Summary
There was a time when gamers expected their games to feature morality systems that let them pursue good or evil playthroughs. However, as the gaming landscape evolved, many soon realized that they disliked pursuing an evil playthrough because of the black-and-white nature of the morality system.
Controlling a despicable character wasn’t a very satisfying way to play an RPG, especially since most developers pursued a lazy approach when designing an evil playthrough. So, it’s nice to see certain role-playing games mess around with the idea of morality and truly make players think about their actions instead of just treating it like a gameplay system.
If there’s one area where CD Projekt Red excels, it’s crafting high-quality experiences where players are encouraged to delve into side stories that flesh out the world with some tantalizing writing. The world ofThe Witcher 3is full of strife, with a ray of hope being rare as it’s shrouded in overwhelming despair.
This game doesn’t need a morality system thatadds value to a player’s choice. After all, there aren’t many black-or-white choices in the game that players can mess around with, anyway. Most quests have solutions that are never completely right or wrong, and it’s up to the player’s moral compass to decide what course of action they want to take after witnessing CD Projekt Red’s amazing writing for their quests.
Most games treat an evil playthrough as an afterthought of sorts, which can be frustrating for players who want to enjoy the ultimate role-playing experience. This is whyTyrannymakes for such a unique experience, since it’s one of the few games thatexplores what being evil is all about.
Some characters are dutiful despite their evil disposition, while others just want to raze the earth with their reckless tactics. It’s hard to pick sides in this game when every faction is justified yet corrupt at the same time, and players can choose to ally with no one if they only want to believe in themselves and their idea of justice (or evil).
Star Warsmay be one of the most beloved sci-fi IPs of all time, but most people will agree that the binary nature of the Force leads to a ton of frustration for fans who want a more nuanced take on good and evil. Surprisingly enough, a piece ofStar Warsmedia that explores this brilliantly is a game that was buggy and unfinished at launch, only for contemporary reviews to label it as one of thegreatestStar Warsgames ever made.
Knights of the Old Republic 2boasts an impressive plot and one of the best characters in the series, Kreia. This character personifies the frustration about how the Force molds ideologies and doesn’t leave a lot of room for necessary evils and self-serving righteousness to be accounted for. Her frustrations with the Force coupled with some excellent writing makeKOTOR 2one of the best depictions of the force that tries to shirk the notion of binary morality.
The dark fantasy world ofBaldur’s Gate 3is rife with violence and cruelty that can be hard to stomach at times. While there are good and evil playthroughs that can be pursued here, the writing is more nuanced and lets playersmake morally gray decisionsthat feel justified in certain instances.
Since the game doesn’t let players select their alignment like previous entries in the series, players can mold their character’s personality over the course of a lengthy adventure, with their choices dictating the story content they experience in each lengthy chapter.
It’s hard to assume that a cop who’s so addicted to the bottle that he loses his memories after a drunken night is a redeemable character, but this is precisely what makesDisco Elysium’s writing such a massive achievement. As players explore the city of Revachol, they uncover numerous eccentric personalities who are a joy to interact with.
It helps thatDisco Elysiumunderstands moral nuance, with players rarely encountering situations where certain acts are outright evil or good.The detective’s companion, Kim Kitsuragi, can serve as a loose moral compass of sorts but doesn’t outright influence the player to pursue a particular course of action.
In a world as messed up asCyberpunk 2077, it’s easy to see why numerous side quests and story events can be rather dark. The near-future dystopia present in this game can be hard to digest, and most players would want V to do the right thing and save as many people as they can.
However, the right and wrong decisions can be hard to discern in the game, which can make players sweat as they try to figure out the best course of action they can take. Sometimes, a decision that may seem cruel is for the greater good, andthe hotly-debated endings of the gamemake a great case for the shrouded morality ofCyberpunk 2077.
What helpedUndertalebecome such an indie darling was how it handled the player’s morality. This anti-RPG gauged a player’s actions and made them feel bad for killing monsters, with the battle against Toriel being seared in the minds of many as a traumatic moment for its heavy-handed emotions.
Instead of hamfisted dialogue options and choices, players can unlock the Pacifist or Genocide Ending based on what they do in combat. Sparing every enemy till the end helps unlock a feel-good ending for the ages, and painstakingly grinding out battles and killing anything standing in the player’s way leads players down the Genocide path, which is extremely challenging and rather scary at times.
Despite seeming like a game rife with conspiracies and political intrigue for the sake of it, the combination of excellent writing and immersive gameplay helpedDeus Exstand out as one of thebest action RPGs ever made. Players are force-fed the idea that the NSF are terrorists trying to dismantle the peace, only to receive a gut punch when it’s revealed that JC’s brother switched sides.
All of a sudden, the NSF are portrayed as good people, but their goals may not align with the player’s interests. What’s right and wrong can only be judged by the player and is far from a simple decision to make. Plunging the world into a dark age, turning JC into a technological god of sorts, and letting the Illuminati run things behind the scenes are all justified in their own way.
