Summary
Some people find great joy in playing linear games with singular entry and exit points on the map, completing missions, and facing the final boss in a neat, one-way fashion. Meanwhile, others love to explore, investigate, and get into the nitty-gritty of every area and lore of the vast and mysterious worlds of the game they’re currently playing.Stumbling upon a well-kept secretor unlocking a hidden area is like hitting a jackpot.
Rockstar’s magnum opus, GTA 5, is well-known for its incredibly detailed world that keeps on unfolding as you play. What makes GTA 5 just as popular as the day it hit the shelves is its astronomical number of hidden missions, secret maps, nostalgic encounters, pop culture references, and Easter eggs that will keep you hooked.
From hidden messages on the map to the reenactment of No Country for Old Men, there’s a secret waiting for you around every corner of this open world. If you are new to the game, just remember, there are no coincidences in GTA 5.
The Red Dead Redemption series has an intriguing and intricate story with complex characters that keep the games alive. In true Rockstar style, this single-player series has been teeming with a lot of hidden content. With Red Dead Redemption 2, theamount of secrets and obscure locationshas drastically increased, easily surpassing its predecessor.
As you navigate the vast lands of the Wild West, battle rival gangs, and evade private detectives, be sure to explore a bit deeper, and follow the clues, and you may stumble upon secrets that might not always be pleasant. The gory serial killer cabin in The Heartlands and the ghost train in Lemoyne County will send chills down your spine.
Dark Souls is one of themost challenging role-playing gamesout there, with deep lore, high stakes, intriguing NPCs, and a dynamic fictional world. It is also well-known for its hard-to-access secrets, making it all the more satisfactory to unlock them.
Given how immersive and well-crafted the game is, it not only offers an incredible amount of secrets but also hides them so well that they’re very easy to miss. In fact, the effort FromSoftware has put into hiding some content is almost absurd and daunting. Certain bonfires, like the one in Lost Izalith, and areas like The Great Hollow, are so well-hidden that even the most seasoned players have trouble finding them.
The gothic landscape and the obscure world of Bloodborne hides its fair share of secrets, adding to the complex lore of The Great Ones, the hunters, and the dreadful beasts. Created by FromSoftware, this action role-playing game conceals many paths, areas, rare items, andboss fights that only the most observant gamers can reveal.
The key to unlocking the hidden content in this Victorian-era game is to interact heavily with the environment, look out for the illusory walls, and not miss out on the optional Chalice Dungeons. Some of the best-kept secrets in the game include the Ring of the Betrothal and the face-off with the ultimate boss, Yharnam, in the Chalice Dungeons.
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night is thegold standard in the Metroidvania sub-genreand remains a fan favorite even nearly three decades after its launch. One of the biggest secrets to its timeless success is the large number of artifacts and secrets found in the game.
The Inverted Castle is perhaps one of the most well-known secrets in the game, but did you know that the small landing in front of the castle’s gates isn’t just for aesthetics and can give you access to the underground garden in the Sega Saturn version?
The conflict-ridden, power-hungry dystopian world of Cyberpunk 2077 continuously expands as you make your choices. While the main quests are engaging and heart-pounding, the game’s hidden rooms, concealed items, and endless secrets are equally thrilling, allowing you to explore all possibilities, which may even lead to different endings.
The game’s developer, CD Projekt RED, is particularly fond of nodding to pop culture, incorporating crossovers and subtle references that enrich the gaming experience. For example, there’s a game magazine featuring Ciri on the cover, twocharacters from Final Fantasymake a brief appearance, and the Night City’s preacher quotes dialogue straight out of Dwight Schrute’s book of philosophy.
The Batman Arkham series stands as one of the most beloved games created by Rocksteady Studios. While the developers are often crowned for their exceptional expertise in the action-adventure genre, their ability to conceal secrets is equally impressive. Batman: Arkham City takes the lead in the series when it comes to side quests and secrets.
Throughout the game, you’ll see bits and pieces that pay homage to Batman’s past and his original storyline. Arkham City is also littered with hidden rooms that you’re able to unlock by trying some of the most random actions such as kicking the wall or playing with a switch you thought was unimportant.
To say that Noita contains hidden secrets would be an understatement because the game heavily relies on hidden content. The secret layouts and game levels,that are generated randomly, give you a unique playthrough every single time. Two people discussing Noita might as well be talking about two different storylines.
It is one of those rare games where you won’t necessarily have to go out of your way to unlock certain secrets or levels; they’ll happen when they happen. In Noita, every pixel has a unique property and is physically simulated, adding even more uncertainty and new results during gameplay.
Platform(s)
PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Cloud Gaming, Windows
Supraland Six Inches Under is the expansion of the original Supraland and contains significantly more hidden content than its predecessor. Secrets in this Metroidvania game are prevalent throughout its gameplay, manifesting as hidden areas and numerous puzzles.
The abundance of hidden content in the game will let you finish the game once and then replay it, exploring new areas, unlockable, and solving puzzles that require contemplation and strategic thinking. Going through this game again is quite literally equivalent to playing a completely new game, given the vast amount of additional content it offers. The game is utterly ginormous, and exploring everything isn’t an easy feat. What’s even more impressive is the fact that Six Inches Under started as a DLC project but ended up being its own thing with how massive it became.
Ultrakill by Arsi ‘Hakita’ Patala is a retro first-person shooter game that is as action-packed as it is chic. Its core premise revolves around ‘going down in style,’ complete with a Style Meter that encourages players to dispatch enemies with flair. Theeye-catching retro esthetics, classic shooter mechanics, and modern gameplay combine to create a truly unique experience. Additionally, the super cool combat style and fast-paced action keep you hooked throughout the course of the game without it feeling redundant and dull.
Ultrakill’s secret missions are truly next-level! Each mission, and its subsequent boss, is intricately connected to one another — meaning, to get to one secret boss, you have to solve the mystery from the previous one. It draws inspiration from Dante’s Inferno, and also cleverly mimics elements from other games through its secret levels.
