Portal (series)/Tear Jerker

"GLaDOS: I think that one was about to say 'I love you.' They ARE sentient, of course. We just have a LOT of them."
 * No love for the death of the faithful ?
 * Indeed. Even in universe the destruction of the Companion Cube was supposed to show how out of touch GLaDOS is with the human psyche. It was clearly supposed to be a jab at how GLaDOS perceives human emotions, not an actual sad moment. Much in the same way the constant promise of "Cake" is meant to show how poorly GLaDOS understands the concept of rewards in that she really seems to consider "Cake" as some brass ring an average human will put themselves through Hell in order to obtain, the Companion Cube shows that GLaDOS is so naive of the human condition that she thinks she can create an emotional attachment to an object simply by telling you to have one.
 * The worst part? In Portal 2,
 * Then again, she could easily be have been lying simply to screw with Chell.
 * However, when you get close to a Companion Cube in Portal 2, it begins to play a little song.
 * And guess which song it is?
 * In Test Chamber 7 of the sequel, you run into another Companion Cube. At the end of the chamber, GLaDOS tells you that while the Emancipation Grill would normally eliminate anything you try to take with you, this one is broken, so don't take anything. So sue me, I went to get my cubie buddy back. I take it down to the elevator and...

"Rattmann: So it's the long sleep...or the long sleep. And I don't know which is worse. Forgive me."
 * The Companion Cube poetry behind the walls of level 17. Poor Rattman...
 * Also, don't tell me that you didn't feel at least a pang of sadness the first time you knocked over a turret, only to have it say, in a melancholy voice, "I don't hate you..."
 * If you use a turret as a shield while a different one is firing at you, your makeshift shield screams, "W-wait! No! ...It's me!"
 * The turret voices have been updated in Portal 2, with a heartrending "Nooooooo!" if you fling them into space.
 * The Cube is just a box. It has no feelings, it has no personality, and it has no voice. The Curiosity Core, on the other hand, is a childish, naive little AI that asks questions about anything it sees and cheerfully greets you once it recognizes you, all in a cutesy voice that sounds like the turrets but absent the creepiness.
 * Actually, in the upcoming comic from Valve (meant to bridge the gap between the two games), the Companion Cube DOES speak, acting almost as Doug Rattmann's Talking Appliance Sidekick. This, of course, suddenly makes incinerating the Companion Cube worse.
 * '"Look, we're both stuck in this place. I'll use lasers to inscribe a line down the centre of the facility! And one half will be where you live, and I'll live in the other half. We won't have to try to kill each other, or even talk if we don't feel like it!"' (GLaDOS) She actually sounded a bit freaked out here...or as much as a computer/robot/AI thing could.
 * It Got Worse in the sequel. Its revealed early on that GLaDOS spent the time since the first game being forced to relive Chell killing her over and over. And that's not even counting the crap she goes through later. Combined with the fact that Valve went out of their way to make her more sympathetic as the game goes on...
 * Along this same vein, GLaDOS' screams of pain during  can tug at some players' heartstrings.
 * Finding out that was depressing enough, but hearing that in Portal 2 she wakes up centuries in the future, Jesus, there is literally nothing left for her outside. The world outside the lab is a completely different place by now, and she can't even have the Tragic Dream of going back to a normal life anymore. She doesn't have anything worth fighting for anymore besides her own life.
 * Not only that, but as revealed in the comic, Tear Jerker for Doug and Chell indeed.
 * Rattmann's dialogue during this part is pretty sad as well.

"Proctor's Note: Test subject is abnormally stubborn. She never gives up. Ever. Rejected, do not test."
 * Towards the end of Lab Rat, the Companion Cube is asking Doug how he knew that Chell would be able to do it, how he knew she could get the two of them out. He gives a perfect non-answer, saying that he just had a hunch. It's not until after he dies that we learn why he chose her.


 * Even after hearing all the hilarious craziness of Cave Johnson in the sequel, you'll be sad by the end. Cave Johnson made some amazing things and had absolutely no morals whatsoever, but...everything he created, he did by accident. He wanted to make diet pudding; he made repulsion gel instead. He wanted to make a fuel injection system de-icer; he got a psychotic AI instead. This is all very funny...until then you find out.
 * The real moment is just at the end of his rant.

"GLaDOS: (genuinely)"
 * What makes the above (including the farewell) even more sobering is when you stop and actually realize that these recordings are all that's left of Cave Johnson, and that they'll almost certainly never be heard again..
 * "Haec omnia transeunt"
 * It's implied in the Co-op mode, however, that.
 * His undeniably awesome combustible lemon rant is quite sad when visualizing what he must have looked like when recorded it.
 * The recording you hear before the  chamber.  At this point,
 * in the ending of Portal 2. Especially because.
 * Even moreso when you remember that
 * Another part is when Wheatley screamed
 * For a bit of HONF mixed in, remember that this IS the Half-Life universe, and there are very likely to be mind-breakingly horrible things
 * At the end of Portal 2,
 * In typical GLaDOS fashion, she contradicts herself repeatedly in the ending song, first admitting again that you were her "only friend", then denying that she was talking to you, then erasing the words from the screen even though she still sings them. You're watching her struggle with complex and conflicting emotions towards someone who's become one of the most important people in her entire existence, even as she desperately pushes you away and denies that "She needs anyone".
 * What's more, in another tear-jerking occasion at the end and also possibly a contradiction,  Personally, it was perhaps the most emotionally affecting part of the whole ending.
 * Of course, as she herself states
 * This is after she admits that you weren't her greatest enemy, but her best friend. The ensuing Mood Whiplash is what makes it so sad.
 * Note too that a few scenes before, GLaDOS mentions
 * Right before the above example, when :


 * When you wander into the Bring Your Daughter to Work Day Science Fair in Portal 2.
 * And if you buy into the theory that Chell is actually, it doesn't get any less tragic, because...well... You know...
 * In regards to whether GLaDOS or not, Word of God confirms
 * Except for now Word of God says that Oh Valve and your ability to change your mind that leaves things up for speculation!
 * And just to twist in the knife, here's the translation of

"One day they woke me up, So I could live forever, It’s such a shame the same will never happen to you. (GLaDOS is genuinely sad she will outlive Chell?) You’ve got your short, sad life left, that’s what I’m counting on, I’ll let you get right to it... (GLaDOS is saying that life is short, enjoy it now and forget about everything that's happened?) Go make some new disaster, That’s what I’m counting on, You’re someone else’s problem... (GLaDOS wants Chell to ruin someone else's plans - the Combine?)"
 * "Cara Mia" is at the top of this list for some players, as the translation shows it's essentially . Take that with some of the Luke, I Am Your Father theories and it becomes downright heartbreaking:
 * Well, some of her words have an interesting twist when you think she loves Chell:


 * Fan content, but beautiful.
 * This fan video, which uses the same song and looks a bit reminiscent of Wall-E's ending credits at times. If you didn't pity Chell before, this will do the trick.
 * Playing Chapter 9 right after 5 is absolutely heartwrenching. Watching what was basically your best friend go mad as the rush of power reinforces every negative emotion, then having to take down said friend while he raises some concertingly good points (You DID drop him and you DID fail to mention GLaDOS would be rather pissed if she ever woke up) is an emotional sucker punch.
 * Wheatley's Villainous Breakdown during the final boss fight. His "The Reason You Suck" Speech is less like an villain's evil gloating and more like the ranting of a heartbroken child who doesn't understand why everyone has turned against him, or maybe that of a scorned Lover who hates you for choosing someone else. As he starts to lose it more and more, he accuses you of taking advantage of him all along as a means to escape, then abandoning him when he needed you most so that you could run off with your "best friend over there." He even brings up the fact that you didn't catch him when he dislodged from his management rail, which he honestly believed would have killed him, and hysterically accuses you of missing on purpose because you wanted to get rid of him. (This is made much, much worse by the fact that even if you honest-to-god tried to catch him, it's impossible to do so.)
 * What makes it even worse is that, if you listen closely to his voice during the rant, he sounds an awful lot like he's crying.
 * Although still sad, some of this is tempered a bit by the fact that the only reason you 'abandoned' him was that he went mad, trapped you in an elevator and punched you down an elevator shaft.
 * Not to mention that he could have told you that
 * During the final boss fight, Goodbye, old buddy...You served us well.
 * Leaving the Oracle Turret behind. Twice. I know you had no choice way back at the beginning of the game, being unable to smash vents unaided, but Wheatley's reaction in that part was, personally, worse than All throughout, I was hoping the oracle turret would get a happy ending.
 * I just realized a bit of Fridge Horror concerning the Oracle Turret that is also a Tear Jerker, especially if you believe the theory that . Considering . she either had been there or had strong premonitions about it. Either way, . That's pretty much a mix of Fridge Horror, Tear Jerker, and a little heartwarming all in one.
 * I felt a pang when picking up the Oracle Turret for the first time, she just sounded so relieved and sad and exhausted in those two words: "Thank you..."
 * When GLaDOS retorted
 * Why, Wheatley, why?
 * It may just be me, but Exile Vilify just brings a tear to my eye.
 * Especially after reading the Lab Rat comic, and learning about Rattman's past.
 * The song was apparently originally used for an easter egg ending, presumably one with a not so happy feel.
 * You think the song's sad enough on it's own, right? Well, guess what? Someone made a stop-motion music video of the song with Rattman and Chell. It makes the song go from tearjerking to outright depressing. You can watch it here.
 * Is Caroline's consciousness really stuck inside GLaDOS, alone and unloved, for eternity? That's pretty heartbreaking.
 * In Co-Op mode, one of the voice-overs GLaDOS is her saying you both have gotten very close, and she's known one other team like you.
 * Most of GLaDOS' comments in Co-op make me sad when you realize she's saying things she told Chell in single player Like the deer, the weight thing, ect.
 * In the final Co-Op level, when you  you see a reprogrammed turret which screamed   The turret is quickly killed off by GLaDOS just so she could deploy blue gel (and possibly silence the turret).
 * The way GLaDOS just casually crushes after waking up.
 * The way GLaDOS screams while may result in this, with a dash of What the Hell, Hero? since it's entirely your fault.
 * The way GLaDOS just casually crushes after waking up.
 * The way GLaDOS screams while may result in this, with a dash of What the Hell, Hero? since it's entirely your fault.