Getting 100% in games used to mean something. You’d unlock cool stuff, new characters, or secret areas. Now, most games just give you a trophy notification and call it a day. That’s pretty weak when you consider all the time people put into finding every collectible.
But some games still remember what completion rewards should look like.
Gaming rewards work differently now. Crypto gambling sites have changed the possibilities of player rewards. These sites allow players to place bets using a cryptocurrency of their choice and also receive their winnings in crypto. Roobet is one such example of a premium crypto betting site. Players now turn to sites similar to Roobet that pay real cryptocurrency for completing tasks and challenges. Axie Infinity stands out because players earn genuine tokens they can sell for cash. You battle digital creatures, win competitive matches, finish daily quests, and collect cryptocurrency that holds actual value beyond the game itself.
This outfit breaks the game in the best way possible. Put it on, and lawmen won’t bother you no matter what you do. Rob a bank, start a shootout in the middle of town, steal horses; nobody cares. The system just turns off completely.
It works everywhere, too, even when you cross into Mexico. Most unlock rewards just change how you look, but this one changes how the whole world reacts to you. You can finally play like the outlaw the game wants you to be, without dealing with constant bounty hunters.
Luigi disappeared from Mario 64 and Sunshine, which bummed out a lot of fans. Galaxy brought him back, but only if you collected every single Power Star. The payoff was worth it because Luigi actually plays differently; he jumps higher and runs faster than Mario.
Beat the game again with Luigi and you get a different ending sequence. Playing as Luigi feels fresh because his movement is noticeably different. Some platforming sections become easier with his higher jumps, while others get trickier because he’s more slippery.
Three alien ships spawn around the map once you hit 100%. One floats above Sandy Shores, another hovers over the military base, and the third one appears on Mount Chiliad. The mountain UFO only shows up at 3 AM when it’s stormy, so you need perfect timing.
You also get access to a Bigfoot mission that ties back to San Andreas easter eggs. These supernatural elements give you actual new content to mess around with after you’ve done everything else in the massive world.
All 120 stars get you access to the castle roof where Yoshi hangs out. He gives you 99 extra lives and some dialogue before disappearing. Back in 1996, this was a huge deal because Yoshi wasn’t anywhere else in the game.
People spread rumors about Luigi being hidden somewhere in Mario 64, but finding Yoshi on the roof was the real secret character encounter. It felt like a proper reward ceremony for dedicated players who found every star.
Metroid had multiple endings, but the big reveal only happened if you finished in under five hours. That was genuinely difficult back then without guides or speedrun strategies. Most people played through multiple times without ever seeing it.
Learning that Samus was a woman became one of gaming’s most famous plot twists. The time limit made it feel earned rather than something everyone would stumble across. You had to be skilled or really dedicated to uncover this piece of the story.
Finding every skull in the campaign unlocked this samurai-style armor set. Getting the katana required hitting 1000 gamerscore points. The gear looked incredible and referenced Ninja Gaiden’s main character design.
Everyone wanted this armor because it was tough to get and looked way cooler than the standard options. The Master Chief Collection just hands it to you now, which completely misses the point of what made it special.
Collecting every gem in this notoriously difficult original game opened up an alternate path near the end that led to a different conclusion. This was brutal to achieve because even the early levels could crush experienced players.
The secret ending felt like a real accomplishment because you had to master some genuinely challenging platforming to see it. Games used to hide story content behind skill walls like this before achievement systems took over.
The platinum trophy had a web address in its description. Visit the site and you’d see weird images with a meter slowly filling up. Once it hit 100%, the page revealed the announcement for God of War: Ghost of Sparta.
This was clever because it extended the reward beyond just the game itself. Hardcore fans got early access to information about the next entry in the series. The mystery aspect made it feel like solving a puzzle rather than just watching an advertisement.
These games understood that people who spend extra hours hunting down every secret deserve something worthwhile in return. Whether it changed gameplay mechanics, revealed story secrets, or unlocked new content, each reward made the time investment feel worthwhile.
Last Updated on September 1, 2025
