Games Where Your Choices Matter

If you agree with the statement that every man is the artisan of his own fortune, then you should try some of the games which really let you feel that your fate is in your hands.

The games below are those where your choices matter. These games defy the old formula of fate controlling the destiny of the main hero – no matter what he does.

Game	Release	Genre	Developer
Detroit Become Human	2020-06-18	Adventure	Quantic Dream
Red Dead Redemption 2	2019-11-05	Adventure	Rockstar Games
Life Is Strange True Colors	2021-09-09	Adventure	Deck Nine
Life Is Strange 2 Complete Season	2018-09-27	Adventure	DONTNOD Entertainment
Life Is Strange Before The Storm	2017-08-31	Adventure	Deck Nine
The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt Goty Edition	2015-05-18	RPG	CD PROJEKT RED
The Witcher 2 Assassins Of Kings Enhanced Edition	2011-05-17	Adventure	CD PROJEKT RED
Undertale	2015-09-15	Indie	tobyfox
Frostpunk	2018-04-24	Simulation	11 bit studios
Mass Effect Trilogy	2012-11-06	Adventure	BioWare
Dragon Age Inquisition Game Of The Year Edition	2014-11-18	Adventure	BioWare
Dragon Age Origins	2009-11-06	Action & Shooter	BioWare

But before we go any further, let us just clear out the controversy of including just a handful of video games in this article. We did not want to repeat the same formula and praise the esteemed and popular games that are often included on our other articles. That is why we have focused on games that are still huge and praised, but have not appeared as many times in our lists and rankings.

Honorable mentions: The Witcher III: Wild Hunt, Undertale, Mass Effect trilogy, Dragon Age games, Frostpunk.

Until Dawn

Release date:	2015
Genre:	Survival horror
Developer:	Supermassive Games

This exclusive for PS4 is survival horror, in which you take control over a group of eight young people, who gather for a party at a lodge on Blackwood Mountain. From now on, their fate is in your hand.

Until Dawn is the true “choice game” in its design. Each and single decision and act may have a tremendous influence on the game’s story and further events. It is more like an interactive film, which traps you inside and won’t let go until the very end (or until… dawn).

Key features
This is the game that puts a heavy focus on its characters and their personality. Each character is a different person and has his or her own secrets – the blood-freezing adventures on Blackwood Mountain will put everybody to the ultimate test. The gameplay is simple and consists of exploration and quick-time events, whose outcomes usually determine what is going to be next. There are hundreds of possible endings and the story is divided into ten chapters – there is even a chance that none of the characters will make it alive from this nightmare. No save points and no possibility to go back in time, so if someone dies, their are dead forever (or unless you start a new game).

Key features

This is the game that puts a heavy focus on its characters and their personality.
Each character is a different person and has his or her own secrets – the blood-freezing adventures on Blackwood Mountain will put everybody to the ultimate test.
The gameplay is simple and consists of exploration and quick-time events, whose outcomes usually determine what is going to be next.
There are hundreds of possible endings and the story is divided into ten chapters – there is even a chance that none of the characters will make it alive from this nightmare.
No save points and no possibility to go back in time, so if someone dies, their are dead forever (or unless you start a new game).

Detroit: Become Human

Release date:	2018 (PS4), 2019 (PC)
Genre:	Adventure
Developer:	Quantic Dream

Detroit: Become Human puts us in the distant future Detroit, Michigan. The city is full of androids – machine-and-human hybrids, which are programmed to function in the only one way possible.

Image credit: Quantic Dream

The game features three playable characters, all of which are androids, but experience a completely different life. Some androids, like Markus, has managed to evoke their inner consciousness and strive to be more “human”, but the system they function in does not let them to do so.

Key features
Shape the destiny of androids – do you think they deserve the same rights as humans? What does it mean to be human? The game presents complex philosophy on the nature of humankind. Just like Until Dawn, Detroit: Become Human is full of decision-making moments – some of them are timed and require quick thinking. However this time the game lets you “rewind” and go back in time to adjust your decisions if you don’t like the results. What doesn’t change is the fact that if you don’t rewind, the dead characters are lost until the end of the game.

Key features

Shape the destiny of androids – do you think they deserve the same rights as humans?
What does it mean to be human? The game presents complex philosophy on the nature of humankind.
Just like Until Dawn, Detroit: Become Human is full of decision-making moments – some of them are timed and require quick thinking.
However this time the game lets you “rewind” and go back in time to adjust your decisions if you don’t like the results.
What doesn’t change is the fact that if you don’t rewind, the dead characters are lost until the end of the game.

Detroit: Become Human

Release date:	2018 (PS4, X One), 2019 (PC)
Genre:	Adventure
Developer:	Rockstar Games

Although Red Dead Redemption 2 has much more to offer than just decision-making mechanics, but the players do have an influence on the ending of the game.

Red Dead Redemption 2 - shoot — Image credit: Rockstar Games

Red Dead Redemption 2 follows the life of Arthur Morgan, a close friend of RDR’s John Marston, and a loyal member of Dutch’s gang. Life in the Wild West was not a piece of cake then, and you will soon find it out yourself. We could also mention other Rockstar games, such as the Grand Theft Auto franchise, but the focus on decision-making in the RDR series is much greater and has a bigger impact on the future of the characters.

Key features
Take control of Arthur’s life and do everything an outlaw-cowboy free would normally do – shootings, avoiding law enforcers, robbing carriages, hunting animals for their hide, and riding horseback through the steppes will make you feel like Arthur himself. Your decisions matter – you can influence the game’s ending by the things you do in the game’s most crucial moments. Except for influencing the game’s ending, the players’ doing can also affect Arthur’s lawful-wanted meter – have an eye-witness see you kill a man or rob a carriage, and the bounty will be set on your head. The game has plenty of side quests and minor activities which can often be played out in more than one way, too. Another thing you can permanently control in RDR2 is Arthur’s look – you can change his haircut, facial hair, and clothes. You can even customize your horse!

Key features

Take control of Arthur’s life and do everything an outlaw-cowboy free would normally do – shootings, avoiding law enforcers, robbing carriages, hunting animals for their hide, and riding horseback through the steppes will make you feel like Arthur himself.
Your decisions matter – you can influence the game’s ending by the things you do in the game’s most crucial moments.
Except for influencing the game’s ending, the players’ doing can also affect Arthur’s lawful-wanted meter – have an eye-witness see you kill a man or rob a carriage, and the bounty will be set on your head.
The game has plenty of side quests and minor activities which can often be played out in more than one way, too.
Another thing you can permanently control in RDR2 is Arthur’s look – you can change his haircut, facial hair, and clothes. You can even customize your horse!

Red Dead Redemption 2

Release date:	2015 and 2019
Genre:	Adventure
Developer:	DONTNOD Entertainment

Life Is Strange is an episodic game, which means it was released in separate episodes, each telling another part of the story. The game focuses on the plot and the player’s in-game decisions.

Image credit: DONTNOD Entertainment

The first game was highly praised for its story, character development and twists. It follows Max Caulfield, an 18-year-old photography student who finds out that she has supernatural powers that involve time manipulation. She then discovers dark secrets of her school, its students and teachers. In the end, she may find both love and despair, and her decision could directly influence the lives of other people around her.

The second game tells the story of two brothers: Sean and Daniel. Taking control over Sean, the player is in power to shape the development and behavior of Sean’s younger brother. The game features third-person exploration and quick-time events. The game also has a sequel, Life is Strange: Before the Storm, which is a prequel to the first game.

Key features
Follow the life of Sean Diaz and shape his fate. Experience a completely different, cinematic approach to gaming – dialogues and cut-scenes look like they were taken right from the silver screen. You get to decide basically about nearly every sentence Sean speaks – your decisions may affect everything Sean interacts with. If you had played a demo game called The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit, the decisions you have made there carry over to your game data in Life Is Strange 2. The game has been nominated to a number of rewards so far (mainly for the best narrative and sound), and won two of them.

Key features

Follow the life of Sean Diaz and shape his fate.
Experience a completely different, cinematic approach to gaming – dialogues and cut-scenes look like they were taken right from the silver screen.
You get to decide basically about nearly every sentence Sean speaks – your decisions may affect everything Sean interacts with.
If you had played a demo game called The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit, the decisions you have made there carry over to your game data in Life Is Strange 2.
The game has been nominated to a number of rewards so far (mainly for the best narrative and sound), and won two of them.

Life Is Strange & Life is Strange 2