As a Moments subpage, all spoilers are unmarked as per policy. You Have Been Warned.
- Kinzie's audio logs about Oleg.Kinzie: Oleg is one of the best things that ever happened to me and right now it feels like the worst. I'm up here trying to save us from captivity and psychological torture and all I can think about is him. He's the only one who ever truly understood what I was saying. I never thought I'd meet someone with an intelligence nearly matching my own who made me feel like I wasn't constantly missing something in my life. Now, I am. Now, I miss him...
- Shaundi is heartbroken when you find her in the Zin simulation, overwhelmed with guilt over Johnny's death. Even worse, when Zombie Gat revives and attacks her, she's forced to grab his knife and stab him in the head over and over, screaming the entire time. Then Boss puts a hand on her shoulder to comfort her, about as tender an expression as the gangster has ever managed, and tells her gently it's not her fault.
- Even though we've seen Earth get destroyed plenty of times in fiction, this game makes the literal Earth-Shattering Kaboom surprisingly harsh. Especially since we see Oleg and Josh Birk having a friendly chat moments before.
- The terrified screaming you hear when it happens helps sell the horror.
- Pretty much all of Gat's simulation and subsequent audio logs are this. This is a man who kills for fun, who finds murder to be the best solution in every circumstance, but when he talks about the people he's lost, he hesitates. When he mentions Aisha's name, he pauses for almost a full minute, unable to continue.
- The Boss' reaction when they're in the simulation with him. They're simultaneously happy to be fighting alongside their friend again and horrified at what they know is coming. Even through the Stylistic Suck speech synthesizers you can hear the pain in the Boss' voice as they try to tell him "she's gone, man," or beg "Please man, don't go in there..."
- What's worse if you listen to the audio logs Johnny knew he would never be able to save Aisha. But despite knowing he would always fail, that it was impossible to win, he would NEVER stop trying for her and if the Boss hadn't have come when they did... best not to think about.
- The Boss' reaction when they're in the simulation with him. They're simultaneously happy to be fighting alongside their friend again and horrified at what they know is coming. Even through the Stylistic Suck speech synthesizers you can hear the pain in the Boss' voice as they try to tell him "she's gone, man," or beg "Please man, don't go in there..."
- The tribute to Michael Clarke Duncan, the original Ben King, during the credits. They had gotten him in for some preliminary VO work before he died, which included a quick recording of the sing-along for Just A Friend. After the usual "every voice at once" sing-along, they fade into their last recording of Duncan singing, as the music fades out...
- When first escaping the simulator, Boss is weak, sick, scared of the alien ship s/he is on, clutching at the walls for support and calling for Kinzie.
- What really comes off as a shocker as this is probably the first time you see Boss actually vulnerable, and seconds before Kinzie finally arrives, the Boss has run out of ammo, they are still facing an armada of alien troops...Never before had the Boss actually been in a completely hopeless situation where they didn't know how they would survive.
- The beginning when Aerosmith's "I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing" plays when Boss attempts a Heroic Sacrifice, then it becomes awesome as s/he survives.
- Asha's simulation. Imagine for a moment a simulation in which you a) have to watch your best friend getting killed and b) fail miserably in stopping the Big Bad. Over and over again. Considering she's Miss Failure Is Not An Option personified, her explanation to the Boss says it perfectly.Asha Odakar: I keep failing over and over, I keep failing at my job. It doesn't matter if it's an evil you or a fifty-foot soda can! When the fate of the world rests on your shoulders, you can't afford failure! And that... that is my hell.
- The evil you seems to not only rub it on Asha but also on the Boss especially when they kill simulation Matt, but they comment on Asha's stoicism by saying "Johnny cried like a bitch when Aisha died". They'll also says that the Boss didn't even shed a tear on Aisha's funeral which put the Boss in Tranquil Fury mode.
- A robotic Shaundi from the future turns out to be a full on Broken Bird. She had lost Christmas due to a Bad Santa and holds the real deal and the holiday in the highest regard, with others expressing sadness for what she had lost and herself sadness that Boss does not believe in Christmas, even when s/he tries. Unquestionably The Woobie of the series.
- At one point during the activity Professor Genki's Mind Over Murder, Zach, one of the commentators of the event, breaks down in tears over the death of his wife.
- Another note is that even though the huge love the commentators have for Professor Genki and the events related to him, they clearly are not liking their forced situation. And overall makes what should be the finale to a hilarious tradition over the series into another reason to hate Zinyak even more.
- Getting shot down by Keith David.
- If Zach and Bobby's commentary during Mind Over Murder is to be believed, CID was once a legendary warrior king who took part in Zinyak's challenges to protect his people and planet. Sadly, he lost everything, including his physical body. His mind/consciousness was then trapped in a simulation for years (possibly hundreds) until he's rescued by the Saints.
- Some Audio Logs of certain characters has them reflect about their past and hardships in life, and you can't help but feel sympathy for them regardless of their moral stance.
- Julius Little deeply regrets letting Benjamin King's sister, Angela, getting in too deep with following her brother's footsteps in white-collar crime, which implied to have her killed. He even sheds a tear as he brings this up, something that's unheard of from the previous two games he appeared in.
- Besides missing Oleg as mentioned above, another of Kinzie's logs has her still resenting Matt Miller because she knew he was the one who got her booted out from the FBI and was baffled with how Easily Forgiven he was by the Boss to the point of letting him join the Saints. While Kinzie and Matt wound up getting along with each other throughout the game's storyline, deep down she knows she won't forgive him for what he has done to her anytime soon.
- While unfortunately cut from the final game, one of Donnie's logs has him lament his inability to save Lin despite being from the opposite gang - he genuinely loved her, but he was powerless to stop his higher-up, William Sharp, from killing her.
