Note: This post contains some light spoilers for a secret in Mortal Shell. If you’d rather find it on your own, you might want to stop reading here and check out our Mortal Shell beginner’s guide to help you survive.
Mortal Shell‘s world is a deep and mysterious one. The land of Fallgrim is populated by bandits, monsters, religious fanatics, and warrior scholars, whose motivations are unknown. Even your role is a hazy one; as a creature known as The Foundling, your nature and origin is unclear, and your goals are even murkier.
Most of the story of Mortal Shell has you working for a being known as the Old Prisoner, who gives you gifts and upgrades in return for Sacred Glands plundered from the depths of Fallgrim’s three temples. Finding all three of the glands and helping out the Prisoner advances the story toward its conclusion, but there are a lot of strange secret depths to plumb in Mortal Shell as well–including an alternate path that can give you a different, secret ending to the game much earlier than if you complete it the normal way.
Mortal Shell’s alternate ending is a lot like the ones found in of Far Cry 4 and Far Cry 5. It requires some specific work to find it, and it’s more of a joke than an actual conclusion of the tale. But it’s worth tracking down for a fun moment, and the good news is, even if you trigger the rolling credits for a gag, you’ll be returned to the game right where you left off–so there are no consequences for catching this cutscene.
Here’s where to find Mortal Shell’s secret ending and how to access it.
Mortal Shell Secret Ending
Find Baghead In Fallgrim
The secret conclusion to Mortal Shell isn’t in one of the challenging temples full of enemies, but in the overworld-like section called Fallgrim. Here, you’ll encounter a bunch of club-wielding enemies known as brigands, who are always keen to attack an interloper such as yourself. There’s one member of their ranks who doesn’t hate you just for existing, though: a fellow called Baghead.
You’ll have to seek Baghead out to talk with him, which isn’t especially easy thanks to the fact that it’s easy to get lost in the samey-looking Fallgrim. You’ll find him sitting under a huge tree next to a small fire and a frog-shaped stone treasure chest. You’ll know the location by the huge, frightening-looking bats hanging from the massive tree’s branches.
When you locate Baghead, have a conversation with him. He’s a bit of a layabout, and when you show up, he’ll take the opportunity to ask you for things.
Bring Baghead A Tasty Rat
After meeting Baghead, he’ll ask you for a Boiled Rat to snack on–he’ll even mention smelling one on you. You can share one with him right away if you have it, and if not, you’re likely to come across one by fighting through the brigands situated at small campfires around the area.
Talk to Baghead again and he’ll ask for something else: Superior Moonshine.
Bring Baghead Superior Moonshine
Moonshine is also located around Fallgrim, although it’s a little tougher to come by. You’ll find it in two varieties: Inferior and Superior. Both come from the enemies you’ll find scattered around Fallgrim, but the Superior Moonshine is in tighter supply and will likely require more work to locate. You can also find it in the three temples that drive your goals in Mortal Shell–the tougher, more sophisticated enemies who hang out in the temples sometimes also have more sophisticated intoxicants. But in general, this seems like a bit of a random find.
Bring the Superior Moonshine back to Baghead to advance his conversation a little more. By now, he’ll be pretty friendly.
Become Baghead’s BFF
As you talk to Baghead a third time, he’ll be pretty appreciative of you. After all, you’re a person who just happened by and talked to a person who was, very likely, an enemy. It seems like the only reason Baghead didn’t attack you was that he’s a generally pretty lazy guy. But then you showed him kindness by sharing your food and spirits, not once but twice–and that Superior Moonshine is pretty impressive stuff. Now Baghead is your ride-or-die bro.
In your final conversation, Baghead will ask if you want to become best friends forever. He suggests you wile away the hours just hanging out by the fire together, being lazy, drinking booze, and enjoying life, instead of constantly toiling at murdering or worshiping the Revered and their Sacred Nektar.
To trigger the secret ending, agree to Baghead’s suggestion.
Fallgrim Falls
Once you become Baghead’s loafy best bud, you’ll be treated to a cutscene that suggests this was maybe not the best decision. As you hang out around the fire, playing your lute, you’ll get treated to shots of the surrounding area where other brigands are hanging out, enjoying meals, lute-playing, and campfires of their own. Within a few moments, however, you’ll see that just chilling out in Fallgrim and drinking moonshine is maybe not in the cards.
Creeping up on the nearby campers are those frightening vampiric enemies that show up in a few key locations throughout Mortal Shell. You’ll sometimes find them in deep caves and temples, but most notably, they invade the forests of Fallgrim every time you manage to locate a Sacred Gland in the game. Defeating a boss and taking a gland from one of the temples causes some thick fog to roll into Fallgrim, and when it does, the vampires come with it–setting ambushes to try to kill you and ripping through the brigands, often snacking on their bodies as you approach.
So it seems that giving up your quest, whatever it is, doesn’t bode too well for the people who live in this world. Still, at least the drinks are good.
We’ve got more Mortal Shell coverage for you to enjoy as you work your way through the game. Check out our beginner’s tips to help you survive in Fallgrim and beyond, a guide to the items you can find and their Familiarity bonuses, and don’t forget to read our Mortal Shell review.
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