Games that don’t tell you what to think in terms of good vs. evil

[StaceyPowers]

What are some games that set up moral predicaments but don’t attempt to define good vs. evil or right vs. wrong for you? For example, @Withywarlock and I would list Dragon Age in this category.

[m76]

The Last of Us, both the first game, and the second part. It just shows a string of events where everyone can be justified to a point, and the game never tries to tell you who is right or wrong.

Edited February 12, 2021 by m76

[Withywarlock]

Most Obsidian offerings are good at reflecting this in their dialogue options:

• Pillars of Eternity did wonders with its Paladins, where each knightly order had different dispositions they favoured. Some favour Diplomacy and Honesty, whereas some prefer Aggression and Cruelty. Using different dispositions to those meant your powers could be weakened and stripped from your character, which is similar to how Dungeons & Dragons handles Paladin alignment.
• Alpha Protocol forgoes the persuasion/intimidation dialogue options and instead goes for Professional, Suave and Aggressive. This allows you to be one of 'the three JBs' respectively, and allows you to decide how you're going to use your newfound independence. You can get revenge, build an illegal arms trafficking network, information brokerage, or just be a horndog. To quote The Travelling Wilburys, "In New Jersey anything's legal, as long as you don't get caught."

To a lesser extent Obsidian's Tyranny is less about good and evil and more about a authoritarian-default political compass. While the game is billed as 'evil has won the battle of good and evil', and there is as close as I can say objectively good and evil aspects to Kyros and the few freedom fighters left, it's about the varying shades of evil that exist in this new world. It's more about order versus freedom, law versus chaos in a decidedly dystopian world.

And of course we've talked about Fallout: New Vegas in the thread you're referring to in the OP.

I'll think on some more games but it's just Obsidian ones that immediately come to mind. I won't spoil anything, partly because there's not much to spoil given we're not even in the first patch yet, but World of Warcraft's Shadowlands expansion hints at a lot of things that seem.... wrong. I hope it's not as black and white (or as they incorrectly call it, "morally grey") as their developers have made objective morality in this universe have so far.

[killamch89]

Fallout to some extent especially the earlier games. I can vouge for the Last Of Us and Dragon Age, especially the earlier titles.

[Syntax]

Infamous (PS game), Red Dead Redemption to a point since it makes sense any way you play the story out.

[The Blackangel]

9 hours ago, Syntax said:

Infamous (PS game), Red Dead Redemption to a point since it makes sense any way you play the story out.

Yeah, RDR2 is a prime example of that. The player is left to decide the morality of everything. Whereas, so many games tell you the morality, this one sure as hell doesn't.

[skyfire]

I like the option where players are given option. otherwise everything would be leaning to some side and that wont be fun. 

[killamch89]

On 3/5/2021 at 1:32 AM, skyfire said:

I like the option where players are given option. otherwise everything would be leaning to some side and that wont be fun. 

I have to agree - I mean I don't want to be the good guy all the time or the bad guy either. I usually like to be the chaotic good character or one that serves the grater good so I may have to sacrifice a few people here and there. Being the bad guy is pretty easy as you really don't have to care about anything as long as you can survive and being the good guy is boring because you always have to do the right thing which is challenging but I don't want to always do the right thing.

[The Blackangel]

I think that's the reason a lot of the old classic games are losing popularity these days. Take Zelda for example. People are getting bored with the sword wielding hero saving the princess from the big bad evil that is trying to take over the world. BOTW2 came out so damn quick that Nintendo were desperately trying to keep it relevant. And I can't think of a single game in that genre that exists on current gen systems in that fashion anyway. Sure you could say something like Skyrim, since it's a fantasy style game, but it's also wildly different despite being a fantasy game. People are bored with the same old story line. Boy saves girl from villain. Boy and girl live happily ever after.

Anyone wanna play Candyland?

Gamers are looking for something different as those old clichés are getting tiresome.

[killamch89]

On 3/8/2021 at 9:12 AM, The Blackangel said:

I think that's the reason a lot of the old classic games are losing popularity these days. Take Zelda for example. People are getting bored with the sword wielding hero saving the princess from the big bad evil that is trying to take over the world. BOTW2 came out so damn quick that Nintendo were desperately trying to keep it relevant. And I can't think of a single game in that genre that exists on current gen systems in that fashion anyway. Sure you could say something like Skyrim, since it's a fantasy style game, but it's also wildly different despite being a fantasy game. People are bored with the same old story line. Boy saves girl from villain. Boy and girl live happily ever after.

Anyone wanna play Candyland?

Gamers are looking for something different as those old clichés are getting tiresome.

That's a very valid point and I totally agree that the cliche of a hero saving the princess is an overused formula and that's why the newer generation doesn't find it appealing. I have grown to love games that offer you some element of freedom as to how you want to approach the game and not just one extremely linear approach.

[Heatman]

On 3/3/2021 at 5:06 AM, Syntax said:

Infamous (PS game), Red Dead Redemption to a point since it makes sense any way you play the story out.

Red Dead Redemption is definitely designed in such manner. You get to decide what goes by how you want to play. Good or evil is determined by you alone.