"You Beat The Game...But You Lose Anyway!"

Published 2007-08-14 07:00 by Abscissa in Software/Device Development and Design

Originally posted: August 14th, 2007

The title sums up why I consider multiple endings a terrible game mechanic.

It's at least tolerable in games like Castlevania (the ones with the "Metroidvania" layout, like Symphony of the Night), where you can find out you got a bad ending, pick up at your last save, and simply continue playing towards the real ending.

Resident Evil 1, on the other hand, demonstrates the wrong way to handle multiple endings (if you must use them, that is):

1. Make an arbitrary branching point halfway through the game.
2. Don't bother making it clear the branching event has two possible outcomes.

Now, when the player finishes the game and…loses, the only way for them to win is to replay the whole game all over again (or just the entire second half if they were lucky enough to maintain a save point from just the right spot). Wonderful!

Speaking of Resident Evil 1, I would rant about "limited save" systems as well, but unlike multiple endings, at least those appear to have gone the way of the interactive B-movie.