10 Pointless Video Game Endings You Unlocked Anyway

What are you NOT getting 100% completion?

Alternate endings that roll out as a result of your choices through the game can be a great way of giving players extra agency that keeps them engaged in the unfolding narrative.

Of course, alternate endings come in all sorts of forms. There are true endings, good endings, bad endings, ugly endings, and endings that leave you scratching your head for better or worse. In this list we’re casting the spotlight on the endings that had us bemused.

Whether we found them delightfully absurd or downright bizarre, these endings might not have changed the face of video game narratives but we’d be damned if we’re not going to go full completionist and unlock them regardless.

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10: Out Of Here - The Bard’s Tale

the bard tale
inXile

The Bard’s Tale is a wildly underrated parody masterpiece by InXile Entertainment, released in 2004. The action RPG spends its runtime poking fun at video game tropes, characters, and mechanics, and one of those is the ability to make choices about who you want to side with. When all is said and done you’re given the choice to side with the good guy Druid Leader or the bad girl Demon Princess.

Or you can do neither of those things and decide to bail out of the entire conflict altogether.

The Bard can pick the ‘Out Of Here’ conclusion where he tells the two NPCs that he has no interest in their bickering, doesn’t want to die, and elects to go get drunk with a bunch of zombies and his favourite buxom barmaid instead. Which, honestly? Probably the right call.

It means you miss out on the final battle so in that way it makes all you’ve done up until this point feel pretty pointless but it’s a funny little ending that’s in keeping with the irreverent tone of the game and thus totally worth unlocking anyway.

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Jess has been a journalist and content creator in the games industry for over 15 years and has been WhatCulture's resident Australian import and sorry cop since 2020, upping the quotient of swearing and apologising in WhatCulture Gaming's annual blooper videos considerably. She previously worked at GameSpot for 10 years, most notably hosting GameSpot News in addition to E3 live shows, and PAX panels. She regularly livestreams a variety of games on her 'jessmcdonell' YouTube and Twitch channels and hosts the 'Do It On The Day' podcast. She has won awards for her news and feature work in gaming as well as an accolade for her comedic writing (likely an admin error). She can be found on X at @jessmcdonell and Instagram at @jessicamcdonell sharing her current videogame fixations, industry insights, and videos of her cat, Karma.