Most gamers appreciate a game with a good plot. However, the games that allow a player’s actions to influence the events of the game-world are almost always more memorable. It is so much more engaging when your actions have real consequences. A lot of games have a moralit🐼y system; sometimes this system quantifies your decisions on a meter (or some visual indicator) ranging from good to bad.
Sometimes this system is more subtle and doesn’t give you a way of checking whe♔re on the moral compass their character lies. Most of the games/series on this list are for the current console generation, but there are a couple of games from previous generations with a morality system whose omission from this list would almost be criminal.
Updated February 19, 2023 by Jeff Drake: Often, it seems like the games that give you a choice of whether to be good or evil are the most beloved by gamers and critics. Maybe it's because this adds a scruple factor to the game that helps foster a more believable risk/reward decision. Maybe it's because these morality systems allow each player to have a different experience than others.
Performing an evil deed is usually easier, but may force a price to be paid later. Sometimes this price is making some quests unavailable; sometimes it affects what abilities your character can learn. This update will add additional entries to the mix. One of these new entries is for an older game. The other entries showcase more recent titles.
15 ꧙ Black And White
This entry is for the Black and White game from Lionhead Studios (formerly Bullfrog), released in 2001. This is perhaps the best example of a God game...mainly because you play as a god. It's up to the player to decide whether they wish to have followers that love them, or fear them.
Players are also given an anthropomorphized animal a༺vatar to train. The vanilla version of the game gave three choices (initially): Ape, Cow, and Tiger. You can train your avatar to frighten the people in your village, or be loved. The choice is all up to you.
14 The Fable Series ಞ
The games in the Fable series would probably be among the first that come to most gamers' minds when reading the title of this article. It should be no surprise to see it listed here. The alignment system in the Fable games is just about perfect. Almost every action taken by the player will affect their character's alignment. This even includes what type of food you eat.
The alignment of your character affects nearly all aspects of your interaction with the game. Alignment affects how NPCs act around🔯 your character; it even affects how your character looks.
13 The Sims
There isn't a morality meter in The Sims, or even a numerical value of how good (or evil) your character has behaved. There aren't quests with a good option or bad option either. No, the morality in The Sims is reflected directly through the player's actions.
There are many devious things most players probably never tried. Build a room and have a party; then, when your guests are in the room, remove the door - trapping them in your house. This can also be done with a pool by removing the ladder. This traps your ဣguests in the pool until the Grim Reaper comes for💎 them.
12 Undertale
This is one of the more recent games on this list, but definitely looks like the oldest. The retro 8-bit-ish graphics and presentation will immediately remind well-versed gamers of the Earthbound series. Unlike the Earthbound games, you have a choice of sparing your enemies at the end of a fight in 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Undertale.
Finishing-off or sparing your enemies will affect the character's morality meter. Some missions are made available depending on your character's alignment. The alignment even affects dialogue on subsequent playthroughs.
11 Crusader K🍎ings Series 🐭
This series began in 2004; however this entry will mostly cover Crusader Kings 3 (released in 2020). These games live up to their "grand♛ strategy" billing. The game flows in real-time, but is pausable. Continuing after your character dies is only done if the player has secured an heir.
Within this game is a Dread counter. This reflects the evil deeds performed by the player in an effort to keep vassals in line. One method of increasing the Dread counter of your vassals is by torturing one of them. This game punishes you for going against established behavior; so, if you're going to go evil, go Roman (or Assyrian).
10 The Fallout Series ꦜ
The Fallout games have always given difficult choices, and had those choices have an effect on the game-world. Even the first two Fallout games had this feature; with many players claiming Fallout 2 was the best in terms of rewarding or penalizing the player’s choices. Fallout 3 and Fallout: N꧃ew Vegas continued this trend.
The fact that the game world was 3D in the latter two titles really helped make your choices more impactful. Sadly, Bethesda decided to only include a limited version of this morality system in 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Fallout 4. Actions still have consequences, but r♎eally on♔ly in regard to reactions from NPCs.
9 ♊ The Dishonored 🌜Series
The 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Dishonored gameꦯs had an interesting morality system. These games keep track of how chaotic you have the protagonist act. Certain actions affect this chaos system – like killing enemies. Another action that affects this chaos system i✤s hitting allies with friendly fire.
These games can be completed wi🍰thout killing a single enemy; fortunately, there are stealth mechanics in the Dishonored games to make this feat possible. The chaos level has a major effect on the game-world. It can cause changes in dialogue options, make certain missions available and increase or decrease the number of rats infesting the game-world.
8 🥂 The Infamous Series 𒅌
The Infamous series has a karma system that has major influences on not only the game-world but the protagonist’s abilities as well. The karma level is displayed on a meter in the Infamous games; which allows you to plan the character’s progression 🐭better. As the player-character progresses, new abilities will become available to learn, and what abilities become available is determined on whether you have chosen to be good or evil.
The protagonists even look different depending on which path is taken. This system was expanded on for Infamous Second Son 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:for the PS4. That game had a syst🍌em where continued good or evil acts powered-up a special attack called the “Karma Bomb”.
7 🅰 Knight Of The Old Republic Series
This list would not be complete without 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:a Star Wars game/series. The Force Unleashed series is much more recent than 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Knights of the Old Republic and has a light sꦗide/dark side choice for the protagonist. To be fair, The Force Unleashed series did a decent job of having choices between light side/dark side actions affect the story and available abilities – though not nearly as well as Knights of the Old Republic (or KOTOR for short).
The KOTOR series has returned; this game can be purchased on Steam for less the ten dollars. This is one of the best values in ga𒀰ꦬming right now.
6 ꦗ Skyrim (The Elder Scrolls Series) ꧃
Skyrim has a subtle morality system; there wasn’t a meter or stat that the player could check to see how good or evil their character was. With that being stated, this game is l🐷oaded with moments that force you to make a moral choice and imposed consequences for that 🀅choice. Destroy the Dark Brotherhood or join them?
After 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:joining the Dark Brotherhood (an assassins' guild), you might eventually be given a mission to assassinate someone they need or like. The decision of what to do with Paarthurnax is another moral dilemma imposed upon you that has a major effect on the story.