@@InfiniteFramesGaming Optional does not equal secret. Birgir falling into the crater is in the main story, your companion will ask about going to save him and you literally cannot avoid getting the quest that leads there. Nothing secret about it at all.
I wouldn't say Caustic Caverns is a secret level. I'm pretty sure there are missions that take you there. Now while you're there you could miss the Minecraft easter egg.
i just asked myself who ever considered Borderlands Caustic Caverns being a secret level? i really have to check again if it can be even avoided if you process the main story.
Yeah like I'll admit it's been a long while since I played borderlands 2 but I'm fairly sure there's a notable quest that sends you there Like to open some valves or something
I didn’t realize it was a secret, I just wanted to find the cool dude with the sword cuz he’s friends with freyer and he sacrificed himself for the group
I’ve been meaning to go back to the game since beating it to do content I missed but I find myself getting so perilously bored of the combat (not ragebait I fully accept and understand people enjoying it). Was the Valhalla dlc with a trip back?
@@thesequeltoobama7030 yea it’s fun to see everything you missed the first time, either story wise or with side content. Valhalla isn’t a very long dlc but if you don’t like the combat it might not be worth it. They make you try a lot of the weapons and abilities you probably didn’t use as much in the main game so it stays pretty varied but I liked the combat already
I'm baffled that this was a secret location, literally thought it was part of the main story line, like you find out about the whole Faye and Thor beef!
Yea I couldn't believe they added a whole optional area like that but then decided to make it the most boring thing in the game that isn't fun in any way to anyone who's ever played a video game
I just think it's weird cause......... I didn't even know it was an "Optional" area until seeing this video. I didn't "hunt" for it or anything. I just happened upon it during my playthrough, and.... while it DID feel a bit out of place.... I don't remember it feeling like there was zero reason to go there or any challenge of finding it.
The secret cow level from Diablo 2 deserves a bit of an explanation for people who don't know its backstory. In Diablo 1, there was a rumor about a secret cow level that started floating around the Internet. It was all bunk. Somebody just made it up. But it became so infamous that when they made Diablo 2, they decided to actually put a secret cow level in, that was just like the descriptions that were going around the Internet from Diablo 1.
I was telling this story to my nephew, who was born too late to really experience it, and I'm pretty sure my words were "blizzard entertainment actually went on record and publicly told everyone that it didn't exist. Then they basically went "...but a good idea's a good idea" and put it in the sequel."
The Vanaheim Crater in Ragnarok is easily the most substantial, rewarding, substance-filled secret area on this list by a long shot. I initially expected an extra 30-60 minutes of gameplay rescuing Birgir from the dragon, and it lasted 10 hours with 3 dragons, 3 drakes, 3 dreki and a troll, not to mention The Huntress and her den (so F'n neat) and The WISHING WELL with its rewards and armor upgrades and 3 new sets of armor, side quests, background on Faye fighting Thor... come on, insane!
@@Sillygoose4297 ..... optional then. No secret area is really a secret area in the age of Google, if you want to get technical. The context here is that it's entirely missable/skippable, and the word "Secret" is the title of this video, so i just used the language they used, why comment to my comment, talk to Gameranx Lol, it's their list, I just said Crater is the most rewarding from the ones they listed, you pulled one word from my comment and it wasn't even the word I chose to use
Haligtree is probably the least secret area in any Fromsoft game, NPCs actually talk about it and directly tell you how to get there. Might be one of the least secret areas within the game itself! Most people who miss it just weren't exploring and/or didn't even try. I'd consider Deeproot Depths to be more of a secret.
Cainhurst Castle is also really missable and in terms of being memorable well it has Martyr Logarius at the top so I guess I dont need to say a lot more after that
I was blown away by the crater, I did AFTER I beat the game so imagine my gigantic surprise when after the game was done a new massive part of the map opened up with new bosses and quests, genuinely a huge surprise
Your Dinosaur Fact of the Day: Alioramus is not actually a D&D monster. It's a real species of dinosaur that existed, and it was more closely related to Tyrannosaurs than Velociraptors. Love to see Baldur's Gate giving some lesser known dinos the spotlight.
I love that From Software has the balls to let you miss out on like 1/3 of their games if you don't look around. really shows confidence in their art that they know even 2/3 of the game is still amazing
I had entirely too much fun with the Longbow sniper after I got it there, filling things with Minecraft-style arrows was more fun than it should have been
It feels like secret levels, or the lack thereof, is a commentary on modern game design. It's as if certain game companies, like Activision or Ubisoft, makes damn sure the player will see _Every. Single. Little. Thing._ in the game.
I didn't know the crater was considered hidden, arguably one of my favourite parts of the whole game. Finding out the story behind the frozen lightning bolt was sick, no spoilers here.
That secret area in ff15. It took me about two hours to complete. Once I was done, I went to fly out of the area and crashed. And the most fun part about that..... I didn't get a chance to save. So I had to do the whole dungeon again smh. Fun times. But the Black hood is worth it
Eidos 9 was my favorite zone. I didn't realize it was secret until finishing the game and looking up additional ending guides. Stellar Blade is such a great game.
I didn't realize either. I always try to do all sidequest as I get them in games. I find it so boring having to go back through the whole game just to finish all the side quests once you beat a game. Stellar Blade has become my #1 game I ever played. got the platinum yesterday after 69 hours
I actually stumbled into the crater organically in GoW Rag. I play all games methodically and slow, exploring every inch of the map. So this one just sort of happened for me. And I figured it was a normal part of the playthrough experience. And now you guys are telling me, it's uncommon for people to see this zone? Wild.
For WC3, Tower Defense games were already wildly popular by the time WC3 came out. They were probably the most played UMS map in Starcraft and a lot of websites ran TD games on them.
The alternate path in Manifold garden Yes, there's an achievement for it. And yes, it does reuse some of the normal paths levels/parts. So it's technically not THAT secret, but good luck finding that and figuring out where to go on your own. I am quite curious regarding exploration in games, but I didn't find even a clue of its existence in my playthrough.
I didn't know that level was a secret in Stellar Blade. Until someone told me about it on a stream, I unlocked it just by playing and just thought it was part of the story. I thought the reward was something else entirely.
N3: Ninety Nine Nights Xbox 360. Playable character Inphy had a secret level that could only be unlocked by s ranking every mission. Truly a wonderful game and I don't think I've ever seen it mentioned on this channel
"It has an enemy called the alioramus, which is the D&D version of a velociraptor" The alioramus is the D&D version of the alioramus. It's a real life dino. Tyrannosaurid from the late cretateous. As an aside: The "Velociraptor" from Jurassic park is actually a deinonychus.
My favorite secret was the Far Cry 3 hidden night club level. It was mainly for story but it really have you the background of how you got into the mess you are in in the game. You access it by consuming a red medicine pill in a bowl that has a hand drawn sign saying eat me. Its in the cave where you bring your friends as you rescue them and are attempting to repair a boat to escape the island. Had a friend who had no idea as its small and easy to walk by. I said, hey are you not going to eat the pill? He was like what pill? I pointed on the screen and he was shocked there was a whole night club area.
Caustic caverns in borderlands 2 also has 2 amazing Easter eggs in it. You get to see the dark souls/demon souls campfire and the Minecraft Easter egg.
the backrooms in remnant 2 was pretty fun for me. Both for how out of place it was as an area, and the community effort that went into figuring out how to even get there
Insomniac Museum from Ratchet and Clank 2 has to be the one that takes the top for me. Never seen anything like it! Only accessible from the fountain at 3am or by acquiring all weapons with all mods and all platinum bolts. Has lots of developer commentary, unused testing material etc! loved it as a kid
Aaaa, The secret cow level in Diablo 2, Absolutely love that level. If I remember correctly it has something to do with Wirt's leg found in old Tristram.
With so much frustration in the gaming community at the moment, can we get a list of ‘10 reasons to be excited about gaming in 2024’ or something? I wanna fall back in love with my hobby. EDIT: I should say, not just new titles. But innovation, ethical company practices… stuff like that
Bro, I don't care what anyone says, that secret platforming dungeon in FFXV was sooooo much fun. One of the best times I've had in gaming, and the most fun I've had platforming. Try it in first person for added challenge.
Currently playing through Eidos 9 and it’s awesome and so secret I had no idea I was even playing a secret level. Also, didn’t know you could miss The Crater in Ragnarok, that opening reveal when you first step in was one of my fav moments of the game!
The secret cow level is the BEST!!!! i mean - 100 cows bearing halberds thirsting for your soul? *chef's kiss* it was majorly awesome at the time and still better than most.
Massive respect for mentioning DK 2 on the list, but! as someone who spent half of their childhood on DK games, I find a secret area in Donkey Kong 3 more pleasing to find, since I cannot explain how random it was to do the needed sequence as 10y old and behold! An island emerge with new world (and not that hard levels as in DK2 secret one) which then gives you opportunity to complete game with 110% and feel like king of the world. 🙂 Ah, I'm getting old...
When I played Elden Ring I didn't go to the Consecrated Snowfield or Mt.Gelmir. I didn't need to for my playthrough and it was as blind as I could make it. I knew I had missed some amazing secrets, but I didn't figure them out and by the time I finished the game and became Rannis consort as Elden Lord I was done. I was satisfied. Then just as I thought I was out, they drag me back in again with Shadow of the Erdtree and to prepare and remember how to play I did Volcano Manor. I had to get to Mogh and I had the medallion to go to the consecrated snowfield, but i didn't explore the area. After I did Belarut tower I thought I'll just pop over to the Haligtree. TWO DAYS I WAS THERE! It is no joke to say that if you think getting the Haligtree means you'll be fighting Malenia before long, buckle up.
For me it'll always be Ash Lake in DS1. The Haligtree is incredible, but something about descending the root trees in DS1 and entering this super atmospheric lake with the choir chanting was one gaming moment I'll never forget. Not to mention that this plac is kind of meaningless but adds so much to the lore and feel!
The sheep level in Warcraft 2 was hilarious, especially as a teenager. Being able to click on the sheep having them say "Bah ram you" and then eventually exploding was lots of fun. Further more, some of the dialog in the game for over clicking on a unit was top tier content for the time.
Still have not finished the crater that area is so tricky lol but didn’t know it was a secret level that makes me want to scream from mountain tops and beat on my chest
@@RestonIchiban so did I thought it was all apart of the story I’m on a new play through now so I will for sure be doing a bit more exploring once I get back there
Technically, in Elden Ring the Snowfields are also a secret area, because you don't have to go there, and the key to go there is hidden in two pieces as part of a side quest, so the Haligtree is a secret area within/connected to another secret area.
Caustic Caverns in Borderlands 2 was in all of the gameplay reveal sessions before the game was released! So cool it turned out to be a totally optional area.
The Echoes of Salt area in Blasphemous, specifically The Resting Place of the Sister. Extremely easily missable side area with an extremely missable side quest that unlocks the true ending of the game for you. Can be missed permanently very early on in the game, and is not mentioned in any capacity whatsoever at any point during the game to hint at you to go to that specific area.
I don't know if this counts or not, but Star Fox 64 had brief secret areas that could only be reached in certain levels, and only you blasted the correct asteroid or something. These rings would appear and you have to fly through them but it was harder than it sounds. Each ring is strategically placed in a location that's difficult to reach based off of where the previous ring was, and the only real way to pull off such drastic maneuvers is to literally "do a barrel roll". And each ring you successfully fly through gives your ship a massive speed boost. By the time you reach the final ring, your ship is flying at such break neck speeds, combined with the extreme aerial stunts and spinning as your ship darts from one corner of the screen to another and back again, everything becomes incredibly blurry and you almost can't even rely on sight to pull it off because of how warped and skewed the entire screen becomes. Now that I think about it, that may have been that game's version of lightspeed, jumping to hyperspace. Anyway, it was very tricky to pull of but so cool when you did.
THE CRATER WAS A SECRET?!! I didn't even realize that! That area was so dang good, I spent so much time there just taking in every piece of scenery and doing every quest. I can't believe that much time was put into an area that wasn't required!
Not necessarily an area but getting the secret boss, Faust, in Legends of Dragoon. You have to find 50 stardust items throughout the game to unlock it. Several of these stardust items can only be acquired once, as leaving the area or getting to certain bosses will permanently lock you out from finding them.
Man y'all don't mention the THPS series enough. The Hawaii level alone has a The Wallows ditch which is extremely hard to get to but featured in a couple objectives. And the hidden level you gotta find by ollieing into the tiki heads mouth. We definitely need a part 2 on this subject there's so much awesomeness out there for hidden levels.
Original Doom - Mt Erebus. Having to fire a rocket into a wall, flinging you backwards into the exit was the only 'legit' way to access the Hell secret area. That was nuts back in the day and incredibly out of left field. Assuming you just didnt clip through like everyone did.
I spent SO MUCH time in Caustic Caverns I immediately recognized the game. There are so many dicey fights in there, you really have to be on your game quick swapping and dodging and skilling, especially on Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode where the enemies are bullet -sponges- black holes and can 2 shot you. Plus it takes forever to traverse. Overall this SHOULD be a level I really hate, traditionally, but looking back now it's a fond memory, albeit a painful one.
Jetmoto 2 or 3 or both have a full hidden game inside. 8/9 new levels some are with a simple "A,B,B,A,B,UP,DOWN" sort of pattern. Some of the levels are obviously new skins, versions of new or older maps, but at least half of them are completely new maps.
In Shining Force II, the hidden city, often dubbed “Mithril City,” is a secretive, treasure-laden locale that players discover through careful exploration and specific in-game events. This city is rich with mithril ore, enabling players to forge the game’s most powerful weapons and armor, and may also offer unique items and recruitable characters, providing a strategic advantage. Its atmospheric design and rich backstory add depth to the game’s lore, while its discovery enhances the overall gaming experience, contributing to the title’s enduring legacy and fostering vibrant community discussions.
I remember the warcraft 3 one, it was awesome, I've tried looking for EVERYTHING and still there are soe things that I've missed to this day, I have to watch some videos to see what I've missed.
The Baldur's Gate 3 secret jungle reminds me a bit of the Modron Maze from Planecape Torment, an entirely secret dungeon you find by buying a "Modron cube" which is like a little figurine that you can move parts on. Move the parts in a certain order, and bam, you're teleported to the maze, where you can even recruit a new party member.
Blizzard secret levels also exist in the 2 StarCraft games. in the first game, defeat zerg mission 9, entitled The Reckoning, in less than 25 minutes. In the 2nd game, in the mission Media Blitz, there is a building, past a bridge and kind of out of the way, to the SW part of the map. Destroy the building and it will drop an item, secret document that unlocks mission 26.
Can’t have any complaints about the Crater, it was awesome! I realise more and more that the main story in big single player games is not where I have the best time. With my two most recent games: best time in GoW Ragnarok: The Crater. Best time in Red Dead 2: hunting and exploring.
I guess I'm too old because the first thing that came to my mind when I read the title were the secret levels of Doom 2. Actually made my jaw drop when I found them, it was so hilarious. And - little trivia - these were actually removed from the German release of the game, although it was already blacklisted here. Today of course - with video games properly considered art - it's not a problem any more, and even German gamers can enjoy both Doom 2 and the classic that inspired the secret levels.
What about Crossbone Isle in Golden Sun? A game with probably the best dungeon design I know of, and Crossbone Isle is obscure to get to, completely missable, and has 20 levels with rare treasure and unique puzzles. One of the best secret areas hands down.
