Top 20 HARDEST Video Game Endings To Get

“The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening” (1993)

There’s usually only one ending to reach in a “Zelda” game. But “Link’s Awakening” gives you a nice bonus for extra effort. After washing up on the strange Koholint Island, the first character Link makes friends with is Marin. She later tells him she wishes she could turn into a seagull so that she could explore the wider world. At the end, when the island disappears due to it being part of the Wind Fish’s dream, she goes with it. But if you beat the game without dying, you’ll get a nod that Marin’s wish came true. “Link’s Awakening” isn’t an overly difficult game. But not dying once is still a challenge.

“Metro: The Last Light” (2013)

Both the good and bad endings of “Last Light” end the same way, but the difference is whether you’re alive to see it or not. The game works off of a morality system, adding points for various compassionate or merciless acts. Unfortunately, it never tells you how high or low your karmic points are. And some of your decisions will be subtle, or go against what the average player would do, like sparing Nazi enemies instead of killing them. It was actually way easier to reach the bad ending because of this. For your character to survive, you had to make the right choice during specific moments.

“Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War II – Chaos Rising” (2010)

Some games force the player to forgo certain gameplay features to reach a certain ending. In “Chaos Rising,” a new feature to the “Warhammer” series is Corruption. It keeps track of how willing your characters are to going down a path of chaos. Some items add to your Corruption levels, but also come with really useful perks to give you the edge in combat. To unlock the Full Purity ending, though, you won’t be able to indulge in any of these items. Of the game’s five endings, this is definitely the hardest one to reach. It isn’t as if your Corruption level can be low; it has to be non-existent.

“Way of the Samurai 3” (2009)

Some games feature one ending; others, a handful. But “Way of the Samurai 3” has 22 different conclusions, which is just absurd. Moreover, the hardest one to get is far from worth it. The Grim Reaper ending is only unlocked if you’ve killed every NPC you can come across. However, since some characters are only introduced through others, you have to kill them in a specific order. Your reward is a text crawl a mere three sentences long over a still image recounting your legacy as a demon. That’s a whole lot of effort for basically nothing other than some bragging rights.

“Nier: Automata” (2017)

Surpassing 22 endings is “Nier: Automata,” which has a conclusion for each letter in the alphabet. Endings A through E serve as the main finale of the game, while each one after that can only be reached if you do or don’t complete specific requirements. They can be found out of order, and some of them are simply reached by dying in certain missions. On the other hand, some of them take a lot of time and work. Some can only be reached on a second or third playthrough, and you have to actively let your allies die or abandon a mission. It isn’t obvious where these endings will appear either.

“Batman: Arkham Knight” (2015)

This is an extra ending that actually makes a lot of sense. As the Dark Knight, you'd absolutely wanna make sure that the streets of Gotham were safe, which means knocking out all of those Most Wanted side quests before you remove your cape and cowl. The good news? There's only fourteen of them, DLC excluded. The bad news? You're gonna have a hell of a time getting through all of them. On top of having to stop some pretty tough contenders, your investigation skills will be put to the test because, you guessed it, you gotta find all of those damn Riddler Trophies. Truly, you are the gamer that Gotham deserves.

“Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne” (2003)

In the original “Max Payne,” Mona Sax was an assassin who refused to take the detective’s life. Though it was a small part, she was much more prominent in the sequel, where she acted as a romantic interest for Max as well as a playable secondary protagonist. For most players, she tragically died in the end. But for those willing to put in much more effort, you could save her life. All you had to do was beat it on the hardest difficulty, ‘Dead on Arrival.’ Unfortunately, it wasn’t just that all enemy AI was raised to be stronger and smarter. You also had a limited amount of saves to use throughout. Trying to be resourceful could mean replaying big chunks of game.

“Mass Effect 2” (2010)

One of the most memorable aspects from “Mass Effect 2” is its harrowing suicide mission during the climax. Depending on how you interact with Shepard’s crew members and what quests you complete, they can all theoretically live or die on the mission. It’s fairly likely that at least one of them will perish, but making sure none of them do is quite the accomplishment. It means getting every ship upgrade both offensive and defensive, beating every loyalty mission, as well as delegating to your crew correctly on certain missions. Only after the laundry list of requirements is completed should you feel safe enough to head into the finale. Otherwise, part of your crew won’t be making it out alive.

“Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice” (2019)

We really shouldn’t be surprised that getting the “good” ending in a FromSoftware game is a challenge. In “Sekiro,” players control a ninja seeking retribution against a clan that kidnapped his lord, the young Kuro. In the regular ending, Kuro dies. But the ending in which you sacrifice yourself to save him is much harder to obtain. You have to have gathered certain items, gone through all dialogue and eavesdrop options with Kuro, chosen to betray the man who brought you up, and many other optional and easily missed choices. The game is difficult enough as is without having to worry about a checklist of obscure details just to accomplish our goal.

“Shadow the Hedgehog” (2005)

Some games make you complete certain objectives to earn a hidden ending. Some are earned by beating a harder difficulty. And then there’s “Shadow the Hedgehog,” which makes you beat it 10 times to unlock the true ending. The game features a multitude of decisions that can take Shadow down five separate paths. At the end of each path is one final decision, a choice of ‘Dark’ or ‘Hero’ mission, giving each path two endings. Only by unlocking all of them, which, again, means beating it TEN TIMES, do you find out how everything actually ends. “Shadow the Hedgehog” isn’t that hard of a game, but it also isn’t a very good one. So playing through it multiple times requires a lot of dedication.

“Final Fantasy X-2” (2003)

At the end of “Final Fantasy X,” protagonist Tidus vanished. But in its sequel, it was possible to have him come back in a happy ending. It was just very, very tough to unlock. To do so, you’d have to complete certain events or missions at specific points, some of which wouldn’t be made aware to you. In fact, you could miss out on some if you happened to choose the wrong faction. That lack of clarity made reaching this ending extremely rare, but it isn’t even the hardest ending to obtain. 100% completion gave you the Perfect Ending, which came with the myriad of annoyances as the previous one, plus more work, and only for one extra scene.

“Valkyrie Profile” (1999)

In “Valkyrie Profile,” you play as one of the winged ferrywomen of the dead, guiding souls of fallen warriors. In-game, the points of your Seal Value represent how loyal your are to Odin and fluctuate as you complete certain quests or actions. To get the best ending, not only do you have a checklist of things you must accomplish. But you must also make sure the points in your Seal Value are at the right levels at the right times. In 1999, there was no way to know this. Even playing today, you’d have to follow a strict guide on what to do and when to do it for it to be a guarantee.

“Kingdom Hearts” Series (2002-)

Do you wanna see a teaser to the next game in the series that'll leave you with more questions than answers? All it takes is a healthy serving of blood, sweat, tears, and a high tolerance for Donald Duck screaming your name. Usually, the extra ending in a "Kingdom Hearts" game can be achieved by either trying your hand at Proud Mode, or doing an insane amount of tasks in the game's normal difficulty setting, including finding all the collectibles, completing ridiculous challenges, and everyone's favorite: surviving every single cup in Olympus Coliseum -- which usually means facing off against overpowered version of the cast of "Final Fantasy".

“Fatal Frame 2” (2003)

ProTip: don't follow red butterflies into the woods, they'll lead you to ghost infested towns where your only means of defense is a camera. The Xbox version of this paranormal investigator's nightmare added an extra ending, but it's not the most difficult one to get. That honor goes to the one with the word hellish in it. First, beat the game on Hard, then Nightmare -- which gets you the Xbox exclusive ending -- then beat Fatal Mode, the Xbox exclusive difficulty where most of the ghosts can kill you in one hit. The kicker? The PS2 Version lets you get this ending by beating the game on Hard Mode. Clearly Tecmo hated Xbox fans

“Five Nights at Freddy’s” Series (2014-)

Welcome to Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria, the source of nightmares for an entire generation of Let's Players. In "Jumpscares: The Game," you are sorely overworked and beyond underpaid as you try to survive each night before you're mauled by the group of animatronics who wander the halls. If you're feeling particularly brave -- or foolish -- you can attempt to unlock the game's extra endings by working additional nights. This can mean one of two things: 1) setting ALL of the crazed mascot characters to their max difficulty and surviving the night, or 2) finding the game's secrets and glitching your way through them. Bottom line: quit the pizza shack and find another job.

“Undertale” (2015)

An instant charmer to the RPG genre, a game full of unique characters, challenging gameplay, and the ability to MURDER EVERYONE YOU COME ACROSS. Or you can save them all, that too. Spoiler: play the game like normal first, then tackle the pacifist run, and if your heart is made of ice: the genocide run. The difficulty comes with sticking to your convictions. Either you don't kill anyone -- which makes battles much harder since you're trying to avoid attacks -- or you kill everyone -- which makes your opponents try their best to stop your murderous rampage. Oh, and it unlocks a boss who will, undoubtedly, dunk on you.

“Super Meat Boy” (2010)

On the surface, this looks like a cartoonishly entertaining game that'll put a smile on your face... or not . "Super Meat Boy" is all of those things... while putting you through a marathon of levels that you'll swear are unbeatable until you see that speedrun video online. Argh. Damnit. And there's an extra ending, too?! If you're feeling masochistic, you'll tackle the Dark World version of World 6, then again, to even unlock it you need to complete 85 Dark World levels so... you're clearly someone who's into pain. As to be expected, the Dark World is there to make you cry, but it's better than having to beat Cotton Alley for an extra ending.

“Chrono Trigger” (1995)

Sometimes, the trickiest endings to unlock are the ones that have nothing to do with the story. "Chrono Trigger's" endings revolve around beating the final boss. The question is: when are you gonna fight the good fight? Surely, you're not insane enough to try at the beginning of the game with just Crono and Marle ... are you? How about when Lavos is twice as strong at the Ocean Palace? Well, those are your two options for getting this secret ending, and yes, it has absolutely no bearing on the plot beyond, "Wow, that was kinda cute." Ugh, can't we just have to get 100% completion like in other RPGs?

“Bloodborne” (2015)

Let's be honest: getting any ending in a FromSoftware game is gonna make you tear all your hair out in frustration. This particular ending is a mix of tedious, difficult... and kinda gross. First, you have to seek out umbilical cords, you know, because people just have those lying around for us to consume before giant boss battles. As you would've guessed, this takes a bit of digging that'll either force you to explore everything or thank the gaming powers that be for that walkthrough. Next, make sure to use them before you encounter Gehrman, The First Hunter. Refuse his offer, survive that battle somehow, then get ready to face The Moon Presence. Good luck!

“Ghosts ‘n Goblins” Series (1985-2021)

In this classic side-scrolling platformer, your task sounds simple enough: save the princess. Unfortunately, the game is a bit... unfair. Losing your armor upgrade in just one hit. Going back to the start of the level when you die. But worst of all is the way to get the real ending. If you manage to make it to the end there's always something that forces you to start at the very beginning and replay THE WHOLE THING to truly win the day. There's nothing secret or extra about it: if you wanna save the princess, you gotta play twice. Seriously, we don't wanna hear another complaint about Mario saving Princess Peach again.