Favorite Secret Room?

[Dyspaire]

Have you ever stumbled upon a hidden place? Spotted the outline of an unmarked doorway? Stepped on just the right trigger to open a hitherto unexplored chamber just beyond?

What's your favorite secret that you've found so far? (Bonus points for finding it without online aid beforehand.)

I'm looking for those moments where you really felt like you'd really stumbled upon something undiscovered and hidden and unknown.

 

[King Crispy]

Good question.

This one wasn't hard to find in-game but deserves mention:

In ToEE on the Air Temple level, there's a secret door right outside a small room containing a mirror that leads to a small side chamber with two werewolves in it. In the PnP module, the purpose of this magical mirror was to trick the PCs into thinking those speaking "through" it (the werewolf companions) were actually angelic beings who wanted to help them. Obviously it was a ruse and could lead to all sorts of nasty things happening to a foolish party.

It doesn't usually play out like that in the CRPG, because the secret door leading to them is so easily found, but it was nice to see Troika include it nevertheless.

 

[Nifft Batuff]

 

[lukaszek]

deterministic system > RNG

 

[Dyspaire]

something that felt secret to me: on my very first morrowind playthrough ive gotten my hands on amazing jump scrolls. On first try I landed in some weird ashen land in front of some ruins. Uninterrupted Ive entered them. Uninterrupted Ive found some amazing dagger. Equipped it and died.
In morrowind 1/4 of locations feel secret, sometimes hinted by some drunkard in tavern

I've obviously played around with Morrowind over the years, but nothing sold me on the game more than this 1:06h video about hidden secrets in the game: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qewLfzpDpGI

Gave me a whole new appreciation for just how much tlc went into the gameworld. Some truly hidden things tucked away.

 

[TheImplodingVoice]

I like riding turtles and finding secret rooms and doing secret stuff.

 

[Deleted Member 16721]

DOOM had a lot of cool secret rooms. I loved the really difficult ones to find, usually leading to a secret exit and a hidden level.

 

[Delterius]

 

[Zep Zepo]

The one in U7, where if you could manage to get on the roof of a building in the starting area and drop down the chimney, it was full of magical loot.

Zep--

 

[new fucking guy]

Does the modron maze count?

 

[Wyatt_Derp]

The secret island on the dam level in Goldeneye on the N64. I spotted it with my sniper scope and me and friend must have spent two hours trying to get over there.

Turns out you can (with emulator/Gameshark + cheats). It was part of an unfinished area to the level that the devs abandoned.

I was kinda hoping it contained either the geometric nucleus or the Ark of the Covenant.

 

[Lonely Vazdru]

Interesting question. I can't think of anything really worth mentioning, even though I've spent over three decades dungeon crawling. The first thing that comes to my mind is the hidden room containing that paladin sword in Icewind Dale.

 

[Old Hans]

I like all secrets room equally. They are all WINNERS

 

[Dyspaire]

This is my 40th year of computer gaming. The last time I owned a console was 1982, I think, when I simultaneously owned a Colecovison and a Vectrex for a while.

That being said, I am of course very familiar with Shadow of the Colossus. Because how could you not be, with even a passing interest in this hobby?

That was a fantastically entertaining 22 minutes that I will consider time very well spent. Thank you very much.


This is exactly why I made this thread, or what I was hoping for, at least.

 

[Dyspaire]

Interesting question. I can't think of anything really worth mentioning, even though I've spent over three decades dungeon crawling. The first thing that comes to my mind is the hidden room containing that paladin sword in Icewind Dale.

Wow.

I've replayed Icewind Dale annually since its release. Best winter-weather game ever.

I'm honestly not sure if I've ever seen this before. Wow.

I'm not one for game guides and internet spoilers, so you may in fact have shown me something new in one of my favorite crpgs.

Much thanks. I can't wait to find it. Although I feel I must have stumbled on this at some point.

Without giving it away... is it REALLY hard to find, or just something you'd find if you had a high-level thief with Detect Traps active all the time?


Again, exactly what I was hoping for when I made this thread.

 

[Egosphere]

something that felt secret to me: on my very first morrowind playthrough ive gotten my hands on amazing jump scrolls. On first try I landed in some weird ashen land in front of some ruins. Uninterrupted Ive entered them. Uninterrupted Ive found some amazing dagger. Equipped it and died.
In morrowind 1/4 of locations feel secret, sometimes hinted by some drunkard in tavern

I've obviously played around with Morrowind over the years, but nothing sold me on the game more than this 1:06h video about hidden secrets in the game: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qewLfzpDpGI

Gave me a whole new appreciation for just how much tlc went into the gameworld. Some truly hidden things tucked away.

Some of the stuff in that vid is amazing. Never knew about the underwater statue. Need to replay it at some point.

 

[otsego]

ANY room in a game that has something like this:

(Recently bought and played DUSK and found this boi. Thanks for the feels New Blood. Also Ion Fury)

EDIT: Just realized this is in the RPG forum. Apologies for my retadredniss

 

[Neanderthal]

Thief basketball.
Shit loads in Underworld 1&2.
Max Payne 1&2. Mona lives on hardest difficulty.

 

[Dyspaire]

something that felt secret to me: on my very first morrowind playthrough ive gotten my hands on amazing jump scrolls. On first try I landed in some weird ashen land in front of some ruins. Uninterrupted Ive entered them. Uninterrupted Ive found some amazing dagger. Equipped it and died.
In morrowind 1/4 of locations feel secret, sometimes hinted by some drunkard in tavern

I've obviously played around with Morrowind over the years, but nothing sold me on the game more than this 1:06h video about hidden secrets in the game: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qewLfzpDpGI

Gave me a whole new appreciation for just how much tlc went into the gameworld. Some truly hidden things tucked away.

Some of the stuff in that vid is amazing. Never knew about the underwater statue. Need to replay it at some point.

Seriously, how often does one sit through the entirety of an hour-plus, top-10 video on any subject?

Over the years I've probably sunk 100-200 hours into Morrowind. No expert by any means, but I've had a look around.

I definitely like the game. I've had a pristine Overhaul 3.0 version of it installed for years. I've tinkered with it and can see the appeal.

One of these days.


But, also over the years, you continuously read here and elsewhere of people who LOVE this game. That think it's the open-world crpg ever made, to this day.

That video made me go, ahhhh, now I get it.

It's an hour-plus of exactly why I play these games in the first place.

Mysteries, Secrets, and Hidden Treasure.

 

[Darth Canoli]

Interesting question. I can't think of anything really worth mentioning, even though I've spent over three decades dungeon crawling.

Same here, although there is a lot of secrets in the Might & Magic series, which is nice, also liked the secret Dungeon in Dark Sun's sewers right after you escape the arena but what i mostly long for is the kind of secrets characters/places you had in games like Shining Force 2 and Suikoden.

 

[Lonely Vazdru]

Without giving it away... is it REALLY hard to find, or just something you'd find if you had a high-level thief with Detect Traps active all the time?

Its not really hidden, so you don't need to detect traps. It's just hard to see because of overall darkness and easy to miss.

 

[lukaszek]

deterministic system > RNG

 

[HarveyBirdman]

How about whole secret dungeons?

Ash Lake, Painted World of Ariamis -- Dark Souls
Archdragon Peak -- Dark Souls 3
Inverted Castle -- Symphony of the Night
Modron Maze - PST
Bottom of the Well -- Ocarina of Time
Mudan Grotto -- Morrowind

 

[laclongquan]

Planescape Torment, bitch!

It's the various ways to find the hidden room in Morgue that open the way to Sigil. ANd once out into Sigil, hidden secret rooms are the norms.

While they are all very interesting, the experience of talking to Deionarra, gain information to approach the secret room, is unique~ of course later on talking to the spy to know about this room is fun too.

 

[Excommunicator]

The cheat room in Ultima 7 Black gate. Apart from being full of amazing stuff, it was the fact that I found it genuinely using the lesser known access point behind the tree east of Britain that made it all the more special. That was an access point that even walkthroughs didn't know about at the time. Stumbled upon it by getting atop a magic carpet just at the right spot and suddenly finding myself in this magical room full of items and teleporters