Mass Effect 3

Mass Effect 3's infamous ending remains the gold standard of narrative betrayal in gaming. BioWare's 2012 trilogy finale reduced hundreds of hours of player choices across three games to a pick-a-color ending where red, green, and blue explosions determined the galaxy's fate—a decision that 84% of players in a 2012 BioWare poll found unsatisfying. The backlash was so catastrophic that BioWare released a free Extended Cut DLC, but the damage to the franchise's legacy was permanent. This ending is 30% more jarring than #2, Game of Thrones: A Telltale Games Series, because it actively invalidated player agency rather than merely ignoring it.