10 Secret and Alternative Game Endings You Need to Know

Normally, a story has an ending. The princess is rescued, the mad scientist is defeated, the world is saved, the hero returns home. Generally, things happen like that. But sometimes developers want to surprise you and include more than one ending. These endings show things that shouldn't happen or that happened differently than we expected. What if the world isn't saved? What if the hero decides to give up fighting? What if the villain is killed sooner than expected?

Secret endings are a way to make us replay a game or a reward for exploring the world, discovering secrets, or doing something unexpected. Sometimes, only by seeing this ending do we discover things that complement the story. Other times, it's just a silly thing that wasn't worth the effort. But, whether it's a sensational secret ending or a mediocre one, let's talk about 10 secret endings in games, and if you have any questions, leave a comment and be aware that there will be spoilers in this text.

Far Cry 4 is a first-person shooter game set in the fictional country of Kyrat, a mountainous region full of beauty and conflict. The player controls Ajay Ghale, a young Kyratian-American who arrives to scatter his mother's ashes, but quickly finds himself embroiled in the civil war that pits the tyrannical King Pagan Min against the rebel group Golden Path. In addition to the normal endings, which depend on the decision to kill or spare Pagan, there’s a secret ending that few players find.

It occurs in the prologue: if the player remains seated at the table for about fifteen minutes while Pagan Min makes a phone call, an alternate sequence begins. In this ending, Pagan thanks the player for their patience and reveals secrets about his family, including the role of his father, Mohan, who allegedly conspired against his own family and ordered the death of his half-sister, Lakshmana, Pagan's daughter with Ishwari.

You then take your mother's urn to Lakshmana's grave and fulfill Ishwari's last wish. Upon leaving the grave, he finds Pagan near a helicopter, who invites him to "finally fire some bullets."

The game then cuts to the credits with the song "Should I Stay or Should I Go", closing the narrative in an unexpected way, showing you and Pagan leaving Kyrat together. This ending reveals details of the story that don’t appear in the conventional paths and can only be achieved with patience at the beginning of the game.

Black Mesa is an unofficial remake of Half-Life, developed by Crowbar Collective, retaining almost all of the original plot: Gordon Freeman, a theoretical physicist, accidentally causes a "resonance cascade" in the Black Mesa laboratory, opening portals to the Xen dimension and allowing alien creatures to arrive on Earth. The main objective is to traverse the complex, reach Xen, defeat Nihilanth, and deal with capture by the enigmatic G-Man.

In addition to the normal ending, there's a secret ending involving a pizza box. If the player picks up the pizza left by Dr. Horn in the "Questionable Ethics" chapter and takes it to the end, something unusual happens. After defeating Nihilanth, Gordon presents the pizza to G-Man, who reacts with surprise, and the game proceeds to the credits. It doesn't impact the story, but the ending is a joke by the developers, transforming a dramatic ending into something completely unexpected.

The sequel to Kingdom Come: Deliverance takes the player back to 15th-century Bohemia, amidst intrigue and conflict during the Hussite Wars. In a mission called "The King's Gambit," the protagonist, Henry, can find King Sigismund's dagger. If the player uses the blade to kill the king during a diplomatic encounter, a secret ending will appear. You die! But you get a secret ending.

The screen displays "The End" and explains that Sigismund has died, while Wenceslas reassumes the throne and events that would have happened in the game are avoided, such as Jan Hus being killed on a stake. This alternate ending alters the entire historical narrative of the game, showing the consequences of hidden things that can change the course of events.

In Devil May Cry 5, the player accompanies Nero, Dante, and V in the fight against Urizen. Normally, the initial confrontation between you and Urizen ends quickly, being a fight you're likely to lose, and the game moves on to the rest of the plot. But, if you're one of those crazy people who play Devil May Cry until your fingers are calloused and already know Dante from the PlayStation 2 era, then you know, with him, "the party can always get crazy."

There’s a secret ending: if Urizen is defeated in the prologue, without upgrades or extra conditions, the game displays the message "This was the perfect conclusion all had hoped for" and cuts directly to the credits. There are no additional scenes, and all subsequent narrative is ignored. This ending serves as a way to show that sometimes things work out as planned, concluding the story unexpectedly, transforming the intense demon-battling plot into a brief "happily ever after" tale... and the 30 hours you expected to play are gone.

In Baldur’s Gate 3, the player leads a group of adventurers in search of a cure for a mind-flayer larva in their head, and Gale, the mage, is one of the central characters who carries within him the unstable Netherese Orb. This orb feeds on magic to remain stable or it can explode, either by Gale's will or by a lack of 'food'.

At the end of Act 2, the player can allow (or request) Gale to use the orb as a bomb to destroy the Elder Brain. If this happens, a massive explosion will occur, killing Gale (and the entire group) and eliminating the villains Ketheric Thorm, Orin, Gortash, and the Elder Brain itself.

A narration details the event, explaining that beneath the ashes of Moonrise Tower, the Elder Brain is destroyed, but the future of those with the larva remains uncertain when they activate, unleashing an illithid plague on the Sword Coast. This secret ending concludes the game before the official ending, showing Gale's sacrifice and its tragic consequences, without exploring the rest of the main narrative.

Far Cry 6 takes place on the island of Yara, where Dani Rojas fights against the dictator Anton Castillo. However, there’s a secret, lighter ending: right after the first mission, an attack on a train, the rebels give Dani a boat, giving the player the choice to stay or leave. Normally, the player decides to stay. But what if not? Dani comments: “Sorry, Clara… this isn’t my fight” and disappears. The screen goes dark. And you found a secret ending!

Next, it cuts to Dani relaxing on a Miami beach, listening to the radio, with news reports saying that Castillo managed to kill the revolution's leader, Clara, and that another nation would be going into quarantine after a pandemic. As the credits roll, Gloria Estefan's "Conga" plays. This alternate ending shows what happens if Dani decides to leave the revolution behind and live her life. She is free, but many have perished at the hands of the tyrant. It wasn't her war, was it?

NieR:Automata is known for having multiple endings (A to E), but it also has an easter egg called "Final T" or "fa[T]al error". To access it, the player must remove the OS Chip from 2B via Skills > Plug-in Chips > Destroy Chip > OS Chip. Ignoring the imminent death warning, the chip is removed and the game immediately displays the credits.

There are no additional scenes, just the game's abrupt ending. This alternate ending functions more as a technical easter egg, highlighting the vulnerability of the central unit, without adding any extra narrative. But let's be real: If you're an android and you remove your SIM card, what did you expect to happen?

In Path of Neo, which retells the Matrix trilogy, there's a secret ending related to choosing between the blue or red pill. Everyone knows what happens if you take the red pill. But what if Neo chose the blue one? If the player chooses the blue pill in the initial dream, Morpheus shows disappointment and Neo wakes up as at the beginning of the film, inside the Matrix, without ever truly becoming the Chosen One.

The game then returns to the stage selection screen, prematurely ending the story. This secret ending is a hidden conclusion that shows how small decisions can disrupt the entire main narrative and still be quite bland. He could’ve been the Chosen One, ended up with Trinity, but he preferred to remain an employee at his computer company. Morpheus wouldn’t be the only one disappointed.

In the classic Star Fox game, there's a secret level called "Out of This Dimension" that serves as an alternate ending. After completing the first sector, the player must perform special maneuvers, such as shooting a second asteroid in the "Asteroid Belt" stage. This releases a giant eagle that transports the ship to the secret stage, set in a psychedelic space with smiling moons and animated stars.

The final enemy is a living slot machine. Upon defeating it, the credits roll continuously with "THE END" floating, while enemies continue to attack. The level continues indefinitely, offering a non-canonical and surreal ending, rewarding curious players with a completely out-of-the-ordinary experience.

Inside is a platform and puzzle game that also has a secret ending. During the adventure, the player can find and deactivate 20 red orbs. After deactivating them all, it's possible to return to the starting area and access a secret bunker with the "Master Mind": a chair connected to computers that controlled the 'Pale Men'.

Disconnecting the helmet cable turns off the lights and causes the protagonist to fall to the ground, inert. This alternative ending is the ultimate freedom from mind control, with the game ending silently and impactfully, without additional scenes or subsequent narratives. The control is over. You’re free.