The True Final Boss [Hellpoint]
We’ve got two indie Souls-like games on our list — Mortal Shell had a joke secret ending, but Hellpoint as a real deal secret ending with a true final boss waiting for you. Hellpoint is a mysterious sci-fi action RPG that really nails the exploration aspect of the Dark Souls series better than most trying to emulate the formula — and with all that exploration comes terrifying revelations.
Your goal in the game is to explore the cursed station where everyone has gone insane and discover what’s at the source. As it turns out, there’s an evil AI you have to fight — and if you complete specific quests, you can face off against the true villain. The AI has used its forbidden knowledge to become a Cosmic God, and only you can defeat it. That’s a fun twist on both evil AIs and evil Gods — if regular people can ascend with dark rituals, why not artificial intelligence too?
Getting To 100%… And 106% [Crash Bandicoot 4]
Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time doesn’t skimp with its ending. It doesn’t have one secret ending — it has two! And it better, because this might be one of the most difficult games to 100% in recent memory. The old games don’t hold a candle to this thing. You’ll have to play most levels a minimum of 3 times just to earn all the trophies, and we’re not even talking about the bonus levels, or the inverted levels.
Doing (most) everything in the game will net you 100% completion. But if you want that sweet, sweet true ending — you’ll have to earn the N. Sanely Perfect relics. That means you have to beat every level without dying once, and get every single crate; that’s a truly herculean task. Asking anyone to do it is madness. This seriously is, by far, the hardest game to 100% of the year — and easily the hardest in the entire series.
And it’s all for the true ending. The true ending shows the return of Uka Uka, the evil twin of Aku Aku, and he’s back from the time rift angrier than ever. It’s a nice tease for the next game — fans want to see Uka Uka as the main bad guy again! But did 100%ing the game have to be this painful?