The final boss in a game is usually the end point, right? But what if there were battles that you could simply not fight if you either didn’t want to, or hadn’t completed an obscure set of previous circumstances?
It’s not the most common thing in games, but there are a decent amount of them out there that either hide the true final boss behind obscure circumstances or allow you to choose peace as the best option when confronting the big bad of the game.
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If Nintendo were cool, we’d have way more fangames in all of their franchises.
That is what we’re checking out today. In this list, we’ll highlight a handful ofgames where the final boss is actually optional.
The criteria will be games that allow you to skip the final boss if you so choose. This can be from any genre, including games with multiple endings, with outcomes that leave particular boss fights out of the equation.
8The Witcher 2
Let Letho Live
The Witcher 2
The Witcher 2isan awesome game that has tons of choices to make throughout. One of the biggest choices comes at the end, when you finally face down Letho and get to talk with him before the final battle.
During the discussion, you can simply decide to let Letho go, as he is not the real evil in this world and is simply a pawn of greater forces.
If you choose this option, you effectively end the game and, in The Witcher 3, you’ll get to meet up with him again and even have him join you in a huge battle. So what I’m saying is, let Letho live!
7Bloodborne
The Moon Presence Awaits
Bloodborne
Bloodborneisone of the bestand weirdest games out there, so it’s no surprise that the final boss itself is only accessible to those who are either feverishly explorative or someone who decides to use a guide.
See for most people, they will fight Gehrman and that’ll be how their story ends.
For the select few who managed to collect all the pieces of the umbilical cord though, you will reject the embrace of the Moon Presence and instead enter into one final battle.
This battle isn’t all that tough, but it unlocks the true ending of the game and is a must for any completionist out there.
6Nier Automata
False Endings
NieR: Automata
Nier Automatais awhirlwind of a gameand if you haven’t had experience with the series, you’d think that once you finish the fight against Eve, that would be it, right?
It could be, but then you would be ignoring the second playthrough as 9S, which is mostly the same from a different perspective. But after that playthrough, you’d be done, right?
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Nope, still wrong! There is a final, third playthrough where everything culminates in a fight where you choose to either play as 9S or A1.
So many players will never both to experience it, but it is the true final boss battle of the game and a fantastic finale at that.
5Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
Press the Button
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
Deus Ex: Mankind Dividedis an awesome gamethat ends far too quicklyand many people don’t even realize that they’re at the final boss when they face down Marchenko.
Half-finished game aside, there is a way to beat the game without ever fighting him.
In the area prior to the fight, you can discover Marchenko’s Kill Switch in the London Apex Center or in D.I.H in hangar 2.
If you get this item, you may simply activate it during the Cutscene when you encounter Marchenko and that’ll be that, instant kill.
You can also activate it during the fight itself if you prefer.
The Sword Saint Won’t Wait
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
Sekirohas a ton of obscurity to it, from its story to its overall world. There are also multiple endings to find, and although there is only one true final boss, you don’t actually have to face him.
If you decide to embrace the bad Shura ending, you will miss out on ahandful of fights, but roll the credits nonetheless.
to get this ending you only have to fight Emma, The Gentle Blade and then Isshin will appear in his human form.
Beating both of them will get you the Shura ending, and skip the actual final boss of the game.
It’s not the most satisfying, but it is very much the easy way out in a game full of brutal challenges.
3Lies of P
Do You Want Your Freedom?
Lies of Ptakes plenty ofpages from the FromSoftware playbookand one of those is in the obscure and optional boss catalog.
to access the game’s final boss, you must refuse Gepetto when he asks for your heart in the ending sequence of the game.
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The Overture DLC is made of new ideas, stuff that didn’t make it in the base game due to time constraints, and even ideas from the community.
It’s a tough choice, as Geptetto’s story with his real son is a brutal tale and, if you refuse, you face off against the Nameless Puppet, which is the hardest boss in the game by a sizable margin.
If you accept, you give up your heart and soul to Gepetto and let him essentially revive his son within the body of P. It’s a creepy ending for sure, but it lets you skip the final boss completely to see an interesting path the story could take.
2Mass Effect
Saren Can Be Broken
Mass Effect
Mass Effectisone of the best franchisesof all time where our narrative choices really matter. In the first game, although everything builds towards the epic encounter with Saren at the citadel, you can actually skip an entire part of the battle.
If you have previously convinced him in the showdown on Virmire and have the proper number of points put into Paragon or Renegade, you will unlock a separate set of options that give you the chance to convince Saren to kill himself.
It’s a shocking moment, but one that makes a lot of sense, as Saren is so far gone at this point and showing him that truth will make him do your job for you.
1Dragon’s Dogma
Take the Deal
Dragon’s Dogma
Dragon’s Dogma is one of the more unique RPGs out there with its obtuse story and player choices that somewhat alter the narrative.
That’s because it’s mostly focused on combat. However, when you get to the final encounter and face down the Dragon, Grigori, you are faced with a choice.
Grigori offers you the same deal he’s offered everyone before you: sacrifice your love and live as an immortal, claiming you killed the dragon, or fight him.
If you decide to fight, you get a lengthy boss combat and the possibility to get the true ending.
If you take the deal, though, you get a different ending. In this second ending, you sacrifice your love and go on to great fame but end up skipping fighting the final boss entirely.
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