Hardest endings to unlock from software games

Since the beginning of the Souls genre, FromSoftware has implemented multiple endings into each game to keep things fresh and encourage multiple playthroughs. The only problem is, most of the time, achieving those ends can be very difficult.

This list defines difficulty by how easily requirements can be missed for a particular end, the amount of work required, and any other difficulties that appear along the way. Sometimes that comes in the form of an NPC questline that's easy to mess up, or sometimes it's great in-game like never before.

7 Demon's Souls – Good ending

World trend problems

Demon spirits Known for being the first in a long line of venerable Souls games created by FromSoftware, it's often considered one of the hardest, with very unforgiving checkpoints and limited health items. It also features many iconic weapons in the series.

However, getting the hardest ending, the Good Ending, isn't as taxing as in later games. All the player needs to do is beat the game normally, and then finally, the player needs to get away from the Maiden in Black and deny the power of The Old One. This triggers a good ending. It's a good thing it's not dependent on world trends, or it would be very difficult.

6 Dark Souls 2 – Leave the Throne

Collect the crowns

Dark Souls 2 FromSoftware is something of a black sheep in the catalog, but it still has a legion of die-hard fans who love it for everything it changes or tries to change, including its ending.

like Demon spirits, Dark Souls 2 There are two endings (as long as the player is on the new patch or has the Scholar of the First Sin DLC). After defeating Nasandra, defeating Aldia, the Scholar of the First Sin, players simply need to get away from the throne they've been searching for the entire game and venture out into the world to try and find a new way to break the franchise's undead curse. .

5 Dark Souls – Age of Darkness

Break the cycle

However Dark spirits While not the first game in FromSoftware's lineup of Soul games, it's the game that popularized the subgenre to unexpected heights that continue to this day. Like its predecessor Demon spiritsIt also has two main endings, but the Age of Dark ending is a bit harder than usual requiring forethought and the best weapons the game has to offer.

That's because it's so easy to miss the ending entirely. To achieve the Age of Dark Ending, players need to defeat the Four Kings boss before placing the Lordvessel. This will allow them to meet the Serpent Kathe, which allows the player to finally escape the flames and enter the Age of Darkness.

4 Alden Ring – Age of Stars

Take over the universe

Alden Ring is a huge game with a record amount of possible endings, each with very different requirements. Although most have a questline attached, none are as complex or involved as Age of the Stars.

To this end, players need to follow Rani's questline to complete it, spanning all the way between The Lands, fighting terrifying monsters like Astel, and killing a set of two fingers to become Rani's wife. It's a long process with many steps, sometimes requiring a guide to see the end and involves making it through many of the game's bosses.

3 Bloodborne – Childhood onset

An old man was born

blood borne The FromSoftware game is considered a meaningful iteration on the Souls formula and brought home the potential of the entire subgenre through aggressive gameplay and a rogues gallery of terrifying bosses. It also invented endings, offering two main endings, and a secret third ending, the beginning of childhood.

To achieve this ending, players need to consume three versions of one-third of the navel item in a single run. These chords are scattered throughout the game, sometimes as items, sometimes as rewards for quests, and it's never hinted to the player that this is a possibility to follow. Fortunately there are more than three navels in the game, but not many, so players need to carefully plan which items to find and consume before the end of the game.

2 Sekiro – Back

Journey to the West

Sekiro: Shadows die twiceA pioneering game in many ways, but perhaps none more so than the incredible and dynamic combat system that completely eschews the sometimes sluggish combat of previous Soulslike games. but, SekiroThe last and fourth ending, the return, is very fiddly to achieve and requires a lot of work outside of beating the incredible bosses of the game.

Briefly, this ending involved going into the game, refusing to become Shura, and following the long questline of the Divine Child found behind the Folding Screen Monkeys, which required fresh snake viscera and dried snake viscera, among many other items, to complete. This is a long and involved process, ultimately resulting in Frozen Tears, which can be offered to Kuro at the end of the game.

1 Dark Souls 3 – Seizure of Fire

The end of it all

Dark Souls 3 Capping one of the most influential trilogies in gaming history was an unenviable task. For some, it does well, for others, the game remains something of a disappointment. However, its endings are notorious for being very fiddly and easy to get lost if not strictly following the guide throughout.

The worst for it is the consumption of the fiery end. This includes finding Joel of London (missable), his free level up five times (missable), finding Enri in the Halfway Fortress (missable), then finding Enri in the catacombs (missable), Horace not killing Enri to ensure Wrong dialogue choices, then finding Uriah and tiring out his dialogue after Pontiff Sullivan, then the wedding performance. Each of these steps is easy to miss and can result in the player getting locked out if they get too far into the game, making it an exercise in frustration if the player doesn't follow the guide carefully.