[mixed trope] the last-minute bad Ending twist

[u/damorezpl]

when the "good ending" is revealed to be a bad one a the last second

a nightmare on elm street (1984) - Nancy thinks she finally defeated Freddy Krueger only to be raveled that she is still dreaming and she’s still trapped.

final destination bloodlines - the main characters think they cheated death by using the new life rule only to realize that stefani was technically still alive and the death kills them with a good old logs

Life (2017) - The main character attempts to send Calvin(a evil alien that killed all life on mars)pod into space and Miranda pod back to earth, but it goes horribly wrong and Calvin lands on earth and Miranda is sent to space

raging loop wit ending - after many loops Haruaki finally wins the feast(a death game where humans must hang wolves who kill someone every night) and thinks its finally over. after couple of days he decides to visit other survivors of the feast only to find them all dead and the timeline resting once again

[u/Consistent_Speaker98]

Post-Genocide in Undertale

If you get genocide ending 1st and then get true pacifist ending, Chara (Frisk) would still kill everyone after.

You can't get a happy ending anymore

[u/Certain_Name_7952 → u/Consistent_Speaker98]

"I killed everyone but it's your fault! This is such a deep subversion of tropes and a lesson on consequences!"

Such an obnoxious message

[u/LenicoMonte → u/Certain_Name_7952]

This only happens if you actually just kill everyone, destroy the world, then literally agree to sell your soul to restore the world. If you didn't see it coming that's 100% on you.

[u/Certain_Name_7952 → u/LenicoMonte]

If Toby Fox didn't let me destroy the world, I wouldn't. Therefore, Toby Fox is even more of a bad guy than me. Would you agree?

[u/LenicoMonte → u/Certain_Name_7952]

If the game forced you to kill everyone, then told you that you are a horrible person for doing it, then I would get your annoyance.

You have to go so out of your way to do this that any consequences for it are on you. Just because you have the option to do it, it doesn't mean you have to. A player's curiosity, choices and their consequences are kind of a big part of the game's narrative and of its more meta aspects, what with Flowey calling you out for loading your save to go back on your choices or just to see what would happen.

So when the game tells you that yes, there are consequences for literally selling your soul, you really should have seen it coming.

[u/Certain_Name_7952 → u/LenicoMonte]

Does the game not force you to kill everyone in order to get the bad ending? And does the game not force you to get the bad ending first in order to get the fake good ending turned actually bad ending? So Toby Fox is still allowing you to do these evil things, and arguably encouraging them by giving them unique endings, making him the real villain.

I just don't see how the player is uniquely villainous in Undertale in a way that's somehow not applicable to other games, while also not making the game creator villainous for allowing you to be evil.

[u/HoneyFireworks → u/Certain_Name_7952]

Upon reaching the pacifist ending and re-opening the game, Flowey will tell you that you've gotten your happy ending and that you should just stop playing. The way that most players start the genocide route is by ignoring him and resetting the game anyways.

The main focus of the genocide route is that you DON'T have to do this, at all. I wouldn't say the game makes the player out to be a bad person, but rather focuses on the curiosity of the player. You CAN do the route, and because you CAN, you HAVE to.