The most shocking deaths in video games often come right out of nowhere. We’ve all played strategy games where units are faceless entities cursed to fall like flies without ceremony, or roguelikes where dying is no big thing, but this list looks at those deaths that got us properly choked up. Games where characters we built relationships with, characters we trusted, sometimes even the player character themselves are the victim of a surprise death.

Many of these are deaths that not only caught us off guard, but ended up being some of the biggest plot twists in video games. The loss of a companion, a beloved side character, or an unsuspecting innocent can sometimes provide a new avenue for the narrative to explore: revenge.

Obviously there will be a fair few heavy spoilers in this list, so if you’ve not played any of these games already, it might be time to get stuck in. If you’ve played them all and are looking for some heartstring tugging, we do have recommendations for games like Red Dead Redemption 2, and many of the games like Life Is Strange on this list will also get those tears flowing and offer some juicy narrative twists and turns.