows his complex relationship with Ellie two decades into the future.

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