01The core question we answer

This site is built around one question: am I near the end of this game? Everything else is in service of answering that without revealing anything about what comes next.

Players ask this question constantly on Reddit, Steam forums, GameFAQs and in private chats. The existing answers either spoil the rest of the game (full walkthroughs) or are too abstract to be useful ("the game is 25 hours long" — yes, but where am I?).

Our format is deliberately narrow:

• What you give us: the last meaningful thing you remember doing.
• What we give you: your estimated main-story progress, your time remaining range, whether you can finish tonight, and whether a point of no return is nearby.
• What we don't give you: the name of the next boss, the next twist, the ending. Ever, by default.

02Where the numbers come from

Every percentage on this site is a community-informed estimate, not a measurement.

We build each milestone by cross-referencing three sources:

• Median playtime data from public trackers (HowLongToBeat, Steam achievement timestamps when available).
• Player consensus from focused discussions: where do most players say they were when they hit a given event?
• Our own playthroughs when the editor has personally finished the game.

Time-remaining ranges are intentionally wide. A "12 to 18 hours" estimate covers most playstyles — focused vs. exploratory, skilled vs. learning. We'd rather be honestly imprecise than dishonestly exact.

03Linear mode vs. checklist mode

Most games have a recognizable main path, even when they're open-world. A few don't. We use two different modes to reflect that honestly.

Most "open-world" games are actually linear in their main story. BOTW lets you fight the final boss after 30 minutes, but the natural progression is still: Plateau → hub villages → four creature dungeons → central castle. That's a timeline, even if you choose its order.

04Confidence levels

Every estimate has a confidence rating. It reflects how stable the percentage is across different playstyles, not how sure we are of the data.

• High confidence: the game has a clear linear structure, and most players see the same percentages at the same milestones.
• Medium confidence: the game is more open or the milestone is intentionally vague. The percentage is a reasonable guess but your mileage may vary.
• Low confidence: we're tracking something genuinely unstable. Rare, and called out clearly.

05Editorial status & review

Most fiches on this site start with the label "Needs editorial review". That's a feature, not a flaw — we'd rather publish a transparent first draft than pretend everything is final.

A fiche moves to "Verified" when:

• The editor (or a trusted contributor) has personally played the game to completion.
• At least two independent sources confirm the milestone percentages.
• The wording has been re-read for spoiler safety with the spoiler policy in mind.

You can see the current status on every game page, with the verifier's name and the last verified date.

06Updates and game versions

Games change. DLCs reshape the structure. Patches add content. Re-releases get new endings. Whenever a game gets a significant update, we either:

• Update the existing fiche if the structure stays the same and just the content shifts.
• Maintain dual estimates (e.g. "vanilla Cyberpunk" vs. "with Phantom Liberty") if the new version meaningfully changes the timeline.

Every page shows the version it's based on, and the date of last verification.

07When we get it wrong

We will get things wrong. A milestone label that sounds neutral to us may be a spoiler for someone. A percentage that fits most players may be way off for you.

The Spoiler Policy page details how we handle spoiler complaints specifically. For inaccurate progress estimates, you can report errors using the Submit a milestone link in the footer. We read every report.

01The promise

Everything that could potentially spoil the future of the game is gated behind a clear, intentional click — and even then, content is often blurred individually so you can peek at items one by one.

02What counts as a spoiler

We treat spoilers as a gradient, not a binary. Some things are obviously spoilers (deaths, twists, ending choices). Some things feel safe but actually leak structural information. We consider all of the following as spoilers worth protecting:

03The three reveal levels

Every page in the site uses the same three levels of protection:

• Level 1 — Always visible: the quick answer to "where am I", your progress percentage, time remaining, whether you can finish tonight, whether a point of no return is nearby. Phrased to avoid all spoilers.
• Level 2 — One click, no modal: optional content markers, side content reveals, region maps without mission names. We make you click, but we don't interrupt you.
• Level 3 — Confirmation modal required: late-game milestones, structural maps with chapter names, full mission lists. A modal explicitly warns you before revealing.

04How the blur system works

On any game page, milestones you haven't reached yet are visually blurred. You can see that other milestones exist, but you can't read them.

• Before the milestone you selected: visible and marked completed automatically. You've been there.
• The selected milestone: visible. You're there.
• After your milestone: blurred individually. Hover over one to peek at it; tap on mobile.
• When you click a blurred milestone: it commits — the blur lifts permanently for that item, and your progress estimate updates.

The same logic applies inside Elden Ring's checklist: once you reveal a late-game or optional category, the items inside are individually blurred until you hover over them or check them.

05The late-game confirmation modal

For categories tagged Late main path, a single click isn't enough. Before any content is revealed, a modal asks for explicit confirmation: "these markers describe events from the final stretch of the game. Their phrasing avoids names, but seeing them at all may hint at how the game ends."

This is intentional friction. We'd rather you abandon the reveal than have a half-distracted click ruin your endgame.

06What we'll never do

• Never reveal a character's death in a default-visible label.
• Never name a late-game antagonist or final boss outside of full-spoiler mode.
• Never include footage, screenshots, or art from a game's late chapters without warning.
• Never auto-load a "what comes next" section. The user always has to click.
• Never use a milestone label that requires having played the game's ending to understand.
• Never share a percentage so high that it implies the existence of specific late events ("you are 95% done at the trial of the final shadow" = bad).

07If we slip up

This is the most likely failure mode of the site. A milestone label that sounds neutral to us turns out to spoil something. A percentage gives away the structure.

If you spot a spoiler that shouldn't be there:

• Use the Submit a milestone link in the footer — there's a dedicated "report a spoiler" option.
• We aim to take down or rewrite the offending content within 48 hours.
• Once fixed, we update our internal spoiler checklist so the same failure pattern doesn't repeat.

01Why this site exists

I work in gaming press. I review games, I interview developers, I see the industry up close. And like everyone else, I have a giant backlog and limited evening time.

The question I find myself asking the most — about my own games — is: am I near the end? Because that single piece of information changes everything. Whether I push through tonight, whether I start something new this weekend, whether I bother trying to find that side quest.

The existing answers online either spoil the rest of the game (walkthroughs) or are abstract about total length (HowLongToBeat). Nobody answers the actual question: where am I now?

So I built this.

02Is this site AI-generated?

No. Every milestone, every percentage, every wording choice on this site is written, reviewed and signed by a human editor.

Some draft content was assembled with AI assistance — the same way most writing now starts with a draft and ends with editing — but every fiche labeled "Verified" has been read end-to-end by a human who has played the game. Fiches labeled "Needs editorial review" are flagged as such, transparently, until they get reviewed.

I track who verified what, and when. You can see it on every game page. The credit links back to this About page.

03How to reach me

The fastest way to flag a problem — spoiler in a label, wrong percentage, missing milestone — is to use the buttons on each game page (Suggest a milestone, Report a spoiler). They open your email client with the right context pre-filled.

For everything else, email me directly at hello@neartheend.games.

04What's not on this site

No ads. No tracking beyond simple anonymous analytics. No newsletter signup popups. No social login. No "rate this game" community feature. No comments.

This isn't ideology, it's focus. The site has one job: answer the question. Everything else is friction.

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