It’s difficult to make choices in a game matter. Many have tried and failed, where the decisions result in only vaguely different endings or don’t really have an impact at all.
However, there are several titles that don’t just pretend that your choices have meaning. Instead, they actually take into account how you choose to play your characters and adjust the game accordingly. As a result, it makes every big decision feel incredibly important as at any moment you could irreversibly change the in-game universe or alter the main narrative. This is a collection of these sorts of titles.
Updated May 22, 2023, By Ben Jessey: Many games involve player choice. However, in a lot of cases, the decisions you’re forced to make don’t have a significant impact on the overall experience.
This doesn’t always ruin a title, but it’s much better when you play a game where your choices matter. There are a bunch of titles that fit this description. We put several of the most notable ones on this list. And now we’ve updated the piece to add a few more.
29 The Walking Dead
TellTale’s The Walking Dead is more of a collection of games than a single one. This is because there are four seasons of this narrative adventure experience, along with a couple of spin-offs. The main seasons focus on young Clementine, who finds herself amid a zombie apocalypse.
Her primary goal is simply to survive. To accomplish that, you need to make a litany of difficult decisions that impact her and the people around her. They don’t all have a significant effect, but the biggest ones usually do.
28 Divinity: Original Sin 2
Divinity: Original Sin 2 is an isometric turn-based RPG set in a fantasy world called Rivellon. It’s a beautiful world, but it is currently under attack from creatures known as Voidwoken. Your customizable protagonist is the only hope to save the place. That is the main premise of the story, but there is a lot more going on in this dense universe.
While adventuring, you make an abundance of choices that impact the overall experience. Not every decision is a binary one that you’re prompted to make. Simply the actions you choose to take while exploring impact your adventure.
27 Chrono Trigger
An early example of a game containing a significant amount of player choice is Chrono Trigger. This 1995 2D RPG follows a group of adventurers who learn that a global catastrophe is going to occur.
So, they intend to use their time travel ability to visit different eras and come up with a plan to stop the world from devastation. There are several different ways for the narrative to play out. Which one you get depends on the actions you take throughout the tale.
26 Grand Theft Auto 5
In Grand Theft Auto 5, you control a trio of protagonists who all have distinct personalities. Yet, one thing they share in common is a willingness to partake in criminal activity, particularly the kind that gains them a significant amount of money. Thus, they go on several heists throughout the story.
Not only do you take part in the heists themselves, but you also do some of the planning, which means you have to make some big decisions. What method do you use? Who do you want on your crew? These choices impact how the heist plays out and how successful it is.
25 As Dusk Falls
As Dusk Falls is all about choice. After all, the main thing you do in the game is make decisions that heavily impact how every scene plays out. Even choices that seem small sometimes end up being really important. So, you get plenty of influence over the main storyline.
The tale revolves around two families who meet on one faithful day in 1998. The first half of the adventure shows what happened on that day. The second half is set many years later and shows how the events impacted those involved.
24 Nier: Automata
Nier: Automata’s story is about a major conflict between machines created by aliens and androids crafted by humans. It sounds simple enough, but it actually turns out to be one of the most complex narratives in recent gaming history. And you have to do multiple playthroughs to see and understand everything.
During those runs, you can get a litany of different endings. They trigger based on the actions you choose to make while playing. For instance, if you decide to remove the chip that allows your android character to function, the game immediately concludes. So, be careful what you choose to do in this action RPG.
23 Red Dead Redemption 2
This open-world western game isn’t one people often consider when speaking of choice-based games. After all, it isn’t like you’re being bombarded with binary decisions every two minutes. The honor system is much more organic than that, as it tracks all your actions. So, if you want high honor, don’t shoot a lot of innocent people.
Whether you’re honorable or not, the overall story is about the adventures of the Van Der Linde gang and their struggles to survive in the changing world. You play as Arthur Morgan, and your level of honor impacts how the world sees and talks about the man. Plus, it also impacts the ending.
22 Prey (2017)
Prey entirely takes place on a Space Station that’s been taken over by a dangerous alien force named Typhon. Your goal is to get rid of them all by any means necessary. You aren’t the only living person on the station, though. While making your way through the story, you meet several different people.
Most of the choices in the game revolve around these fellows, as you’re continually tasked with deciding if you should help them and how much assistance you should provide. Your actions in these situations impact how the story plays out.
21 Life Is Strange: True Colors
The Life Is Strange series is known for its choice-based gameplay, and True Colors is no different. In this one, you control Alex Chen, who reunites with her brother in a small mining town called Haven. It’s worth noting that Alex is no ordinary individual. She has a supernatural ability to recognize and feel someone else’s emotions.
She uses that to try to figure out all the secrets in this seemingly happy town. Along the way, you must make several big decisions. They impact the lives of the various other characters and your relationship with them. You see how they all feel about you towards the end of the game.
20 Heavy Rain
Heavy Rain is an interactive narrative adventure that revolves around a serial killer called the Origami Killer. They are known for murdering their victims by drowning them in rainwater and leaving a piece of Origami at the scene.
You play as a few different protagonists committed to figuring out the identity of the killer and putting an end to their crimes. Their level of success depends on you. Your choices and button pressing skills impact how each protagonist’s story plays out. As a result, there are several different endings you can get.
19 Mass Effect 3
By the third Mass Effect game, Commander Shepard has proven themselves to be the most important person in the battle against The Reapers. As the sentient machines are actively invading in ME3, the protagonist’s importance increases even more.
So, throughout the action RPG, you make a litany of choices that directly impact how ready you are for the war, which dictates what endings are available. On top of that, you also need to decide the fate of several races during the game. You can even effectively make a few species extinct by making certain choices.
18 The Stanley Parable
In The Stanley Parable, you control a silent protagonist whose actions are narrated by actor Kevan Brighting. The narrator tries to lead you down a specific path, but you don’t have to listen to him.
So, you’re continually choosing whether or not you follow his instructions. And these decisions alter what ending you get. Not that you’ll stick with that conclusion, as any time you reach the end of a path, the game resets. Therefore, the game is all about discovering different endings by making distinct choices.
17 The Outer Worlds
Not every single decision you make in The Outer Worlds is significant. Yet, the biggest ones heavily impact the in-game world, especially when it comes to the ending.
Virtually the fate of every place you visit and faction you meet depends on the actions you make throughout the game. And on a smaller scale, your choices also impact what everyone thinks of you on a personal level. So, you should be careful about your decisions in The Outer Worlds.
16 Man Of Medan
After Man Of Medan’s prologue, things seem peaceful as a group of young adults go on a diving trip together. Things don’t remain pleasant for long, though, as the main characters quickly find themselves in trouble.
Most of their problems occur after they hop aboard a creepy old naval vessel. And it’s up to you to keep them safe despite the terrors they face. In fact, the lives of all of the main characters are in your hands. Which of them survives directly affects what ending you get.
15 Dishonored
Few games handle choice quite like this Arkane Studios title. The world of Dishonored is molded by you, but not by your words, it’s based on your actions.
For instance, if you decide to kill lots of people during the story, you will start finding a lot more rats and unsavory creatures roaming around. Alternatively, the streets will be pretty clear during a stealth run-through. Your chaos level also impacts guard patrols, people’s opinions of you, and the game’s ending.
14 Cyberpunk 2077
Cyberpunk 2077 deals with personal choices that not only affect the main quest but the side quests too. For example, you’ll get a chance to save your neighbor who’s experiencing some severe personal issues, but will you, as V, actually make the right choices to do so?
Cyberpunk also has various endings, and the journey you take V and Johnny Silverhand on up till that point will determine which of them you witness. So, what you do throughout the story actually matters; though don’t worry too much about picking a life path because that doesn’t.
13 Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
The Assassin’s Creed series hasn’t always been known for giving you control over the events that occur throughout any given game. But things have changed a little in recent instalments, like this Viking adventure shows.
The conclusion of Eivor and Sigured’s adventure is directly determined by a collection of decisions you need to make during the story. Alongside that, you have plenty of little choices to make that impact things like who lives? Who controls what? And who is allied with who?
12 Hitman 3
While not particularly thought of as a choice-based game, Hitman 3 is entirely dictated by how you decide to play. On every level, there are several ways to take down your targets, and some are very different from one another. For instance, in the Dartmoor mission, you can conduct an entire murder investigation, including talking to suspects and finding clues, and it’s all completely optional.
Plus, you’re required to make a big choice at the end of the game. Will you kill a character or choose a kinder fate for him? That’s one big clue to look out for when it comes to the conclusion. There’s even a ‘secret’ ending to unlock, making for a total of three.
11 The Wolf Among Us
The Telltale games have often been quite mixed in terms of story and choice-driven narratives, but few others do it as well as The Wolf Among Us. This title is much more of a strict detective story than most other adventures, following your sleuth to catch a murderer in the strange fairytale-filled version of New York.
What makes these choices matter is the lack of time you have to make them, as most of the game’s big decisions have timers to prevent you from thinking too long about certain subjects. You’re left to make your own impulsive decisions, and while some can lead to newer plot details, there are tons you can miss if you don’t think through your actions.
10 Fallout: New Vegas
Most of the newer Fallout games can be somewhat on-rails with their stories. The main overarching plot doesn’t usually change based on your decisions, and the simplistic good or evil style choices of Fallout 3 left many fans underwhelmed. Fallout: New Vegas, however, is the exact opposite.
Nearly every decision has a huge amount of grey area surrounding its morality, and how it’ll help you. You can get close with certain characters, befriend several factions that lead you to conflict with others, and you can kill nearly every NPC you see to make even more different stories and endings. It’s an unlimited supply of choices and has tons of decisions in what builds and perks you choose, and it ends up being a remarkable personal experience with each playthrough.