Games That Are More Impactful After The First Playthrough

During the heyday of arcades, games were made to be played over and over again. Of course, back then they were specifically designed to get just one more quarter from gamers who lacked the skill to keep a run going. It wasn't until relatively recently that game devs had the opportunity to make games replayable just for the fun of it.

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This idea opened the door for games to do interesting things with the concept of replayability. Whether it's by giving a game a New Game+, or simply telling a compelling story that begs for another look with an analytical eye, a good number of games have developed a knack for becoming even more impactful after the first playthrough.

Spoilers Ahead For One Or Several Of Each Game's Endings

8 NieR: Automata

Experience 26 Different Endings

Yoko Taro games are well-known for requiring multiple playthroughs to see everything they have to offer. However, NieR: Automata takes the cake for the sheer amount of times players have to beat it. There are 26 possible endings for players to shoot for here. That's one for every letter of the alphabet.

Of course, some of what's here are jokes, while some are given to players for abandoning key missions, resulting in the credits rolling. However, the major endings add much-needed context to the larger story, and sometimes grab the player's attention by playing with 2B's android nature in some fun ways. These endings insist upon each new playthrough, if for no other reason than for players to see what else Platinum Games has in store for them.

7 Dragon Dogma

A Meta-Commentary On New Game+

With somewhat archaic controls and a convoluted fast travel system, among other things, Dragon's Dogma is simply not for everyone. However, if players look past these things, they will be treated to one of the most rewarding action RPG experiences out there, accompanied by one of the most interesting riffs on New Game+ there is.

What's revealed about the world of Dragon's Dogma throughout the course of the game is that its inhabitants are stuck in a cycle of the Senechal's keeping, and The Arisen (the player's created character) is tasked with defeating the titular Dragon to either save the world or leave it as is. While the core of this game stays exactly the same for each replay, there are a number of fun surprises to be encountered that add to the game's overall lore.

6 Braid

Become A Master Of Time To Discover The Hero's True Nature

What makes Braid a truly fun experience are the many interesting uses of its time mechanics that add flair to its platforming gameplay. Between that and the damsel in distress trope that gaming has been iterating on since Donkey Kong, players have themselves a pretty solid red herring.

This is because the ending of the game reveals that the player is the real bad guy, chasing the "damsel" throughout the entire game. It's an idea that adds a ton of context to a second playthrough, forcing the player to look at the world differently, especially when completing all of the game's explosive extra content.

5 Starfield

Endless Fun In Endless Universes

Starfield has a reputation for being a little inconsistent with its realism. Still, there is a lot of fun to be found in the game's true-blue role-playing elements. Plus, for those players who manage to find a foothold in this galaxy, they will be in for a pretty wild ride in New Game+.

At the end of their initial playthrough, players enter a wormhole and essentially re-roll their lot in the universe. A wild number of things can change here, like who appears in the game's operations base (the Constellation Room) or who becomes one of the game's big bads. Interesting twists like these make for some of the most interesting incentives for players to stick with a game after the credits role in recent memory.

4 Undertale

Decide To Be Kind Or Murderous During Each Playthrough

The first time players make their way through the bowels of The Underground, they'll undoubtedly become captivated by the pure zany-ness of its inhabitants. In fact, the entire playthrough will probably be characterized by how relationships with these characters are cultivated. It's also when players will learn the ropes of combat, finding out just how kind or cruel they want to be.

However, since the game's ending could leave things in such a sorry state, players are often immediately drawn to a new game. It's here that players will realize that a drastic change in how they treat every enemy in moment-to-moment gameplay makes a difference when it comes to what they experience at the end of each run.

3 Silent Hill 2 (Original Or Remake)

Uncover More About The Town In Every Replay

There is no other horror game like Silent Hill 2, as it's an experience colored entirely by the setting itself. Main character James Sunderland is called to the titular town and must fight his way through various threats, all in hopes of finding his way to his long-dead wife, who recently sent him a letter.

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After players roll credits though, they'll have realized that the entire ordeal was essentially made up of hallucinations brought on by James' murder of his wife. It's a tragic situation compounded upon a replay, where players will realize that just about everything in the game, from the set dressing to the collectible reading materials, right down to the enemy designs, is based on the sin that he has committed.

2 Mass Effect Trilogy

Has Series-Spanning Consequences

Without a doubt one of the greatest series in gaming, the Mass Effect Trilogy takes players on a ride throughout the cosmos in order to stop the existential threat of the Reapers. Throughout these three games, choices will be made, both big and small, that have series-spanning consequences.

For instance, the first major choice comes when players have to decide whether to save their crewmate Kaidan or Ashley's life on the planet Eden Prime. Whoever dies here is never seen in the series again, leading to a pretty different experience when it comes to side content. It's moments like this that make subsequent playthroughs necessary if players want to see different outcomes or shape their ideal journey.

1 BioShock

Go Back To See If Player Choice Really Matters

The BioShock series loves to take players' brains and wring them out for all they're worth. It was the first game in the series that did it best though. This 12-hour story takes players through the damp and dilapidated streets of the underwater city of Rapture, as they learn of its rise and what led to its eventual downfall for themselves. It's an overtly political romp and one that is riveting to play through with its many interesting characters and masterful implementation of environmental storytelling.

In the end, players find out that the main character, Jack, has a much deeper history with Rapture than was let on in the beginning, which was punctuated by his apparent brainwashing and the implementation of the triggering phrase, "Would you kindly?" A second playthrough reveals to players just how little control over the proceedings they truly had, raising some rather poignant questions regarding player autonomy in video games as a whole.