8 Greatest Fake-Out Secret Endings In Video Games

By Josh Brown / February 14, 2015

There's something of a worrying trend in video games recently, in that whether it's for the sake of sequel-baiting or the need to finish vaguely and prompt the need for side-missions after the credits, many games don't really €œend€ these days - they just stop. But it's not always this way, sometimes developers are so concerned with endings and messing with players' expectations that they'll throw in a secret fake-out stinger as a charming easter egg, or more often than not - a cruel trick. These alternate all-too-soon endings provide unique opportunities for the developers to have a little fun away from the main game; being cool little unlockables that promote going against a standard linear path when you least expect it. And hey, there's nothing better than thinking you've unlocked something special on your own, right? However, it's always smoke and mirrors, as the most fondly remembered fake-outs always make you feel like you've been fooled into making a huge mistake, something that if done right, can boost a game's reputation immeasurably when everything falls back into place. The greatest of these moments make sure one route will inevitably result in a premature or secret ending that forces you to try again, leaving you reeling from the video game equivalent of having your pants pulled down in the school playground - but that's all part of the fun.