The reveal of “you’re the real monster here” has a good amount of impact but it’s hard to totally land that message when the game offers no alternative.

Yeah, the game lost me at that spot. I tried literally everything I could to avoid it, and a literal invisible wall stopped me. The thing is, the narrative has been done before. Classic Heart of Darkness/Apocalypse Now, but with a slight twist. It hasn't been done in games AFAIK, but it takes a deft hand, and Spec Ops failed for me