7 Games That Changed Completely on a Second Playthrough

New powers! New jumpscares! New sound? For some games, the end is just the beginning. Consider these seven games where a second playthrough isn't a retread of well-worn ground but a completely different experience.
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[@Xacris]

Honorable mention for Bravely Second, where you get to the end of the game, having chased the main antagonist for the entire story and never engaging them other than the one time they beat you down in the opening cutscene. He wins at the end of the game and gets what he wants, leaving you in a doomed world. New game+ option opens up, you then proceed to use your overleveled end-game characters to beat him at the start of the game and the whole story changes from there

[@Gamer3427]

That was one of my first thoughts as well.

[@HandsomeLongshanks]

Alright, now I'm gonna go finish it lol I got bored trying to grind everything and just never finished it

[@dogmanstar]

What? Lol I never finished this game because it was so boring compared to the first two

[@Gamer3427]

@@dogmanstarBravely Second is the second game. You're thinking of Bravely Default 2, which is the third game. I really wish gaming companies could learn to name things in a way that makes sense.

[@gqueirogabr]

I'm going to check this game out now

[@fakjbf3129]

Outer Wilds, you literally cannot have a second playthrough that plays the same way as the first because the only real progression system is your knowledge about what’s happening.

[@westrim]

What if you get hit on the head and have amnesia?

[@DeathnoteBB]

@@westrimOr be hypnotized to forget it

[@Christopher-md7tf]

That's more a case where a second playthrough doesn't even really exist. All that's left is to basically speedrun the game lol. It certainly isn't a New Game+ like the games in this list

[@Magothys]

Paraphrasing a random twitch comment about the game: You play the game yourself, then watch others play the game to leech off their enjoyment of the game, like some kind of vampiric enjoyment ponzi scheme.

[@stuartmorley6894]

​@@DeathnoteBBas long as you can remember more than 22 minutes at a time you'll be fine.

[@Charonicus]

I loved the little touch in Res Evil 2 that when the police car crashes at the start, it faces the opposite way for each character, so if you choose Leon A, the driver's side is on the left and he takes the A route but if you choose Claire, the car spins before crashing so the passenger side is on the left and she takes A route.

[@hackcubit9663]

That's great attention to detail given that the intro cinematic always has the two characters in the same pre-determined car seats prior to the start of the gameplay.

[@Michael_Lindell]

Remember to watch this video again. The second time around is a game changer!

[@MrEMeat-kk9tc]

Bro! Spoilers!

[@Banquet42]

I can only ever hear the words Game Changer' in Sam Reich's voice.

[@GoodNeutralEvilChaos]

I took your advice and I can't believe they show what games they talk about *right* at the beginning. That's mental!

[@SimuLord]

@@Banquet42I think of the 8-Bit Big Band's latest (and best yet!) album.

[@Banquet42]

@@SimuLord I'm intrigued, are they on youube too I'm guessing?

[@slimdim1]

Fun fact: the Quiet Man's "with sound" version was released a week after the main game with a "come back next week to find out the secrets" tag line.

[@theredandblueyakuza9256]

That electric lobotomy gave me an idea for a new video you guys can do, "good" choices in video games that are debatably worse than the "evil" choices

[@brandonp7503]

Another one is in Spider-Man: Web of Shadows. Wolverine is bonded to a Venom-spawned symbiote. The "good" choice after you knock him to the ground in your boss fight with him is to keep your hands clean by trying to talk sense into Logan and telling him to resist by using his willpower, risking innocent lives if it doesn't work. The "evil" choice is to forcibly remove the symbiote from the possessed Canucklehead by ripping it (and him) in half, knowing that one has a mutant healing factor and that one does not. This latter choice risks no one's physical safety (including Wolverine's) and results in Logan experiencing what is an average Tuesday for him. Despite that, choosing it counts as bad karma AND locks Wolverine out as an assist character for the remainder of the game.

[@nemohimself2580]

Feel like they've done that at least once or twice. I remember him talking about how absolutely f*cked the things Corvo did to avoid actual executions were, and how Emily was no better.

[@theredandblueyakuza9256]

@@nemohimself2580 really? Do you remember the name of the video id like to check it out

[@centercros]

​@@theredandblueyakuza9256 7 fates worse than death you gave your enemy

[@OhNoTheFace]

They were never "good" choices, nonlethal were always just "low chaos." What will cause less panic in the area then a murder

[@Bryomancer]

I'm surprised there wasn't a Yoko Taro game on the list! New plot elements and reveals on replaying the game are kind of his whole thing. I think the best of them is Nier: Automata, where the second playthrough has you playing as a different character who gets more insight into the story, then the third playthrough is an entirely new story with multiple playable characters.

[@jochem12jdj]

Well does Nier Automata really count when your third “playthrough” is entirely new from the first two? It literally starts after the end of routes A and B

[@michaelglinski3809]

Heck, playthrough number 3 is where the second half of the game is hiding!

[@gamesdisk]

It's not really a second playthough, just a credits in the middle of the game

[@MatTMurdockNT]

Surprised Nier Replicant wasn't mentioned either. That 2nd playthrough makes you go from "hell yeah I'm saving everybody" to "oh no, I'm the asshole"

[@arsenelupin1854]

We're talking about new game+ not new game ++++++++ 😅

[@rickimaru915]

In Inscryption you only have the option to ‘continue’ to start with. After seemingly completing the game you get stuck in a dark room with the only option to quit to the main menu, where you can now select new game and start a completely different version of the game, this happens again more or less for the third act as well

[@flaetsbnort]

Not's not a new game+ though, it's just a single game sequence that screws with the way menus work

[@twit3537]

@@flaetsbnort Would Undertale fit then? Inscryption and Undertale are two that came to mind when I saw the title

[@MisterOblivious355]

I'm glad that Andy, as big a fan as he is of Yakuza, called Sega out on their ludicrous act of monetizing their latest title's new game+. It's important to realise that we can be fans of things and can still put our foot down whenever any company decides to disrespect us in this day and age of "$70 base game with day one dlcs"

[@Tuaron]

I didn't even know they had done that, has me reconsidering my enthusiasm to get the game.

[@BrotherMag]

​@@Tuaron same.

[@Amaranthyne]

I think it’s the fans that get most upset by dint of them being the ones getting screwed. I just get to laugh when Andy calls it out in a list feature.

[@tommyfuego1]

Buy a game key I got mine (with ng+) for 65 bucks

[@aka-47k]

@@Tuaron always get the game and play it. howerver if something like this happens get always the full game, without paying a single cent.

[@Kelbunny]

I've seen it mentioned a few times before, but Bravely Second. You spend the game chasing down the big bad, defeating his minions, but the big bad himself is always out of reach. You finally reach his castle, only for him to escape and a bunch of stuff falling apart. The party laments how despite chasing him, they never got a chance to fight the big bad, in which the main character remembers he did fight the big bad, and the very start of the game in an unwinnable battle. After the cutscene finishes, iirc, you're greeted with the message that NG+ has been unlocked. And after NG+ you realize you're only about halfway through the game.

[@dogmanstar]

Wait, so is this End Layer or II? Because judging from the comments, I played both games wrong lol

[@FriendB]

This is End Layer. II is Bravely Default 2.

[@Kelbunny]

@@dogmanstar Bravely Second is the direct sequel to Bravely Default and is on the 3ds. Bravely Default 2 is unconnected to the first two storywise and is on the switch.

[@Ladywizard]

They did same thing on World of Final Fantasy I hear with several loops

[@azuredragoon2054]

Lies of P totally belongs on this list for two reasons. First, in the game you have the P Organ which works as a talent tree, split up into 5 phases. However, if you go into NG+, you unlock Phase 6. It means you have extra use for those quartz you're going to find in your second run AND it gives you even more abilities to make yourself more powerful. And if you go into NG+2, you unlock Phase 7; which has abilities that literally break established mechanics in the rest of the game. Second, when you go into NG+ after obtaining the Ergo Wave Decoder from Venigni, the puppet speech that was originally in a mostly unreadable font is now in a much clearer one, allowing you to know what the boss puppets are saying. This hits really hard in NG+ with the Scrapped Watchman and Romeo, because it deepens the lore of both bosses and explains just how tragic their individual situations are.

[@ryadinstormblessed8308]

11:58 if a mobster farts in the subway tunnel, but the story's main protagonist is deaf, does it make a sound? Yes, game developers. Yes, it still makes a sound.

[@richardconstable7942]

LoZ Wind Waker NG+ allows you to play the game in a special hero’s tunic that is invisible. So effectively you’re in pyjamas. It also deciphers the Hylian that is occasionally spoke. For some extra more. Also Eternal Darkness (also on the GameCube) NG+ forces you to choose a new end game baddie out of the initial three. And only by doing all of them will you get the true ending.

[@Nagato_Morito]

Armored Core for Answer is basically the prototype for ArCo 6's progression, providing new missions in a second playthrough that allow you to look at the other side of the game's central conflict... as well giving you the option to say nuts to both sides and just become a mass murdering psychopath.

[@TornaitSuperBird]

Armored Core 6 really takes a lot of elements from Armored Core 4 and For Answer. Like the difficulty of the former, for one.

[@SirAsdf]

No mention of the NieR franchise? New Playthroughs with completely different experiences are that series' bread and butter.

[@jaketreibel44]

They covered that in a previous video, I think it was a few years back

[@FooMantis]

They did in 7 Games With Twist Endings That Changed Everything

[@Veelofar]

Weirdly, I don’t feel like it counts, as I don’t consider it to be an actually new play through until you’re playing on a fresh save

[@ZackC]

Not really a new game plus, though, as the repeated playthroughs *are* the game. The ones on this list are all fundamentally complete games as of the first ending.

[@andreascsarmann7566]

Second This Nier Automata was my first experience and it blew my mind when suddenly I played the story as my own sidekick 9S in ng+

[@thatguy8711]

I know it doesn't really fit with the other games, but Dead Cells deserves a mention. Every time you beat the final boss, you get booted back to the start where you can use the bosses' stem cell to raise the difficulty. This not only changes up the way you have to play, but also introduces new mechanics, weapons, areas, story, bosses... You have to beat the game 5 times in total to get the full story

[@PaleBrownDot]

There was a pair of Zelda games for the Gameboy Color that had a similar gimmick to Resident Evil 2. Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons. Finish one game and you get a password. Enter the password when starting the other game and it becomes a sequel to the first game you played. These games were also made by Capcom.

[@SpectreRyder]

The Shapeshifting Detective. On a second playthrough the killer is always a different person and some of the characters will comment about how they've had the same conversations before.

[@IrishJaguar]

Spider-Man on PS1. “What If…?” mode is how every NG+ should be

[@YesThatCraig]

This. NG+ modes are mostly pointless but this mode was perfection!

[@eoindardis8381]

Literally the first game that I thought of when I saw the title. Or when I hear "New Game Plus" at all

[@hackcubit9663]

I guess since I had never played a New Game + prior to the What If mode in the PS1 Spider-Man, I never thought of it that way. Plus what if mode mostly just added a bunch of really whacky moments that screamed, "what if Deadpool wrote the game instead?"

[@abdoalrahmansabeha977]

What was it

[@SharkQuake]

What was the mode like?

[@Diannetopf]

I first thought of Oxenfree when I saw the title. It's so different the second time and I would argue necessary to get the whole story of the game

[@crazy8panda]

100% agree Oxenfree! Loved that game and the proceeding playthrough was so unique!

[@hell3quin864]

I was going to make that point myself. Really surprising how many ppl don't realise you're meant to play it twice. Plus the transition is really well don't & the mechanic of allowing you to give plot advice to another player on your friend list via their reflection in the water is a really nice touch.

[@xstarsystemsx]

I love that game

[@akumuryuu]

There's a game made by Sierra Lee called Ouroboros that is like that. You start by beating a generic RPG, only to restart again, but this time you can force yourself to deviate from the path and realize you're in a simulated time loop, which is why things make no sense. From that point on, you break the loop more and more each time. In Akiba's Trip, story doesn't change, but in your second playthrough, you can finally customize your protagonist, allowing you to pick a female character, finally making use of all the cute dresses you found in the previous playthrough. You COULD wear them as a male character, but it took time to unlock and didn't look nearly as good.

[@ChangedCauseYT-HateFoxNames]

Something not mentioned about insight is if you have 30 if memory suits me correctly, in the start region, you can actually hear mergos lullaby. A sinister hint most don't find but shows crossing its path is a inevitability.

[@xxff6452]

I had a second playthrough of this video without subtitles, and improved my English listening comprehension👍.

[@Zezlemetkun]

Bravely Second: End Layer in a meta twist you have to use New Game+ to continue the game

[@DamnDaimen]

If memory serves, you remove the bosses immortality by deleting his save file. It was pretty weird game.

[@johnbrink3978]

@@DamnDaimenThat's Bravely Default II (confusing naming scheme, I know). Bravely Second's NG+ twist was cool because you (spoiler alert) . . . . . . Use your higher levels and recruited party members to beat the unbeatable boss at the very beginning.

[@MagicBugzii]

I completely forgot about the Bravely series. Completely agree!

[@PastelN01r]

Armored Core VI's 3rd and final ending is genuinely perfect for the story it's trying to tell. The changes on new game+ were all very exciting and in some cases, terrifying like when you'd have to fight three ACs instead of just two. Not to mention the super final boss being insane.

[@SimuLord]

That musical number from Alan Wake 2 is such a banger that it elevated Andy's whole discussion of the New Game+ mode.

[@kallasantysanty6092]

Oh oh i know, make a new Oxtra list video that is somewhat identical to this one just with Luke and Ellen and different commentary and footage for the same games (and maybe one more game at the end as a surprise bonus?) and call it a 7 Games That Changed Completely on a Second Playthrough Ng+ :D That would be cool and mind blowing!!

[@ArkaneStephanie]

The Quiet Man would have been amazing if they considered how being deaf actually works. Instead of dead silent with nothing. It could still be silent, except every time the character could see another persons lips, subtitles appeared onscreen. You could still have things be silent. You could still have conversations that the player couldn't understand. But you would also show how deaf people have to deal with that and how they have to compensate for people who aren't considerate to the disability. Let the player get annoyed when someone turns their head mid conversation. Show whats its actually like when people expect you to understand them without helping you do it.

[@LordAtanatar]

Heaven's Vault has one of the best new game pluses I've ever played - you take your dictionary of learned words into a new game, but many translations are much harder, playthroughs tend to unveil wildly differently, and certain names and positions reverse on multiple playthroughs suggesting that the player character and a mythic writer are - well, I won't spoil it. Big ups also to Oxenfree, which really needs to be played through a couple times to fully experience.

[@thegingergrasshopper3908]

Your second play through of lies of P changes the way you look at the character you are playing as. It is actually more heart wrenching than your first play through and should be on a list kind of like this in the future in my opinion.

[@azuredragoon2054]

Lies of P deserves it between "translating puppet speech" and unlocking Phase 6 and 7 of the P Organ. Both are only unlocked in NG+. Phase 7 requires NG+2 though.

[@Skenjin]

@@azuredragoon2054 Seeing what the puppet bosses are actually saying was saddening.

[@weneedaladder8384]

"Orten was the Case" is one of those timeloop games where you try to solve a mystery in like fourteen minutes to prevent the apocalypse and when you fail you start over. But heres the twist: after the first time you fail, you're possessed by an ancient creature that will kill you when it depossesses you. Here's the other thing: the ancient will always deposses you when you save the world. So, after you fully figure out the plot and how to save the world, you then need to start the game over in a different slot to prevent your guy (Ziggy) from getting killed when the day is saved.

[@drkristopherlovell]

Loved the Flowers for Algernon reference - I was a little disappointed the end of video didn't actually reveal an OutsideXbox New Game+ video

[@Hopalongtom]

Star-Fox Command, whilst I'm sure very few people actually played the game, it has a branching path system that only unlocks after the first playthrough, including such delights as, Fox does it all on his own, Falcon does it all on his own, or Star-Wolf steals the Great Fox and saves the day instead!

[@fredclasson7865]

I remember that, but I never finished all of the different branches. Now I wish that I got the Star Wolf ending.

[@Hopalongtom]

@@fredclasson7865 It had an amazing remix of Starwolf's theme, you got to play as each of his crew during it as well!

[@dyingstar24]

Lobotomy corp is a good honorable mention, as chances are your first playthrough wont meet the requirements to start the final week, or even know that the sephirot meltdowns are a thing. Youll be greeted by the architecture department sephirot, abram, before he simply says youre not ready and forces you to restart the entire process Youll discover upon restarting the game youll have access to your researched abilities you unlocked from completing department tasks, as well as any abnormality information youve unlocked, and any weapons and armor youve crafted.

[@Bondubras]

There's an H game called Melty's Quest, and right at the beginning, there's a boss that you don't even get a chance to fight at first. But in NG+, you can challenge that boss. Its still a difficult battle, but you have to beat that boss to get one of the endings, of which there are six. The ending you get from that boss fight is also the closest one the game has to a bad end.

[@jongroskin729]

I first encountered new game+ after beating ChronoTrigger back in the day. I didn't know that was a thing and it blew my mind.

[@boobah5643]

_Chrono Trigger_ is often credited with inventing the New Game+. Whether or not it was the first, it's _Chrono Trigger's_ term for it that everybody uses.

[@joaquis456]

Also Digimon Survive. Firts playtrought you have to let at least 2 of your friends on the main cast DIE (4 in 2 of 3 routes). Only in new game + everybody can live...

[@LittleMaitea]

Sounds… traumatising…? I know the Digimon Fans aka the majority of the players will be grownups, but I bet some copy’s of the game found their way to some kids

[@joaquis456]

@@LittleMaitea It is! And it's so cool! It makes the world feel so much more dangerous and wild. It's censored, so it's not that big of a deal...I mean..naybe not Ryouji's death....but he had it comming...be nice to your digital friends

[@keeganlafferty1395]

SAO: Fatal Bullet does something similar . . . well, not really, after you beat the final boss with either Kureha or Zeliska getting killed you rewind to before triggering the "point of no return" and have to max your bond with the Fatal Bullet cast and reach level 3 with the SAO/ALO/SA:O characters in order for your ArFa-sys to give you the item that lets you get the good ending, and in order to trigger the good ending so you gotta interrupt a certain attack the final boss uses (the one that kills the character you didn't choose to save)

[@Dustin_Frost]

I loved the story of Digimon Survive but I was a little insulted that the put that guy's death on me when they know damn well I couldn't save him from the start.

[@submariNervous]

@@LittleMaitea Oh, it ABSOLUTELY is, to the point where quite a few folks (myself included) rank it close to Digimon Tamers for how dark it gets. Literally one of the first things you see (or rather **hear,** since the game at least has the decency to turn the "camera" away,) is a child allowing themselves to be brutally killed by violent, shadowy creatures (read: corrupted Digimon) so their sibling can escape with their life. That said, the fact that it's available for the Switch almost guarantees it wound up in the hands of some kids who then ended up either disappointed by it being 90% visual novel at best, or traumatized by the grim story at worst.

[@ivelchild]

Don't know how many people would know it, but Radiata Stories, an rpg on the PS2, does this. It has two completely different story paths with exclusive characters to recruit, as well as postgame content for recruiting everyone in both paths through NG+. Such a great game.

[@Slutlyfe]

I played that game for the first time 5 yrs ago and it's so underappreciated, also the ability to kick almost anyone and anything enough times that it trys to kill you is an amazing game mechanic. I got into a fight with a painting demon before I even left the tutorial and also tried to fight a bunch of guards at lvl 1

[@sorcynsoriji1432]

I want to say Prey, as a lot of twists can be undone by simply going into Ng+. Plus with abilities like lockpicking 4, repair 4, and more… it changes the way you engage the environment and scenarios, and what areas you can even access.

[@ShatteredAngelWings]

Final Fantasy Type-0 also needs a new game+ run to get the whole story. You unlock alternative missions on your second run that give you extra insight into what's going on.

[@fredclasson7865]

Oh it was worth playign the new game+ then? Honestly it just felt a bit like the end of Xenogears where nothing made sense anymore. So I just went with it, finished the game and popped it out of the playstation never to play it again.

[@timcarroll552]

Not only that, there were whole areas and missions that were intentionally set to impossibly high level thresholds on your first run, and sidequests that needed resources that you wouldn't have, all to give you that little extra push to try again. It was really well integrated.

[@marhawkman303]

@@fredclasson7865 this is also true of FFX-2. In it you have certain story forks you can only see one side of in the first play. You have to finish in NG+ to get the 100% completion(IE good) ending too.

[@gothicbutterfly013]

​@@marhawkman303you *can* actually get 100% in one playthrough of FFX-2. Iirc the max percent is like 112%.

[@marhawkman303]

@@gothicbutterfly013 Enh, there's a key cutscene that forces you to do NG+ afaik. There's that story arc where you have to pick a side in a regional power struggle, and for the good ending you need both sides.

[@joaquis456]

Fate/Samurai Remnant. You go from winning the war, saving the world and going home with your sister to try to bring eternal war to the world, battling your servant and dying.

[@robertlombardi8410]

Guys, come on, you seriously left out NieR?

[@Ikcatcher]

People may not like Starfield, but I geniunely find its integration of New Game Plus interesting

[@christopheauguste1532]

from all I see, Starfield is the "first 3 seasons of this show are lame but it's really get better after that" of video game

[@thagomizer4711]

@@christopheauguste1532ah, Red vs. Blue. The season 5/6 twist and then the recollection(?) twist we’re a 30 megaton payoff for the blood gulch chronicles. I’m really astounded how it lasted long enough to get there though.

[@FlameRat_YehLon]

​@@christopheauguste1532 that depends on what you want from the game. Bethesda games are never about the main story but the way you experience the game. IMO the way Starfield integrates the faction stories is where it truly shines. And the NG+ is less about "I want to be a full completionist" but more about "I wonder what would happen if I do things differently but I don't want to waste the spec of my character". It's really good that this game wouldn't judge how much effort the player wish to put into the game, but be just "enjoy your stay while you stay".

[@mermidion7552]

@@christopheauguste1532 i honestly liked my first Playthrough of Starfield and enjoyed my time. it was the 3rd or 4th playthrough that it started to get real stale and boring.

[@shadowcat1606]

Never played the Dishonored series... gotta say, this idea of having access to the powers of both characters no matter who you play as is a nice one.

[@neekfenwick]

I played through the first one, loved it, and bought the second, but honestly haven't given it more than a few hours. For some reason the controls are fussy and I never really know what my actions are going to do, and end up in desperate fire fights more often than I know the game designers didn't want me to be in. I guess I just suck at the game :) I've seen videos online of fighting the mech guys (it's been a few years) as if it was easy, they kicked my arse and I didn't really want to go back.

[@TheFirstCurse1]

For Bloodborne I had all of that in my first playthrough because I gained a ton of insight. It's not too difficult to get a lot of it. However just seeing Fromsoft's magnum opus makes me happy and I'll never complain when seeing it.

[@Kafj302]

Imagine a game where your first playthrough has all the plot handed to you and you are mostly along for the ride, with absolutely no context for what is happening. It's only on the second playthrough that you are taken off the rails given free reign where to go and what to, and bosses remember if you killed or spared them, but even they are confused why. Already have name for it "Remember me?"

[@Slutlyfe]

Make it!

[@neekfenwick]

A game where you're mostly along for the ride with the plot handed to you for the first playthrough doesn't really sell me on the concept of going through that just for a nice twist in New Game+ :) I remember reading about Remember Me years ago, and reading the reviews, and deciding it just didn't sound very engaging. From your description, it's still really not engaging. I feel bad saying this of course, as plenty of talented people have to put blood sweat and tears into any game they make, but there it is.

[@lukeashe8313]

There's already a game called remember me

[@Kafj302]

@@lukeashe8313 it's not like this is an idea that will go anywhere..

[@Kafj302]

@@lukeashe8313 and you know how songs there are name "believe", "believer" , or any variation of that.

[@frodobaggins7710]

It's a small thing in comparison to the rest of this video, but ICO translates Yorda's subtitles on a second playthrough, so you can actually understand what she's saying

[@stuartclack7523]

From a story perspective, the new game plus of Ico translates the language of your companion Yorda to English so you actually know what she's saying. In gameplay, the new game plus of the Ratchet & Clank titles offers new weapons, a second set of upgrades for existing weapons, and a bolt multiplier to allow you to afford all those extra powerful weapons

[@balamstudios]

SOUL NOMAD AND THE WORLD EATERS. Once you beat the game you can start again and select a couple new hidden choices at the start and now you are the baddie of the game. previous enemies will be your underlings, and you can end up devouring reality. Oh, the protagonist is a silent protagonist.. except for the mad maniacal laugh of the end of this new route.

[@mermidion7552]

i always saw the Devourlord route as the True route for this game, as the canon route was kind of boring and cliche.

[@DanSubak]

The Bouncer is pretty much built around the idea of replaying it multiple times before you understand what in the absolute hell is happening. Of course, some might also reasonably suggest that it was primarily a mechanic to pad out an unreasonably short game. Who could say?

[@fredclasson7865]

Childhood memories unlocked. I kinda prefer that when the game is short though, doesn't feel like such a hassle when you have different paths to choose from.

[@MatthewFronsoe]

Human beings want to be controlled... They forsake those who offer no benefit... They laud those with power! They can do nothing for themselves! Mankind's true desire is to be dominated by absolute power!

[@DanSubak]

@@MatthewFronsoe I can't decide if the quotes from Kirkland Signature Sephiroth/Dauragon C. Mikado or Kirkland Signature Sora/Sion Barzahd are funnier to me in hindsight

[@TheMachinehead112]

Lies of P, the game doesn't really change in NG, but being able to easily read the puppet language subtitles really change the mood.

[@soulweaver64]

Dark Souls 2 should be on the next list. NG+ adds new enemies, new placements, and even whole new encounters and loot.

[@UncleMoke476]

Can’t believe The Quiet Man made the list while only adding audio and this didn’t.

[@DamnDaimen]

In new game+ the dukes spider freaking ambushes you. Damage down to the spider then carry over to the actual boss fight. You can shit on DS2 all you want, it did a lot of experimental stuff.

[@CD-Gaming]

"Okay, so, it's up to you when you start New Game+ then, is it? Okay, there's not really much else to do here, so let's give it a go, I know all the enemies are going to be tougher, but I can han-wait... these guys weren't here before... ARE THEY SHOOTING EAGLES AT ME!?!? What the hell..." That is pretty much a summary of my experience of Dark Souls II's New Game+!

[@zubayrbhyat8077]

loved NG+ on dark souls 2

[@FortKnoxMovies]

To this day OXENFREE has the greatest new game plus I’ve ever seen. In a game where time loops are a big mechanic of he game new game plus has you play realizing you are stuck in a time loop the entire time with complete changes and dialogue as the characters realize they are in a time loop!

[@joshhicks1979]

Dragons Dogma and Chrono Trigger deserve a mention.

[@ShadowCthulhu]

indeed, though not much changes in the DD NG+ it still a great game with a great NG+

[@uroy8371]

If you count killing the dragon as the ending, it really changes a lot. But Chrono, for sure.

[@athenadaja1793]

God of war 2018. You have the blades of chaos and can explore areas that were blocked during the first playthrough.

[@Rosie-fk1xs]

Okay so I don’t count most visual novels for this but Virche Evermore- Error: Salvation has to get a special mention because of how the whole game changes once you get Act 3 endings, which is the canon and final story. Slight endgame spoilers ahead. So the whole theme of this romantic venture is salvation and despair which the game really takes to heart, by crossing so many lines. The premise of the game is you play as Ceres, the maiden of death, who seems to forever be cursed to bring death everywhere with her in a world that appears to be very much fantasy. In order to get players in the same mindset as Ceres, for all routes and endings before the final end of Act 3, players can only get the despair endings. Once you collect all the required despair ends, you can finally play the despair end for Act Three which pulls the curtain on this fantasy story and reveals itself to be a science fiction in reality. After that, players can go back and see how elements of what originally seemed to be fantasy was actually science fiction. Additionally, going back to past routes players can make the same choices as the ones needed to get the main despair ending of each route to get the salvation ending, which trades the utter despair for something bittersweet. It just changes the whole game because of everything you know from Act 3 and the availability of the Salvation ends after all the suffering.

[@sinteleon]

If we want to count visual novels.... Technically 99% of Zero Time Dilemma is done in a new game +.

[@minstrelofmoria]

@@sinteleonHead AS Code, a rather underwhelming attempt to imitate ZTD, is a kinetic novel on the first playthrough, with choices only appearing on subsequent runs. There's a plot reason for this, but the reveal is incredibly obnoxious in a way that's impossible to explain without SPOILERS: One of the characters figured out you exist, and assumed you must hate the first ending as much as she does, so she used clones to stage the same events over and over with different outcomes. If you could be tricked into believing a happier outcome was the "true ending," it would overwrite the original events. But she misunderstood how you interact with the game, so she achieved nothing except for making a whole bunch of clones die in despair.

[@submariNervous]

@@sinteleon Agreed, glad someone else here remembered the Zero Escape games (and on that note, Slay The Princess is also all about New Game Plus-ing... Unless you do nothing but follow the Narrator's narration, of course. Then you get the "best" ending. XD

[@rockmanNK]

Bravely Second: End Layer changes when you hit START during the NG+ initial battle.

[@SolaScientia]

Oh man, Andy's salt about Infinite Wealth's NG+ costing money is perfect. I'd ask why in the hell anyone would charge real world money for NG+, but what goes on in the gaming industry, sadly, no longer surprises me much these days. I'm surprised Jane wasn't the one talking about Starfield's NG+ given that I think she's the only one of the five to properly play the game. Ah, I was hoping AC6 would be on this list. Most fun I've ever had going through a game three times. Crucially, it's just 2 NG+ cycles, for a total of 3 runs of the game; not 3 NG+ cycles. As long as you choose new missions in the 2nd and 3rd runs, you can easily unlock all missions and all Arena fights so that NG+3 is spent just S-ranking missions and working on that platinum trophy. I'm in NG+3 (so, 4th run total) and I haven't bothered starting a new run through since I'm focused on replaying missions and grabbing stuff I missed and so forth. It's well worth it to unlock all the missions to then replay them for the S-rank, finding any missed chests, and getting any missing battle/combat logs. I did Fires of Raven as my first ending and then Liberator of Rubicon for my second one, and oh man, Liberator of Rubicon hurt so much more. Alea Iacta Est was so satisfying to finally take out ALLMIND, and also Iguazu. Also, letting Swinburne go and then shooting him anyway (did that on my third run) get you some amusing dialogue from Ayre. If you do let him go you get a fun little fight against a different AC. Many of those new missions you unlock in NG+ and NG+2 are notably more difficult or aggravating compared to the mission it replaces. The weaponized mining ship is a lot more difficult to "defend" than it is to destroy. Nearly all of ALLMIND's missions in chapter 5 are a pain in the ass in either difficulty or sheer aggravation (destroying all those helicopters and not being allowed to let more than 5 escape absolutely sucks). Bloodborne's Insight feature honestly applies in just the first run too if you don't spend it, or lose it to the brainsuckers. There really isn't much benefit to running around with high Insight unless you're feeling particularly masochistic. I think Luke saw some stuff ahead of time in his first run since he wasn't spending his Insight.

[@Brasc]

I don't think even Jane has really properly played through Starfield - not enough spare time, probably. She's just played through it more than the other four. Which isn't saying much, since I think the next most experienced are Andy and Luke who played one Christmas Challenge involving the game.

[@SolaScientia]

@@Brasc Jane talked about Starfield in a vid (might have been over on Show of the Weekend, maybe) and she's played a lot of it. More than what Luke and Andy did in that challenge since Jane was the one to talk them through it to begin with.

[@Brasc]

@@SolaScientia Yeah, I saw that video too. She admitted she's played an amount of Starfield, but it's a very large game. And as someone who's played a good deal of it, I could tell that, as a whole, Oxboxtra don't have a lot of experience with it. They've made references to how slow it is to board a ship, go to the pilot seat, take off from a planet, etc, etc, to travel anywhere, which says to me that they haven't figured out the much quicker ways to fast travel through the Starmap. Jane has admitted that she hasn't been able to get into it in another video as well, no matter how much she wants to.

[@themarkandrus]

5 of the 7 entries should be by Yoko Taro

[@omgyeti2049]

This video doesn’t have anywhere NieR enough of them. 😅

[@Tsunami14]

Often immitated. Never Replicated.

[@bananaman2]

Definitely agreed. I love how all the conflict and battles are recontextualized in the second playthrough of NieR and you realize you are a monster, and how it was hinted at throughout the game.

[@Masahane]

Yeah was about to say this is literally Nier Automata

[@MrGhosta5]

Path B of NeiR Automata is amazing. Because 9S is a scanner modal he has information that 2B doesn't. The entire path A play through is recontextualized through 9S. Path B also does a good job of building a sense of comfort and safety before everything goes to hell in path C.

[@bentenzopher9972]

Don’t Escape 4 Days to Survive is an amazing game puzzle adventure game that allows you to make different crucial decisions and even have a completely different set of scenarios in the game.

[@griffinraynor8425]

Oxenfree did this! It's about ghosts and time loops and trying to get off a creepy island with ghosts and time loops. You play as Alex who is generally the first one to become aware of any weird time shenanigans and has to get everyone else out by dealing with the ghosts and breaking the loops. You explore the island and solve puzzles to figure out how to escape, and then leave, hopefully with all your friends, and you get a nice little epilogue about how everything is going since everyone left the island! And then the end of the epilogue loops into the opening narration of the start of the game. Because you're still in a time loop. New game+ means doing the whole thing again but with the awareness that you failed to actually escape the island last time, and Alex has a strong sense of deja vu. Some things happen differently, with the ghosts acknowledging that all of this has happened before, and some sequences are changed. There's also a brilliant jumpscare set up by the first playthrough and payed off in the second. Basically play Oxenfree.

[@SHARDK2]

NieR Replicant and Automata. In Replicant you get extras like being able to understand the shades and getting new cutscenes and endings, and in Automata a third playthrough unlocks the entire second half of the game.

[@oboyoberto07]

Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories? Reverse/Rebirth when you play as Riku.

[@MrFutago87]

Surprised that no Nier or Nier Automata was on the list, those games change so much in NG+ tha finishing the game once isn't even considered finishing it but rather just having played like a third of it.

[@makoaki9071]

You just explained why it's not on the list.

[@Shaddcw]

Oxenfree should definitely be on this list. Best new game+ in a narrative experience I've ever seen.

[@sardonicus1739]

Oxenfree. The second playthrough is a massive trip because the main character is vaguely aware that all of this has happened before leading to a lot of the lines being changed and moments happen that don't happen in the first playthrough.

[@Veelofar]

Raging Loop has two versions of this. Arguably each time loop you go through is a new play through by some metric, but after you get the True Ending, you unlock Revelation Mode which lets you see inner thoughts you weren’t privy to the first time and scenes you weren’t present for.

[@jayflores4360]

Can confirm. After subbing to the patreon and rewatching, it definitely plays like a different list video

[@mr.mammuthusafricanavus8299]

The scenario A & B in RE2 was amazing BUT lets not forget the option to randomize the item drops in the game was insane! I will always remember my Claire run when 80% of the ammo drops were Acid/Flame rounds for the grenade launcher and NO BLUE PLANTS, damn spiders killed me with poison, took awhile because I saved up so many red and green plants but all the places where a Blue plant or Planter (unlimited Blue plants) was non existent, hilarious play through! More games could just have a item randomizer feature and that alone changes the game play :P

[@apenguinthatlikestodraw2721]

Undertale is a golden example of this. FUN values are very much underappreciated

[@beccisharp]

Coffee talk ALSO fits into this because of what happens on the second playthrough

[@MatthewFronsoe]

With Dragon's Dogma 2 imminent, it's a good time to mention that New Game Plus in that game allows you to keep your shop upgrade unlocks and affinity with NPCs, meaning you have access to a larger arsenal from jump. Shops also stock new items such as portcrystals, which allow you to manually create fast travel points. There are also new sidequests that unlock. It's also just interesting knowing your first character is 100% dead and now you're playing as your main pawn in your first character's form (a piece of lore revealed from a deeply hidden sidequest), as well as inhabiting an alternate universe where you haven't yet defeated the dragon and conquered the seneschal and creating a NEW main pawn who will eventually replace you once you beat the game again.

[@beategundel1544]

Tales of xillia 1 also has 2 main protagonists with different unique game sections that you can explore in ng+ after a nice stop by in the grade shop for boons

[@emmal7510]

The dvd of Daredevil was the first one I encountered with a descriptive audio track option. I don't think that was a coincidence, since it was years before I ran into that again. Yes, I did actually like the movie enough to buy the dvd.

[@diablotry5154]

Really? I haven't seen it on every movie but back when physical movie rentals were still alive, those tracks were in at least half the movies I watched

[@emmal7510]

@@diablotry5154 Daredevil did come out in 2003. I got into dvd pretty early and none of my early dvds have it.

[@emmal7510]

@@diablotry5154 It was originally released in 2003, which was about a decade before Blockbuster went out of business. I started buying dvds in about 2000 and it's just not a thing that shows up on my older ones. (I think the LotR extended editions will give you Sauron's shoe size, but even they don't have it.)

[@yuvi3000]

While I do think the theatrical cut is overhated, I do agree that it could have been better, so I was surprised to see that the Director's Cut is actually a better movie (in my opinion) and was worth a new watch.

[@jean-francoisquesnel5607]

how the hell is Nier Automata not in the list

[@angusgiral]

Or Nier Replicant

[@NickW855]

Because that's a cop-out answer since the narrative is being told in four parts that follow each other. You don't replay 2B's story, you start 9S's story. Then the last two parts are just a continuance, then an ending. The previous Nier is a better example when you can actually understand what the shadows are saying on the second playthrough, where nothing else changes and you don't change protagonists, unlike its sequel. And what you learn from them changes your perspective on the existing narrative drastically, similarly to the mentioned example of the Quiet Man.

[@TamagoSenshi]

@@NickW855 Automata did the same thing as RE2 though

[@diablotry5154]

​@@NickW855that's a bad response because that's literally re2

[@kevinkennedy4386]

Alpha Protical. If you play it with your job set to rookie you unlock the professional job class which lets you circumvent tough choices due to your skills

[@grizzlybear3809]

My first experience of New Game + was Armoured Core 2. You unlocked all sorts of extras by dying a certain points, but you kept everything you had unlocked (I think,...it's been a while)

[@yaffle966]

Pathologic Classic seems like a good example, wildly different campaigns over the same 12 days depending which character you play.

[@yoogrldude]

It’s not as big scale as some AAA rpgs, but Oxenfree’s ng+ skips things, adds things, and unlocks a new ending scene that (theoretically) allows you to change the past/future. (Trying to stay vague because major spoilers!)

[@crazy8panda]

I am so happy you brought up the Quietman! Lol One of the dumbest but yet fascinating games I have ever experienced. A "so bad it's good game" 😂 Where else does your protagonist do a full cart wheel on top of someone's head in a laundry mat? 😂😂😂

[@rosemclain3537]

I can think of 2 games that really should have been on this list, 1: Undertale, as even on a new playthrough, the game remembers everything you’ve ever done, and 2: Batman Arkham City, where in new game plus, not only does Batman start with everything, but so do the enemies, also, new game plus is always automatically on the highest difficulty

[@Sir_Him]

Tales of Xillia. You pick one of two playable protagonists at the start and only get to see the full story of the other character on a second playthrough.

[@Earthgrand234]

You could add scarlet nexus to that as well

[@kiwilover8]

The second character doesn’t change the story overall too much tbh

[@fredclasson7865]

@@kiwilover8 Well the overall story is the same but you learn some different info at times, are part of certain scenes and get to see some unique character development. But yeah, other than that all major events play out the same. But I think there was a unique ending scene as well.

[@petersmith2255]

Hard disagree, especially if you pick Jude as your first play through. Milla's side of the story adds very little to the game and in some cases, takes away from the character and world development.

[@mermidion7552]

@@fredclasson7865 Thats pretty much how most "two Protagonist" JRPGs are, if you count that then you could put Star Ocean Secondary story and Atelier Escha and Logy on the list. nah, as long as it doesnt change some real things in your second playthrough because it is the second playthrough, it doesnt count.

[@azuraskeen3821]

Fire Emblem Three Houses has 4 stories that split about halfway through the game, each with its own completely unique story, maps, and required characters.

[@algo5847]

three houses has like 8 maps and 6 of them are reused every chance theyre given lmao, each route has two unique maps tops also the story is hardly unique because the first half is always the same and the second half just follows more or less similar events but from different perspectives

[@Mary_Studios]

Yeah that's the first game that came to mind when I saw that title and then the Warriors Tie-in game Three Hopes has three diffrent routes and apparently in your third playthrough you get Gatekeeper to fight with from what I've heard.

[@Dragonmaster0118]

Good to see another man of culture.

[@mermidion7552]

shouldnt count, cause regardless if you choose the blue house on your first..or second..or third playthrough, nothing about the routes story changes, same with the others.

[@soulreapermagnum]

12:55 i don't know, i'd say sojimaru from yakuza like a dragon is the biggest roomba we've ever seen.

[@patrickryan5582]

Not having inscryption on this list should be a crime

[@ZackRToler]

NieR, the first game that came out on xbox 360 and PS3, as a spin off from one of the endings to the first Drakengard game on PS2, has such a crazy New Game+. Granted, it's not a traditional NG+ since you only start at the 2nd half of the game. But it reveals so much more to the world to you, the player, but not to Nier or Weiss. Being able to hear the voices of the Shades as you slaughter them really puts the entire game into another perspective. Major spoilers. The Shades are the souls of humans that got corrupted since they couldn't be put into their Gestalt bodies. Since the Gestalt bodies became sentient and alive. The "humans" you've been interacting with, your character, are gestalts. Humanity has been extinct since just after the prologue the entire time. Which adds a whole other layer to Nier: Automata if you played NieR first or not. Knowing this information ahead of time about humanity. Also, killing all those children and baby shades. Especially that giant boar fight in the tower, heart breaking. And the shade and his giant robot friend. And the little shade hiding in fear in the village. With only you, the player, aware, not the characters.

[@landonewts]

Starfield’s New Game Plus is amazing. I was over 240 hours into my first playthrough when I finished the main story, and had planned to play something else for a while once I entered the Unity, but got so intrigued by NG+ that I kept going. So fun! Already planning how to angle my second NG+.

[@blaziard683]

SHOW ME THE CHAMPION OF LIIIIIGHT! I'LL SHOW THE HERALD OF DAAAARKNEEEEEEESS!

[@xninjaxassasin]

Signalis definitely needs a mention.

[@TheWretchedOwl]

I came here to say the same thing. Never played it, but I’ve watched hours of other people playing it and several deep dives on the subject and like damn, it fits the bill in several ways.

[@Apolleh]

Not sure if it counts, but Bravely Second came to mind. In short, the elusive big bad youve been chasing down the entire game becomes impossible to reach and everything goes wrong beyond repair. The only way to change fate is to stop the big bad during the single time that he was within reach: The start of the game.

[@TheAzulon]

Nier Automata imediately came to mind. The second playthrough focus on 9S and they keeps going to A2. And the you end the game once more and still understand nothing about what the hell is happening

[@HavocHounds1988]

Lies of P you could count as well. In New Game+ you can hear and read clearly what the puppet bosses are saying.

[@pierre-mariecaulliez6285]

I'll direct you to the game Tunic. The main mean of progression in the game is finding pages for the game's manual that teach you mechanics you could have used since the beginning ! Hence, starting a new game+ can go in a widely different direction, considering the first item you cross from the starting point is a fast travel teleporter...

[@Alice_Rikky]

The games I remember made me enjoy new game+ new story elements are the Zero Escape Saga and Lost Dimension (that are actually based on the fact that you have to play multiple times to unlock the true ending), and "A Witch's Tale" (in this case I didn't get immediately that the game was changing, but when I noticed it I was super taken in by the new story elements and revelations)

[@AgentSapphire]

the various Nier games need to be on this list. Each playthrough adds additional context in Replicant and in Automata you play through the first half a couple times and then you get access to the entire second half of the game. Like the game doesn't even show you the title card thing until you're halfway through the game like "now things actually start" kinda deal. Very cheeky.

[@thedarkoracle4807]

There are a couple games I can think of where in the first playthrough dialogue and boss names are written in some fictional language but are translated in a second playthrough as a way to recontextualize or even explain bits and pieces of lore. Two such games that I can think of off the top of my head are 'Titans' Souls' (a top-down boss rush game similar to Shadow of the Colossus) and 'Lies of P' which doesn't really need any explanation.

[@annana6098]

Windwaker (legend of Zelda) had a new game plus in which you can understand any ancient Hylian that was previously gibberish. I think this was also a feature in Ico, but it has been so long. All of the dialogue is voiced in a fake language, but they only subtitle what she wants you to understand, if she's speaking to Yorda, it's unexplained until replayed.

[@melciah1234]

Labyrinth of Galleria: The Moon Society could easily have been placed in here too. The first play-through you only go through the Labyrinth of Galleria and the world approaches its end. After getting the game clear and collecting all of the required items you open up an entirely new game when you start your new game +. You are now in a twinned world Alstella and play one of the characters from the first game, but now follow them as they join the Moon Society. All your items and brigade characters are gone. You start over with a hole new load out. Even the classes aren't the same, being close to them but different in a few stats, growth rates, weapons, and the skills they earn. It isn't till halfway through the game you return to Alluna, but quickly find out its still not your original playthrough world since there are several differences from your first play through including the old witch departing just before the first playthrough's MC arrives to start the game. You do regain access to all your old gear, classes, team, and money when you return to Alluna and double your inventory space before progressing into the rest of the game. Its still only halfway through the entire game since you have to go through several fake endings. Its predecessor, Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk, was similar in having multiple fake endings, but there new game plus doesn't change much till the very end where no you go through several fake endings and learn about the time loop mechanic that is allowing everything to change and progress for the real end game. The final path even has you flung far into the future and unlock a whole new series of dungeons for the true ending that must be beaten to reach the true ending.

[@carlsiouxfalls]

Do Visual Novels with their tons of branching paths count? They don't have "New Game +" per se, and I tend to use guides for "tactical save returns" to minimize repeating content, but something like Steins Gate or Virtue's Last Reward have several secondary endings based on choices aside from the true ending.

[@michaelandreipalon359]

Ah, good old Steins;Gate. Love how even the anime adaptation nailed the feel.

[@BerlitzSama]

Nier and Nier Automata both have so many differences on different playthroughs. So many people just finish Route A and not play what is basically most of the games

[@someadventuretimefan5089]

Final Fantasy Typ-0 is a good example of this. NG+ adds new "Routes" you can do to learn what other characters were doing at the time.