The best twist endings in video games change what you thought you were playing. A great one makes you want to start over to spot the clues, and a perfect one hides those clues in plain sight: in dialogue, in chapter titles, perhaps even the controller you’re holding. These ten games span three decades and nearly every genre, from horror to puzzle-platformers to a Game Boy adventure about a dream. But they all have one thing in common: Every one of them had us totally fooled the first time.

[ Ed. note : This article contains spoilers for the twist endings of these games.]

10 Spec Ops: The Line (2012)

Spec Ops: The Line ."" data-modal-id="single-image-modal" data-modal-container-id="single-image-modal-container" data-img-caption=""Image: Yager Development\/2K Games""> A scene from Spec Ops: The Line . Image: Yager Development/2K Games

Dubai has been buried. A run of sandstorms drove out the city’s wealthiest residents and left its skyscrapers standing vacant.…