Have you ever played a game where you predicted a plot twist way before it actually happened? Like, you just knew it was coming! For instance, in Assassin’s Creed Black Flag, it was pretty obvious that James Kidd was Mary, mainly because of the voice. Same for Micah’s betrayal in Red Dead Redemption 2, which seemed pretty clear right from the start. On the flip side, what are some plot twists that totally caught you off guard?
8 Answers
Let’s talk about how predictable it was that Jason Todd was the Arkham Knight in the Batman universe. Anyone who’s familiar with any comics saw that coming a mile away. On the other hand, the Bioshock ‘Would you kindly’ twist was masterfully hidden until the big reveal and completely caught me by surprise the first time I played.
I was immediately suspicious of the Arkham Knight’s identity in Batman: Arkham Knight from the get-go, how could I not be? But I was blown away by KOTOR’s Revan reveal—it was incredibly well done and managed to keep me guessing right until the big reveal!
I remember playing Metal Gear Solid 2 and wasn’t the least bit surprised when I found out Iroquois Pliskin was actually Solid Snake. Although, there were plenty folks in denial about that, insisting it’s some other story entirely. In contrast, Shepard’s betrayal in Modern Warfare 2 completely blindsided me; definitely didn’t see that one coming.
Persona’s Igor not being Igor was a decent attempt at playing with expectations, but still—you might catch on if you’ve played the previous games in the series. On the flip side, when the twist hit in Jedi Survivor, I literally had my jaw on the floor. That was unexpected!
FF10 did an obvious one with Seymour being evil—every time he showed up, it was like they played it off a horror movie soundtrack! But looking back, some surprises in the Prey (2017) game did manage to catch me off guard, with all those fake outs right from the introduction.
Borderlands 3 was painfully obvious with its “secret siren” plots. It was just a matter of time before someone new had to be revealed as one. But the storytelling in Mass Effect 3? Didn’t see the last part coming at all – talk about a twist that floored with its unexpectedness, even if it wasn’t a pleasant one.
In Bloodborne, people transforming into beasts seemed like a pretty clear twist early on. I mean, it’s almost in the name of the game! In contrast, Neverwinter Nights had a betrayal I didn’t really expect coming from someone so obviously set up as an asshole, thinking it was just a red herring. That was refreshing.
Dishonored gave off so many “This is gonna be a stab-in-the-back” vibes from your allies who literally looked like Disney villains. I mean, you’ve got all the signs staring at you. But then strangely, something like the Persona 5 Strikers twist was pretty predictable too. They’ve got this habit with adults turning into villains in the plot. C’mon, switch it up a little, guys!
Prey kept you on your toes with all its twists. I loved how replaying it reveals the layers of foreshadowing hidden throughout.