The 15 Craziest Secret Levels

It’s a truth universally acknowledged that gamers love secrets. Easter eggs, secret bosses, and even secret endings litter the annals of video game history. There will always be fans who scour the entire breadth of a game looking for every secret they can find. Likewise, there will always be developers ready to reward these fans with secret areas and levels. Here are fifteen of the strangest and most surprising secret levels in gaming history. If you’re an aspiring secret hunter yourself, these fifteen hidden treasures are a great place to start.

Shadow of the Colossus: Secret Garden

The gameplay of Shadow of the Colossus is intentionally pretty minimalistic. The sixteen titular titans are the only enemies the player has to face. They’re also spread liberally around a vast, hauntingly empty world. In a map this expansive, there’s bound to be secrets scattered around. However, one of the most surprising hides very close to home. At the end of the game, if you’ve completely maxed out your stamina, you can climb an arduous path up from the central shrine. Your reward is the secret garden, a tranquil little sanctuary with an impressive view of the rest of the game. The trees of this garden grow fruit that actively drains your stamina, and that’s really all you can find here. But sometimes the journey is its own reward. In a meditative game like Shadow of the Colossus, having the chance to rest and reflect is very important.

Diablo II: Cow Level

One of the most infamous secret levels in video game history, the Diablo II cow level was inspired by a false rumor. Fans claimed that there was a secret level full of cows in the original RPG. While no such level exists, the developers took notice. They snuck a cow level into Diablo II instead. You can get there by combining Wirt’s Leg with a Tome of Town Portal in the Horadric Cube. The level is populated with bipedal cows who will attempt to attack you with polearms. The level even has a boss in the form of the Cow King. He will go on to assure players in Diablo III that there is no cow level in that game. The secret level in the sequel is populated with ponies instead.

Borderlands 2: Secret Creeper Cave

The irreverent tone of the Borderlands series makes that franchise a natural fit for strange, goofy easter eggs. One such easter egg can be found in Borderlands 2. The Caustic Caverns contains a dirt wall that you can clear using melee, unlocking a secret cave. This cave is lined with stone blocks from Minecraft, and populated with that game’s infamous Creepers. The iconic enemies behave just as they do in Minecraft. They approach silently and let out a warning hiss before they explode. Luckily, Borderlands 2’s hardened, gun-toting treasure hunters are a bit more of a fair match for these creatures than an unarmored Minecraft player.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past – Chris Houlihan’s Room

Few hidden levels are harder to find than the Chris Houlihan room. This Link to the Past easter egg has a long and strange history. Chris Houlihan is allegedly the winner of a Nintendo Power competition. Reportedly, he’d won the chance to get his name in the game. A tile on the wall proudly proclaims that this is Chris Houlihan’s room, and that it is in fact a secret. The Chris Houlihan room doesn’t always load when you play Link to the Past. Even when it does, there are no consistent ways to access it. It’s been theorized that the game exists as a failsafe. Allegedly, Link will be sent there if something goes wrong loading a different part of the game. Whatever the case may be, you will have your work cut out for you if you try to find Chris’s secret room for yourself.

Dying Light: Secret Mario Level

This secret area radically alters the grim, post-apocalyptic tone of Dying Light. The game’s zombie-infested open world hides a secret pipe that will transport you to, of all things, a Super Mario level. This secret area features all the hallmarks you would expect from the Mushroom Kingdom. This includes green pipes, brown blocks, and even a zombie to stand in for the game’s goombas. This is a pretty tiny level, but it’s definitely surprising to see something this cheerful in such a grim game.

Elden Ring: Miquella’s Haligtree

The vast open world of the Lands Between holds countless secrets that you can only find through thorough, dedicated exploration. About half the content in Elden Ring could fit on this list. However, one of the standout levels is Miquella’s Haligtree. This vast tree lurks on the edge of the map, and requires keys and character interactions from all over the rest of the game. Once you get there, you’ll be faced with some truly devilish combat encounters as you make your way from the branches down into the heart of the tree. Miquella’s Haligtree is home to Malenia, Blade of Miquella, who is arguably the hardest boss in the entire game. Therefore this secret area is definitely not for the faint of heart.

Sonic Adventure 2: Green Hill Zone

The Sonic franchise has had its ups and downs over the years, but one thing that can definitely be said about it is it never forgets its roots. Sonic Adventure 2, which was released on the tenth anniversary of the series, demonstrates this in a big way. If you collect all 180 emblems in the game and earn A-rank on all stages, you will unlock Green Hill, a 3D recreation of the opening level from the very first game. This is a charming homage to the series’ origins and an impressive feat in its own right, as it skillfully and faithfully adds a whole new dimension to the old level.

Star Fox: Out of This Dimension

The Out of This Dimension level from the original Star Fox is a surreal and frightening addition to an otherwise bombastic game. As the name suggests, by entering this area Fox McCloud and his allies can escape from known reality, entering an eerie new dimension. The game’s trippy, off-putting visuals underscore the strange enemies you will face in this odd new realm. The final boss is, inexplicably, a giant floating slot machine. Once you beat it, the credits roll with Fox and his allies still present, and then the game just doesn’t end. Star Fox is trapped in another dimension forever.

Mortal Kombat: Reptile Fight

The infamous Reptile fight is a piece of gaming history. This elusive green ninja is the first secret character ever to appear in a fighting game. He would randomly appear to players before other matches and offer cryptic hints on how to track him down. If you follow these instructions, you unlock a showdown with the mysterious character at the bottom of a pit. Reptile is a fearsome opponent who combines the movesets of Sub-Zero and Scorpion and battles with increased speed. You’ll need all your wits about you if you want to prevail against this living legend.

Wolfenstein: The New Order – Nightmare

The Wolfenstein franchise helped establish the first-person shooter genre as we know it today. Wolfenstein: The New Order, in turn, commemorates that history in a delightful way. If you send BJ Blazkowicz to bed in the rebel hideout, you will unlock his Nightmare. This nightmare sees the hero trapped in a familiar 16-bit castle with familiarly low-rez guards. The juxtaposition of Blazko’s fully-rendered 3D model with the now-iconic sprite work of the original Wolfenstein 3D makes for a pretty strange sight, but the chance to relive the past in Wolfenstein: The New Order is still a pretty delightful secret.

Bloodborne: Yahar’gul, Unseen Village

The blood-soaked streets of Yharnam hide more than their fair share of secrets, and one of the most alarming is the Unseen Village of Yahar’gul. While this sinister region is eventually a mandatory part of the game, bold or unlucky players can get there much earlier. Sinister, towering creatures known as Kidnappers haunt the city of Yharnam. True to form, if you lose a fight to them, you’re in for a fate worse than death. The monster will drag you off to Yahar’gul, a sinister secret city used by the School of Mensis for illicit experiments. This sinister compound is full of kidnappers ready to punish you for attempting to escape, and it ends in a confrontation with Darkbeast Paarl, an electrified skeletal beast that serves as a truly menacing boss.

Pokémon Red & Blue: Cerulean Cave

One of the most iconic Pokémon in the entire lineup is Mewtwo, a genetically engineered legendary creature with immense psychic power. Fans who wish to attempt to catch this elusive beast must travel to Cerulean Cave, a secret level that can be spotted fairly early in Pokémon Red & Blue. This mysterious cave is tantalizingly blocked until after you defeat the Elite Four. Once you’ve mastered every other challenge the game has for you, you can return. Then, and only then, can you test your wits against the legendary Mewtwo.

Cave Story: Blood Stained Sanctuary

The charming Cave Story is still one of the most iconic indie games of all time. It still has plenty of secrets to offer, though. The game’s true ending requires a long and very convoluted series of actions that will alter the fates of several main characters. If you do it right, you’ll be able to avoid the final confrontation with the villainous Doctor and instead enter the Blood Stained Sanctuary. This secret endgame level is extremely brutal, but if you persevere, you will inevitably face Ballos, the true creator of the sinister Demon Crown and the cause for all the grief and strife in the game. Defeating him will save the floating island and earn you the best ending.

Super Mario World: Special World

The Special World is a secret level that needs no introduction. This elusive region is a secret world inside another secret world, as it can only be reached by completing all the levels in Star World. The Special World contains eight new secret levels, each designed to test Mario’s abilities to their absolute limit. If you persevere, the entire world of the game will be changed by your efforts. The season will change to fall and several enemies will get new appearances. Venturing through the game’s transformed levels will truly make you feel like the champion of Super Mario World.

Dark Souls: Painted World of Ariamis

FromSoft’s rich library of Soulslike RPGs is dense with secret areas and hidden bosses, but few of these have left an impact like the Painted World of Ariamis. This mysterious region is entered by using a rare Peculiar Doll item on a painting. Traveling to the Painted World is not a decision to be taken lightly, as you will not be able to escape until you find the exit. This strange land is full of unique enemies and portrayed with a unique aesthetic that makes it stand out dramatically from the rest of the game. It’s also home to Crossbreed Priscilla, an optional boss who will actually ask you to leave her in peace. Her peaceful disposition has helped her become a fan-favorite character, and the strange, beautiful world she inhabits is not one to be missed.

The image featured at the top of this post is ©Screenshot from Super Mario World.