Fans of Gears Of War have called Dom’s death one of the saddest in video game history.
Gaming is, without question, one of the most immersive and effective forms of storytelling available today. Instead of simply witnessing what unfolds before your eyes, gaming allows us to take part in its narrative by actively experiencing each character’s experience first-hand and participating in their actions.
Narrative-driven games have seen tremendous popularity over the last decade. Who wouldn’t want to experience an epic journey? Therefore it should come as no surprise that Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 has quickly become Sony PlayStation’s fastest selling title of all-time; living out our superhero fantasies just got real! Though immersing ourselves into stories can be wonderful experiences, when things take a saddening turn it can really hit home; The Last of Us Part II, Ghost of Tsushima and Professor Layton and the Spectre’s Call all brought tears but many gaming fans consider Gears of War’s Dom death the saddest moment in all gaming history!
Reddit user GearsOfJacoby wrote, “Dom’s death will always remain one of the saddest in gaming history for me”, with many agreeing with this opinion. Spartan17492 added “As soon as I hear Mad World piano I immediately become distressed & Marcus makes his desperate attempts to stop Dom – hit me every time!” while wheel_of_cheese92 wrote that Dom’s death marked a peak cinematic experience within games compared to anything since when all subsequent efforts at stirring emotions have failed spectacularly.” wheel_of_cheese92 wrote, “I truly believe cinematic experience in video games peaked when Dom died and that death didn’t involve extreme cheese which all other games seem so dependent upon.”
Although I disagree, Dom’s death was masterfully carried out… pardon my grim pun. User jcquantihero shared that Dom’s demise left such an impactful impact that my girlfriend became pregnant shortly thereafter with our son Dominic who now turns six and half.” How thoughtful! Additionally, user IamTheMaker commented “For me personally it ranks second only to one of Life is Strange endings; another worthy shoutout.”
“Nah, John Marston beat Dom in this one for me. What this reminds me is that most video games make me emotional; in particular I remember when crying at them!”
