10 Darkest Choices in RPG's

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10 Darkest Choices in RPG's

Spoilers ahead! From heart wrenching decisions to maliciously evil playthroughs to pretty much every choice in a Telltale game, moral quandaries are a massively important part of RPG's. And while it's fun to play through a game as bad guy, there are still some Rubicons of gaming we feel bad crossing. For your reading pleasure slash anguish, we've rounded up the 10 darkest choices in all of role playing game-dom. 

Cannibalism in Skyrim

 

Bethesda

All hail Namira!

Playing Skyrim as a devotee of a Daedric Prince can be an excellent way to guide you through the seeming endless role-play opportunities in the game. The Taste of Death quest gives players the choice whether to assist a cult of Namira, the Daedric Prince also known as The Mistress of Decay.  Chowing down on an NPC is a dark choice indeed, but as long as the lord of the Scuttling Void is pleased… what's a little bite between friends?

Reinstating child labor in Fable 3

 

Microsoft

Honestly, I've always liked working more than going to school.

Fable games are known for their pretty cut and dried morality. When you're presented with the option to open up a school for local children, or to put their tiny hands to work in a factory, you definitely know which one is the evil path. Hint, hint: helping the capitalist in the top hat is almost never the “good” choice.

Bombing the city in Divinity Original Sin 2

 

Larian Studios

You can kill pretty much everybody.

Players love it or hate it, but without heavy modding, there's really no way around it: deathfog. Near the end of DOS2 you can "Scarecrow” pretty much an entire city by releasing deathfog into Arx. Hopefully you're all done side questing or selling your wares because it kills almost all the NPC's. 

The final choice in Life is Strange

 

Dontnod

Good luck sleeping well after you make the final choice.

We won’t spoil this one. But if you’re looking for a truly heart wrenching, gut punch, Sophie’s Choice level of moral dilemma, go ahead and give Life Is Strange a playthrough. 

The Genophage in Mass Effect Series

 

Bioware

Cue “I Will Always Love You” by Whitney Houston.

The choices you make massively effect (sorry) the galaxy.  The Krogan Genophage rendered the war-like Krogans sterile. There's an antidote, but you can sabotage it knowing that eventually the Krogans will die out. And hey, you might even get to kill a few friends along the way!

Becoming a fascist in Disco Elysium

 

ZA/UM

C'mon, how could you behave like that in front of Kim?

Disco Elysium is a dark game in general. You're a ruined has-been who maybe never even was. You battle your inner demons, alcoholism, and the devastating realities of the city around you. But letting players collaborate with the fascists is grim even for a game as bleak as this one. 

Slaughter or Plague in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey

 

Ubisoft

No good choice here.

Right at the start of this otherwise fairly lighthearted game full of wacky lore, you've got a serious choice to make: kill a pleading family in cold blood or condemn your home land to a virulent plague. Some of the most intriguing choices in games are the ones with no right answer. It's devastating to return to the area later and see the effects of your handiwork.

Harvesting Children in Bioshock 2

 

2K

Cute… but also useful if you essentially eat her…

Playing as the not quite human not quite machine Big Daddy in Bioshock 2 presents a moral quandary several times throughout the game. Once you beat another Big Daddy, you can “harvest” their little sister companion for ADAM, a key resource in the game. You're given the choice to free her as well, which reaps its own rewards, making killing a small child for it's life force seem especially sinister.

Murdering Mission in Knights of the Old Republic

 

Bioware

A tragedy worthy of Shakespeare.

Like Mass Effect, KOTOR is a much loved Bioware game. That company seems to thrive on making us hurt the ones we love. The party of rag tag misfits from around the galaxy is a game defining part of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. Your crew includes two besties, Mission the Twi'lek and Zaalbar the Wookie. If you walk the path of the dark side you come to a quest decision where you can force Zaalbar to murder his dearest friend. Even the most devoted Sith feel bad about this one.

The Whispering Hillock in The Witcher 3

 

CD Projekt Red

Heavy lies the medallion Witcher…

The Witcher 3 felt revolutionary in the way it presented three dimensional characters throughout its story. The choices can be absolutely devastating, and we're not just talking about whether you romance Triss or Yennifer. It does a great job of making us empathize with the denizens of it's grimdark world. The game pulls no punches when it comes to moral quandaries. When you come across a pulsing, sentient mass trapped beneath the earth, you can either free it or kill it. This choice earns the number one spot because there is no optimal answer. Freeing it kills a village but saves a group of orphans. But you can save the village if you kill the hillock monster… and all it will cost is the lives of those poor little children. Anyways, happy gaming!

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