Some games put branching narratives and player agency at the center of the experience, ensuring that every playthrough is different from the last (even if the core story remains the same).
Having a game respond to your choices in unexpected ways does wonders for player immersion. If you love games where your choices really matter, you owe it to yourself to check out a few of these.
10
Detroit: Become Human
Quantic Dream is a studio that’s best known for adventure games that place a heavy emphasis on interactivity. Detroit: Become Human is by far the studio’s most accomplished work, having released initially in May 2018 for the PlayStation 4 (it’s now also playable on PC and, naturally, the PS5).
The game has you take control of three playable characters in a world where androids have taken over many of society’s jobs and caregiving roles. While the manufacturer insists that the machines lack autonomy and sentience, the events of the game’s opening moments shatter that illusion. From here, it’s up to you to decide how to deal with physical altercations and dialog choices that will shape the path that unfolds as you progress the story.
Detroit: Become Human has no fail state since the story will continue if you make a bad call, fail a quick time event, or even if a character dies. While you might want a “good” ending, rolling with the punches and dealing with any missteps is just a part of the game.
Heavy Rain, Quantic Dream’s 2010 PlayStation 3 narrative adventure, is also worth a shot. 2005’s Fahrenheit also has its moments, but I’d recommend avoiding 2013’s Beyond: Two Souls.
9
Pentiment
Obsidian Entertainment’s Pentiment is a narrative adventure in which you must investigate a series of murders. The game takes place in the 1500s and features a beautiful unique art style and side-scrolling perspective. If you love the idea of coming to your own conclusions and then wearing those decisions for the rest of the game, Pentiment is your jam.
The game features a pressure mechanic which forces you to pick and choose which leads you pursue as part of your investigations. There’s plenty of opportunity for self-reflection along the way, and you’ll question if you should have spent your time doing something else or whether you have enough evidence to come to a conclusion.
The game takes place over the course of 25 years, during which time you’ll get to know key characters and define Andreas’ backstory through your choice of dialog options. Though there’s one main ending, different characters will be subject to different outcomes depending on your choices. Play it on PC, Xbox, PlayStation 5, and Switch.
8
Disco Elysium
Disco Elysium is a roleplaying game in which you assume the role of a cop tasked with solving a murder. The only problem is that, after a heavy night of drinking, you’re completely unable to remember a thing. This gives you, the player, a completely blank canvas. Your choices throughout the game will decide what sort of character you’ll become, which can have a huge impact on the story.
How you shape your character and interact with the world will ultimately decide which leads you can pursue and how much information you can glean about the case. Different characters will have different experiences, and like any RPG which traits you choose to focus on will affect your abilities.
Disco Elysium is as much about discovering what sort of character you are as it is solving a murder. Like many similar games, the outcome at the endings aren’t massively different but the journey you’ll go on to reach the final moments can be vastly different.
7
Alpha Protocol
2010’s Alpha Protocol is another Obsidian joint and one that received a mixed reception on release. In the years that have followed, the game has amassed something of a cult following and its reputation has improved among gamers and critics alike. There are fresh calls for a sequel to be made, but SEGA seems reluctant to the idea.
This is a third-person action RPG, not dissimilar to other games of the era like Deus Ex: Mankind Divided. You can choose how to tackle the game’s various missions, which can involve stealth, melée, and firearms (or a combination of all three). Outside of upgrading the player character, Michael Thornton, it’s the dialog and choices you make in the game that will really shape your fate.
Alpha Protocol includes a unique dialog system that allows you to take “stances” that shape how you interact with other characters. It also features several important moments where you’ll need to choose an outcome, which eventually leads to one of the game’s 32 possible endings. Find a used copy for PS3 or Xbox 360, or grab it on GOG.com for Windows.
6
The Quarry
Supermassive Games is a studio that has made a name for itself by creating immersive and tense interactive adventures. The Quarry is perhaps the studio’s finest moment, an interactive slasher flick about a group of teenagers that must spend an unplanned night at Hackett’s Quarry summer camp and who end up fighting for their lives.
As a player, you control multiple protagonists over the course of an evening. Your choices will decide how events play out, and your decisions in the heat of the moment can seal fates and avoid certain death. Decisions range from whether to run back to help a friend, or which character should be armed with a shotgun when things take a turn for the worst.
Ultimately, the goal is to survive the evening without losing any lives. But this is a video game that puts you under immense pressure, where mistakes will be made, and hindsight is 20/20. Once you’ve finished the game you can start again and try to perfect your run. Play it on Xbox, PlayStation 5, and PC.
If you enjoy this sort of thing, check out Supermassive Games’ other titles including the excellent Until Dawn and the studio’s series of short games known as The Dark Pictures Anthology.
5
Life Is Strange
How could any list of games about narrative choices and player agency be complete without Dontnod’s cult classic Life Is Strange? The series first appeared in 2015 and was first made available as downloadable episodes (don’t worry, you can now buy the remastered version as a complete product). The game takes place from a third-person perspective, telling the story of two childhood friends Chloe and Max, and the latter’s ability to rewind time.
Decisions you make throughout the game can have short and long-term consequences. This can include your choice of dialog, reactions to situations, or even decisions like whether to take or leave an item in the environment. These decisions are rarely black and white, and you might find that an action that you thought would yield a positive outcome in the short term comes back to haunt you later.
The game reaches a climax where you’ll need to make some big decisions to determine the outcome. There’s a grungy, Pacific Northwest teenage angst aesthetic that won’t appeal to everyone, but it’s a short enough experience that it’s worth seeing through to the end.
The series has been so well-received that there has been a prequel (Life is Strange: Before the Storm), a spin-off (The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit), and several sequels. There’s a lot to dig into here if you enjoy the first game!
4
Suzerain
A self-described “branching political saga,” Suzerain puts you in the position of President Anton Rayne of the fictional nation of Sordland. The country is emerging from two decades of authoritarian rule following a civil war and it is up to you to oversee the transition. How you choose to proceed will define not only your legacy but the trajectory of an entire nation.
It’s not often that you get to decide the fate of an entire country, navigate geopolitics, or instigate your own laws and economic policies; but that’s exactly what Suzerain asks of you. It’s a government simulator, and you’re at the helm.
The game is heavy on text. You’ll spend a lot of time reading dialog (and choosing appropriate responses), making political decisions by clicking boxes, and staring at a map. The developers claim there are over 900,000 lines of text in the game, which means it probably has more in common with interactive fiction than the other more traditional games on this list.
3
Tyranny
The third Obsidian Entertainment game on this list also happens to be the developer’s most underrated release. 2020’s Tyranny puts you in the shoes of a Fatebinder, the judge, jury, and executioner sent to restore order to a world after it has been conquered by the evil overlord Kyros. The twist here is that you represent the evil forces that now rule over everything.
The game takes the form of an RPG played from an isometric perspective. You must travel the world, settle scores, and maintain order through whatever means necessary. Shape your character, interact with the game’s various factions, and recruit others to stand alongside you.
Your decisions don’t just affect the outcome of the game, they also shape the world around you. These decisions will have knock-on effects, like deciding how certain characters react to you or causing the annihilation of some settlements altogether. The game is only available on Windows, Mac, and Linux, which might explain why it managed to fly under the radar when similar Obsidian titles like Pillars of Eternity enjoyed greater success.
2
As Dusk Falls
As Dusk Falls might be the closest thing to a choose-your-own-adventure game on this list in the sense that gameplay almost purely consists of making decisions to advance the story. This is a game that will ask you what to do at every turn, with a suitably spartan yet effective graphical style that feels as much like a graphic novel as it does a video game.
The game centers around a story of tragedy that unfolds between two families in the Arizona desert. The game spans multiple generations as it explores a deep branching narrative. There’s also an interesting cooperative multiplayer mode that requires players to work together to make decisions.
The game was praised for its unique visuals, excellent voice acting, and gripping emotional storytelling. You can play the game on Xbox, PS4 and PS5, and Windows.
1
Oxenfree
Oxenfree was a surprise hit when it was initially released in 2016. The game is a side-scrolling narrative adventure game about a group of teenagers who get up to typical teenager stuff while visiting a local island. While you’re there strange things start happening involving radio waves and time distortion.
Dialog choices are really important in Oxenfree, and how you interact with your friends will ultimately determine which ending you see. The game has a unique dialog system that uses speech bubbles rather than a static menu from which you pick options. This allows you to do things like explore the world while taking, or simply walk away from someone if you don’t want to listen to what they have to say.
The game is a relatively short narrative adventure that has earned a dedicated following. It has since been picked up by Netflix, so you can play it free of charge if you have a subscription.
If you enjoy Oxenfree, make sure to pick up the sequel (which is also available on Netflix Games).
Short on time? Check out 15 games you can finish in a weekend, or 15 games you can finish in an evening instead.
