Key Takeaways
- RPGs often neglect evil playthroughs, but some games, like Baldur’s Gate 3, allow for unique experiences without penalties.
- Fallout: New Vegas showcases nuanced role-playing, making both good and evil paths engaging with equal rewards and punishments.
- Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic 2 provides introspective exploration of Dark Side morality, offering mature choices with depth.
It’s easy for role-playing games to focus solely on telling one side of the story, conveniently ignoring the needs of players who want to pursue an evil playthrough full of bad choices. An unfair sentiment has developed among the masses that an evil playthrough is not the ideal way to play any game. However, the truth is that the majority of RPGs that strive to promote player freedom do so without putting the same effort into an evil playthrough as they do for a good one.
Related
5 Frustrating Quests In Otherwise Great RPGs
Even great role-playing games can suffer from terrible quest design. These are some of the most frustrating quests found in otherwise good RPGs.
Thankfully, some RPGs do a great job of letting players pursue an evil playthrough and make bad choices without major narrative penalties. In some instances, this lack of punishment is justified with gameplay benefits that let players enjoy a different flavor of gameplay and story that is unique.
5 Hogwarts Legacy
There Are No Penalties For Using The Unforgivable Curses Or Hoarding The Power Of The Repository
- Released
- February 10, 2023
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
Hogwarts Legacy may be a barebones RPG in many aspects, but most gamers won’t mind as long as they get to combine spells to beat opponents to a pulp before eventually getting the opportunity to try out the three Unforgivable Curses. The franchise has made it clear time and time again that using these curses is strictly forbidden and that any student who partakes in such an activity can be expelled, so it’s odd to see that the fifth-year faces no penalties for whipping out these spells in front of teachers and students.
At the end of the game, players who finally reach the Ancient Magic Repository can choose to keep the power for themselves instead of destroying it. Despite a cutscene showing the player character’s eyes glowing ominously, there’s no penalty for this action barring a confusing moment where gamers are left in the dark regarding Professor Fig’s death until the final cutscene. Some players may not appreciate the lack of role-playing in this title, but others won’t mind as long as they get to enjoy the power fantasy of dropping multiple enemies in one go with a cast of Avada Kedavra.
4 Baldur’s Gate 3
The Bad Playthrough Houses Exclusive Content, With Some Party Members Approving Of The Player’s Actions
- Released
- August 3, 2023
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
One of the deepest role-playing experiences fans can enjoy, Baldur’s Gate 3 is a joy to play through and can keep fans occupied for hundreds of hours, especially if they want to pursue both a good and evil playthrough. Both alignments are viable in this game and do a great job of keeping players engaged until the end, which is no mean feat. Players who wonder if they’ll miss out on any content by making bad choices in the game can rest assured that this won’t be the case.
They may lose access to certain companions and allies, but they will gain new ones in the process, with Minthara being one such character who is unavailable on a good playthrough. It’s one of the many simple ways that Baldur’s Gate 3 accommodates the player, ensuring that they enjoy the deepest and most engaging role-playing options possible in a worthy successor to BioWare’s legendary series.
3 Fallout: New Vegas
The Nuanced Roleplaying Ensures That Being Evil Is Also Riveting
- Released
- October 19, 2010
Obsidian Entertainment is known as the master of quality role-playing games, and nowhere is this more apparent than Fallout: New Vegas. Despite technical issues detracting from the experience at launch, fans labeled this title as one of the greatest RPGs of all time and an entry that could rival Fallout 2 as the best entry in the series. A major reason for this is the quality of its role-playing opportunities, making both good and evil playthroughs viable.
Related
10 RPGs With The Best Crafting, Ranked
Most RPGs implement crafting in some form or another, but some games emphasize the feature more than others.
Players could either side with the NCR, the Legion, or no one, preferring to carve their path as a legendary courier. It’s rare for a game to make being evil so fun, but Fallout: New Vegas accomplishes this in spades. This extends to the companions, too, whose personalities determine whether they agree with the player’s alignment or reject them for the same. Both rewards and punishments are equally distributed based on the side that players pick, making it clear why Fallout: New Vegas deserves the moniker of being a one-of-a-kind RPG that more people need to check out.
2 Tyranny
Players Can Opt For Different Flavors Of Evil In This Compelling CRPG Without Any Penalties
Tyranny
- Platform(s)
- Linux , Microsoft Windows , macOS
- Released
- November 10, 2016
It’s a shame that Tyranny never managed to reach its full potential, with the final third of the game crumbling as the story hastily sauntered towards an unsatisfying conclusion. However, what most people remember is the journey that whisked players away on an epic adventure where they become an Archon and wield the same power as the Overlord threatening to take over the world. Tyranny is a bleak CRPG at times, but the delicious flavors of evil ensure that fans will be encapsulated by this unique experience.
The fact that infanticide is a decision that players can take for the betterment of the world is a testament to how Tyranny doesn’t punish players for their bad choices. In fact, one can argue that this game doesn’t have any bad choices per se, and it’s left up to the player’s interpretation of events and the character they role-play as to decide the course of action they wish to take.
1 Star Wars Knights Of The Old Republic 2: The Sith Lords
Perhaps The Most Introspective And Thoughtful Exploration Of The Dark Side Of The Force
- Released
- December 6, 2004
While Star Wars may be a fascinating IP, even its biggest fans have to agree that the Light and Dark Side of the Force is a bit too binary and doesn’t leave room for a ton of nuance. So, it was a no-brainer that any Star Wars media that explored what it meant to be good and evil would be a huge hit as long as the writing was stellar, and Knights of the Old Republic 2 didn’t disappoint in this regard.
The game features the most nuanced and mature take on what the Dark Side of the Force is all about, with Kreia highlighting the very flaws of the Force and why it’s an inherently flawed concept. It’s one of the most fascinating explorations of the Force, to the point where players can make choices that seem bad on a surface level but are arguably more justified than they seem.
More
7 RPGs With The Best Quest Variety
For players who enjoy a wide variety of engaging side stories, these RPGs truly stand out.