Best RPG's with a lot of secrets and hidden stuff

[Mr. Magniloquent]

Might & Magic: Dark Messiah. While many levels are cooridor like, there are tons of hidden paths and rooms to find hidden treasures, items, (and experience points). Larger dungeons are more open ended and are a joy to explore with secrets and paths across both vertical and horizontal axis.

All the same can be said about Arx Fatalis. The game is so chock full of secrets to uncover that in my first play through, I had ignored the story completely until there was nothing left. Secret levers, traps, cat walks, tunnels--all just scattered like crumbs for the curious to find. So much fun.

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

I liked the beginning (btw, i read the book too Thera's Awakening), but combat at times was damn annoying. Funny thing that giant stone crystal. Just swing at it forever to raise skill. The animation was a little wonky but not terrible to me. I enjoyed the journal, the mapping, and the rune staff. Even Wahooka had his charm. Intro was kind of humorous as well. I didn't finish it because of some bug and blue screening me to death. I danced with enemies so much i got dizzy. Perhaps I didn't know how to fight and it was so different from EOB or DM. I should revisit it and check if it was buggy or just my crappy dos computer at the time.

soundtrack was ok I guess


I ended up getting Ultima Underworld shortly after I had the errors so I switched and played it. Never finished either. I was brutally killed several way in UU1. Good times.

I sort of feel like stonekeep was the Mortal Kombat attempt at blobbers (art style that is)


Hmmm maybe the music was bad. That sounds uh.... :/

AH! COMBAT!

 

[Q]

If you like Elex and Gothic is too old for you - try Risens
First one is better one, but if you are into pirate theme you may like others too.

 

[Q]

If you like Elex and Gothic is too old for you - try Risens
First one is better one, but if you are into pirate theme you may like others too.

Also, Underrail and Age of decadence

 

[Miner 2049er]

TC, if you like Might & Magic 6-8 and Wiz 8, you owe it to your raison d'être to give Wizards & Warriors a try. I rate it even higher than Wiz8. The dungeons belong to the best I've ever seen. The great character building is the icing and the clunky interface only contributes to the magic. Combat is not the games highlight, but it's serviceable and fast. Take that Wiz8. Get the GOG version or die trying.

 

[GentlemanCthulhu]

Recently I've realised that how much I love and miss uncovering secrets in computer games. The most fun I remember was related to discovering secret areas or hidden chests in some of the RPG classics. Similar with adventure games - but I guess that here well crafted secrets are rare to find. Some of the examples what I've played during last couple of decades of playing:
-Might and Magic 6-8 - things like secret walls/levers in the dungeons that opens optional rooms. Or just a hidden chest behind some fort in the middle of nowhere. I've enjoyed this very much
-Demise - loads of secret rooms, fake walls, etc
-Grim dawn - this booooring game had some fantastic optional areas to explore. And even those optional areas had optional areas within. Secrets within secrets!
-Assassin's Creed: Valhalla - the only game from the series I've played. Had some secrets, optional puzzles, nice exploration.
-Elex - similar as AC:valhalla, but less puzzles but better game. Waiting for sequel!
-Gothic 1&2 - I know it has a lot of stuff I love, but I cannot stand controls and inventory and UI. Sorry nazifags
-Star Wars:Jedi Faller Order - all secrets were artificial and based on running back and forth with better skills. Didn't like TBH.
-Grimoire - I still have to play this: does it have a lot of secrets?
-TES games - too little secrets and too dumb after Daggerfall.
-Wizardry 8 - I vaguely remember that it had nice secrets, but it was 15+ years ago.

I've also played Super Mario Oddysey on Switch which had a lot of nice secrets; the same with Zelda breath of the wild.

Can you recommend some games that in your opinion have the best secret-stuff factor? I've probably missed some of the games I've played so I will update this post in time.

EDIT: pls no manga/anime games.

The Dark Souls franchise has a lot. Some are really obscure.
Also play Legend of Grimrock if you haven't yet.

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

Speaking of Dark Souls, I saw Blade of Darkness had a newer GoG release. Some say it is ugly but I really thought about giving it a go. I don't know if it is secret heavy. Looks a little barebones and a relic of the time tbh.

 

[felipepepe]

As others mention, Legend of Grimrock II is one of the best recent games in this sense. Blobbers are specially great for this... Lands of Lore II is a crappy game but has several levels that are hidden and easy to miss, with secret bosses, items, lore, etc...

Speaking of Dark Souls, I saw Blade of Darkness had a newer GoG release. Some say it is ugly but I really thought about giving it a go. I don't know if it is secret heavy. Looks a little barebones and a relic of the time tbh.

It does have some secrets, mostly based on backtracking or doing some tricky platforming. But it's a game about combat, extremely hardcore combat that makes Dark Souls look easy.

 

[Mr. Magniloquent]

Severence: Blade of Darkness is on GoG! Finally! Instant buy. Not really and RPG, but loads of fun. The screenshots don't do it justice. Its a pretty decent looking game, especially when shadows and lighting ate involved. Sound design is good to. Things had a sickeningly satisfying thump and squish when you hit them.

 

[GentlemanCthulhu]

As others mention, Legend of Grimrock II is one of the best recent games in this sense. Blobbers are specially great for this... Lands of Lore II is a crappy game but has several levels that are hidden and easy to miss, with secret bosses, items, lore, etc...

Speaking of Dark Souls, I saw Blade of Darkness had a newer GoG release. Some say it is ugly but I really thought about giving it a go. I don't know if it is secret heavy. Looks a little barebones and a relic of the time tbh.

It does have some secrets, mostly based on backtracking or doing some tricky platforming. But it's a game about combat, extremely hardcore combat that makes Dark Souls look easy.

I really didn't have much trouble with BoD in terms of difficulty. I think the perceived difficulty is mostly due to the outdated control scheme. Been hearing your sentiment a few times recently though.

 

[Lonely Vazdru]

I know its gameplay is seriously frowned upon over here, but Dungeon Siege, and particularly its multiplayer map (that can be played single player via the appropriate mod) has good exploration and lots of secret places and chests to discover.

 

[covr]

-Gothic 1&2 - I know it has a lot of stuff I love, but I cannot stand controls and inventory and UI. Sorry nazifags

What exactly about the controls, inventory, and UI do you bounce off of so hard? Do you hate using your keyboard in games? That’s the only thing I can imagine for mouse driven-game smooth brains.

What game is this brah

LOG2.

I might be just too dumb to play Gothic games. Combat controls pulls me off; holding a key + movement key to attack is something I am unable to process. On top of that there's that strange camera movement, attack combos, dodging. And inventory is just a lazy job - there should be a separate screen with all armours, weapons and other stuff listed. Don't get me wrong, I usually play TB games on max difficulty, but for some reason complex combat actions is something I cannot master in any game, especially Gothics. The most I can do with my crippled dexterity is to finish Diablo 2 on Hell and beat Path of Exile.

But I will give Chronicles of Myrtana another go.

Voidspire Tactics - sorry guys, too much anime.

In the meantime I'll also try Grimoire

 

[Whisper]

Legend of Grimrock 2.
100+ secrets, all worth it.

Underrail.
Whole game is 1 big secret. Even after finishing it for 1st time you will uncover maybe 10% of lore and plot.

 

[agris]

covr here's a tip for the inventory in Archolos: when you open your inventory, hold shift + right/left (d/a or arrow keys) to cycle through inventory categories. That way you can quickly filter through a full inventory.

A few more tips to improve the mouse behavior and inventory:

tips

For better mouse behavior and other essential tweaks, try the following.

In the game's install directory ..\System, open Gothic.ini:

• keyboardLayout=00020409 (this is the code for US/int keyboard, otherwise you'll get german by default)
  
• mouseSensitivity=2.0 (in-game settings menu doesn't let you set it past 1. it must be set higher than 1)
• zMouseRotationScale=4.5 (critical to avoid cam feeling sluggish)
  
• zSmoothMouse=0 (also helps improve mouse input)
  
• camLookaroundInverse=1 (this inverts the Y-axis, total personal preference but FYI)
  
• spawnRemoveNpcOnlyIfEmpty=1 (allows empty/dead non-quest NPCs to despawn, personal preference)
• invCatOrder=COMBAT,ARMOR,FOOD,POTION,DOCS,MAGIC,RUNE,OTHER,NONE (this sets the order that items and categories appear in the inventory. This is tweaked to my preference, just know that it exists and you can tweak it to yours as you get more familiar with the game)

In SystemPack.ini

• HideFocus=1 (this means that empty, dead NPCs cannot be interacted with. Once you start killing more than 1 or 2 things, you will appreciate this QOL tweak)
  
• No_Take_Anim=1 (personal preference, disables the "take" animation. Big time saver imo)

 

[Black Angel]

-Gothic 1&2 - I know it has a lot of stuff I love, but I cannot stand controls and inventory and UI. Sorry nazifags

What the actual fucking fuck

The Dark Souls Series. The worldbuilding in DS1 is absolutely fantastic and there is a lot to discover. There's areas you can completely miss out on. Even accessing the DLC is so cryptic you might just never find it at all. And there is no handholding.

The same goes for Dark Souls 3. While the worldbuilding isn't as perfect as it is in DS1, exploration is still extremely fun and there is a ton of secrets and secret areas to find.

To a minor extent this also goes for Sekiro.

i find the lack of Dark Souls 2 in your post disturbing.

I think only the DLCs has the best secrets (And The Ways To Find Them™). I can't remember anything worthy in the base game, because other than the usual illusory walls, most of them are interactable objects like the petrified NPCs/enemies and Pharros's contraptions; hardly secrets, the way they're sprinkled across the gameworld.

 

[JacksonSteve]

Damn you guys, I added at least 15 games mentioned in this thread to my playlist.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

I've been playing The Secret World recently, and the investigations in the game are basically this. It's essentially a John Constantine simulator so put on your trenchcoat, dim the lights, and get some cigarettes.
There's also a lot of stuff that's simply unmarked.

 

[Slaver1]

Deus Ex. There's actually lots of hidden nooks and crannies. In Hells Kitchen there's even a base in the sewers. Exploration feels worthwhile because you're discovering loot like hidden multitools, lockpicks or credit chits that are never not useful.

 

[Reinhardt]

Shadow of the Horned Rat and Dark Omen.

 

[Berengar]

I've been playing The Secret World recently, and the investigations in the game are basically this. It's essentially a John Constantine simulator so put on your trenchcoat, dim the lights, and get some cigarettes.
There's also a lot of stuff that's simply unmarked.

For some reason I got it in my head that you couldn't play this anymore and thought I missed the boat. Want to play this game real bad!

__

also I echo Grimoire for absolutely exploding with secret stuff!

 

[felipepepe]

I really didn't have much trouble with BoD in terms of difficulty. I think the perceived difficulty is mostly due to the outdated control scheme. Been hearing your sentiment a few times recently though.

The later levels are really brutal, but besides the controls it also doesn't have any wiggle room... Souls games let you grind, make different builds, use consumables, summon friend, etc... BoD is just you and the enemy, either you GIT GUD or you die.

Even if you get A BIT GUD and kill several enemies, you might be too injured to kill the next ones. You can save scum, but the game legit calls you a lazy coward if you save too much lol

 

[Nikanuur]

As the OP already hinted a bit - Piranha games are the type of RPGs with both the literal and figurative "treasures behind the waterfall". ...or bags of value at the hidden precipices. ...or small caves, hidden from plain sight, containing lore / valuable items. ...or valuables / good weapons / armor hidden "under the carpet" and more throughout the course of the whole game.

Since Risen 1 I've actually start to tease friends and other RPG players, that if there is no treasure behind the waterfall, it's not a good RPG

 

[Drunken Irishman]

Ultima 7 Part II: Serpent Isle

Sorting through people's trash and stuff was somehow very enjoyable in this game. The game really makes you want to know who has your magic items and what other secrets they hide.

 

[Falksi]

the answer is

in a small quaint village

in this hut

behind this bed

under this pillow

Morrowind

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Realms of Arkania HD