4. Saren Arterius (Mass Effect)
The rogue Spectre agent Saren Arterius has little regard for life, while his disdain for human expansion into Citadel space sees the Turian veteran embarking on a quest to overthrow the Council and allow Reapers to invade the galaxy. During our time with Mass Effect we end up pursuing Saren across many planets until we meet the rogue Spectre agent upon the Citadel. Depending on your dialogue choices, you can either convince Saren that, indoctrinated or not, he still has a way to stop Sovereign. If you choose this option, Saren will commit suicide by shooting himself in the head, to prevent himself from opening the Citadel relay, but not before muttering, “Goodbye, Shepard. Thank you." Saren definitely had warped beliefs when it came to saving the universe, but he did gain our respect with his final act of bravery.
5. Asriel Dreemurr (Undertale)
Undertale is rife with sad boss fights but Asriel Dreemurr forces the player to call their friend's souls, which are inside Asriel. These friends appear as Lost Souls, and the player must defeat them by reminding them of who they were. After the protagonist manages to save all the Lost Souls, Asriel's compassion returns to him, and he begins crying. Once the fight is over he breaks the barrier and returns everyone’s souls back to them. You can’t help but feel bit bad for the little guy, especially when he’s sobbing his eyes out in front of you.
6. Maiden Astraea (Demon’s Souls)
Demon’s Souls features some truly beastly bosses, but not all of them play out the way we imagined. One of the most memorable bosses from Demon’s Souls also happens to be one of the saddest encounters in the game. When you enter a boss fog in the Souls series, you’re usually met with some demonic beast who wants to rip you apart, but Maiden Astraea poses no threat to the player. Instead she plays with our morality.
Upon entering the depths of Astrae’s sanctuary, she’ll politely ask you to leave stating that “there is nothing here for you to pillage or plunder. Please, leave quietly.” Her bodyguard Garl Vineland will try and stop you from attacking her, but once you strike him down the Maiden acknowledges her defeat. If you talk to her after killing her loyal knight, she will simply commit suicide, telling you that she can no longer defend herself and that you can have your precious Demon's Soul. This is definitely one boss that still has us feeling guilty to this day.
(These bosses have stuck with us for years, much like our list of The most enduring video game hoaxes. We're pretty sure everyone believed #4 was real.)
7. Steve Burnside (Resident Evil: Code Veronica)
Steve Burnside’s tale is certainly one of the most tragic in Resident Evil history and he ends up having a rough old time in Code Veronica. Protagonist Claire Redfield meets Steve many times throughout her stay on Rockfort Island and he constantly helps her survive multiple ordeals. We eventually learn that Steve was sent to Rockfort Island prison along with his father, due to his father selling Umbrella Corporation secrets at auction. To make matters worse, Steve is later captured by Alfred and Alexia and is injected with the T-Veronica virus, which mutates him into a disgusting monster.
Steve attempts to then lop off Claire’s head with an axe, but he regains control of his body and manages to free Claire from Alexia’s tentacles. Even though we didn’t kill him directly, we still feel bad for not being able to save poor Steve. His cheesy voice acting and tragic death will never be forgotten.
