Annihilated features several different endings depending on which companion you choose and the decisions you make throughout your escape. Your choices can change relationships, determine who survives, and even lead to completely different outcomes. Some branches are straightforward, while others depend on hidden scores, your SANITY level, and decisions made several stages earlier.
If you’re trying to unlock every companion achievement or reach a particular ending, you’ll need to pay close attention to certain choices. The Hero, Warrior, Mage, and Priest each have their own ending requirements, and some decisions cannot easily be reversed once you’ve made them. The Priest’s route is particularly complicated because it also involves persistent records across playthroughs.
In this guide, I’ll explain the important choices and ending conditions for all four companion routes, including the hidden distrust and dependence scores, bad endings, special endings, and the requirements for the true happy ending. Warning: This guide contains major story and ending spoilers.
Annihilated All Endings Guide – Companion Route, Choices
Before focusing on individual companions, there are five achievements you can unlock through the main story progression.
| Achievement | How to Unlock |
|---|---|
| Bottom Level | Complete the tutorial and reach the bottom level. |
| Outcast | Defeat the boss of Stage 1. |
| Villainess | Defeat the boss of Stage 2. |
| Dropout | Defeat the boss of Stage 3. |
| Slime | Defeat the boss of Stage 4. |
| Surface | Clear Stage 5 and reach an ending. |
These achievements are connected to progressing through the stages, so you’ll naturally unlock them as you advance through the story.
Spoiler-Free Tips for Each Companion
If you want to avoid reading the full ending walkthrough, here are some general hints for reaching a happier outcome with each companion.
- Hero: Pay attention to the actions you’ve witnessed during your journey rather than judging appearances. Keep an eye on your SANITY before important decisions.
- Warrior: Your attitude toward life and consistency in your decisions matter. Stay by their side and prevent them from going too far.
- Mage: Restoring magic isn’t the only way to reach a happy ending. Be honest about your feelings and remember your promises.
- Priest: Manage your SANITY and don’t blindly follow everything he says. Accepting his help is only part of the journey; sometimes you need to protect him as well.
Hero Route – All Choices and Endings
The Hero route has a hidden distrust score that determines which choices become available during Stage 3.
You’ll need to keep track of your earlier decisions and your current SANITY because all of these contribute to the final score.
Hero Route Achievements
| Achievement | How to Unlock |
|---|---|
| A Hero who’s gone mad | Choose the Hero as your companion and begin the escape. |
| Hero | Clear Stage 5 and reach an ending with the Hero. |
1. How to Calculate the Hero’s Distrust Score
During your conversation with the Dropout in Stage 3, the available choices depend on a hidden distrust score.
Start at 0 and add the points from your earlier decisions. You must also include the modifier based on your current SANITY at the time of the Stage 3 conversation.
Stage 1 choices
| Choice | Points |
|---|---|
| Trust the Hero | -1 |
| Don’t trust the Hero | +1 |
| I don’t know what to do now | 0 |
Stage 2 choices
| Choice | Points |
|---|---|
| The Hero must be in pain | -1 |
| The Hero is a monster | +1 |
| It’s too soon to judge the Hero | 0 |
Stage 3 choice
When asked whether the Dropout is your enemy:
| Choice | Points |
|---|---|
| No | -1 |
| Yes | +1 |
Current SANITY modifier
| SANITY | Points |
|---|---|
| 41 or higher | 0 |
| 31–40 | +1 |
| 21–30 | +2 |
| 20 or lower | +3 |
Add all applicable points to calculate your final distrust score.
2. Hero Ending Branches
Once you’ve calculated your score, the conversation with the Dropout can lead to three different choices.
| Choice | Requirement | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| I will save the world with the Hero. | Distrust score of 4 or lower | Continue with the Hero through Stages 4 and 5 toward the normal ending. |
| I want to save the world with you. | No requirement | Leave the Hero and join the Dropout, leading to a bad ending. |
| I trust neither of you. | Distrust score of 2 or higher | Enter the distrust branch, leading to a Stage 4 bad ending. |
Important details:
- When your distrust score is between 2 and 4, all three choices are available.
- Recovering SANITY after entering the distrust branch does not change the ending route.
- The Hero achievement can only be unlocked by reaching the ending where you save the world alongside the Hero.
If you want the Hero achievement, keep your distrust score low enough to select the first option.
Warrior Route – All Choices and Endings
The Warrior route has several possible endings based on your decisions in Stages 1, 2, 3, and 5.
The important factors are whether you killed or spared the Outcast, whether you reversed your earlier decision, and how you respond to the Warrior near the end of the story.
Warrior Route Achievements
| Achievement | How to Unlock |
|---|---|
| A Warrior who’s lost the strength to swing a sword | Choose the Warrior as your companion and begin the escape. |
| Warrior | Clear Stage 5 and reach an ending with the Warrior. |
1. Important Warrior Route Choices
Stage 1 – Kill or Spare the Outcast
| Choice | Effect |
|---|---|
| Kill the Outcast | A kill record is permanently recorded for the route. Reversing the choice later does not erase it. |
| Spare the Outcast | No kill record is recorded. |
Stage 2 – Reverse Your Earlier Choice
You may get the opportunity to reverse your previous decision.
| Choice | Effect |
|---|---|
| Reverse your choice and confirm the reversal | A reversal record is added, but any earlier kill record remains. |
| Keep your choice or cancel at confirmation | No reversal record is added. |
Stage 3 – Respond to the Dropout
| Choice | Effect |
|---|---|
| Reject the Dropout’s offer | Continue the Warrior route. |
| Join the Dropout | Enter the Dropout bad ending. |
Stage 5 – Stop the Warrior or Accept Their Decision
This is another important decision that affects the final outcome.
| Choice | Effect |
|---|---|
| Stop the Warrior anyway, then insist on stopping | Proceed to the final battle. |
| Accept after all | Trigger a glitch fake ending, after which you can proceed to the final battle. |
2. All Warrior Endings
Your final ending depends on three factors:
- Whether you killed or spared the Outcast.
- Whether you reversed your earlier choice.
- Whether you accepted the Warrior’s decision in Stage 5.
| Outcast | Reversal | Acceptance | Ending |
|---|---|---|---|
| Killed | Any | Any | Continued Fighting Ending |
| Spared | Any | Yes | Post-Glitch Ending |
| Spared | Yes | No | Miniature Garden Ending |
| Spared | No | No | Idol Ending |
Here’s what happens in each ending.
Continued Fighting Ending
If you killed the Outcast in Stage 1, you will reach this ending regardless of your other choices.
The characters continue fighting to take responsibility for their decisions, putting their idol dream on hold.
Post-Glitch Ending
If you spared the Outcast and accepted the Warrior’s decision in Stage 5, you’ll reach the Post-Glitch Ending.
The Warrior and Mage become idols, but visual glitches remain.
Miniature Garden Ending
This ending requires you to spare the Outcast, reverse your earlier choice, and refuse the final acceptance.
The outside world is destroyed, but the characters find peace with their loved ones in the remaining capital.
Idol Ending
If you spare the Outcast, don’t reverse your decision, and refuse the final acceptance, you’ll reach the Idol Ending.
The Warrior leaves fighting behind and joins the Mage in spreading happiness through singing and dancing.
Important notes:
- The acceptance flag remains recorded even after the automatic rewind following the fake ending.
- If you want to undo the acceptance decision, manually load a save from before making that choice.
- All four endings listed above unlock the Warrior achievement.
- The Dropout ending does not unlock the Warrior achievement.
Mage Route – All Choices and Endings
The Mage route revolves around one major decision in Stage 3: whether you want the Mage to regain their magic.
This choice determines which ending branches become available later. If you decide not to restore the Mage’s magic, you’ll also need to choose between a romantic relationship and a companionship route.
Mage Route Achievements
| Achievement | How to Unlock |
|---|---|
| A Mage who’s lost the magic | Choose the Mage as your companion and begin the escape. |
| Mage | Clear Stage 5 and reach an ending with the Mage. |
1. Stage 3 – Restore the Mage’s Magic or Not?
During Stage 3, you’ll be asked whether you want the Mage’s magic restored.
You can choose either:
- Want the Mage’s magic restored.
- Don’t want the Mage’s magic restored.
This is the main branching decision for the route.
2. Stage 4 – Choose Between Romance and Companionship
If you choose not to restore the Mage’s magic, you’ll reach another important decision in Stage 4.
You can either:
- Express your romantic feelings.
- Tell the Mage that they are important to you.
The first response leads toward the romance ending, while the second leads toward the companionship ending.
There is no affection requirement for these choices.
3. Stage 5 – Complete the Mage’s Ending Branch
Your Stage 5 actions depend on your earlier decision.
If you chose to restore the Mage’s magic:
You’ll need to make a pinky promise.
| Choice | Outcome |
|---|---|
| Make the pinky promise | Continue toward the magic-restored ending. |
| Remain silent | Trigger the broken-promise bad ending. |
If you chose not to restore the Mage’s magic:
You have two possible ways to reach an ending.
- Take the side path and flee both pursuit battles, then win the final battle. Your Stage 4 response determines whether you get the romance or companionship ending.
- Defeat the Priest during a pursuit battle or on the direct path. This triggers a special victory ending that overrides the Stage 4 branch.
4. All Mage Endings
| Conditions | Ending |
|---|---|
| Restore magic, make the pinky promise, and complete the remaining events | Magic-Restored Ending |
| Restore magic and remain silent | Broken-Promise Bad Ending |
| Don’t restore magic, confess your feelings, flee both pursuit battles, and win the final battle | Romance Ending |
| Don’t restore magic, choose companionship, flee both pursuit battles, and win the final battle | Companionship Ending |
| Don’t restore magic and defeat the Priest during pursuit or on the direct path | Special Victory Ending |
What happens in each ending?
Magic-Restored Ending
The Mage regains their magic, saves the Hero and Warrior, defeats the Demon Lord, and eventually visits the protagonist.
Broken-Promise Bad Ending
If you remain silent instead of making the pinky promise, the protagonist dies. The Mage cannot revive them.
Romance Ending
If you choose the romantic response in Stage 4, avoid both pursuit battles, and win the final battle, the two characters leave the quest behind and live together.
Companionship Ending
If you choose the companionship response instead, the reunited companions head toward the Demon Lord’s castle.
Special Victory Ending
If you defeat the Priest during a pursuit battle or on the direct route, you receive a special victory ending. This takes priority over the earlier Stage 4 romance or companionship choice.
Achievement note: Every ending listed above except the Broken-Promise Bad Ending unlocks the Mage achievement.
Priest Route – Unlock Requirements, Hidden Score, and Endings
The Priest route is more complicated than the other companion routes.
First, you need to unlock the Priest. After that, your choices and SANITY determine a hidden dependence score, which controls the available options in Stage 3.
There are also persistent records that affect whether you can reach the Priest’s true happy ending.
Priest Route Achievements
| Achievement | How to Unlock |
|---|---|
| A Priest who’s lost the faith | Begin the escape with the Priest. |
| Priest | Clear Stage 5 and reach an ending with the Priest. |
1. How to Unlock the Priest
The Priest becomes available after you encounter him following a death with another companion during Stage 1 or Stage 2.
This must happen outside the tutorial.
Complete the encounter triggered by that death to unlock the Priest as a companion.
Remember that this initial death also matters later if you’re trying to reach the true happy ending.
2. Calculate the Priest’s Hidden Dependence Score
The Priest’s Stage 3 choices depend on a hidden dependence score.
Start at 0, add the points from your applicable choices, and then include one SANITY modifier based on your current value.
Stage 1 choices
| Choice | Dependence Points |
|---|---|
| A Miracle of God | +1 |
| Cut Anyway | -1 |
Stage 2 choices
| Choice | Dependence Points |
|---|---|
| Open Your Mouth | +1 |
| What’s the Point of Listening? | -1 |
| Abandon Another Companion | +10 |
Stage 3 choice
| Choice | Dependence Points |
|---|---|
| Believe, Just a Little | +1 |
Current SANITY modifier
| SANITY | Points |
|---|---|
| 51 or higher | 0 |
| 41–50 | +1 |
| 31–40 | +3 |
| 21–30 | +6 |
| 20 or lower | +11 |
Add your applicable points to determine the dependence score.
3. Priest Stage 3 Choices
The Stage 3 options depend on your dependence score when you first reach this conversation.
| Choice | Requirement | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Look at the Priest | Dependence score of 2 or higher | Stage 4 murder bad ending, followed by a story rewind. |
| Do not take the hand | Dependence score of 4 or lower | Continue the route. |
| Take the hand without hesitation | Dependence score of 4 or lower | Dropout bad ending. |
When your dependence score is between 2 and 4, all three choices are available.
Be careful: these conditions apply when you first reach the Stage 3 branch. Changing your SANITY afterward does not undo the choice you’ve already made.
4. Stage 4 – Save the Priest or Watch
In Stage 4, you’ll face another important decision.
| Choice | Outcome |
|---|---|
| Save the Priest | Continue the route. |
| Watch | Trigger the Priest Abandonment Bad Ending. |
If you’re aiming for the true happy ending, you must choose to save the Priest.
5. Stage 5 – Final Priest Choices
In Stage 5, you’ll have another decision that determines how the story proceeds.
| Choice | Outcome |
|---|---|
| Shake your head | Proceed toward the final battle. The outcome depends on your persistent records and other requirements. |
| Nod | Escape together as the world falls into ruin. |
If you nod, the Priest and protagonist flee together while the world collapses.
If the record of being killed remains, the Priest’s obsession becomes stronger.
Important: The option to shake your head is unavailable if you were killed in Stage 4 and continued through the story rewind.
The final battle can lead to either the Low-Loop or High-Loop ending. The requirements for the Low-Loop ending are explained in the next section.
A True Happy Ending – How to Save the Priest and Everyone Else
The true happy ending is one of the most difficult outcomes to reach in Annihilated.
To get it, you need to meet several conditions that are tracked across your entire play history. Simply making the correct choices during the Priest route isn’t enough.
The main objective is to reach the Low-Loop ending, where the Priest survives, and then unlock an additional battle against the Demon Lord.
1. Requirements for the Low-Loop Ending
You must satisfy all three conditions:
- Only one death across your entire play history: The only permitted death is the one used to unlock the Priest.
- No completed runs with the other companions: The shared clear counters for the Hero, Mage, and Warrior must all be 0.
- No additional deaths after recruiting the Priest: Once the Priest joins you, complete the rest of the route without dying.
If you fail any of these requirements, winning the final battle leads to the High-Loop ending instead.
2. Step-by-Step True Happy Ending Walkthrough
Once you’ve met the requirements above, follow these choices.
Stage 2 – Don’t Abandon Your Companions
Avoid choosing the option to abandon another companion.
This is important because abandoning a companion adds 10 points to the Priest’s dependence score and can make the later route more difficult.
Stage 3 – Don’t Take the Priest’s Hand
Choose:
Do not take the hand.
This option requires a dependence score of 4 or lower.
Make sure you calculate your score before reaching the conversation.
Stage 4 – Save the Priest
When given the choice, select:
Save the Priest.
Do not choose to watch.
Stage 5 – Shake Your Head
Choose:
Shake your head.
This allows you to proceed toward the final battle.
Win the battle while meeting all the persistent record requirements.
3. Manage SANITY and Priest Skills
The Priest has skills that reduce SANITY whenever you use them.
| Skill | SANITY Cost |
|---|---|
| Dark Heal | -1 |
| Dark Holy | -2 |
| Purify | -1 |
Try to limit your skill usage before reaching the Stage 3 branch.
Instead, use items to restore your SANITY when possible.
If you avoid abandoning your companions, having SANITY at 51 or higher guarantees that the second Stage 3 option becomes available.
However, 51 is not the minimum required SANITY value. It’s simply a reliable way to make sure the option is unlocked.
Once you’ve made the required Stage 3 choice, later SANITY reductions will not change that branch.
4. Defeat the Priest and Unlock the Demon Lord Battle
If you meet all the requirements and win the final battle against the Priest, you’ll save him and unlock an additional battle against the Demon Lord.
Defeat the Demon Lord to reach the true happy ending, where everyone is together.
5. Important: Persistent Records and Save Data
This is the most important warning for anyone attempting the true happy ending.
Some progress is tracked through shared records that remain even when you load an older save or start a new game.
These include:
- Additional deaths beyond the one used to unlock the Priest.
- Completed runs with the Hero.
- Completed runs with the Mage.
- Completed runs with the Warrior.
These records are separate from Steam achievements.
Loading an older save or starting a new game does not reset these shared records. If you’ve already broken one of the requirements, simply replaying the route won’t restore the necessary conditions.
6. How to Reset Persistent Records
The original guide provides a manual reset method for players who want to start over with a clean record.
<badge color=”warning”>Warning: This deletes existing progress</badge>
Follow these steps carefully:
- Close the game.
- Open the game’s Properties in Steam.
- Disable Steam Cloud for Annihilated.
- Back up the save folder below.
- Delete the contents of the save folder.
- Start the game again.
The save folder is located at:
%USERPROFILE%\AppData\LocalLow\DeathKumiai\Annihilated\NaninovelData\SavesMake sure you back up your files before deleting anything.
Important: This process erases existing progress and records. Only use it if you’re certain you want to reset your saved data.
Annihilated has much more complicated ending conditions than simply choosing your favorite companion and completing the five stages. Hidden scores, SANITY, earlier decisions, and persistent records can all affect the final outcome.
If you’re aiming for the companion achievements, pay close attention to the Hero’s distrust score, the Warrior’s kill and reversal records, and the Mage’s magic restoration choice. The Priest route requires even more planning because the true happy ending depends on your entire play history.
My recommendation is to keep separate saves before major decisions, especially when experimenting with different endings. Just remember that some persistent records cannot be undone by loading an older save.
Hopefully, this guide helps you unlock the endings you’re looking for and reach the true happy ending where everyone survives together.
