There’s no better feeling, or grander pressure, than a game where your choices actually matter. Being the architect responsible for a failing or prospering world, or the characters within it, can really weigh heavily on your morality and make you feel immense responsibility, which is why it can be so fun and memorable to play games in which your actions and choices have direct consequences that impact the story and the world. Below, we’ve outlined some great games where your choices actually matter, and every choice you make will directly impact your life and the lives of those around you (in-game, of course).
We’ve tried to avoid listing episodic narrative games, like the great titles from Telltale Games, to keep the picks below unique.
No, I’m Not a Human
Decide Who Lives and Dies to Keep Your Humanity, or Lose It
- Released
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2025
- Developer(s)
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Trioskaz
- Publisher(s)
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Critical Reflex
- Engine
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Unity
- Number of Players
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Single-player
No, I’m Not a Human is a very short, but very replayable indie game where players are tasked with staying inside their house and looking through their front door’s peephole at night to see who’s come knocking. There are countless of people trying to get invited into your home to survive a changing world at the end of times, but not everyone trying to get in will be human. Players must make quick-witted and gambled decisions on who to let in their home, as you might just be letting in a Visitor that will kill the innocent humans within your home when you close your eyes for sleep. Even when you’re awake, you only have limited dialogue options and energy to try and figure out who the Visitor is, and failing to find them is bad news. Paranoia runs rampant in No, I’m Not a Human, and every choice you make could result in the death of an innocent, by a Visitor’s hand, or even by your own if you’re quick to judgment. It’s haunting to realize you’ve killed one of your own, and disturbing to think that a monster is among you.
Dishonored
Become a Supernatural Assassin and Reshape Dunwall with Your View of Justice
- Released
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October 9, 2012
- ESRB
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M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Strong Language
- Engine
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Unreal Engine 3
Dishonored is an absolute classic, and a must-play for fans who like first-person action games that let you play your own way. Whether you like to run around and stab things, or stick to the shadows so that nobody ever sees you throughout the entire playthrough, Dishonored allows for it all. Within Dishonored, players will be tasked with cleaning up Dunwall of corrupt politicians who betrayed you and the Empress, and while there’s no real choice of dialogue, there is a clear choice of actions. The people you save, the side missions you indulge in, and the people you kill all result in different outcomes. Missions can drastically change depending on whether you dedicate yourself to violence or exploration, and you’ll see the gnawing rats of Dunwall fester in every choice that proves you to be a bitter killer or a righteous bringer of justice.
Tyranny
Choices Truly Dictate the Shape of the World Like No Other RPG
- Released
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November 10, 2016
- ESRB
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t
If you really want an experience where your decisions shape the world and force you to play with the consequences that you created, then Tyranny is the perfect RPG. There are some mind-boggling and dangerous choices you can make that are so meaningful and world-altering, and your morality will dictate the companions, people, and world itself. As an arbiter of law, the world you inhabit is corrupted with war, so why not indulge in your power to survive the system or dismantle it? Every decision you make has far-reaching consequences for those who enjoy CRPGs. Exceptional world-building and lore provide you with all you need to know to dictate your playthrough. Will you be a loyal servant, or rebel to shape a new world in your image, the image of the people, or those who act as the oppressors?
Alpha Protocol
A Rogue Agent on a Mission, Where Decisions and Actions Impact Each Mission
- Released
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June 1, 2010
- ESRB
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m
- Engine
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Unreal Engine 3
Alpha Protocol is immensely complex in the choices you can make, which adds so much to its replayability. Alpha Protocol has you take the role of agent Michael Thorton, cast out by his government, and forced to go rogue in order to stop an international catastrophe. A spy-thriller where your conversations with other characters and actions directly impact the narrative far more than any gun could, Alpha Protocol allows you to create your own spy and even your own story to ensure that each mission carries the consequences of the previous one. Every decision could spell doom for yourself, those around you, or the world, so it’s best to bring a sharp wit and your free will to see what outcomes you get across this epic journey. It’s ambitious, and each playthrough will be dictated by how you play to weave an interesting story throughout based on what you do and say. There’s even a timer on your interactions to really put the pressure on, and to show how influential every little decision can be.
Fallout: A Post Nuclear Role Playing Game
Even No Choice Has a Direct Consequence in This Post-Apocalyptic World
- Released
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October 10, 1997
- ESRB
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m
- Engine
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Creation Engine
Fallout is a cultural footprint in gaming, and the original game is all the proof you need as to why. Not only is the world-building rich and filled with satire, but the gameplay and its narrative are the reasons the CRPG genre was revitalized. Fallout allows you to create a character across so many different stats that every playthrough becomes unique simply based on how stupid your character is. The people you interact with, the places you go, and the conversations you have all directly impact the narrative in a meaningful way. There is complete control in Fallout, and you can punish yourself or the world based on even the smallest of decisions. Even making no decision at all directly results in something happening to prove that if you can think of it, Fallout‘s probably done it. There are so many different dialogue options to choose from and actions to take that Fallout remains one of the best examples of decision-making in gaming.
Mass Effect Legendary Edition
A Trilogy of Epic Sci-Fi Action, Opera, and Choice
- Released
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May 14, 2021
- ESRB
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M for Mature: Blood, Drug Reference, Partial Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Use of Alcohol, Violence
- Publisher(s)
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Electronic Arts
What’s better than one game where your choices matter? Three of them that follow a comprehensive and total arc! Mass Effect Legendary Edition includes Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2, and Mass Effect 3, allowing you to experience the entire trilogy from start to finish, along with the choices you make across all 3 games, so that you can see how your choices impact this sci-fi narrative. Mass Effect has a truly gripping narrative, and the interactive storytelling that allows you to decide the fates of your story, your crew, and even your own personality grows in each game. In Mass Effect 2, you’ll be impacted by the decisions you make in Mass Effect, and in Mass Effect 3, you’ll find out that your choices have seamlessly traveled between each game to control the outcomes of your missions and perhaps even the fate of the galaxy itself.
The Dark Pictures Anthology
An Anthology Series Ripe With Horror, Consequences, and Insumountable Guilt
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The Dark Pictures: Man of Medan
8/10
- Released
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August 30, 2019
- ESRB
-
M For Mature 17+ due to Blood, Drug Reference, Intense Violence, Strong Language, Suggestive Themes
The Dark Pictures Anthology is a great way to experience an interactive story in which your decisions actually matter, While other interactive adventure games have crafted well-written narratives, players are rather pigeon-holed in the end result. Whereas with the titles within The Dark Pictures Anthology, characters can die or hate each other based on what you do and say, resulting in an entirely different experience with each playthrough. Making decisions has never felt more intense, knowing that lives are on the line, and the cold dark of the supernatural continues to creep forward with building and smothering pressure. The Dark Pictures Anthology is a great choice for those looking for a terrifying story where your guilt and morality shape the narrative through choices, and there are plenty of titles within the anthology series, from Man of Medan, Little Hope, House of Ashes, and The Devil in Me.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
A Witcher, a mercenary Monster Slayer, Dictates Fate More Than He’d Like
- Released
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May 19, 2015
- ESRB
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M for Mature: Use of Alcohol, Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Nudity, Strong Language, Strong Sexual Content
CD PROJEKT RED is exceptional at crafting wonderful (yet bleak) worlds in which players are constantly being bombarded with moral choices that can hurt and heal those around them. The Witcher 3 is an exceptional example of this experience, in which players fill the shoes and swords of Geralt of Rivia, a Witcher who wanders war-torn lands and accepts mercenary contracts to kill monsters for coin. Everyone seems to have a problem, and what better answer to a problem than a Witcher? Players can actively help communities and individuals, or damn them to a worse fate, depending on their greed and selfishness. What’s even better is the main story itself, where the dialogue that players choose can directly shape the relationships of those close to Geralt, including the Child or Prophecy and Geralt’s daughter, Ciri.
Disco Elysium – The Final Cut
Navigate a Bleak City and Interrogate the Unforgettable to Forge Your Identity
- Released
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October 15, 2019
- ESRB
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M For Mature 17+ due to Blood, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Use of Drugs, Violence
- Developer(s)
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ZA/UM
- Publisher(s)
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ZA/UM
Beautiful dialogue, voice-acting, and an oil-painting art style all help to shape the world in which you’ll eventually come to ruin with your choices in Disco Elysium. The game is a masterpiece, and you assume the responsibilities of an irresponsible and troubled detective going through a memory crisis. Piece together the past, solve murders, and use an intricate system of skills that will directly impact the decisions you make and the conversations you can have. Your skills will directly impact the conversations that you have, and the information you learn from the characters you speak with will forever change the way you view your first playthrough, all the way to your last. Deep choices result in deeper consequences, as the protagonist will change who they are and be shaped around who you dictate them to be.
Baldur’s Gate 3
A Masterclass in Fantasy’s D&D Story-Rich and Party-Based Decision-Making
- Released
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August 3, 2023
- ESRB
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M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Partial Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Violence
Dungeons & Dragons‘ TTRPG may not be for everyone, but that’s where Baldur’s Gate 3 comes in. BG3 brings D&D directly to you with a story-rich game in which you craft a party of fantastical characters, and you, along with the randomness of a dice roll, dictate the story with your unique choices. Baldur’s Gate 3 is extremely deep with the decisions it allows you to make, whether that’s a critical failure, a critical success, or passing by the skin of your teeth. Your choices directly impact the world, your party, and the characters you interact with to shape a grand adventure of allies, self-worth, or immense power. Choices are free rein here, where you can basically decide one day to kill everyone in your party and go at it alone, or take the more humane approach by trying to help those close to you. The freedom of choice and the consequences woven into every narrative make this a replayable experience with so many possibilities in each run.
