8 More New Game Plus Modes That Change EVERYTHING

Sometimes it can be hard to let go of a game that's grabbed our attention by the danglies and refused to let go, as either thanks to its loveable cast of characters or truly moving narrative - or just a downright brilliant gameplay loop - we want to live in these worlds for as long as possible.

Therefore it's often a true joy to find examples of developers who recognised players might want to take another trip down memory road and mix things up in subsequent playthroughs in order to keep things fresh and reward those committed to another playthrough.

While some might include slight nods to past actions or let you carry over items and skills, the entries that make up this list go above and beyond, offering up new quests, new endings, and even entire gameplay changes!

One thing is for sure these games weren't coasting on their second spin, and we're extremely glad they went the extra mile!

I tell you this for nothing, the Castlevania franchise absolutely loves itself a bit of the old "New Game+" shenanigans:

In Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse, the player would be rewarded with an extremely tough new difficulty mode, which when placed on the almighty bloody steak that was the original experience made for a bearnaise sauce comprising of your own salty tears.

In Symphony Of The Night, players would unlock a new playthrough that contained multiple game-breaking items, turning the experience into something of a meme run for many fans as they spammed unlimited throwable items with the Duplicator or buffed themselves up to the nines with the massive stat boost provided by the Ring Of Varda.

However, the true cherry on the New Game+ cake comes in Circle Of The Moon, where you'd not just unlock a harder difficulty setting but also modes that change the entire playstyle of the game itself!

You now have the option of Fighter, Magician, Shooter, and Thief which change your stats and item loadouts meaning you can play with late-level weapons and spells right out of the gate but usually with some significant drawbacks as well.

This makes for a truly refreshing experience, as even if you think you'd mastered the game, trying to do so with these new parameters was a mighty challenge indeed!