The 10 HARDEST to Find Video Game Secrets That Are All For NOTHING

The Nero Sidequest

“Final Fantasy IX” (2000) 

Final Fantasy IX features one of the most obscure side quests, so obscure in fact that it went unknown to western players for over 10 years. Late in Disc 4, if Zidane returns to the Tantalus Hideout, he’ll meet a Nero family member searching for his brothers. After each major event, revisiting the hideout triggers another brother to appear, repeating the same dialogue. Do this five times, and the final Nero family member gives you a reward. While not difficult once you know the steps, it’s tedious, incredibly tedious. And the prize? A basic Protect Ring. Not worth it at all!

Hestu’s Gift

“The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild” (2017) 

The Korok Seed quest in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild almost feels like a masterclass in ruining the days of your entire player base. Korok Seeds are useful early on, allowing you to expand Link’s inventory. The thing about the Korok seeds is that there are FAR more than necessary, which is a dangerous thing for completionists. While only 441 are needed for max upgrades, there are 900 scattered across the game. If you go the extra mile and collect all 900, your reward is... a goofy dance and a golden, poop-shaped trophy. Well done, you played yourself.

Auditore Cape

“Assassin’s Creed II” (2009) 

Collectibles have long been a major element of open world RPG’s and open world games in general, and Assassin’s Creed II does this in the form of feathers. The game sends you across Italy hunting down feathers, with the hope of unlocking something exciting, and what does it reward you in the end? The Auditore Cape, a stylish accessory that honors Ezio’s family legacy. The catch? Since the Auditores were exiled from Florence early in the story, wearing the cape instantly maxes out your notoriety everywhere. So basically, your reward is consistent notoriety, and the complete inability to be stealthy. That’s like if your reward for beating Super Mario was mushroom allergies.

Paz’s Secret Tape

“Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes” (2014) 

Trigger warning, Paz’s story is pretty damn dark. In the central mission, Big Boss infiltrates a black site prison to rescue Chico and Paz. The rescue is not only difficult but deeply upsetting, building to the point where Boss’s team is forced to surgically remove a bomb from Paz’s body, unsuccessfully, since there’s a second bomb upsettingly inside her genitalia. This moment hits even harder if players collect all the audio logs, unlocking a disturbing recording of Paz being sexually abused by her captors. However, this addition feels more distressing than necessary. It reinforces what’s already implied, the bomb inside her. Worse, it includes a disturbing implication of Chico’s involvement under duress. It’s a secret that was totally not worth the effort.

Samson Feels Healthy

“The Binding of Isaac” (2011) 

Isaac, as a roguelike, is filled with hard work that often ends in nothing. Every dedicated Isaac player has their own tale of an absurd or underwhelming unlock, but one widely agreed low point is the “Samson Feels Healthy” achievement. Introduced in the Afterbirth DLC, it requires completing the Ultra Hard challenge, where every enemy appears in its most difficult form, you're cursed on every floor, and hearts simply don’t drop. The reward? Samson, a fairly average character. No thanks.

Prowler’s Profit

“The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim” (2011)

It’s important to note for any collecting quests (much like this one), we aren’t talking about when dork’s sit there with an online guide, because that’s NOT how games are meant to be played. We are talking about stone, cold, collectible hunting. Skyrim’s most notorious side quest, No Stone Unturned, has frustrated RPG fans for over 10 years. Tracking down all 24 Stones of Barenziah is an exhausting task, requiring you to join the Thieves Guild and explore nearly every corner of Skyrim. Only after completing this task, and going through Tovald’s Cave (which also sucks) does the player get rewarded with Prowler’s Profit, a passive ability that slightly boosts gem drop rates in chests. Cool. Thanks. Glad I did all that s**t.

Batsuit V8.05 - Prestige Edition

“Batman: Arkham Knight” (2015)

I get it, it’s cute when a game puts it’s completion at 101%, Batman Arkham needs to chill, 240% makes such little sense it upsets me. To hit that number, you must fully complete the main campaign and all Season of Infamy DLC, bringing you to 120 percent, then do it all over again in New Game Plus. And guess what? You get a nearly identical batsuit, only now featuring a golden Bat symbol on the chest. WOAH! NO WAY!? A GOLDEN BAT!? F*** YOU!

William Bordin

“Urban Reign” (2005) 

Urban Reign was one of those decent games on the oversaturated PS2 that flew way under the radar. The big reason for it being underrated was the chaotic four-player brawls. With plenty of dope characters to unlock, and beat your friends up with, you’d think the hardest unlock would have everyone fighting for them. After unlocking Challenge Mode, which lets you replay all 100 levels with any character, you have to achieve an S-Rank on every mission. After this you’ll unlock the final boss, William Bordin. Unlocking William sounds dope until you realize the only reason he’s the final boss is because he had a gun. Strip that away, like when you unlock him for personal use, and he’s easily the weakest character in the game. Urban Reign? More like Urban Pain am I right? Screw you guys.

Forbidden Fruit

“Shadow of The Colossus” (2005) 

The cult classic Shadow of The Colossus features one of the strangest secrets in gaming history, and it’s required if the player wants that 100% completion trophy. The central hub is where players return to after each time they kill one of the 16 colossi, and players may notice you can climb the side of the structure. The only way to reach the top is by completing the game once, and then twice more on New Game + just to get enough stamina for the climb. Once you’re at the top, in the secret garden, you can eat the forbidden fruit, and have your stamina return straight back to its default. There goes hours of progress. DAMMIT!

A Reward You Will Never Live To See

“Trials Evolution” (2012) 

Trials Evolution is goddamn weird, and I’m sick of pretending it isn’t. Scattered across the game’s tracks are obscure symbols, eerie audio clips, and cryptic sound cues. For those who noticed these and dove into understanding them regretted it. Solving the puzzle requires knowledge of nearly every kind of codebreaking: anagrams, ciphers, Morse code, binary, base64, and even steganography. To go further, players must solve clues that lead them outside the game to real-world treasure chests, spread across the world. The keys found inside these chests are needed to open a special chest that will be below the Eiffel Tower in the year 2113. Imagine being one of the dudes who went through the ridiculously elaborate puzzling, just to end up with a useless key that you won’t see the reward of.