Summary
- True endings in open-world games reveal hidden depths of narrative, reshaping stories and game worlds.
- Choices in these endings can redefine player experiences, from breaking cycles to altering cosmic orders.
- Secret endings showcase profound shifts in narratives, exploring themes of fate, illusion, and existential choices.
Open-world games provide players with expansive environments, and oftentimes, there are multiple narrative pathways. Within this framework, a true ending holds particular significance as it often delivers a profound shift in the story’s meaning or the game world itself.
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Unlike standard conclusions, these endings require specific choices or conditions, revealing hidden layers of narrative depth. A true ending can range between bringing about significant narrative changes, to those that completely redefine the player’s experience and the game’s thematic core, many of which flip the initial expectations on their head to deliver a resolution that leaves players stunned and at times, confused.
Warning! Spoilers Ahead!
Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen
Individual Quest Turned More
Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen
- Released
- April 23, 2013
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ due to Blood and Gore, Partial Nudity, Suggestive Themes, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Capcom
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG
- Platform(s)
- Xbox One, Xbox 360, PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
The secret ending in Dark Arisen expands the narrative from a personal quest for vengeance into a mythic exploration of fate and existence. It reveals the protagonist’s role as part of an eternal cycle, engaging with metaphysical forces beyond the immediate conflict, and elevates the story’s stakes, transforming the Arisen’s journey into a timeless struggle against destiny.
What makes the secret ending so interesting is the number of choices that the player is presented up until that point. The final choice comes from their decision to end their life and break out of the cycle, effectively sacrificing themselves to free the world from the Dragon's Dogma, and allowing their Pawn to be sent back to the world and live in peace.
Far Cry 4
Avoiding All The Conflict
Far Cry 4
- Released
- November 18, 2014
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood, Intense Violence, Nudity, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Use of Drugs
- Developer(s)
- Ubisoft Montreal
- Genre(s)
- FPS, Open-World
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
In Far Cry 4, there are a few endings that the player can choose between that represent anger and acceptance, both of the main ones relating to the player's decision to either shoot Pagan Min or not. But in a strange twist, there is actually a third secret ending that players can complete right at the start of the game that changes the tone of the story entirely.
If the player decides to wait around during the first few moments of the game, Pagan will return and allow the player to spread his mother's ashes where requested. The game ends without a playthrough, removing all of the violence and conflict and instead presenting a more somber reflection on the broken nature of the world and the journey to accept loss.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow Of Chernobyl
Revealing The Truth
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl
- Released
- March 20, 2007
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language, Use of Alcohol
- Developer(s)
- GSC Game World
- Genre(s)
- FPS, Survival Horror
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl has players fighting across the exclusion zone full of mutated lifeforms and individuals clinging onto whatever strands of humanity they possibly can. The game has many conclusions to the narrative, but the most notable sees the player uncovering the truth about the area and the implications in the wider world.
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The revelation is that the zone is actually a grander psychic experiment that is being controlled and manipulated by a higher power. With this reveal, the player's journey is reframed as being part of a larger narrative where the world ceases to be a hostile wasteland and instead becomes a complex space orchestrated by unseen forces.
Far Cry 5
Ending It Before Things Really Begin
Far Cry 5
- Released
- March 27, 2018
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Use of Drugs and Alcohol
- Developer(s)
- Ubisoft Montreal, Ubisoft Toronto
- Genre(s)
- FPS, Open-World
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 4, Stadia, Xbox One
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
Among multiple endings in Far Cry 5, the secret conclusion diverges sharply by allowing the protagonist to abandon the conflict entirely. Choosing to walk away at the start triggers a narrative statement about the futility of resistance. This ending changes the entire story of a doomed cycle of violence, instead implying that no intervention can alter the cult’s grip on the region.
This subtle yet profound shift changes the game’s tone from one of confrontation to one of bleak inevitability. It completely subverts the hero narrative and reinvents how players can interact with the narratives on a grander scale.
Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain
The Protagonist Is More Than Ever Expected
Metal Gear Solid 5 The Phantom Pain
- Released
- September 1, 2015
WHERE TO PLAY
The secret ending of Metal Gear Solid 5 reveals critical truths about the protagonist’s identity and the manipulation underpinning the entire narrative. It is revealed that the protagonist is not Big Boss but is, in fact, a stand-in, shifting the narrative to be far more about deception and trauma and blurring the lines between enemy and ally.
This ending reframes the entire experience, emphasizing the psychological and emotional costs of the protagonist’s actions. The game world and characters are recast through the lens of illusion and fractured identity, and the story ceases to be a straightforward tale of conflict, becoming a meditation on the price of vengeance and lost selfhood.
Nier: Automata
Transcending The Borders Of The Game
NieR: Automata
- Released
- March 7, 2017
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood, Partial Nudity, Strong Language, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Platinum Games
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
Nier: Automata is known for its extensive number of endings, some being jokes and others just straight up strange. But the secret true ending transcends the game’s dystopian narrative by breaking the fourth wall and directly engaging the player. The ending transforms the story into a commentary on the nature of existence itself, forcing the player to decide to help another by removing all of their previous progress throughout four separate endings.
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This final revelation redefines the cyclical conflict and the androids’ struggle, suggesting that meaning arises through choice and cooperation beyond the game world. The ending reshapes the player’s role from a passive observer to an active participant in breaking a tragic loop, and the narrative gains profound emotional and philosophical weight through this shift.
Elden Ring
Pure Destruction Versus Ruling Together
Elden Ring
- Released
- February 25, 2022
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence
- Developer(s)
- From Software
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
Elden Ring has plenty of endings that players can achieve through their playthrough, some simple, some more complex, but the Frenzied Flame and Age of Stars endings offer radically different futures for the Lands Between, each reshaping the world’s metaphysical order. The Frenzied Flame plunges the world into chaos and destruction, representing an apocalyptic collapse of order, while the Age of Stars ushers in a mysterious divine epoch under the guidance of the moon’s goddess, signifying transformation and enigmatic renewal.
These endings redefine the narrative from a quest for restoration into divergent paths of apocalypse or transcendence. They elevate the player’s choices to cosmic significance, profoundly altering the game’s themes of power, order, and destiny, leading and ending that becomes a reflection of competing philosophies about ruin and rebirth.
Outer Wilds
Putting An End To It All
Outer Wilds
- Released
- May 28, 2019
WHERE TO PLAY
The true ending of Outer Wilds fundamentally reconfigures the entire narrative and universe. By witnessing and then triggering the cosmos’ cyclical destruction and rebirth, the player understands that the universe itself is caught in an endless loop of death and renewal. This revelation reframes all prior exploration as part of a grand cosmic process rather than isolated events.
The ending transforms the game from a mystery about a dying solar system into a meditation on impermanence and the passage of time, and the world and story become metaphors for cycles of existence. The player’s journey is imbued with tragic beauty and cosmic significance, with the final ending being among the most profound narrative shifts in all of gaming.
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