This certainly isn’t a new feature of gaming, as it was the key selling points of numerous 80s and 90s graphic adventures. However, it’s fair to say that the choices in many games today are far more expansive than ever before, and the popularity of games where your choices matter has led to significantly more games available to choose from.
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Unfortunately, the popularity of decision-based games has meant that many developers and publishers have tried to shoehorn decision-making into their games, despite the choices having little to no impact on the direction of the story. Thankfully, there are numerous games where decision-making isn’t just a gimmick but a key, in-depth feature.
Updated on December 25th, 2022, by Jack Pursey: The gaming industry continues to be leaning towards games where players have plenty of choices to make throughout the adventure, whether it’s where to go in an open-world game, what skills to upgrade in an action game, or which dialogue option to pick in a story-driven game. With so many decision-heavy games available today, it can be tough to decide which one to play. To help players out, we’ve updated this list to include some more key information, such as the platforms each game is available on and their main story completion time according to howlongtobeat.com.
15 XCOM 2
Release Date: February 5, 2016
Available Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Android
Main Story Completion Time: 33 Hours
The XCOM series has predominantly become known for two things since the franchise reached the attention of mainstream gaming: its brutal difficulty and often ridiculous hit percentage chances. This made some people who hadn’t played the game believe it to be a gimmick, though this couldn’t be further from the truth.
Although the game does have its moments of absurd difficulty, players who get to grips with it will be rewarded with a challenging yet rewarding turn-based strategy game that demands players to think a few moves ahead like a game of chess. Players don’t just need to think ahead and carefully plan out their decisions to complete each mission, but also because if one of their team members dies, they’re gone for good.
14 Dishonored
Release Date: October 9, 2012
Available Platforms: PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One
Main Story Completion Time: 12 Hours
The concept of a game letting players opt for either a peaceful or aggressive playthrough is certainly nothing new, with franchises like Fable and Mass Effect being notable examples.
However, whereas those games have clear ramifications for positive or negative actions that are made obvious to the player, such as with Commander Shepard’s Renegade face scars in Mass Effect 2, Dishonored is far more subtle. For example, if players kill a guard in a certain area of Dishonered, the next time they enter the area, there will be more guards patrolling and more traps in place.
13 The Stanley Parable
Release Date: October 17, 2013 (Original) 27 April, 2022 (Ultra Deluxe)
Available Platforms: PC (Original) PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch (Ultra Deluxe)
Main Story Completion Time: 1.5 Hours
Along with games like Amnesia: The Dark Descent and Slender: The Eight Pages, Galactic Cafe The Stanley Parable was among the first wave of games that can largely credit their unexpected burst in popularity to YouTube streamers. This is thanks to how fun it is to watch other people reach certain moments in the game and how tempting it was for the viewers to try The Stanely Parable for themselves and see what narrative paths they could discover.
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Without a doubt, the true stars of The Stanley Parable are British actor Kevan Brighting who voiced the narrator, and those who wrote his script. The narrator will talk the protagonist through what they’re “supposed” to do, though going against this will spark all sorts of bizarre twists and turns.
12 Until Dawn
Release Date: August 25, 2015
Available Platforms: PlayStation 4
Main Story Completion Time: 8 Hours
Until Dawn was released in August 2015 exclusively on the PlayStation 4, the game was developed by Supermassive Games, who are best known today for their work on The Dark Pictures Anthology.
Until Dawn is a fantastic option for those who like decision-based games, as every one of the playable characters can live or die depending on the decisions that players make. Although the gameplay has its issues, Until Dawn is one of the best choices on this list for those wanting a true decision-based adventure.
11 Beyond: Two Souls
Release Date: October 8, 2013
Available Platforms: PC, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation 4
Main Story Completion Time: 10.5 Hours
Beyond: Two Souls was developed by Quantic Dream, the same team that worked on Heavy Rain, a pioneer of modern decision-based games. Uniquely for story-heavy games, Beyond: Two Souls offers a co-op mode where two players can each control one of the protagonists, Aiden and Jodie.
Indicative of its emphasis on storytelling, Beyond: Two Souls appeared at the Tribeca Film Festival, becoming only the second video game to do so, with Rockstar Games’ L.A. Noire being the first.
10 Heavy Rain
Release Date: February 23, 2010
Available Platforms: PC, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation 4
Main Story Completion Time: 10 Hours
Heavy Rain was released exclusively on the PlayStation 3 in 2010 and was a pioneer in bringing decision-heavy games back into the mainstream market. Sadly, the game is often dismissed today, as it’s hard to deny that many of its features have aged poorly. It’s worth noting, however, that many of the games that people point to as being superior likely wouldn’t have existed if it wasn’t for Quantic Dream’s Heavy Rain.
Heavy Rain performed extremely well with critics when it was initially released, exemplified by its impressive Metascore of 87. The game also won numerous awards, including Outstanding Innovation in Gaming from the Interactive Achievement Awards.
9 The Walking Dead
Release Date: April 24, 2012 (Episode 1)
Available Platforms: Android, iOS, PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Nintendo Switch, Xbox 360, and Xbox One
Main Story Completion Time: 13.5 Hours
The Walking Dead is an episodic graphic adventure based on a comic book series of the same name. Unlike the popular graphic adventures of the 80s and 90s like Grim Fandango and The Secret of Monkey Island, Telltale Games’ The Walking Dead has no puzzles. The game’s lack of puzzles certainly isn’t a drawback, as it puts the entire spotlight on the game’s strongest feature: narrative.
Much like Heavy Rain, The Walking Dead picked up numerous awards upon release, such as Destructoid’s Game of the Year and Outstanding Achievement in Story from the D.I.C.E. Awards.
8 Dragon Age: Origins
Release Date: November 3, 2009
Available Platforms: PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3
Main Story Completion Time: 40.5 Hours
Initially released in 2009 by the AAA team of BioWare and Electronic Arts, Dragon Age: Origins is, as the name suggests, the first entry in the Dragon Age franchise.
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The role-playing game was a spiritual successor to BioWare’s critically acclaimed Baldur’s Gate series and featured a similar fantasy setting. In terms of decision-making, Dragon Age: Origins features a unique approval system. The player’s choices and actions throughout the game will affect the approval rating of companions, which can significantly affect their effectiveness in combat.
7 Fallout: New Vegas
Release Date: October 19, 2010
Available Platforms: PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360
Main Story Completion Time: 27.5 Hours
Fallout: New Vegas was developed by Obsidian Entertainment, unlike the 3rd and 4th Fallout games which were developed by Bethesda.
There was little hype around Fallout: New Vegas before its release, as many players thought that the game would simply be a glorified DLC of Fallout 3. The doubters were soon silenced, though, as Fallout: New Vegas has since become one of gaming’s most beloved modern RPGs. In many ways, the game was a curse to Fallout 4, as New Vegas’ incredible freedom of choicemade Fallout 4 look almost linear in comparison.
6 Life Is Strange
Release Date: January 30, 2015 (Episode 1)
Available Platforms: PC, Android, iOS, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch
Main Story Completion Time: 14 Hours
Similar to the aforementioned The Walking Dead, Dontnod Entertainment’s Life Is Strange is a modern graphic adventure that was released in an episodic format. Unlike Telltale Games’ The Walking Dead though, Life Is Strange implements puzzle-solving into its gameplay.
Dontnod Entertainment picked up an incredible amount of awards for Life is Strange’s story, including Use Of Narrative from the Develop Industry Excellence Awards, Excellence and Innovation in Digital Storytelling from the Peabody-Facebook Futures of Media Awards, and the BAFTA for Story.
5 The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Release Date: May 19, 2015
Available Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch
Main Story Completion Time: 51.5 Hours
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt was released in 2015 and put CD Projekt Red on the map as one of the gaming industry’s most esteemed development teams. CD Projekt Red’s game was particularly admired for its visuals, which truly showed off the hardware of the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 and made owners of high-end PC’s the envy of the gaming industry.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt’s visuals are just one of its many impressive features, however, as the game is also beloved for the often morally charged decisions that it frequently demands the player to make. The ‘Bloody Baron’ quest is notable for this in particular, and it has become one of gaming’s most memorable side quests.
4 Mass Effect 2
Release Date: January 26, 2010
Available Platforms: PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3
Main Story Completion Time: 24.5 Hours
The second BioWare to appear on this list, Mass Effect 2 took the winning formula from the original game and raised it to a whole new level. Similar to the first game, Mass Effect 2 tells an incredible story centered around sci-fi war and politics but it’s the personal relationships developed along the way that are the game’s true narrative.
Mass Effects 2 is remembered in particular for its final mission, commonly known as the Suicide Mission, which has become recognized as one of the finest in gaming history.
3 Detroit: Become Human
Release Date: May 25, 2018
Available Platforms: PlayStation 4 and PC
Main Story Completion Time: 12 Hours
BioWare isn’t the only developer to have two games on this list, as Detroit: Become Human was created by Heavy Rain’s developer Quantic Dream. The sci-fi title was written and directed by David Cage, who spent two years formulating the game’s story.
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Detroit: Become Human is another title on this list that unsurprisingly picked up awards for its story, such as Excellence in Narrative from the SXSW Gaming Awards and the Develop: Star Awards’ Best Narrative accolade.
2 Chrono Trigger
Release Date: March 11, 1995
Available Platforms: Super NES, Nintendo DS, PlayStation 1, PC, iOS, and Android
Main Story Completion Time: 23 Hours
Although this list is predominantly looking at modern titles, it would be an injustice not to mention one of the pioneers of decision-making in RPGs, Square’s Chrono Trigger.
Chrono Trigger was released on the SNES in 1995 and was worked on by some of the gaming industry’s most well-respected RPG creators, such as Yuji Horii and Hironobu Sakaguchi, who created the Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy series, respectively. The choices that players make in Chrono Trigger will give players one of twelve different endings, which was an incredible achievement for the 90s.
1 Alpha Protocol
Release Date: May 27, 2010
Available Platforms: PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360
Main Story Completion Time: 13 Hours
The final game on this list is another that features a reappearing developer, as Alpha Protocol was created by Fallout: New Vegas’ Obsidian Entertainment.
The game is certainly not the most critically acclaimed title on this list, exemplified by its lackluster 72 Metascore on PC, but it deserves a spot nonetheless — if decision-making is what someone is looking for, then Alpha Protocol is one of the best modern options available. The game has developed a strong cult following over the years, with fans noting how even the smallest of details and decisions can affect the direction of the Alpha Protocol’s narrative.
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