The Best Games That Are Mostly Endgame Content

Although it’s expected that the bulk of a game’s content will be contained within the bounds of its main story, there exist many titles that bookend their experience with an end-game section that arguably rivals the core with regard to scale and scope.

Related

Longest Action JRPGs, Ranked

Looking for a JRPG with plenty of playtime? Look no further.

From genre-defining soft reboots to quintessential Nintendo twists on tried and true formulae, there are an extraordinary amount of video games that defer a great amount of gameplay and narrative content until its later moments.

This list contains spoilers!

8

The Red Dead Redemption Series

A Cowboy-Tinged Epic Spanning 15 Years & Multiple Generations

With a narrative spanning 15 years and into the dawn of the 20th century, Rockstar Games’ Red Dead Redemption series carries the immersive open-world torch from other Rockstar-developed titles, such as Grand Theft Auto, across the Old West and three protagonists’ lives. Both titles – 2010’s Red Dead Redemption and its prequel title Red Dead Redemption 2 – may not share playable characters, but the lives of John Marston and Arthur Morgan are strikingly similar.

With the forward march of ‘civilization’ running cowboys such as Morgan out of their on-the-road lifestyle and betraying Marston’s good deeds for its own self-gain, the Red Dead Redemption series provides players with ample opportunity to see how the world moves on after their demise. Red Dead Redemption‘s ending sees Marston executed heartlessly at his homestead after a life atoning for his sins before changing focus to his son as he seeks revenge, while Arthur Morgan’s death presents players with the opportunity to see how the original title’s protagonist learns to live his life inside the law.

7

Pikmin 2

Nintendo’s Gamecube-Era RTS Sequel Expands Its Scope In Its Second Half

Real-Time Strategy

Puzzle

Systems

Released

August 30, 2004

ESRB

E10+ For Everyone 10+ Due To Comic Mischief, Fantasy Violence, Mild Blood

As with many of Nintendo’s first-party offerings, Pikmin is positioned as a fully-formed yet entry-level installment into the world of video games – in its case, “the unique subgenre of strategy puzzle games”. However, with such a tactical genre come the expansive mechanics and worlds that the style is renowned for.

With the 2004 release of Pikmin 2, Nintendo EAD seemingly ought to bolster the proven gameplay of the original title while expanding the landscape and cast of characters. As such, instead of controlling but one stranded spacefarer in Olimar, the begrudging protagonist of Louie is introduced for players to multitask with. Yet with Hocotate Freight’s $10,000 debt paid off, Olimar escaping the planet’s orbit, and the credits rolling, the distinct lack of Louie in the cockpit is reason enough for both Olimar and the company’s President to return looking for him.

What ensues is effectively the other half of the Pikmin 2 experience, as the remaining treasures are collected and a slew of bugs and monsters are slain. Culminating in a hard-fought victory against the Titan Dweevil at the bottom of the Dream Den, Louie is ultimately rescued, and ‘The End’ can finally be seen emblazoned across the screen.

6

Super Mario Odyssey

A Typical 3D Mario Platforming Caper With An Obscene Amount Of Collectibles

Systems

Released

October 27, 2017

ESRB

E10+ for Everyone 10+: Cartoon Violence, Comic Mischief

Despite being “about as perfect of a platformer as they come”, Nintendo EPD’s time developing Super Mario Odyssey was arguably somewhat spent in making sure seemingly every nook and cranny hid some kind of retro-inspired nod or currency collectible. Even with Bowser defeated and Peach rescued once again, Mario’s collectathon adventure has arguably just begun when the credits roll.

With a Super Mario 64-inspired Mushroom Kingdom being unlocked the instant players finish the game’s core story, and the Dark & Darker Sides of the Moon made available after the collection of 250 and 500 Power Moons respectively, Super Mario Odyssey is full of hours of gameplay left. Mario’s pals add to this end-game extravaganza, as Toadette is proud to give Power moons for the completion of certain achievements and Luigi aids players in online play. Yet, with 999 Power Moons scattered around the game’s worlds and new costumes continuing to be unlocked, Super Mario Odyssey‘s runtime is dwarfed by post-game content.

Related

6 Mario Games With The Best Post-Game Content

Super Mario’s best adventures don’t just end when the credits roll. Players still have exciting post-game content to enjoy with these titles.

5

Dead Cells

A Quintessential Roguelike Experience With An Ardent Focus On Complete Exploration

Released

August 7, 2018

ESRB

T For Teen Due To Blood and Gore, Language, Violence

As is seemingly part and parcel of the roguelike genre, Dead Cells‘ focus on “providing a challenging, learnable experience” with its repeated runs creates a gameplay system that arguably negates the importance of the acclaimed ‘end’ of the game.

After defeating the Hand of the King after hours of hack-and-slash gameplay and muscle memory, the ‘true’ soul of Motion Twin & Evil Empire’s 2018 roguelike is revealed. With difficulty modifiers creating a more dynamic mechanical experience and eventually bestowing players with new environments to uncover, the seemingly endless sandbox of Dead Cells is ultimately opened up to players to tinker with. Bolstered by alternative routes and zones leading to brand new boss creatures and a host of new combat-focused toys to play with, players are arguably just getting started after their first full run.

4

Hades

A Blockbuster Roguelike That Brims With Content In Its Post-Credits Act

Released

September 17, 2020

ESRB

T for Teen: Alcohol Reference, Blood, Mild Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence

As the roguelike genre is designed around the player’s drive to become stronger and more capable, the traditional narrative structure is seemingly lost among the gameplay-focused ecosystem of most titles of the genre. However, the game’s combat and movement were hailed as a triumph, and its classical plot was just as revered.

The quest of Zagreus to escape the underworld, and uncover the truth of his existence, was woven naturally through Hades‘ roguelike format, with the game’s ‘end’ acting as more of a final chapter of the prologue than anything else. Gods and spirits alike comment on Zagreus’ journey and send him on quests, as players can enact a Pact of Punishment to skew gameplay to gain rewards and upgrades, yet reaching the surface is not the end of Hades‘ journey but just the beginning.

Related

7 Open-World Games With Fantastic Post-Game Content

Some of the best open-world games offer a wide variety of post-game activities for players to take part in after rolling credits.

3

Monster Hunter World

A Heavy-Hitting Action RPG With A Bombastic Breadth Of Content Throughout

Systems

Released

January 26, 2018

ESRB

T for Teen: Blood, Mild Language, Use of Alcohol, Violence

While the gameplay loop of 2018’s Monster Hunter: World is consciously captivating to keep players engaged with its many interlocking systems of hunting and crafting, it is arguably a title that was never designed to be played to its ultimate completion.

With Capcom’s focus on mechanical and gameplay diversity rather than narrative length, letting the credits roll on Monster Hunter: World‘s story acts as an end to the title’s 50-hour-long structured prologue. Although players will have varying levels of completion they will seek an open-ended title such as Monster Hunter: World, the inclusion of more than 400 hours of content, and another set of hundreds of hours with its extensive Iceborne expansion.

2

Dragon’s Dogma 2

A Modern Interpretation Of A Uniquely Gamified Metanarrative Twist

Systems

Released

March 22, 2024

ESRB

Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Language, Sexual Themes, Violence

Releasing 12 years after Capcom’s inaugural Dragon’s Dogma title, Dragon’s Dogma 2 is “a natural evolution from the first game” and has become a quintessential example of emergent gameplay and narrative within video games. Despite players spending hours building their character’s strength before defeating the Red Dragon and seeing the 2024 title’s credits roll, the fantasy ARPG still retains much of its content for a metanarrative twist in its world.

After accepting an offer to change series history, and plunging the Empowered Godsbane Blade into your own heart, players find that the hellish landscape of the Unmoored World envelops Dragon’s Dogma 2. The once-luscious terrain of the title is replaced with a crimson haze with dried Seas, ghostly phantoms, and an expansion of Dragon’s Dogma‘s lore that turns the cyclical nature of the fight between the Arisen and the Red Dragon on its head.

1

Dragon Quest 11: Echoes of an Elusive Age

The JRPG Juggernaut’s Post-Credits Act Is Essential For Forming Its Narrative

Released

September 4, 2018

ESRB

T For Teen due to Crude Humor, Fantasy Violence, Mild Blood, Simulated Gambling, Suggestive Themes, Use of Alcohol

While its “pace rewards players who are patient”, the three-act structure of the acclaimed eleventh numbered installment in the Dragon Quest series is a game that builds its narrative to a fever pitch before turning it on its head. After defeating the Evil Wizard and saving Erdrea, the player’s party dispands and the uninitiated may set their controllers down after seeing Square Enix’s credits file.

However, with so many questions left unanswered and a mysterious figure remaining uncovered, the game’s post-credits third act is not only a cute subversion of players’ expectations but an expansion of Dragon Quest 11: Echoes of an Elusive Age‘s narrative. Taking place months after the culmination moments of the game’s supposed plot, as the world is in the throes of mourning and rebuilding its landscape, the party reconvenes in a time-traveling plot that sees the true villain of the title revealed. After 30 hours of gameplay, and the earlier setting of the title revisited and saved, the true ending of the vast role-playing game can finally be presented.

More

7 Games With The Best Post-Game Content

Sometimes the true grind begins after the end credits roll, as evidenced by the excellent post-game content that’s on offer in certain games.