With the recent Summer Games Done Quick (SGDQ) raising over three million dollars for Doctors Without Borders (as reported by Game Rant), it's obvious that speedrunning has become an integral part of the gaming community. A speedrun is a playthrough of a game where the player, who is also known as a speedrunner, attempts to complete the game as fast as possible, which often requires expert skills, planned routes, and sometimes even exploits like glitches.

Though these players often still have to experience most of the game, there are some games that allow players to achieve an ending towards the beginning. In titles like Devil May Cry 5, these early endings can be achieved without any exploits.

Decline (2022)

A screenshot of Detective Gail choosing to retire and spend the day at the bowling alley celebrating her granddaughter's birthday.

Created for the Game Boy Showdown game jam on Itch.io earlier this year, Decline is a mystery psychological horror that's inspired by the Polybius urban legend. After a teacher is mysteriously murdered, the protagonist, an elderly police detective named Gail, is assigned to the case. While uncovering CIA conspiracies, she'll also struggle with her own cognitive decline which is, possibly, caused by her age.

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At the start of the game, however, the police chief tells Gail that she can simply retire instead. If the player decides to turn down the case, Gail will retire and spend the rest of the day happily celebrating her granddaughter's birthday at a bowling alley.

We Happy Few (2018)

A screenshot from the early ending of the game We Happy Few

Released in 2018, We Happy Few is a survival horror action-adventure game that takes place in a retro-futuristic version of the 1960s within the small British town of Wellington Wells. To forget an event initially only known as the "Very Bad Thing," the citizens began taking a hallucinogenic drug called "Joy."

During the game, the player follows three protagonists as they try to escape the town while dealing with their personal struggles. Bu, the player can simply skip all of that by having the first main character, Arthur Hastings, choose to take more "Joy" instead of facing his repressed past. After once again entering the euphoric state and censoring the article about his past, the credits roll.

Harvest Moon DS (2005)

Mayor Thomas getting attacked by the player's dog in the game Harvest Moon DS

After the success of the original 1996 SNES farming sim Harvest Moon, the Story of Seasons franchise has continued to have many installments, which includes the latest entry Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town, one of the best farming games on Nintendo Switch. One of these installments is the 2005 game Harvest Moon DS, which has the player restore a run-down farm in Forget-Me-Not Valley while also trying to rescue the Harvest Goddess.

When Mayor Thomas visits the player for the first time, he insults the farm and the protagonist starts attacking him, which causes the player's in-game dog to attack Thomas as well. If the player chooses not to rescue the mayor from the dog, then Thomas screams as the screen fades to white and the credits roll.

Clock Tower (1995)

Jennifer seeing Scissorman in the backseat of the car at the end of Ending H in the game Clock Tower

The original 1995 SNES game Clock Tower, which began the Clock Tower series, is a point-and-click adventure game where the player controls a young girl named Jennifer who is one of the several orphans adopted by the Barrows family. When the other girls start getting killed by a man with a giant pair of scissors, who is known as Scissorman, Jennifer must try to find any other possible survivors and escape from the mansion alive.

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Out of the game's nine endings, "Ending H" allows Jennifer to abandon the other girls and escape by the car. After the credits, however, it's revealed that Scissorman was hiding in the backseat, and he kills her.

Nier: Automata (2017)

A screenshot of the player removing 2B's OS Chip in the game Nier: Automata

Created as a sequel to Nier, which was a spin-off of the Drakengard series, Nier: Automata is a 2017 science fiction action RPG that follows the androids 2B, 9S, and A2 as they navigate a post-apocalyptic war where the human-made androids fight against alien-created machines. To see the full story, the player will have to beat the game multiple times, and there are a total of 26 different endings.

One of these endings, called "Ending T: fa[T]al error," can be obtained at the start of the game. After the tutorial, the player can choose to remove 2B's OS Chip, which kills her. This will work on the other subsequent protagonists as well.

The Witness (2016)

A screenshot of the opened doorway to the secret area and ending in the game The Witness

Developed by Jonathan Blow, who also created the historic time travel indie game Braid, The Witness is a 2016 puzzle adventure game that has the player explore a large island. Similar to Myst, the player progresses through the world by solving puzzles, which primarily consist of interacting with various grid-like panels that each have their own unique rules.

Instead of solving hundreds of these puzzles, the player can unlock a secret area within the garden, which is the first location the player visits after the introductory tunnel. By clicking on the literal sun and connecting it to the glowing poles around the door, the player can enter a large secret area filled with extra voice recordings and one more grid puzzle. The game ends with an FMV recorded by Blow himself that shows his own worrisome experience in his office.

Contra: Hard Corps (1994)

A screenshot of the character Brad Fang in the secret ending to Contra: Hard Corps

Set five years after Contra III: The Alien WarsContra: Hard Corps is a 1994 run-and-gun game for the Sega Genesis that follows the titular Hard Corps as they try to stop a terrorist group led by Colonel Bahamut. Besides allowing the player to pick between four player characters, the game also featured branching story paths and different endings.

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During the Junkyard stage before breaking the first door, the player can instead climb the wall and meet the "Mysterious Character" who will invite the player to fight in the battle arena. If the player accepts and beats the arena's three bosses, they'll obtain a secret ending where the player character is transported to the age of the dinosaurs and marries a monkey.

Devil May Cry 5 (2019)

Nero about to fight the main antagonist, Urizen, at the end of the prologue in Devil May Cry 5

Set five years after Devil May Cry 4, Devil May Cry 5 is a 2019 hack-and-slash action-adventure game that follows returning protagonists Dante and Nero along with a new protagonist named V as they use their demonic powers to stop the Demon King Urizen. While trying to save the human world, the truth behind V and his connection to Urizen is slowly revealed.

After the prologue mission, which is about 20 minutes into the game, Nero already has to fight the main antagonist Urizen. Although the player is supposed to lose this battle, it's possible to win thes boss fight, especially if it's a New Game+ run. Sadly, the only thing the player gets for managing this challenging win is some ending text and the credits.

Tales of Destiny (1997)

Rutee talking to Stahn during the secret ending to the game Tales of Destiny

Created as the second mainline title in the Tales series and the first to be released internationally, Tales of Destiny is a 1997 PS1 action JRPG that follows a young naive adventurer named Stahn Aileron who gets caught up in a battle for an ancient artifact after accidentally finding a sentient sword named Dymlos. Shortly after meeting two other party members named Rutee and Mary, the trio have to fight a difficult battle against the future party member Leon Magnus.

Since the player is supposed to lose this battle, Leon is almost impossible to defeat even if the party is over-leveled. But if the player does manage to beat him, Stahn and Rutee have some fun banter and then text appears that reveals that the trio became a famous group of lens hunters and happily traveled the world together.

Far Cry 4 (2014)

Pagan Min talking to Ajay Ghale during the secret ending in Far Cry 4

One of the most iconic early video game endings is in the 2014 open-world FPS title Far Cry 4. When the protagonist, Ajay Ghale, arrives in the fictional Himalayan country of Kyrat to spread his mother's ashes, he accidentally becomes involved in a civil war between Pagan Min's Royal Army and a rebel group known as the Golden Path.

But all of this conflict can be completely avoided if the player simply waits for Pagan Min to return after he leaves the protagonist at the dinner table towards the beginning of the game. When he returns, he helps Ajay complete his objective and then the two leave to shoot guns together. This beloved easter egg would later inspire the early endings in Far Cry 5 and 6.

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