Many people put down the controller once the credits roll for the first run. They assume they have seen everything the story has to offer. But then, certain titles hide their true nature behind a second, third, or fourth completion, or more. The experience stops being a simple repeat and becomes a journey toward fully understanding the game.
10 Best Open-World Games Where New Playthroughs Feel Fresh
From No Man's Sky to Red Dead Redemption 2, many open-world games are designed to make every playthrough feel as fresh as the first.
During the first run, many details seem like background noise. Once a player knows the ending, those same details now look like clear warnings. This realization makes the second playthrough feel completely different. And then there are those that allow players to see the game from the perspective of multiple characters, requiring them to do multiple runs to get the full picture.
NieR: Automata
Perspective Shifts From 2B To 9S
- The second playthrough places players in the role of 9S.
- This second journey provides the necessary context to understand the true motivations of the enemy machines and the android command.
NieR: Automata is a game that is completely different on a second playthrough because there's no main protagonist. So the experience shifts from the perspective of the android 2B to her companion 9S and then to A2. The second playthrough follows the same timeline as the first but introduces fundamental changes to gameplay and storytelling. The most significant mechanical change is the introduction of a hacking ability, which replaces the heavy attack used by 2B. This allows the player to engage in a top-down shooter minigame to deal massive damage.
Another pretty cool thing about doing a second playthrough is that 9S can access locked chests that were previously impossible to open during the first playthrough. These chests contain unique materials and new weapons that expand the game’s Intel section with deeper lore. But to really get the game in its entirety, players have to do a third run as the android A2. This is because the events that occur after 2B's and 9S's story are quite different.
Undertale
Dynamic Memory And Moral Consequences
- Players choose between showing mercy and no mercy.
- Committing to a specific moral path on a second run changes the tone of the world.
In Undertale, a player controls a human child who has fallen into the Underground, a world where monsters were sealed long ago after a war with humans. The child meets monsters and must decide how to interact with them, whether to show mercy or choose violence. These decisions affect how characters respond, what events happen, and, ultimately, what ending the game reaches. On a first playthrough, most people will experience what is called the Neutral ending. In this route, the player may kill some monsters and spare others, but they do not meet the strict requirements for any of the other special endings.
When the player chooses not to kill any monsters on a subsequent playthrough, they can unlock the Pacifist path. This route only becomes available after completing a Neutral ending. In the True Pacifist path, the game introduces new scenes and deeper character development that were not present in the first run. It culminates in a very different ending in which the barrier protecting the monsters is broken, and the monsters and humans can peacefully reunite. If the player chooses a more violent path instead and kills every possible encounter, the game enters the Genocide route. This route changes the entire experience of the game world. Characters react differently or disappear because of a player’s hostile behavior.
Oxenfree
Well-Written Story With Branching Paths That Make Replay Feel Fresh and Needed
- Alex’s decisions determine the fate of other characters in Edwards Island
- The choices players make in different playthroughs give them different endings.
Depending on a player’s decisions, there are many ways Oxenfree could end. The fates of characters like Clarissa, Ren, Nona, and Jonas depend on the choices a player made earlier. In one playthrough, if Alex treats her kindly and maintains a strong connection, Clarissa remains part of the group’s memories. If Alex makes choices that push Clarissa away, she disappears from the memories of the others, leaving only Alex to remember her.
If players want Ren and Nona to be in a relationship, they must push Nona to date him during specific conversations at the beach, the Adler house, and the bridge. And players can change what happened to Alex's brother, Michael. To make sure Michael doesn’t die, players must steer every conversation in a way that forces him not to leave his hometown. Also, if a player wants a scenario where Michael remains alive and is with Clarissa, they must do those same steps while also encouraging Michael to maintain his relationship with her during the scene at the beach. These various paths allow the player to see many different versions of the characters' futures.
Resident Evil 2 Remake
See The Game From The Perspective Of Two Characters With New Weapons
- Play as either Leon or Claire.
- Different locations and weapons.
Resident Evil 2’s main campaign lets the player choose one of two characters at the start: Leon S. Kennedy or Claire Redfield. During that first playthrough, the player sees the story from the perspective of that chosen character as they try to survive the zombies in Raccoon City. Once that first run is completed, the game unlocks a second playthrough with the other character that the player did not choose at first.
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This second run is not simply a repeat of the first one. Instead, it changes parts of the experience to give a player new events and challenges that were not part of the original run. One of the first things a player will notice is that the intro cutscenes are shorter, which allows the action to start more quickly. The game also skips the initial gas station area and instead places players in a completely new starting location. But probably the best part about doing a second playthrough is that Claire gets a new weapon.
Baldur's Gate 3
Determine The Fate Of Faerun With Your Choices
- Players’ choices shape the fate of the land.
- Players will have to go on multiple runs to see the outcome of their decisions.
Baldur's Gate 3 is one of those RPGs where choice is really important, and so players will have to go on multiple runs to really see how their decisions play out. That being said, first-time players don’t have to break a sweat before making a decision in an effort to get a perfect ending. If in a player’s first playthrough, they successfully take out the massive Netherbrain and make it self-destruct, they get the most positive end of the game.
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That said, things can get ugly in the second playthrough once a player completes Gale's quest, visits the Sorcerous Sundries location, and has a conversation with the goddess Mystra. Players can choose to let Gale set off a powerful bomb inside him before the final battle even starts. While this destroys the threat and saves the day, Gale does not survive the process. Beyond these main paths, each companion and major character's story will end depending on whether they are romanced and their side quests are completed. So, all in all, Baldur's Gate 3 can play out in multiple ways depending on a player’s actions.
Road 96
Procedurally Generated Political World Where Players Can Cause A Revolution Or A Peaceful Election
- A procedurally generated world where the choices of players determine the political fate of the country.
- Players can go on a selfish or selfless run depending on the outcome they want to see.
To see how everything eventually unfolds in Road 96, players should be ready to go for three different runs. As a procedurally generated game, Road 96 uses random events to make every journey different, but the player's political influence is what decides the ending. If a player chooses dialogues and events that encourage people to vote and interact with campaign materials in a positive way, their actions will lead to an ending where the government changes through a peaceful vote.
In another playthrough, players could forget about peace and just try to ferment a revolution. To achieve this, the player must pick aggressive dialogue options, vandalize posters, and support the Brigades group. This path leads to a more violent confrontation at the border during the final scene. And in a player’s final run, they can choose to be selfish and choose to ignore the country's problems and save money or energy just to cross the border. Because of that, the current situation in the country does not change because not enough people took a stand.
Spec Ops: The Line
A Game Of Moral Choices
- Cannot do a FUBAR playthrough without completing the game in Suicide Mission mode.
- The FUBAR difficulty setting changes the mechanical feel of combat by increasing enemy power.
The major mechanical change available for a second run in Spec Ops: The Line is the "FUBAR" difficulty setting, which is a harder mode that only becomes accessible after the player finishes the game on the Suicide Mission level. FUBAR changes the gameplay by making the enemies much more powerful, while it seems the player character is much more fragile.
Spec Ops: The Line is a game of moral choices, so it will eventually play out quite differently depending on a player’s actions. For instance, Walker can end his own life by pulling the trigger on himself or by allowing the hallucination of Konrad to do it for him. In that case, the game shows Walker’s corpse side by side with Konrad’s. In another ending, Walker kills the projection of Konrad at that final confrontation. After doing this, he uses Konrad’s radio to call for help. In the final ending, also accessed by killing Konrad earlier, Walker defeats the entire patrol of soldiers that comes to take him away. After killing them, he radios in a message echoing an early line from the game, declaring his presence in Dubai.
Dishonored 2
Dual Protagonist Arcs With Different Abilities
- Choosing a different protagonist provides access to an entirely unique set of supernatural abilities and dialogue.
- Choose a stealthy or chaotic playstyle with the different main characters.
Dishonored 2 is not completely different in terms of its mission structure or levels, but it offers a significantly different experience during a second playthrough. The most immediate change comes from the ability to choose a different protagonist. While a player might have completed their first run as Emily Kaldwin, they can choose Corvo Attano for their second journey.
Emily and Corvo both come with their own unique powers, so doing only one run will make players miss out on some of the coolest abilities of the other character. And because of how different the characters are, players can choose different playstyles, from peaceful non-violent to full-blown killer.
BioShock
“Would You Kindly”
- Offers a big plot twist that changes how the game feels.
- A second playthrough reveals that every time the phrase "Would you kindly" was used, players were being manipulated.
BioShock is one of those games with a big plot twist. The revelation that the main character has been mind-controlled throughout the entire journey changes a player’s understanding of the whole story. This control is tied to the specific phrase, "Would you kindly." Players will sooner or later learn that every time the character Atlas used the words "Would you kindly" over the radio, he was not making a polite request. Instead, he was using a programmed command that forced the main character to obey without question.
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On the first playthrough, a player usually thinks they are following mission goals because they want to progress in the game. On the second playthrough, they would have realized their character actually had no free will. Every task was a forced action triggered by that specific phrase. Also, the endings of BioShock change based on a player’s selfish or selfless choices.
The Stanley Parable
Obey Or Disobey
- Players can follow the Narrator’s instructions in the first run to get the standard outcome.
- Deliberately failing to follow the Narrator’s instruction opens up hidden paths and causes the unexpected to happen.
Some games are so weird that they seem stupid until they are played, and The Stanley Parable is one of those games. The Stanley Parable is about choices, choices, and choices. If a player chooses to follow the Narrator's voice in the first playthrough, they can test what happens when they disobey his commands in later runs.
For instance, if a player follows every instruction and turns off a System Power machine, they reach the freedom ending, which is actually the standard ending. However, if a player turns that same machine on, the building explodes instead. By taking a door on the right instead of the left, a player opens up many other paths. They might jump off a moving lift to find a confusing maintenance hallway or a room that mimics other video games. Someone can also find a hidden escape route near the machine that leads to a museum about the game’s development. If they go left but choose a red door later, they end up in a strange apartment. Even staying in the first office or jumping through a window at the start creates a unique conclusion.
7 Open-World Games That Are Perfect for Pacifist Playthroughs
Whether players hate violence or simply want to feel the challenge of a pacifist run, these open-world games are the perfect place to start.