10 Metroidvanias With Complex True Endings

Over the past few years, video games have embraced multiple endings to encourage replayability, and no genre has capitalized on this trend quite like Metroidvanias.

As a type of game focused on exploration and interconnectivity, there's no better way to motivate players to see every last pixel of content than by assuring them they haven't yet seen the story's true conclusion, but rather an incomplete version.

For many, this might be annoying, though for those of us who are fans of this genre, we're not only used to it, but it's one of the main reasons we love getting lost in their worlds.

Therefore, to appreciate these titles with the ability to hide their length behind layers of credits, I invite you to read about these ten Metroidvanias that start small but become massive by the time you see the true ending.

10 Aeterna Noctis

A Single and Challenging Finale

I'll start with a bit of a cheat because, in reality, Aeterna Noctis only has one ending, but it's impressive how surprising everything you have to do to get there is.

When you start the game, it doesn't take long to notice its limitations, but you overlook them because its strengths, like exploration and platforming, are truly solid, enough to eventually enjoy the entirety of what it offers.

That same sensation leads you to think it isn't going to have a long run, at least until you start discovering multiple simultaneous areas that require many upgrades you still don't have and don't know how to get, making you realize you're far, far from the end.

What initially begins as just another adventure ends up becoming a journey between dimensions and planets to slay deities that is completely impossible to anticipate from the start, much less in terms of additional content.

By the time you reach Aeterna Noctis' end, you'll have seen so many levels, overcome so many challenges, and found so many collectibles that your playtime will easily reach close to 100 hours, at least if you're as bad at it as I am.

9 Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Knights

Struggling for a True Solution

Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Knights is a captivating game, thanks in part to its poignant story, which makes unlocking the first two endings an extremely bittersweet experience.

One occurs far too early (so much that I'd be surprised if anyone actually quit the game at this point), and the other has a devastating conclusion, making the true ending practically mandatory to fully experience the campaign.

To achieve this, you must undertake considerable backtracking to find the key items that unlock the final boss's second phase and allow you to face a challenge of immense proportions.

However, the reward is well worth the effort, as the story takes a profoundly encouraging turn that aligns much more closely with Lily's journey, and truly compensates for the relentless and lengthy search required to reach it.

8 Blasphemous 2

The Desire for Mortality

Blasphemous 2 was a game that initially surprised me with its substantial improvement over its predecessor, but also with its apparent inability to offer a truly dense amount of content.

I reached the end after a little over ten hours and felt genuinely saddened by how short such a pleasant experience had been, until I deigned to connect the dots and realized I had missed a significant portion of its world.

Most of what I missed came in the form of upgrades, skills, and challenges that diversified the gameplay far more than anything I had experienced up to that point, but the most important aspect centered around the items you had to collect to change the Penitent One's fate.

If you include its DLC, which adds Ending C and thankfully does include areas and mini-bosses not found in the base game, you can triple your playtime in Blasphemous 2, even if it's mostly for collecting tools.

7 Nine Sols

Forming Bonds in the Face of the Inevitable

Nine Sols is a perfectly balanced game, yet I'm sure many players will have left with the worst possible ending because they didn't fully engage with its gameplay systems.

Red Candle Games' Metroidvania ties its true conclusion to a thorough exploration of the map to find the key items needed to strengthen your relationships with all the NPCs in the HUB, involving fighting bosses and mini-bosses, tackling challenging platforming sections, and keeping your eyes peeled for secrets.

Meeting these requirements is satisfying not only because it allows you to unlock the game's full mechanical potential, but also because it fosters a connection with the wonderful characters who accompany you throughout the story, who play a more significant role than simply providing upgrades and hints.

Thus, you reach a final battle where the already difficult boss becomes one of the most demanding challenges ever conceived in the history of indie games, further cementing Nine Sols as a marvel.

6 MIO: Memories in Orbit

Reality Hides More Than It Shows

MIO: Memories in Orbit is a game where the word “scale” takes on a very different connotation, especially since you're a tiny entity exploring gigantic spaces that, it's clear, were made for a species other than your own.

In this context, the game strives to unfold very slowly to maintain the feeling of insignificance in the face of such grandeur, which carries over to its first ending, where, by all accounts, you're left with a bittersweet feeling that there must be more you can do.

No matter how much you've explored, MIO: Memories in Orbit maintains a deceptive pace that compels you to pursue the bad ending, only to then hint there's more than what you've been shown, and you should keep playing.

Between areas, bosses, challenges, documents, upgrades, and questlines, there are many reasons why you should want to continue exploring the game, because not striving to reach the true ending means sticking to only a small part of how incredible this campaign really is.

5 Environmental Station Alpha

A Labyrinthine Destiny

Environmental Station Alpha is a brief and intriguing Metroidvania whose ideas, even if its execution isn't always up to par, are truly captivating, so I respect how daring its premise is.

Reaching the end is just the first step in a much more complex sequence, which involves being completely stranded and unsure of what to do while discovering new areas, a hellish platforming section, and finding truly obtuse secrets (or maybe I'm just incredibly dense).

Regardless, Environmental Station Alpha transcends being a pixelated gem, becoming a treatise on consciousness in the face of ancient forces, an evolution of its scale you wouldn't expect.

Even within the confines of its true ending, it could be considered a short experience, though what's surprising is how it quadruples its length, which is more relevant to this list than a long game being extended just a bit.

4 Dead Cells

A Grind for the Select Few

Dead Cells limits its Metroidvania elements in favor of its roguelike formula, but its structure places it firmly within the genre, with the unique twist that finishing it once is far from the end of your journey.

In reality, unlike an interconnected world, the title is composed of levels separated by abilities and loading screens, forcing you to do dozens of playthroughs before you can see all the bosses and areas, not to mention the weapons and powers.

Regardless, all of this is something you're destined to see before reaching the end credits, which are hidden behind Dead Cells' most devilish high difficulty mode, where a unique and secret final boss awaits you for the beating of a lifetime.

It doesn't rank higher simply because you will have to invest tons of hours in the game even after fully experiencing its Metroidvania aspects, but it's undeniably a massive grind in every sense of the word.

3 Animal Well

Masterfully Hidden Layers

Among the biggest surprises I've had in recent years is Animal Well, as its idea of ​​creating a puzzle-based Metroidvania without any combat is absolutely outstanding.

However, the game's excellence transcends the concept, manifesting in an equally flawless execution that transports you to a living world with countless layers of secrets that truly captivate you with each discovery.

Anyone can reach the first ending in a matter of hours and be satisfied with the experience, though the difference between this ending and the true goal (which can vary depending on the player) is immense, completely transforming the experience.

Between the first and second endings, Animal Well goes from being a charming puzzle game to a complex ecosystem that will challenge your mind in unpredictable ways, and from this point to the third and fourth endings, it's the equivalent of ascending from humanity to divinity.

From my understanding, most of the community considers that second ending the standard, which is more than enough to guarantee it a spot on this list. Yet, if we were to go by that final ending, it would undoubtedly be in the first place, especially if you choose not to use guides.

2 Hollow Knight: Silksong

An Unexpected Act

Despite being a more guided game than its predecessor, Hollow Knight: Silksong is a bundle of shocking surprises, even if you're on your guard.

For those of us who have already traveled through Hallownest, it was easy to expect that defeating the final boss for the first time would be the iceberg's tip, though I dare say few could have predicted what would come next.

I feel sorry for those who, having reached the first ending and fulfilled all the requirements for the second, stopped playing, unaware that it's in the third and unexpected act that the entire game changes.

When you've explored dozens of areas, acquired countless tools, defeated multiple bosses, and have the feeling that you've played the Metroidvania of your life, Team Cherry gifts you with one last segment of campaign with even more of everything you love.

More movement skills, incredible bosses, magnificent soundtracks, beautiful locations, and heartbreaking questlines await you if you decide to go for Hollow Knight: Silksong's true ending, which never stops subverting your expectations, not even in the last second.

1 La-Mulana

A Relentless Hunt for Objectives

La-Mulana is a massive headache that will truly test your cognitive abilities and patience, though it's among the most exciting projects the Metroidvania genre has ever given us.

It's one of the most difficult games I can think of to recommend because it isn't accessible at all, but it's precisely for that reason that it's a delight for completionists who love a demanding quest.

When it comes to challenges, while the game can be completed in a standard number of hours for the genre, La-Mulana has an extremely complex ending that requires you to see the end credits screen with all the characters in the story, for which you have to fulfill an absurd number of requirements.

The variation depending on the number of characters isn't too high, but the ultimate and most genuine challenge the game offers lies in this titanic effort to satisfy the demands of one and demonstrate the most authentic mastery possible over the game's mechanics.

La-Mulana goes from 20 hours to 100, maybe even more, when you pursue this goal, definitely making it the most massive Metroidvania despite starting in a comparatively much more modest way.