Some games require more than one playthrough to fully experience. Here are seven games that are better on the second playthrough. Whether it’s for gameplay’s sake or to understand the story better, replaying these games is more or less essential.
Red Dead Redemption 2
While Red Dead Redemption 2 doesn’t have a New Game Plus mode, it’s nonetheless way better on your second playthrough. Sure, the awe-inspiring story cannot be experienced for the first time again, but after the second playthrough, you’ll understand it better. There are many tiny details and foreshadowing moments throughout the game’s story and gameplay. Replaying the game and paying close attention to the goings on in the camp and the world can reveal so much.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
The Witcher 3 is surely one of the greatest gaming experiences that you can get today. It offers a New Game Plus mode, and playing the game on the Death March difficulty will be quite a treat. The weapons and skills of the first playthrough will carry over, and you’ll even be able to choose different choices and watch the game unfold in a way you’ve never seen before. Plus, there are a lot of great mods for the game, and they’ll also spice up your experience by a large margin.
Yakuza Kiwami
Like almost every Yakuza game, Kiwami has an insanely compelling story along with great combat and gameplay. In the first playthrough, Kiryu will be a weaker version of his god-like status seen in many trailers and later games. Spending the first playthrough unlocking every skill and perfecting your fighting style will make for a second playthrough that’s double the fun. The Dragon fighting style is extremely powerful and Kiryu will be at his peak on the second playthrough. Many enemies will be vanquished in mere seconds.
Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen
You’ll most probably spend your first playthrough unlocking abilities and choosing the perfect fighting style. After getting used to it and developing your own unique way of defeating foes, you’ll be able to overpower everyone and everything on the second playthrough. The Hard Mode is insanely difficult and you’ll die of only a few hits. But perfecting your character on the previous playthrough will prove that NG+ is a rewarding experience.
Elden Ring
The second playthrough of Elden Ring might be different from the second playthrough of Dragon’s Dogma or The Witcher 3. It’s a huge game and on the second and further playthroughs, you can hunt for every single item you missed and pursue other endings. Also, choosing between playstyles and creating your own powerful warrior or mage in each playthrough is one of the joys of Elden Ring. The freedom is immense and the gameplay opportunities are endless. It’d be a waste not to play this for at least three playthroughs.
NieR: Automata
In the second playthrough of this masterpiece, you play as 9S instead of 2B. That means a different fighting style and also different story moments. It’s a brand-new perspective. You’ll understand 9S way better than you did when you played as 2B. You can pursue different endings and see different conclusions for quests as well. Both story-wise and gameplay-wise, NieR: Automata’s second playthrough is masterfully designed. It would be a shame if you stopped playing after the first playthrough.
Deadlight
Deadlight is a platformer game set in a post-apocalyptic world and this is not your usual zombie game. It’s criminally underrated and it really deserves more love than it gets. The story is so beautiful and the ending is magnificent. This is one of the few games where collectibles actually play a major part in the story. In the second playthrough, you’ll notice a lot of details and foreshadowing details about the game’s story and the character himself. Everything will make perfect sense and there’s even an alternate ending you can pursue.
