Mandatory Missions We Wanted to Skip
A great mission usually makes you eager to revisit it in another playthrough. You never know if you missed dialogue or different options that could change the whole course of the game, and it’s worth coming back to at least once! Some missions, however, are mandatory nightmares that make you put down your controller altogether. Once you know what’s waiting, that chapter-select screen becomes much less inviting, and we’re here to share the trauma of 20 missions just about everyone hated. (Spoilers ahead.)
1. “No Russian” – Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Nothing in Modern Warfare 2 prepares you for controlling undercover CIA operative Joseph Allen while Vladimir Makarov’s group massacres people inside an airport. You don’t have to use the travelers as target practice, but the mission still makes you walk through the attack before fighting security and watching Makarov turn on Allen to frame the United States. It was so universally despised that there’s now a consequence-free option to skip the level.
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2. “By the Book” – Grand Theft Auto V
Poor Ferdinand Kerimov. Literally what did he do? Nothing, and yet we take control of Trevor and use everything from electric shocks to pliers on the poor guy. Even more messed up, there’s a trophy if you use all the methods on him. Sure, you drive him to the airport later, but he needs to abandon his entire family just to get away from your—and the government’s—carnage.
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3. “The Gate” – Spec Ops: The Line
In Spec Ops, you’re tasked with an impossible choice. One you make, too, when Captain Walker orders the use of white phosphorus. Once the smoke clears, however, Walker’s squad discovers that the bombardment didn’t target enemy soldiers; it wiped out 47 civilians, including a mother whose burned body is wrapped around her child.
4. “Shining Lights, Even in Death” – Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
Long story short, a parasite outbreak sends Venom Snake into Mother Base’s platform with orders to prevent it from spreading. Instead of fighting enemy troops, though, you have to identify and execute infected Diamond Dogs soldiers, including men you personally recruited. Several of them salute Snake before he pulls the trigger, too, which is an especially cruel reward.
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5. “Only You” – Far Cry 5
Jacob repeatedly conditions the Deputy through timed courses set to the song “Only You,” which basically trains you to shoot targets without thinking. During the final run, the last target is suddenly revealed to be Eli, and the mission gives you no real chance to undo your actions. So, that was fun.
6. “Tranquility Lane” – Fallout 3
Vault 112 is…the worst. It traps its residents inside a suburban simulation controlled by Braun, who disguises himself as a little girl and orders you to torment the neighborhood. Yeah, well, following his instructions means humiliating people and eventually becoming the Pint-Sized Slasher. Don’t worry, though—you get a “merciful” solution that frees the victims, but it leaves Braun in the simulation forever.
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7. “All That Remains” – Dragon Age II
Hawke’s search for their missing mother ends in the lair of Quentin, a blood mage who basically just targets women to reconstruct his dead wife. If that wasn’t bad enough, by the time you get there, Leandra’s head has been attached to the assembled corpse, and she regains awareness just long enough to recognize her child before dying. Dragon Age II doesn’t even offer a clever dialogue choice to soften the blow.
8. “A Reckoning in Blood” – Ghost of Tsushima
The mission is this: Jin and Taka are captured after walking into a trap arranged by Ryuzo and Khotun Khan. The Khan offers Taka his freedom if he ends Jin's life, but the blacksmith refuses and attacks their captor. Well, that was a mistake, and Taka immediately pays for it (as do we, having to watch it).
9. “The Lizard” – Heavy Rain
Oh, hey, Ethan! Don’t mind us; we’re just here to suffer through your next trial, which requires the removal of your finger in five minutes. You choose a tool, perform the button sequence, and can even disinfect or cauterize the wound afterward while Ethan screams. You can refuse, but it costs Ethan another clue.
10. “Zlatko” – Detroit: Become Human
Kara brings Alice to Zlatko’s house expecting help, only to be strapped into a machine that erases her memories. It also leaves her minutes to remember who she is. Exploring the mansion is no picnic, either, revealing androids he has dismembered, altered, and reassembled for his own amusement.
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11. “St. Mary’s Hospital” – The Last of Us Part II
When Ellie tracks Nora into the hospital, Nora’s already been exposed to spores. Rather than leaving her there, however, Ellie demands Abby’s location and beats her, with the player required to continue the assault more than once. We then see Ellie return to the theater visibly shaken, which tells you way more than a camera angle ever could.
12. “Disasterpiece” – Cyberpunk 2077
Well, the name of this mission sort of says it all. V and Judy locate Evelyn by analyzing an illegal braindance. Their search leads into a Scavenger studio filled with bodies and all sorts of heinous stuff, right before we find Evelyn alive. It’s no happy reunion—she’s so traumatized that she’s barely responsive.
13. “House Beneviento” – Resident Evil Village
The last thing you want as Ethan is to lose your weapons. Lo and behold, it happens, and we’re forced to examine a mannequin modeled after Mia, all while hallucinations exploit our fears. Then the lights fail, and a gigantic fetus-thing crawls through the basement crying, laughing, and trying to swallow us. You know what, Resident Evil? We don’t need it.
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14. “Happy Birthday” – Resident Evil 7: Biohazard
It’s not a happy birthday! It’s not a happy birthday at all! The so-called “Happy Birthday” videotape sticks you in control of Clancy as Lucas forces him through an escape-room puzzle. Completing it causes the cake to explode and ignite spilled oil, leaving Clancy locked inside while the player can do nothing but listen to him burn to death.
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15. “I Need Some Transportation” – Dead Space 2
Chapter 6 sends Isaac through an elementary school, which is never good in a horror game. Once you get there, you see that the Necromorph outbreak has transformed children into the Pack and infants into Crawlers. Not everyone knew that, either, and we didn’t even have time to warn that lady not to pick up that baby.
16. “Male Ward” – Outlast
Outlast had more than enough gruesome imagery, but Miles’ trip through Mount Massive got way more personal when Richard strapped him to a wheelchair and removed two of his fingers. Trager eventually dies when an elevator crushes him, but at that point, who even cares?
17. “The Hunt” – The Last of Us
It’s never good when you find out that the guy you teamed up with butchers captives for food. After escaping a cage, Ellie’s then hunted by David, who repeatedly overpowers her and makes his intentions even worse than cannibalism alone. Ellie thankfully snuffs him, but Joel finds her only after the experience has left her totally traumatized.
18. “King Hugo” – A Plague Tale: Requiem
By the final chapter, Hugo has surrendered to the Macula and unleashed a sea of rats that consumes Marseille. So, you know, not great. Amicia reaches him inside the illusion, but Hugo asks his sister to kill him because his death is the only way to stop the destruction. You then have to fire Amicia’s sling at the child she spent two games protecting. Either that, or until Lucas uses his crossbow.
19. “Red Asphalt” – Saints Row 2
There’s not much else you need to know about this mission other than Jessica kidnaps Carlos, chains him to the back of a truck, and has him dragged through Stilwater. You can disable the vehicle and reach him, but he’s beyond saving, and the only remaining act is for the Boss to end his suffering.
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20. “Answers” – Gears of War 2
Dom’s long search for Maria ends inside a Locust prison camp, where he initially imagines her looking healthy and happy to see him. Reality quickly sneaks in, though, with an emaciated, unresponsive woman who has been physically and psychologically destroyed during captivity. Dom then mercy-kills her while Marcus turns away, and few fans were eager to see that twice.
