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Many games offer linear experiences, straightforward runs from start to finish that are still enjoyable in their own way. However, there are those that incentivize exploration, where going off the beaten path leads to surprising rewards. Our list of the best video game secrets of 2024 discusses various titles with amazing discoveries that truly enrich your playthrough.We've got everything from companions that take a lot of effort to recruit and collectibles that require quest chain completions, to hidden areas within hidden areas--a "Hidden-ception" if you will. We also talk about tricky puzzles, missable moments, post-credits playthroughs, and alternate endings. Naturally, we not only discuss secrets but also major spoilers for some of these games. Black Myth: Wukong - Secret boss fights and endingBlack Myth: Wukong is a treat for players that like discovering stuff on their own. As noted in our guides hub, the game has character upgrades that you can collect, side quests that aren't obvious at first glance, and hidden areas that have their own mysteries, too.Perhaps the most notable feature is its secret ending, which requires you to unlock and clear the hidden areas in each chapter. Doing so leads to an epic boss fight against Erlang Shen and the Four Heavenly Kings. The Destined One then transforms into a giant, leading to encounters akin to kaiju battles. It also shows a gorgeous ending cutscene that gives you a glimpse into the events from the Journey to the West novel. Dragon Age: The Veilguard - Solas' redemption and his romance with the InquisitorSolas' machinations may have led to the reemergence of forgotten elven gods in Dragon Age: The Veilguard, but it's possible for him to find redemption. This presents you with an entirely new ending choice at the game's conclusion.To avoid confronting Solas, you must complete the entirety of the Regrets of the Dread Wolf quest chain to gain Mythal's favor. This has to be done well before the finale. Not only that, but if you choose Solas as the Inquisitor's romance option prior to starting the campaign--i.e. she needs to be a female elf for starters--and if you convince her that she's still in love with him, then the two can be reunited in exile in the Fade. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle - 50 relics and the secret epilogueIndiana Jones and the Great Circle stars the globetrotting archaeologist in another unforgettable adventure. While it's not an open-world game in the vein of The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, or Assassin's Creed franchises, it's still filled with numerous puzzles and hidden collectibles.Among these collectibles are relics, which are found in Vatican City, Gizeh, and Sukhothai. Should you obtain all 50 relics, including one in the last area, you'll be able to complete a tricky wall puzzle that shows a secret epilogue. Finally, you'll find out what truly happened to a character that's presumed dead. Until Then - New Game Plus and alternate realitiesLet's face it: Most players likely skip or ignore a game's the end credits, which is quite unfortunate. However, this is something you shouldn't do if you're playing Until Then, a visual novel with distinctly Filipino characters, themes, and setting.Once you've finished Until Then's story, you'll realize that something feels off, as though not every narrative thread was fully explained. These aren't gaping plot holes. Rather, they're part of a unique narrative device.After the end credits, choosing to continue brings you back to the game's first location. You might think that everything's the same as before, until you realize that there are a few key changes, such as interactions with different characters and new events that transpire. As you continue all the way to your next playthrough, you slowly piece together the puzzle to learn about the real outcome of the story. The Casting of Frank Stone - Cutting Room Floor outcomesThe Casting of Frank Stone is a collaboration between Supermassive Games and Behaviour Interactive. Set in the Dead by Daylight universe, this is one horror game where you have to make crucial decisions to ensure that all characters survive the night.What makes the campaign even more engaging is the Cutting Room Floor, an expansive feature that lets you replay specific moments to see alternate outcomes. There are hundreds of scenes with multiple interconnected branches to discover, leading you down a path that you may have missed before. For instance, a character named Chris from 1980 time travels to the present day, where she could interact with other protagonists. Of course, she and the other heroes could also meet their gruesome end. Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth - Gilgamesh boss fightFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirth is packed with so much content that your journey is likely to take a hundred hours. The game has so many activities, including Gold Saucer minigames, Queen's Blood card battles, and characters to date and romance. And, yes, there are several powerful summoned entities that will dazzle you as they lay waste to your opponents.One of these summons is Gilgamesh, who periodically shows up in cutscenes almost like a running joke. However, if you manage to complete all Protorelic objectives in every region, a time-consuming endeavor at that, you'll be treated to a special moment as Gilgamesh's own island emerges from the ocean. After clearing a gauntlet against several other beings, you'll have a shot to battle the legendary warrior himself. Defeat this foe and you'll finally earn the Gilgamesh summon as a fitting reward for your troubles. Fantasian Neo Dimension - Tough bosses and Divine ArtifactsFantasian, the brainchild of Mistwalker, Hironobu Sakaguchi, and Nobuo Uematsu, originally released in 2021 on Apple Arcade. It finally made its way to consoles and PC earlier this year. One of the new additions in Fantasian Neo Dimension is Normal mode, given that the original only had its default Hard mode.This, however, doesn't mean that boss fights themselves are walks in the park. Indeed, battles will still test your mettle, such as the one against Eternal Holy, an entity that emerges if you unwittingly open a particular treasure chest. Furthermore, there are various objectives you can tackle during the game's second half, like the acquisition of Divine Artifacts that unlock the Growth Maps (i.e. skill trees) of party members. Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree - Scaduview and Abyssal WoodsElden Ring wowed millions of people with its massive open world, brutal boss fights, and intricate level design. We still fondly remember the first time we stepped foot in the underground cities of Nokstela and Nokron, staring at the screen wide-eyed, mouth agape, wondering if what we're seeing was real.The expansion, Shadow of the Erdtree, is no slouch in the secrets department either, especially with locations like Scaduview and Abyssal Woods. You can only gain access to the former by navigating the winding passageways of Shadow Keep, before doing an emote to reveal a hidden path. The latter, meanwhile, can also be accessed via Shadow Keep, but you have to go through an illusory painting. Let's just say that you've got your work cut out for you, since the region is filled with tough-as-nails enemies that cause the madness affliction. Stellar Blade - Eidos 9Speaking of the best video game secrets of 2024, Stellar Blade is right up there with all the collectible cans and outfits that you can obtain. But the most memorable has to be Eidos 9, a secret level with a strict unlock requirement.To reach Eidos 9, you need to pick up all sorts of data slates and documents, enough to reach 100% progress with Lily, your trusted companion. If you're unable to do this at a certain point in the game, then Eve and company will go directly to Spire 4 to proceed to the penultimate chapter. However, if you meet the requirements, Lily will ask Eve to travel with her to Eidos 9, a ruined city that's dotted with gigantic tracks that you could slide across. Naturally, you'll find more goodies while you're there. Dragon's Dogma 2 - The Sphinx, the Unmoored World, and the true endingLet's get this out of the way: You need to be ready for a lot of frustrations if you play Dragon's Dogma 2 while unprepared. The game not only has colossal boss creatures that can attack you while you're traveling, but also missable class unlocks and character romances. Perhaps more notoriously, there's a devastating curse known as the Dragonsplague that can wipe out entire towns.But your adventure will be enriched if you're patient enough to explore these lands. Your treks might even lead you to the Sphinx, who presents you with 10 riddles with equally amazing rewards.Well past that point, you can also get the game's true ending. To be clear, you're only given two options by default at the campaign's conclusion: You can either walk away from your dragon-boss opponent or defeat them in battle. But there's also a third option, which requires you to obtain the Empowered Godsbane Blade.The Empowered Godsbane Blade can be used to stab the dragon while it's flying, causing a chain of events. Soon, you'll find yourself in the Unmoored World, where the entire realm is facing graver threats in the form of deadlier monsters and bosses. You can either prevent wanton destruction by eliminating challenging bosses or look for a way to help citizens evacuate. Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown - Fariba's locationsSometimes, secrets don't need to be all-encompassing or overarching. They can be simple enough but functional nonetheless. That's what we see in Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown. While this metroidvania title has its fair share of tricky brain teasers, like the ones in the Sacred Archives and Upper City, it also has an NPC that you want to meet during your travels: Fariba.Fariba is a young woman who's very knowledgeable about Mount Qaf, the game's main region. While you do see her in your main hub, she also travels to other places and you usually don't have a clue as to her location. Be sure to purchase her wares if you manage to encounter her, since these reveal the full layout the area where she resides. These should greatly aid you as you further explore the game world. Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes - Recruiting Leene and saving PerrielleEiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes is an RPG inspired by the classic Suikoden series. Given the inspiration and the title of the game itself, you can expect to recruit 120 characters throughout the campaign. However, there are a few caveats, such as bugs that cause you to miss out on certain companions.Moreover, there's one companion who's missable due to her unlock requirement. It's none other than Leene, the sister of the main character Nowa. There's one specific moment where Leene will be able to join your team, and this happens near the conclusion of the story when Nowa is rallying his allies. Unbeknownst to everyone, an assassin takes aim to end your plans for good.If you've managed to recruit all 119 characters up to that point, Leene will suddenly show up to deflect the assassin's shot, saving the day and joining your squad. Unfortunately, if you have fewer than 119 characters, Leene will never appear and the assassin will kill Perrielle, one of your trusty companions, instead. Hades 2 - Reaching the surface worldHades 2 is twice the fun and twice the size of its predecessor. Not only are you able to explore regions in the underworld as Hades' daughter Melinoe, but you also get to travel to the surface world. There's just one problem: The game never really tells you how to do this.To be fair, reaching the surface world in Hades 2 is part of such a roundabout process that's likely to test your patience. Here's a short summary:You need to have conversations with Hecate, Moros, and Hermes to learn that Mount Olympus is under attack from Chronos' forces.This allows you to complete an incantation, provided that you have the necessary materials.With the incantation active, you'll be able to head to the surface. Unfortunately, Melinoe's lineage has cursed her, causing her health to deplete over time while on the surface.You then have to do a few failed runs until Moros tells you about another incantation.One ingredient that's required for this spell comes from the Realm of Chaos. The floor gates to Chaos have a chance of randomly appearing during your runs, so you just have to keep your fingers crossed.After obtaining the seed for this ingredient, you must plant it and finish a few encounters until it can be harvested.Once you have all the materials, you can finish the incantation to, finally, survive in the mortal realm. Star Wars Outlaws - Jet Kordo's Legacy and Outlaw LegendsOne can think of the Jet Kordo's Legacy/Outlaw Legends quest chain in Star Wars Outlaws as a scavenger hunt of sorts where you have to travel to multiple planets. Basically, this quest chain requires you to find the vaults of an infamous bounty hunter based on the clues that he's left behind. These clues come in the form of holographic images that show landmarks.What makes this secret fascinating is that you really need to be mindful of your surroundings. You have to look at the hologram and then see if a certain rock formation or building matches the image. Your device will also start to beep if you're close enough to your quarry.At the end of it all, you'll receive a nifty reward: the Cocktail Umbrella. This charm, if equipped, counts as part of any gear set. This means you only need to wear two clothing parts to activate a set bonus, as opposed to all three. Is this worth all the trouble? Well, you be the judge. Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl - Prypiat Journalist StashStalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl takes players back to the Exclusion Zone several years after the events of the original trilogy. As Skif, you soon realize that someone has left behind containers to try and help other Stalkers in the region. These 12 Journalist Stashes found all over the Zone yield high-end, upgraded equipment like weapons and armors.But, that's not all. If once you've found all 12 containers, you'll learn that there's a secret stash in the ghost city of Prypiat. Getting there, however, is no easy feat, since you need to progress the story further. Upon arriving in the city, though, head to the abandoned apartment that's marked on your map. Inside the journalist's abode, you'll find a crate that contains a modified shotgun and sniper rifle, as well as a sturdy armor piece that grants bonus carry weight. You'll also see the fate of the person who's been trying to help you.That does it for our best video game secrets of 2024 guide. All of these objectives and activities lead you to newfound discoveries as long as you keep your eyes peeled during your adventures.Do you know of other awesome secrets from various games released this year? Let us know in the comments section.More Best Of 2024:Our Favorite Games That Didn't Make The Top 10Best PS5-Exclusive Games Of 2024Best Switch-Exclusive Games Of 2024Best PC-Exclusive Games Of 2024Best Xbox Games Of 2024Best-Reviewed Games Of 2024Best Of 2024 hub
