Top 5 Games That You Can End Right At The Beginning

Multiple endings to explore in games usually make the worlds feel more immersive and endearing. These branching trails allow players to experience completely different scenarios based on their choices, which adds a lot of nuance to an otherwise arguably linear experience. But what if these endings are meant to shorten your playthrough? Well, that is an entirely different curveball.

There are actually many titles that feature wild alternate conclusions to end your playthroughs in a few minutes. In other words, you completely miss out on all the action and drama you would normally stumble upon in the playthrough; devs usually add these alternate endings for the fun of it. Yet, many of them actually stick quite well to their games. 

So, I’ve decided to compile a list of titles that take advantage of this maneuver to add endings that let you finish your entire playthrough right at the beginning. These alternate paths have struck a chord in my heart, especially after finishing the games in the normal, intended way first.

Far Cry 4

Far Cry 4 is one of Ubisoft’s most memorable games in the popular franchise. The title also nails down its secret ending. It lets you finish the game right at the onset if you wait almost about 15 minutes instead of going guns blazing. After the game intro rolls around, the head honcho, Pagan Min leaves you alone to enjoy a meal after finding you on the road. 

He asks the player to wait for his return, but nearly everyone gives up and starts the campaign. However, if you stay put until his return, it initiates the alternate ending. The villain shows his soft side and lets you spread your mother’s ashes, which just so happens to be near his daughter’s. The playthrough pretty much wraps up after that.

Nier: Automata

Square Enix’s chef-d’oeuvre came out nearly a decade ago but left an impact still felt to this day. It features a totality of 26 memorable endings that are fun to achieve. However, you can hunt for one of these right after the tutorial. Called “Ending T: fa[T]al error,” the tragic yet hidden ending is still worth experiencing.

To trigger it, you can pull out the OS chip from 2B, which shuts her down completely. The game does warn you beforehand: “Caution: Handle With Care! Removal of the OS chip will result in death.” You can pull this off with the other protagonists, as well. 

We Happy Few

This entry is on the smaller side, yet it has an equally insightful impact on the player. It revolves around a retrofuturistic London in the 60s, inflicted by citizens coping with their harsh lives through drugs. Arthur is no different at the beginning. While operating the Redactor—a device that censors undesired content—he stumbles upon the news of the past traumatic events regarding his brother Percy. 

The player is presented with two choices here. You either pop the Joy pill and forget all the trauma for a while or finally have enough of it and start the resistance. If you haven’t caught on, the former option leads to the alternate ending that lets you continue as a mindless office worker and concludes the campaign. The price is that you miss out on a bizarre yet epic adventure in the pill-ridden streets of London.

Outer Wilds

This is an award-winning and endearing experience that explores the enigma surrounding the solar system, which is stuck in an endless time loop. You can explore the mysteries contentedly by playing various loops. However, the game also presents you with a chance to reach the ending in the first loop—provided you are laden with enough knowledge gained over the course of countless hours.

The title has multiple endings, but reaching the true ending on the first loop is nearly impossible. Without jumping into spoilers, getting the true ending may require you to pull off some wild maneuvers, like using datamined codes. Beating the game in the first loop is tough but an extremely rewarding feeling.

Devil May Cry 5

To wrap it up, DMC5 arguably requires the most skills to beat the game during the campaign’s early moments. While playing as Nero, players can unlock the secret ending by beating Urizen in the first fight. Despite the insane difficulty, it is far from a scripted encounter. Normally, players can beat Urizen by playing through the whole game and unlocking previous missions with end-game gear. But, we’re not doing that here.

To truly beat the game as soon as possible, you have to defeat Urizen during your first meeting without any upgrades. It may take hundreds of tries.

All in all, I believe that these titles have added hidden endings in quite an excellent way. They add a whole new depth to the already intricate worlds created by the devs and show “what-ifs” that change the entire course. You’d clearly miss out on a lot by treading these alternate routes. But it is best to witness at least once how things could have turned out so anti-climatic only by making a few different choices.