With the advancement of technology, video games have become increasingly immersive, and open-world games stand out for offering players a high degree of freedom, creating a strong sense of immersion. Players can freely explore vibrant game worlds and, in some titles with excellent storylines, face deep moral dilemmas.
Recently, GameRant selected five outstanding open-world games that require players to make morally grey decisions.
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Pathologic 2 GameRant describes Pathologic 2 as one of the most unconventional open-world games, with a dark and eerie atmosphere. Players investigate a small town plagued by a mysterious disease, encountering a variety of strange and intriguing characters. The game’s difficulty lies not only in combat but also in every choice the player makes. Helping some characters often means sacrificing others’ lives or health, presenting a harsh reality.
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Disco Elysium Considered one of the best games ever, Disco Elysium features absurd yet profound writing and well-rounded characters. Players take on the role of a drunken, seemingly careless detective investigating a murder in Revachol. The rich stories and struggles of NPCs allow players to choose whether to help them. Many choices are heart-wrenching, and whether in gunfights or critical dialogue checks, players can only hope to avoid failure. Even failure leads to a different kind of brilliance.
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The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt CD Projekt Red is known for masterful storytelling, and The Witcher 3 showcases this to mainstream players. Geralt’s final adventure is user-friendly but filled with tough decisions that often lead to regret. From moral dilemmas like whether to kill a baby to guiding Ciri to the best ending, choices abound. Even seemingly “right” decisions can have severe future consequences, making it hard to justify past choices.
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Fallout: New Vegas Praised by many as one of the best games ever, New Vegas owes much to its scriptwriting and narrative tension. Players face countless moral dilemmas on their journey, deciding the future power structure of New Vegas. Whether to intervene in power struggles, which faction to support, or none at all, and making life-altering decisions in multiple story-rich DLCs, all demonstrate New Vegas’s high freedom and complex morality.
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Cyberpunk 2077 CD Projekt Red appears again! In a world dominated by cybernetic enhancements and greedy megacorporations, protagonist V’s journey through Night City is filled with tough choices. Player actions can trigger a butterfly effect of terrible consequences, showcasing the game’s excellent storytelling. Helping a politician might uncover a conspiracy, and the DLC “Phantom Liberty” is packed with major decisions. This proves that Cyberpunk 2077’s solid plot and rich characters were key to its reputation recovery after a rocky start.
What do you think of this list? Which games have made you face heartbreaking decisions? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments!
