Originally, games only ended when players gave up, died, or hit a "kill screen" where further progress was impossible; the goal was simply to post the highest score—along with your initials—on a leaderboard, hoping someone would eventually beat it.Later, games began to feature narratives. Even if the premise was as simple as "save the princess", "stop Dracula", or "destroy the villain's weapons", games now had endings that players had to reach to officially complete them—whether it was a scene showing a happy ending, an intriguing revelation, or just a "You Did It!" message.For some games, a single ending wasn't enough. Developers wanted to offer players multiple options, often making the "best" ending the hardest to achieve. However, for some titles, simply locking that ending behind a "Hard" difficulty setting or a secret passage wasn't enough; the "best" endings required players to overcome all kinds of obstacles.That’s exactly what we’ll be discussing in this article: games with endings that are difficult to reach—whether due to the need for multiple playthroughs, the requirement to collect specific items, or some other absurd condition. If you have any questions, just leave a comment.Bubble BobbleOriginally released for arcades in 1986 by Taito, Bubble Bobble puts the little dragons Bub and Bob on a mission to rescue their girlfriends, who’ve been taken prisoner by the villain Super Drunk. This is widely considered—including by the Guinness Book of Records—to be the first secret ending in gaming history.The goal is to trap enemies inside bubbles and pop them to progress through the 100 levels. Upon completing the game solo, the player receives only an ending stating that the adventure isn’t over yet.To see the true ending, you must play in two-player mode and defeat the final boss. Furthermore, there’s a "Super Ending"—considered the definitive conclusion—which requires activating "Super Bubble Bobble" mode using a code found in secret rooms hidden throughout the campaign, and then beating the game again.When this happens, a large dragon appears and transforms into Bub and Bob's parents; a final message reveals that they had been under someone's control and that the truth would remain hidden in the shadows. For its time, this was an extremely complex and innovative system.Cyberpunk 2077Cyberpunk 2077, developed by CD Projekt Red—the studio behind The Witcher—follows V, a mercenary who ends up sharing their mind with the legendary rocker Johnny Silverhand after an experimental implant goes wrong.The game is an open-world RPG offering great freedom of choice and multiple different endings. Throughout the campaign, V attempts to survive while their mind is slowly being overwritten by Johnny Silverhand, all while tackling problems in the megalopolis of Night City.In the secret ending—unlocked only after a very specific conversation with Johnny and a wait of several minutes during the final decision—V storms Arasaka Tower alone, without the aid of Panam, Rogue, or any other ally. This averts the deaths of key characters seen in other endings but makes the mission significantly harder, as a single death immediately ends the campaign.After defeating Adam Smasher, V must decide whether to permanently surrender their body to Johnny or reclaim it, knowing they have only a few months left to live. This is considered the game's most difficult ending because it combines all the hidden prerequisites with the game's toughest combat encounter.Donkey Kong BananzaReleased by Nintendo for the Switch 2, Donkey Kong Bananza follows Donkey Kong and a young Pauline on an adventure featuring transformations, music, platforming, and secret areas. A greedy mining company seeks to travel to the center of the Earth to find the root of Banandium—a power capable of granting wishes. Furthermore, they kidnap Pauline, believing her voice can awaken the root's magical powers.In the game, Kong can transform into an ostrich to fly, a zebra to run faster, an elephant to suck up and spit out parts of the terrain, and a snake to jump higher. After completing the game in normal mode, a series of optional objectives becomes available, leading to extra hidden content.To see the true ending, you must collect 777 Banandium Gems and 696 Fossils, beat optional challenges, and unlock an exclusive area that doesn’t appear during the main campaign. Doing so unlocks post-credits scenes featuring DK and Pauline preparing for a performance in New Donk City, with her wearing a version of the classic red dress that looks very similar to the original.Ghosts 'n GoblinsReleased by Capcom in 1985 for arcades and home systems, Ghosts 'n Goblins is considered by many to be synonymous with a "difficult game". You control the knight Arthur and traverse various environments—ranging from cursed graveyards and castles to the insides of creatures—to rescue Princess Prin-Prin.In the game, you start out wearing armor, but when attacked by enemies, you’re left in nothing but your underwear to face Astaroth's demonic forces. As if that weren't enough, after defeating the boss for the first time, the game reveals that "it was all just an illusion created by Satan" and forces the player to start the entire game over again.Then, during the second playthrough, Arthur must reach the final boss while equipped with the Goddess Bracelet; otherwise, the game won't unlock the "true ending". Only by defeating Satan while wearing the bracelet is the illusion shattered and Prin-Prin truly saved.By doing this, the couple finally reunites. Having to play through the game twice—and use a specific item to boot—made this one of the earliest and most famous "true endings" in gaming history (as well as a way to make players spend more credits).MetroidReleased for the 8-bit Nintendo in 1986, Metroid featured one of the most difficult and impactful secret endings in gaming history. Alien hunter Samus Aran (whose surname, according to behind-the-scenes lore, references the player Pelé) lands on an abandoned planet and discovers an alien race poised to attack the entire universe.The game—a pioneer of the genre that bears its name, "Metroidvania"—has you repeatedly traversing various rooms, exploring locations, and acquiring new items and powers to uncover new passages, areas, or secrets. The secret ending is unlocked only if you manage the feat of completing the game in under an hour.If you succeed, pieces of Samus's armor are removed during the final cutscene, revealing that the hero you controlled throughout the entire adventure was a woman! Today, this fact is widely known, but in the 1980s—an era dominated by male protagonists—discovering that you had been controlling a female character the whole time came as a surprise.Sonic The HedgehogAlthough 8-bit and 16-bit era games also featured alternate endings unlocked only after significant difficulty and collecting all the Chaos Emeralds—with little difference between them—Dr. Eggman’s mocking laugh challenging you to try again serves as motivation to play the game once more and collect all the emeralds.In 1991's Sonic 1, the good ending shows Sonic releasing the Chaos Emeralds, which then vanish into thin air; if you haven't collected them, he simply gives you a sulky look. In Sonic 3—whether or not the Sonic & Knuckles cartridge is attached—there are various possible endings depending on whether you obtain the Chaos Emeralds and Super Emeralds, as well as which character you’re playing as.However, the endings of Sonic CD deserve special mention for their anime-style cutscenes and excellent soundtracks—featuring great music in both the US and Japanese versions. In the finale, the chains Eggman used to bind Little Planet snap, and he retreats. If you collect the Time Stones, the game ends on a high note with the message "You're too cool". If not, a post-credits scene shows Little Planet reappearing in chains accompanied by Eggman's laughter, and the message "Try Again" appears on the screen.Shadow the HedgehogThe anti-hero Shadow received his own adventure in response to numerous fan requests for Sonic to wield a weapon. In this quest for answers about his past, the black hedgehog confronts Dark Doom, an alien seeking to destroy Earth and use humans as an energy source.To unlock this ending, you have to beat the game ten times! That’s right—you must play through the game ten times, unlocking all five Hero Mode endings and all five Villain Mode endings, to see the game's True Ending. In it, Shadow breaks free from Dark Doom's trap and uses Chaos Control to divert the comet that would’ve destroyed the planet.This ending reveals that Shadow possesses alien DNA—provided by Dark Doom to Dr. Gerald Robotnik during his quest to create the "ultimate life form," intended to cure his granddaughter Maria Robotnik's illness. Having defeated Dark Doom, Shadow decides to leave his past behind and move forward. That’s life, isn't it? Live and learn, Shadow. Live and learn.Batman: Arkham KnightBy far the best superhero game franchise—though it met a tragic conclusion with the Suicide Squad game—the Arkham series of Batman games managed to capture the spirit of the DC Comics detective through fast-paced, brutal combat and villains who challenged the hero's intellect with trials, riddles, and puzzles.However, the franchise's true conclusion in Arkham Knight was seen only by the true completionists—those who set out to tackle every single challenge without skipping any, dedicating themselves to collecting every last Riddler trophy and beating all his challenges. This meant finding all 179 trophies, solving 40 riddles, locating every destructible object, and completing other challenges scattered across the map.By doing so, you witness the true finale following the "Most Wanted" mission: Batman's secret identity is revealed, Bruce returns to Wayne Manor, and—alongside Alfred—he activates the Knightfall Protocol; in front of the press, he destroys the entire manor and the Batcave, leading everyone to assume Bruce is dead. If you don't collect all the trophies, the cutscene ends there. But if you manage to complete the challenges, an extra scene shows a family being attacked in a dark alley and a shadowy figure saving them.Days GoneDeveloped by Bend Studio, Days Gone is a game that gained popularity over time after becoming available on PS Plus. The game follows Deacon St. John as he tries to survive in an Oregon devastated by a pandemic that turned millions of people into Freakers. After completing the main campaign, it seems as though the entire story has come to an end.However, there’s a secret epilogue that only appears after completing all side missions, achieving 100% game completion, and maintaining a good relationship with certain camps. After doing all this and playing a bit longer, you will receive a call and a final mission.In it, O'Brian contacts Deacon for one last meeting. During this scene, he reveals that he has been infected and that some individuals retained their intelligence even after transforming—completely changing the understanding of the virus and setting the stage for a sequel that ultimately never saw the light of day.InsideA secret ending that leaves behind even more questions than answers. Released in 2016, Inside never explains exactly what happened, and Playdead itself has never revealed the story's official meaning. As if that weren't enough, unlocking this conclusion requires meeting a series of very specific requirements.First, you must find and destroy all the glowing orbs hidden throughout the game. Afterward, upon returning to the bunker near the end of the adventure, a panel indicates that all the orbs have been activated, unlocking a new secret passage.Next, the player must return to the cornfield from the beginning of the game. Hidden beneath the ground is a secret hatch leading to an underground laboratory. Inside, there’s a locked door that opens only when the correct sequence of musical notes is entered into a lever acting as a code input.At the end of the corridor lies a room filled with computers and a large, wired mind-control helmet—referred to as "Master Mind" in the game's internal files. Beside it, a massive power cable is attached to the wall.When the boy pulls this cable a second time and disconnects it completely, all power to the room cuts out. The lights go dark, the helmet stops functioning, and the protagonist immediately collapses to the floor, completely motionless—exactly like the helmet-controlled humans encountered throughout the adventure. The screen fades to black, and the game ends there.
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