Death’s Door, the latest hit from Acid Nerve and Devolver Digital, has garnered significant attention for its layered narrative, intricate world, and compelling boss fights. Its story, however, may be complex to some players. Let’s peel back the layers and delve into the underlying meanings of both the standard and secret endings.
Please note: spoilers are ahead.
The End of the Lords of Doors – Standard Ending
As Death’s Door begins, we are introduced to the Reaping Commission’s offices, a timeless space where crows are immortal. However, to collect souls for the Lord of Doors, their boss, the crows must make perilous trips into the mortal realm where they can age and potentially die. The protagonist, known as the Foretold Crow, is tasked with retrieving a Giant Soul but is thwarted by a Grey Crow who steals the soul and flees through a time-space rift.
The game then focuses on the Foretold Crow’s mission to recover the stolen soul and return to the offices before aging and death can claim him. Through this mission, we learn that the world is decaying and filled with monsters because expired souls are not being properly collected and delivered to the Aether, the realm of the afterlife.
As the narrative unfolds, it’s revealed that the Lords of Doors made a pact with Death itself, using their Door technology to aid in soul collection and delivery to the Aether. However, the current Lord of Doors, dissatisfied with a mere extended lifespan, tricked Death and trapped them in the Door to the Aether, cutting off the world from the afterlife, and gaining immortality in the process.
In the standard ending of Death’s Door, the Foretold Crow manages to free Death and defeat the Last Lord of Doors, restoring the natural order and allowing mortality to return, ensuring the continuation of the cycle of life.
The Secret True Ending Explained
Upon completion of the main storyline, players can continue exploring the world of Death’s Door, including the option to explore each biome at night. The Foretold Crow can collect seven Ancient Tablets of Knowledge, which when brought to the Camp of the Free Crows, opens a passage to ancient ruins housing the game’s secret ending.
To start, let’s recall that upon completing the main storyline of Death’s Door, players can continue exploring the game world, including new environments that only become accessible at night. Throughout these explorations, the protagonist, the Foretold Crow, can collect seven Ancient Tablets of Knowledge. These tablets can be brought to the Camp of the Free Crows, which, in turn, opens a passage to some ruins. This marks the start of the journey to the secret ending.
The Ancient Ruins hold a significant secret lost in time. When the Foretold Crow steps into these ruins, a giant eye materializes before them. This eye belongs to an ancient entity known as Truth.
Many centuries before the events of Death’s Door, a human opened the First Door, which was a gateway seeking divine power. Inside this First Door, the human encountered Truth. In a quest for ultimate wisdom, the human decided to fuse with Truth. This fusion granted the human complete and absolute knowledge about the past, present, and future, but this knowledge came at a high price: the human lost their soul in the process.
This event forms a significant connection with Acid Nerve’s previous game, Titan Souls. The human in question is the protagonist of Titan Souls, and Truth is its ultimate adversary. The fusion of the human and Truth, and the resultant acquisition of universal knowledge, is, in fact, the true ending of Titan Souls. This connection suggests that Death’s Door and Titan Souls exist within the same universe and share a continuous storyline.
Upon merging with Truth, the human left the First Door. This action led to the door’s shattering and the subsequent destruction of the tower that housed the portal to Aether. Tethered to the ruins of the First Door, Truth, now integrated with the human, stayed hidden in the mountains for centuries.
News of the human’s acquired divine power reached the First Lord of Doors, who was inspired to seek out the ruins of the First Door. Using the technology from the First Door, the Lord was able to develop a new gateway to the Aether. This gateway would later become the Door used by the Last Lord to trap Death and achieve immortality.
Truth, however, had a plan to free the world from the stagnation caused by Death’s imprisonment. It whispered to the Free Crows, who had gathered at the ruins of the First Door, guiding them to help the Foretold Crow in their quest. The Free Crows then tampered with the Reaping Commission’s operations, assigning a Giant Soul to the Foretold Crow. This assignment was designed to set the Foretold Crow off on their journey.
Following the path laid out by Truth and the Free Crows, the Foretold Crow collects the Ancient Tablets, finds Truth’s resting place within the ruins, fuses with the ancient being, and carries its power out into the world.
This secret ending not only adds an additional layer of depth to the story of Death’s Door but also reveals an intricate connection to Titan Souls, suggesting that both games are part of a shared universe. The Foretold Crow’s quest to free Truth marks the end of the world’s stagnation caused by Death’s imprisonment, and it signifies Truth’s continuous attempt to break free from its confinement.
Is Death’s Door secret ending worth it?
Whether the secret ending of Death’s Door is worth it largely depends on the type of player you are and what you look for in a game. Here are a few factors to consider:
- Story: The secret ending adds significant depth to the game’s story and ties it to Acid Nerve’s previous game, Titan Souls. It provides a unique perspective on the lore and a greater understanding of the game’s world and characters. If you’re a player who enjoys diving deep into a game’s lore and narrative, then seeking the secret ending would likely be worth it.
- Completion: Some players find satisfaction in fully completing a game, which includes unlocking all endings, secrets, and achievements. If you’re this type of player, then pursuing the secret ending would certainly be worth it as it gives a sense of full completion.
- Challenge: Accessing the secret ending requires collecting all seven Ancient Tablets of Knowledge, which can be a challenging task involving additional exploration and problem-solving. If you’re a player who enjoys these elements of gameplay and the added challenge, then you might find it worth pursuing the secret ending.
Death’s Door True Ending Transcript
Atop a tower, many centuries ago… A Door existed before the one you have known. The First Door was opened by a human seeking the power of Gods. Their actions would come at the cost of their Soul. The human fused with the Being known as Truth. They gained the knowledge of all things across all time. They escaped and returned to the living world, but their Soul was lost to the Aether. The First Door was shattered and broken. With it’s destruction, the great tower collapsed into the mountain. Truth emerged into the living world, tethered to the ruins that once housed the Door. An oppertunity was seized by the Lord of Doors, who retrieved the essence of the First Door. They would reconstruct the door in a new location, and trap Death beyond it. This would result in the world stagnating for many centuries… A Reaper was assigned the Soul of the Mortal Who Opened The First Door. An impossible task, as this Soul was already lost to the Aether. Without this knowledge, the Reaper would be lost, searching for may centuries… Truth would whisper to the Free Crows, offering them knowledge and guiding them towards breaking free of it’s stagnation. It would convince them to tamper with the operations at the Commision – to assign a Giant Soul to the Foretold Crow. This would set the Foretold Crow off onto their journey. The Foretold Crow wuld gather the Seven Tablets Of Truth. They would enter and behold the site of the First Door… And carry the power of Truth out of it’s prison…
The Cutscene Transcript Explanation
The ending cutscene of Death’s Door reveals a profound backstory that happened many centuries ago. It starts with a door atop a tower, a door that precedes the one the Reaper has known. This First Door was opened by a human who sought the power of Gods. However, this desire came at a great cost – the loss of their soul.
The human merged with the entity known as Truth, acquiring knowledge about all things across all time. Although they managed to escape and return to the living world, their soul was lost to the Aether. The First Door was destroyed, leading to the collapse of the great tower into the mountain.
The Truth, tethered to the ruins of the Door, emerged into the living world. Seeing an opportunity, the Lord of Doors seized the essence of the First Door. They rebuilt the door at a new location, trapping Death beyond it. This action led to the stagnation of the world for many centuries.
A Reaper was assigned the seemingly impossible task of claiming the soul of the mortal who had opened the First Door. This was a doomed quest from the start, as this soul was already lost to the Aether. Without this knowledge, the Reaper would be lost, wandering and searching for centuries.
The entity of Truth, in the meantime, whispered to the Free Crows. It offered them knowledge and guidance to break free from the stagnation. It persuaded them to meddle with the operations at the Commission, leading to the assignment of a Giant Soul to the Foretold Crow. This set the Foretold Crow off on their journey.
Upon collecting the Seven Tablets of Truth, the Foretold Crow would enter the site of the First Door. By doing so, they manage to free the power of Truth from its prison, culminating in the game’s true ending where the Reaper can be seen floating with red text encircling them, symbolizing their new understanding and the knowledge they’ve acquired.
The ending of Death’s Door is a testament to the cyclical nature of existence, power, knowledge, and truth, painting a poignant picture of a world forever altered by the human quest for divine power. It’s a tale of truth and consequence, beautifully woven into an epic action-adventure narrative.
Why are some doors red?
When you’re in the Hall of Doors, you might see that some doors have turned into glowing red. This is a helpful clue. If a door is red, it means there’s still something you haven’t found in that area.
Is Death’s Door A Sequel To Titan Souls?
Although “Death’s Door” is a standalone game, requiring no prior knowledge of “Titan Souls” to be enjoyed, there are significant elements connecting the two games that suggest they might exist within a shared universe. This has been particularly highlighted through the secret ending of “Death’s Door”, which reveals intriguing links to the narrative and world of “Titan Souls”.
The world in “Death’s Door” is portrayed as one that’s deteriorating, an aspect that seems to be a direct consequence of the events transpiring in “Titan Souls”. Moreover, the enigmatic entity known as Truth makes an appearance in both games’ endings, hinting at its continual efforts to escape from a certain imprisonment.
