Replay Value: Games With Multiple Endings

If interactivity is what sets games apart from other mediums, then the narrative games that have the most potential to show off this form of art are those that feature multiple endings based on your decisions. Amongst the many games with multiple endings, some settle for simple dual options based on whether you play as a good or evil, while others blow out the variety of conclusions to truly absurd levels. I polled the GI staff to see which games stuck out in our minds as prime examples of multiple endings done right and some done horribly wrong. I present them to you now in order of number of endings possible.

NOTE: I’m going to do my best to avoid major spoilers here, even for the older games, but when discussing endings, there’s always a risk of some unintended reveals. Also, if you click any of the links in this article, they’re almost guaranteed to lead to spoilers. You’ve been warned!

Metal Gear Solid – 2 endings possible

Metal Gear Solid was the first game that I personally remember playing where the inclusion of multiple endings was a big deal, something that made me want to replay it to see both. Perhaps it was simply the fact that MGS was one of the earliest examples of a successfully cinematic, narrative-driven experience in video games, but it blew my mind as a teenager when I discovered that the game could wrap up in two distinctly different ways based on whether or not you give in to the torture sequence around the game’s halfway point. It’s worth replaying that part and muscling through it to ensure that Snake doesn’t end up with Otacon for the rest of his life…even if the sequels reveal that he’s pretty much stuck with him anyway.

Grand Theft Auto IV – 2 endings possible

While GTA IV contains a number of important plot choices throughout the game, only one affects the ending: whether or not you choose to strike a deal with a slimy character who has been one of the primary antagonists for Niko Bellic. This choice is made near the game’s climax and affects what your final few missions consist of, who lives and dies among your allies and enemies, and what happens at the very end. It may have been more powerful if earlier choices affected the conclusion, but GTA IV’s endings are both quite effective and emotional. You can find all the details on GTA Wiki.

Cave Story – 3 endings possible

Cave Story is the first entry on this list that carries on a long tradition that’s still surprisingly common in Japanese games: locking the best ending behind a number of obscure and arbitrary choices. In this case, the bad ending is obvious – you can choose to escape well before actually facing the final boss – and the good ending comes from taking the most obvious and clear path through the game. If you want the true ending, though, you’ll need to skip certain upgrades you’d normally pick up, find characters in areas you wouldn’t expect them, and more. Your reward for completing these weird tasks includes the best ending and a brand new, super difficult section of the game to play through. Good luck figuring it out without an FAQ, but if you want all the details for yourself, check out this GameSpot thread.

Amnesia: The Dark Descent – 3 endings possible

As one of the most horrifying games released last year, Amnesia’s twisted plot needed some satisfying conclusions to make all the scares worth it. Luckily, all three endings can be achieved in the final confrontation, and all three provide a dark and fitting end to the events at Brennenburg Castle. See them for yourselves below – but I highly suggest not ruining the ending for yourself if you haven’t played the game yet:

Persona 4 – 3 endings possible

Here we go again with the obscure path to a “true” ending in a Japanese game! One cool aspect of Persona 4 is that, unlike most JRPGs, it is at heart a murder mystery. That means you’ll reach a point in the story where you need to identify who the killer is using deductive reasoning. Choose wrong, and you’ll face the bad ending. Choose right, and you’re on the path for the regular ending. The true ending, though? You’ll need to attempt to enter an area that the game says you cannot access multiple times and talk to numerous characters you likely wouldn’t be thinking about late in the game. Get the full details for yourself on this Giant Bomb guide.

Dues Ex / Deus Ex: Invisible War – 4 endings possible

Both Deus Ex and its sequel, Invisible War, featured four different finales. For the most part, the endings are determined by which faction you decide to side with (as laid out in this Deus Ex: Invisible War wiki entry). Curiously, though, the fourth ending for the original Deus Ex is…a bit stranger. Check out the video below, courtesy of PC Gamer to see what I’m talking about.

Eternal Darkness – 4 endings possible (plus some lost endings)

Eternal Darkness is nice enough to line up its multiple endings in an easy-to-discover form. Each time you play through the game, you’ll have to choose from one of three different factions. After completing the game as one faction, you can save your game and begin a new-game-plus to play through with a new faction choice. Conquer all three and you’ll unlock a bonus fourth ending. In addition to the endings that made it to the game, earlier this year concept art leaked from some alternate endings that didn’t make the cut.

Nier – 4 endings possible

Similar to Eternal Darkness, Nier offers up four endings that require finishing the game four times by starting over with the new-game-plus option. Nier does some incredibly surprising things for its fourth and final ending, though. I won’t spoil anything, but let’s just say that I haven’t seen any other game do something like this, and you won’t be going back to it any time soon afterward. The fourth ending also requires the slight busywork of collecting all of the weapons, but new-game-plus also lets you begin several hours into the game rather than at the start.

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night – 5 endings possible

Consider Symphony of the Night an early detour into what the later entries on this list will primarily consist of: games where the multiple endings are often fairly simple variations on each other. For example, the two good endings are mostly the same up until the final conversation between main character Alucard’s allies, Richter and Maria. If you’ve uncovered 196 percent of the game map or more, Maria will chase after Alucard at the game’s conclusion, whereas she’ll stick with Richter otherwise. The bad ending involves actually killing Richter when you confront him at the game’s halfway point, closing off a huge chunk of the game to your progress. Wrapping it all up is a fifth and final ending for playing through as Richter himself, who is unlocked upon completing the game as Alucard. You can see screen captures from all the different endings over at the Video Game Museum.

Silent Hill 2 – 6 endings possible

The Silent Hill franchise has always been known for stuffing its strange titles full of many bizarre endings, but Silent Hill 2 contains some of the most memorable and insane. Many of them require beating the game multiple times using a new-game-plus feature, and other requirements include using seemingly random items in specific areas and at certain times throughout the course of the game. How weird do they get? Well, one involves lead character James discovering that a dog has been behind the sinister events in Silent Hill along, and another feature a prominent appearance by aliens. Yep, these have to be seen to be believed. Find out how to unlock them all through this post on GameFAQs.

Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor – 6 endings possible

Devil Survivor is arguably the most narratively complex Shin Megami Tensei game yet. You can choose from multiple characters to follow as the clock ticks. Depending on which characters you stick with to the end, you’ll open up one of six possible endings along with some new demons for you to summon. Check out the spoiler-free guide to getting them all on the Megami Tensei Wiki. The upcoming 3DS rerelease, Devil Survivor Overclocked, is adding an eighth day to the game’s calendar, promising new plot possibilities. 

Dead Rising – 7 endings possible

Dead Rising’s seven endings – ranked from A to u c k ***, plus a “true” ending – have a bevy of requirements, from rescuing survivors without solving cases to solving every case to not doing anything at all. For a game that encourages replays like Dead Rising, it’s nice to see a mix of endings that are very difficult and incredibly easy. Check out the full list along with unlock requirements on eHow.

Shadow the Hedgehog – 11 endings possible

And we’ve entered the double digits! Too bad it took a truly awful game to make that happen. Most of Shadow’s 11 finales only feature minor variations in dialogue based on which path you take to complete the game. Hopefully, though, none of you will ever subject yourself to this game, much less 11 times. We’re talking about a game so bad that even Sonic fan extraordinaire Tim Turi has not touched it. If you have some sort of morbid curiosity, just read this GameFAQs guide to the different endings and move on with your life.

Resident Evil – 12 endings possible

While Resident Evil wowed many gamers with its PlayStation debut by kickstarting the survival horror genre, people were similarly impressed by the many possible conclusions the game held. Which ending you arrive at depends primarily on whether or not you play as Jill or Chris and which characters you’re able to keep alive. They’re all endings of the minor variation type – in each one you’ll escape in a helicopter – but it’s still interesting to see your actions throughout the course of the game impacting where things end up. Read this IGN FAQ for a spoiler-free guide to unlocking all the different endings.

Clock Tower 2 – 13 endings possible

This strange PS1-era game features a whole bunch of endings ranked from the very bad Ending M to the slightly more desirable Ending A. You can watch most of the endings below (complete with Spanish subtitles). The rough translation job probably doesn’t help in making sense of these cutscenes.

Chrono Trigger – 14 endings possible

If you want to see every possible conclusion for this classic, time-traveling RPG, you’ll need to do some truly surprising things, taking advantage of its at-the-time-revolutionary new-game-plus feature. The ability to bounce around the time stream allows you to go take on the final boss at virtually any point in the game – and you’ll need to face him at a whole bunch of different times if you want to see it all, including confronting Lavos at the very beginning of the game. Check out all of the possible endings and how to unlock them on RPG Classics. Trigger’s less-beloved sequel, Chrono Cross, also features a healthy 11 endings.

Heavy Rain – between 18 and 23 endings possible depending on who you ask

As a game that was hyped up for its many choices and paths leading to greatly differing outcomes, it only makes sense that Heavy Rain is one of the games with the most endings on this list. Depending on how you get to the final act, who remains alive of the four main characters, and what actions you choose in the final scenes, a few wildly different closing scenes are possible (with some minor variations thrown in for good measure). Some websites report as many as 23 endings for Heavy Rain, but the number I found most repeated was 18. PS3News has a series of videos chronicling those 18 endings. And now for our truly ridiculous final entries…

Star Ocean: The Second Story – 86 endings possible

This stupidly large PSone-era JRPG has a ridiculous number of endings. How did they get to so many? Simple: small variations based on the Star Ocean’s “Private Actions” feature. Private actions allow you to view special cutscenes involving one or two party members in a town you’re visiting. Often, these also allow you to make a choice that either brings the party members in question closer together or pushes them further apart. These choices weave together to offer a lot of variety in whether different couples end up together in the finale. Star Ocean Wiki reports that technically you can see all the different possible ending skits in only nine playthroughs, but it’s so difficult to set up everything that I would be impressed to see anyone pull it off.

Fallout 3 / Fallout: New Vegas – 200+ endings possible

Bethesda’s Todd Howard made headlines in the months leading up to Fallout 3’s release when he boldly claimed that it would have over 200 endings. Shockingly, it seems like he wasn’t exaggerating. Fallout Wiki breaks down how the ending is split into multiple parts, during each of which multiple videos can be played depending on what you’ve accomplished in-game. Last year’s Fallout: New Vegas features an even more intricate web of ending possibilities thanks to its complex faction system on top of the alignment system. These are two games you could be playing forever if you want to seek out every possible conclusion.

Have any personal favorite games with multiple endings that we missed? Or multiple ending horror stories? Leave them in the comments!