Many RPGs promise that player choices change the story. However, many players frequently discover that their decisions only alter a single line of dialogue or a minor cosmetic change. For these games, decisions go far beyond a simple yes or no dialogue option. A single conversation in an early chapter might determine if a companion stays loyal or betrays the party at the end.
Big Upcoming RPGs That Focus On Player Choices
Freedom to make impactful choices with far-reaching consequences lies at the heart of these upcoming RPGs.
Some of these RPGs even remember what a player did in a previous save file. They use that data to mock the player or change the current story. These games are the best way to prove that choices can have a profound impact on a player’s journey.
Baldur’s Gate 3
Systemic Ripple Effects
- The game records decisions deeply and uses them later, so even small actions can create serious ripple effects hours afterward.
- Ethical choices avoid simple good-or-evil labels, changing relationships, factions, and even entire areas of the world.
Baldur’s Gate 3 gives a sense of real agency beyond typical RPG choices. In some games, choices change only a line of dialogue or a cosmetic detail, but Baldur’s Gate 3 records decisions at the system level and uses them later in serious ways. This means that even small actions can have meaningful ripple effects across hours of play.
Impossible Choices You Have To Make In RPGs
RPGs love to give players narrative decisions to agonize over, and these particular games force players to make impossible choices to proceed.
The game also goes beyond giving players straightforward good vs. evil choices. Instead of a binary morality system, Baldur’s Gate 3 forces players to make choices that are ethically complex, with real consequences that don’t always feel like clear rewards or punishments. This design pushes players to think about what consequences might unfold, not just whether a choice is labeled good or bad. Choices affect not only story and character relationships but also the larger game world. Lots of content can be locked out in this RPG depending on the player’s decisions, and factions can rise or collapse based on how the player interacts with them.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Moral Choices Become Physically and Narratively Visible
- Repeated Light or Dark Side decisions change the protagonist’s physical appearance, making moral choices visible in the world.
- Alignment shifts come from both major events and small conversations, shaping the final destiny of the character.
In many games, a player’s moral choices only affect their reputation. But in a BioWare RPG like Knights of the Old Republic, decisions are hard because they not only have moral weight, but also have a direct impact on the protagonist’s look. If a player consistently chooses the Dark Side, the character’s skin becomes pale, and their eyes turn yellow. Conversely, a character who follows the Light Side maintains a brighter appearance. This makes the player’s internal moral journey kind of visible to everyone they interact with.
Every time a player chooses something that favors compassion, aggression, or selfishness, the alignment score shifts. These shifts come from actual gameplay decisions, from major story moments to smaller conversation choices, so players feel the moral weight of what they do. And some choices change how later events play out in the story. For example, at the end of KOTOR, a player can choose a destiny that reflects their moral path. So one option leads toward resisting the dark influence and confronting Darth Malak directly, while the other embraces the dark side and reshapes the game.
