"Here's a Dwemer key, made according to the instructions I found on the puzzle box you brought me. I've no idea what it's good for. But if you take it back to Arkngthand, maybe you'll find the lock it opens."
— Hasphat Antabolis, The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
When playing a game, revisiting previously cleared areas (if it's possible to do at all) usually doesn't provide much benefit. The enemies are defeated (or, if they respawn, are too low a level to be worth fighting), the items are picked up, the power-ups are obtained... However, game designers may decide to reward a player for being thorough by adding a reward that wasn't present the first time through. Hence, a Revisit Reward.
Common methods for accomplishing this include (but certainly are not limited to):
- Returning to an area where you fought a boss. Often, the "reward" is associated with that boss, such as their weapon or a particular Organ Drop.)note
- An area has some parts blocked off by obstacles you can't bypass your first time through, but returning to them later after you learn a certain ability, obtain a certain item, recruit a certain party member, etc. will allow you to access them and pick up new rewards within.
- A new enemy that wasn't present the first time through is in the area, often an Optional Boss, who provides the "reward" upon defeat.
- You unlock a new power during the plot that you lacked the first time through, allowing you to access (or even see) particular power-ups or hidden items you initially could not.
- Never Recycle a Building is Averted, and new enemies move into the dungeon or area, bringing along new loot and other rewards for going back to defeat them.
- Items respawn after a certain amount of time (whether in-game or real-time), so revisiting the area allows you to collect more of them.
Note, you need to return voluntarily for the example to qualify. If the plot requires that you return to the area, any new rewards within do not qualify.
The "reward" need not be tangible in-game, but may allow for earning an "Achievement", "Trophy", or something similar on the metagame level like 100% Completion. Sometimes it is required to achieve a Golden Ending. Sometimes it's simply an Easter Egg.
Naturally common in Wide-Open Sandbox and Role-Playing games to encourage exploration, but they can appear in any type of game that isn't totally linear. Metroidvania is another genre where this is common, as returning to previous areas after unlocking new power-ups in order to explore them more thoroughly is a key gameplay mechanic.
May involve Always Check Behind the Chair and/or Pixel Hunt if the item is well-hidden. Guide Dang It! may be involved if nothing in-game hints that returning has such a reward, and/or if the reward is hard to find once there. Common in a Playable Epilogue, which frequently adds new things to do in past areas. Access to a Warp Whistle or Zip Mode can make the backtracking faster.
Compare Teaser Equipment, high-level gear shopkeepers have in stock well before you'll be able to afford it necessitating a revisit to purchase later; Replay Value, where the game offers different ways to play to keep it fresh when starting over; New Game Plus, where additional content is available upon restart after beating it once; and Where It All Began, where the plot has you return to where you started.
Contrast Replay Mode, where you can replay a particular level/dungeon/boss fight/cinematic scene/etc., but there is no added "reward" for doing so and it is typically accessed from the menu/a specific in-game area rather than a true "revisit"; Repeatable Quest, where a particular quest can be repeated but there is no "new" reward involved; and Ability Required to Proceed, where you need an ability to continue with the plot.
Examples:
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Action Adventure
- ANNO: Mutationem: After completing the game, returning to The Consortium's inner facility to freely explore it unlocks the "I feel secure, contained, & protected" achievement.
- Indiana Jones and the Great Circle: Prior to the confrontation with Voss, Indy discovers a vault that can only be opened with all fifty relics hidden throughout every location, with the final one only obtainable after finishing the main story. Going back to the vault after collecting every relic and solving the puzzle ends with Indy making a discovery and a secret ending showing what became of Noah's Ark.
- The Legend of Zelda:
- The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask:
- The Geckos turn into regular frogs upon defeat, but Link can't do anything about the one in the Woodfall Temple until he obtains the Don Gero's Mask from the Mountain Village and comes back.
- Upon completing a dungeon for the first time and then traveling back in time, Link can return to the dungeon's entrance and activate a special warp spot that takes him directly to the boss area. This not only allows him to confront the boss directly without needing to clear the dungeon again, but it's also very useful to cleanse the dungeon's associated overworld region much earlier, thus giving Link (and the player) plenty of time to do sidequests and extra activities that are exclusive to the overworld's healed phase.
- The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess: In the Goron Mines, there's a Treasure chest atop a platform that's only accessible once Link obtains the Clawshot and comes back, allowing him to attach to the vines hanging over the platform's edge and climb up from there.
- The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask:
- Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice:
- It's possible to return to the Ashina Reservoir, the tutorial area, around the mid-game. It's been filled with new enemies, including two previously unseen minibosses, and has new loot, including an item to craft a new Shinobi Prosthetic Tool with.
- Returning to the Headless Ape's boss arena after it's been slain, and you've crafted the Finger Whistle Prosthetic Tool, reveals a Shichimen Warrior has taken up residence. Killing it grants you the Malcontent's Ring, which upgrades the Finger Whistle into a Brown Note for spirit enemies.
- In the endgame, the Interior Ministry's invasion of Ashina heavily alters the game. While you're encouraged to return to the Ashina Reservoir for the Final Boss, you don't have to right away:
- It's possible to instead fight your way back through the Ashina Outskirts as the Ashina soldiers try to fight off the Red Guard. There are lots of enemies that weren't there at the start, with useful drops and several new items to find.
- You can also return to the first boss' arena to find the Demon of Hatred there, cutting down the Red Guard in droves. Defeating him awards a Memory to enhance your Attack Power and some Lapis Lazuli for upgrading your Prosthetic.
- Super Mario Sunshine: After clearing an obstacle course in a world's episode for the first time, Mario can return to that course by replaying the episode to initiate a new challenge consisting of grabbing all red coins under a time limit, which yields a new Shine Sprite. The advantage is that, unlike in the first run, where Mario is deprived of FLUDD, this time he'll be able to use it (thus making the hard obstacles much easier to tackle).
Hack and Slash
- The Nightmare Before Christmas: Oogie's Revenge: After Jack rescues Sally, she tells him to come back later and meet with her due to having a bad feeling. If the player does return to her after a few chapters, Sally will request that Jack collect ingredients to create a special soup, acting as a Boss-Altering Consequence to make the fight against the brainwashed Finkelstein more easier.
Metroidvania
- Castlevania games with shops usually have them improve if you return to them:
- Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow and Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow have the shop(s) placed at the beginning of the game, whose inventory expands with game progress.
- Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia has the optional shop inventory expanding quests in the only town. You don't have to go back for those.
- Cave Story:
- If you backtrack to the First Cave (after you get the Booster) you can speak to the Hermit Gunsmith from whom you stole your first gun, the Polar Star. If you haven't already traded it away for the Machine Gun or the Snake, then the Hermit Gunsmith will upgrade it to the Spur, one of the best weapons in the game.
- Getting the Whimsical Star from the Gaudi shopkeeper in the Labyrinth is a situational case. If you already traded your Polar Star for the Machine Gun, then he offers you the Whimsical Star the first time you talk to him, so no backtracking is needed. But if you still have the Polar Star in your inventory (usually because you intend to upgrade it into the aforementioned Spur), then he instead offers to trade his Snake gun for your Polar Star and Fireball. But after you get the Spur (which is only possible after you finish the Labyrinth), you can backtrack to the shopkeeper and get the Whimsical Star then.
- ENDER LILIES: Quietus of the Knights: The last exploration ability needs to be used in the first room of the game as a step on the path to the Golden Ending, and progression through the game involves getting away from that first room.
- Metroid Prime 3: Corruption: In addition to encouraging the usual Metroidvania gameplay of backtracking to previous areas after getting new powerups to unlock new paths, the game also puts a new twist by adding spherical creatures called Phaazoids to areas of planets whose Leviathan Seeds have been destroyed. While many of these Phaazoids simply aim to hinder Samus, others yield gold-colored tokens upon defeat; those tokens can be used later to unlock extra content.
MMORPGs
- RuneScape:
- The first part of the quest "Dishonour Among Thieves" involves traveling to a number of locations to recruit allies for a Heist Episode; each location contains a treasure chest, which can only be opened after completing the quest and revisiting the locations.
- The quest "Broken Home" has this as part of its Replay Mode; in addition to the standard reward for completing a replay, the Haunted House contains nine chests which can only be opened at certain skill level thresholds.
Platform Games
- Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus: Throughout the game are twenty hidden vaults that can be unlocked by collecting every bottle in each level. If Sly manages to unlock nineteen of them, getting all of the bottles for the last one and trying to open it will have Bentley inform him that it can't be opened until he has defeated the Final Boss, due to Clockwerk writing the vault code in owl dialect. After finishing the game, you can return to the last vault and unlock it, earning the final page of the Thievius Raccoonus and a new ending cutscene.
- Sonic Adventure 2: Throughout the game, the playable characters will earn upgrade items, that are applied permanently from then on. These items can be used in previous levels and will often enable access to new areas.
Puzzle Games
- Professor Layton: Revisiting areas in later chapters presents opportunities to solve new puzzles and earn additional Picarats to unlock bonus content.
Role-Playing Games
- Avowed: While it's possible to use items/magic to get past brambles or electric door puzzles (rather than bringing along Kai or Giatta to clear them with their unique abilities), only Yatzli can remove the illusory walls and it's possible to encounter them before you've recruited her. Going back to those walls once she's in the party will reveal new places to explore and new loot to acquire. As of update 1.4, after player complaints, you can now throw Forgotten Soul Pods to dispel these walls, negating the need to revisit with Yatzli.
- Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance II: While most areas in the game only need to be visited once, the Woods of Sharp Teeth and Skull Gorge can be revisited in future chapters after being unlocked, inhabited by stronger monsters and with the treasure chests and weapon racks refilled with more loot.
- Chrono Trigger: Several locations have subsections locked off by black doors that can then be later unlocked by using Schala's pendant. Similarly black chests scattered around the game world can be opened in this manner, and the game hints at using the time travel mechanic in order to get all the possible rewards from said chests (e.g. taking the contents of a chest in 1000 AD allows the player to also acquire the contents of said chest in 600 AD afterwards, which is not possible by doing the reverse).
- Cyberpunk 2077: Following the events of Act I, V is shot in the head by Dex and left in a garbage dump. Takemura comes to find V, kills Dex, and then the two have to flee an Arasaka kill squad. There's no plot reason to return to the dump, but if you do so, you can loot Dex's "Iconic"-quality gun "Plan B" and, a short distance away, start a minor sidequest by finding the long-lost body of legendary/infamous netrunner Rache Bartmoss.
- In the HD-2D Remakes of Dragon Quest I and Dragon Quest II, there are chests in earlier dungeons that can only be opened with the Thief's Key, Magic Key, or Ultimate Key. Once the player obtains any key, they can return to the dungeons to open up the chests and gain the goodies inside.
- In Dubloon, returning to the prison cell Russell and Anne broke out of near the beginning and inspecting its wall using a spyglass acquired in the Treasure Tower will reveal a map leading to one of the optional bosses.
- The Elder Scrolls:
- The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind: After delivering the package to Caius Cosades, the very first mission of the main quest sends you to the nearby Dwemer ruin Arkngthand to retrieve a Dwemer puzzle box for a local amateur archeologist/historian. After doing so, you can return to him later to find that he unlocked the puzzle box into a key that opens the lower levels of Arkngthand, containing stronger enemies and better loot.
- The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim: The opening scenes take place in the village of Helgen, which is razed in the dragon attack that frees the Dragonborn. If you return later (no quests actually direct you to do so), you find that bandits have moved into the ruins. In addition to the usual rewards from looting a bandit camp, you can find five bottles of unique "Mead with Juniper Berry" (that NPCs will sometimes chatter about). It's a bit more potent (both positive effects and the negative ones) than regular mead, and this is the only place in the game where it can be found.
- ELEX:
- Early in the game, you'll pass by several ruined structures in Edan on the way to Goliet for the first time that contain locked safes/chests. Coming back to these once you have the Hacking/Lockpicking skills needed to open them yields valuable permanent stat potions, rare crafting ingredients, and other "junk" that can be sold for a tidy profit.
- The game's liberal use of Beef Gates means that there are strong enemies guarding good loot even around areas found very early in the game. Returning once you're strong enough to defeat them (nothing in the game requires that you do so) hands you tons of valuable loot and experience.
- Fallout 4:
- While escaping Vault 111 at the very start of the game, you can pass by the Cryolator in a Master-locked case. There's no way to unlock it that early, but if you return later (there's no other reason to ever return to the vault) with the master Lockpicking perk, you'll be rewarded with a unique and powerful, if rather impractical, weapon.
- While Bethesda has been utilizing "resetting dungeons" after a certain amount of in-game time passes dating back to Oblivion, it has largely been respawning the same enemies and loot as the first time it was cleared. The crafting and settlement building systems in Fallout 4 mean that respawning sources of the same junk items can be quite valuable. The Corvega Assembly Plant and Makra Fishpacking Plant, for example, have large supplies of the ever-valuable Aluminum. Additionally, Wildwood Cemetery (naturally) has quite a few Bones to loot, which can be used to craft extremely useful Oil. Revisiting each time these areas reset gives quite the reward.
- Final Fantasy:
- Final Fantasy I: Returning to some of the early dungeons and locations, such as Cornelia Castle and the Chaos Shrine, after getting the Mystic Key allows the player to acquire various treasures that they could not acquire beforehand.
- Final Fantasy X: Certain quests require the party to visit previous areas, such as the "memory spheres" quest that's needed to unlock Auron's Overdrives, or the Monster Arena quest, in which the player has to capture monsters from across the world so the Arena Master can breed them into new Super Bosses.
- Final Fantasy XIV: The "Return" ability, when in a dungeon, will teleport you to the start of the dungeon. Some dungeons have an Easter Egg if you return and walk through the dungeon again. For example, after completing Ridoranna Lighthouse, there's an easter egg where you fought Construct 7, but you can see it only if you used Return.
- Golden Sun: A large part of the games due to the series' use of Ability Required to Proceed:
- Golden Sun (2001):
- The first part is a vast circumnavigation of fantasy counterpart Asia due to a Broken Bridge, with one area functioning as a one-way gate since the puzzle needed to get through resets when you come back to it. Many areas and towns contain secrets and Djinn only available with the skills you learn while touring across the continent, or even Character Development if you go back home.
- Inverted with Crossbone Isle, which is intended to be visited early (if you happen to know the trick) but not fully due to lacking the necessary abilities. Once you can return to it at will, you can explore it in full and fight the Super Boss at the bottom.
- Another optional plot thread that gets put on the backburner is Hammet's kidnapping, which is only resumed after crossing the Karagol Sea and completing the Colosso trials. Completing it gets extra Djinn and a particularly difficult boss fight.
- In Golden Sun: The Lost Age, many areas in the Eastern Sea are blocked by reefs. Once your ship gets upgraded with wings in the Western half of the world, you can return there and cross the reefs to find rare items.
- Golden Sun (2001):
- Kingdom Hearts
- Kingdom Hearts I: As Sora gains new Shared Abilities (High Jump, Mermaid Kick, Glide, and Superglide), Spells, and Trinities, he and his teammates become able to access areas and treasures they couldn't reach during previous worlds. For example, Wonderland (the first world visited after Sora teams up with Donald and Goofy) contains a set of flowers that will give an item if Sora uses the Thunder spell on them, but Thunder is only learned after completing an event early in Olympus Coliseum, which is the next world to visit. Wonderland also contains two Green Trinities and a White Trinity (the latter of which grants a Keychain to upgrade the Keyblade), which are only learned after clearing Agrabah and an event in Hollow Bastion, respectively, and a handful of treasure chests that require Glide (learned after clearing Neverland) to reach.
- Kingdom Hearts III: Backtracking through the Disney worlds allows Sora to encounter the members of the Flantastic Seven. Achieving an A on all their minigames nets Sora an Orichalcum (Needed to synthesize the Ultima Weapon) and the Flanniversary Badge accessory (Which gives a 4 boost to Strength and Magic, lowers the Magic meter's recovery time, and decreases MP cost for spells).
- The Last Remnant: Once you complete the quest The Tablet of Marshall, you can revisit some earlier locations to transform remnants into talismans.
- Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals: In the South East Tower, you can spot three treasure chests behind the boss of the dungeon, but are teleported out once you defeat him. Getting the items requires you to make the way to the final room a second time. It is worth it. You can also invert the trope by clearing the dungeon a first time before triggering the story events that make the boss appear, though you will have to do so with one character less.
- Mario & Luigi: Brothership: After connecting an area to Shipshape Island, Mario and Luigi are told they should revisit the connected isle to explore the new pathways that have opened up, each leading towards useful items in blocks, including additional Sprite Bulbs that can be collected to unlock more Battle-Plugs.
- Ni no Kuni: The player only gains the ability to recruit wild monsters as Familiars once Esther joins the party, so going back to previously visited areas is necessary if the player wants to recruit the monsters from those areas. Some areas also have chests that can only be unlocked once Swaine joins the party, or once Oliver gets the upgraded version of the Spring Lock spell.
- Persona 4:
- Most dungeons have a miniboss that appears on the final floor after clearing it initially. Defeating the miniboss grants the player an exclusive weapon (usually for the character that the dungeon is based around).
- The Twisted Shopping district, the game's tutorial dungeon, can be revisited for a weapon for Yosuke and a quest item. Given that their are no regular encounters here, there is no other reason to return here.
- Pokémon:
- From the series inception to its full Video Game 3D Leap on the Nintendo Switch, it makes use of Random Encounters with certain special Pokémon as Pre-existing Encounters. Checking the spot where the pre-existing encounter was standing after the battle frequently reveals a "hidden" item (not visible to the player) associated with that Pokémon. Checking to find a "Leftovers" held item after defeating a Snorlax is a recurring example throughout the series.
- An "obstacle" example is present in most games. Returning to early game routes after you learn certain Field Ability "HM" moves (or in later games where HMs have been dropped, an equivalent ability) like Cut, Strength, or Surf will allow you to access parts of the area that were cut off by obstacles. In Pokémon Red and Blue (and the remakes), for example, you can return to Viridian City after you've learned Cut or Surf to access an NPC who will give you the TM for the Dream Eater attack. Similarly, Pokémon Gold and Silver (and the remakes) have the player pass through Union Cave in the early game. Returning later (nothing in the game directs you to do so) once you've learned Strength and Surf allows you to explore previously inaccessible lower levels with NPC trainers to battle, different wild Pokémon from the first level, and new items to find.
- Pokémon X and Y: After beating the Pokémon League and then your rival again, you can power up your Mega Ring at the sundial in Anistar City, which causes it to reveal hidden Mega Stones throughout Kalos during specific hours. You'll need to revisit many formerly cleared locations, including Santalune Forest, Glittering Cave, Cyllage Gym, and even Victory Road to collect all of the stones.
- Pokémon Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!:
- While "hidden" items (those not visible on the screen) have been a staple of the series since Gen I, these games make them respawn daily. (And nowhere in the game does it tell you this.) Going back through previous areas daily to retrieve these items, like the hidden Moon Stone in Mount Moon and the Shop Fodder along the two Underground Paths, can really boost your team and give you plenty of Money for Nothing.
- After becoming Pokémon League Champion, one Master Trainer for each of the 145 non-legendary Pokémon available in the game will appear throughout the game world. Some are very obvious in towns, others are well-hidden in caves you have no real reason to return to. If you want to find and battle them all, you'll need to revisit nearly the entire region.
- Starfield: The game begins at the Argos Extractors Mining Outpost before sending you away for a while. If you return after the game opens up, a previously inaccessible building will now be open and you can find Heller's Cutter — a unique laser-firing mining tool that recharges rather than than using ammo and comes dealing bonus damage to robots. If you invest in the "Laser Weapons" perk tree, it also has a Magikarp Power as one of the final perks gives a small chance for each shot with a laser weapon to set the target on fire. Since the Cutter fires a constant beam, it pretty much guarantees this effect.note
- Star Ocean: The Last Hope: Throughout the game, the player finds chests covered in an elemental barrier that can only be dispelled by the opposing elemental rings that are gained by progressing the story. Backtracking after obtaining a ring unlocks powerful equipment relative to that point in the story. The reward for completing the first post-game dungeon is the Dark Ring, which dispels the light-elemental barriers on the chests containing each character's ultimate attack.
- Undertale: At the beginning Ruins area, if you've spared Toriel, you can traverse all the way back to the beginning area where you fell onto the flowerbed to find Toriel tending to the flowers and telling you not to worry. After completing a Pacifist Route, you're free to revisit the whole Underground to see all the monsters you befriended. Going all the way back to the very beginning of the Ruins which can take a lengthy amount of time nets a special encounter with Asriel tending to the flowers like Toriel, but it's likely the last time you'll be able to talk to each other before everyone leaves and he turns back into Flowey.
- Vagrant Story: If the player returns to the first area, the wine cellar, late in the game, they'll find the boss room where they fought the minotaur has been locked with a stock sigil. Finding the sigil and unlocking the door allows them to enter, where the minotaur's Undead Counterpart, minotaur zombie, can be fought as an Optional Boss.
Wide-Open Sandbox
- Red Dead Redemption II: During the Playable Epilogue, you can visit the grave sites of each gang member who died throughout the game. This involves returning to multiple previous campsites for which there is no real reason to do so, including the remote, frozen Colter from Chapter 1. It takes a long time to reach, and there's nothing of worth anywhere close. Visiting all of the grave sites grants the "Paying Respects" achievement.
