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What are the best games on Steam where choices matter?

18

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Considered

107

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Recs.

Apr 10, 2023

Last
Updated

17 Games Considered

Best games on Steam where choices matter	Price	Genre	Platforms
-- Mass Effect 2	$19.99	Action Role-Playing, Third-Person Shooter	PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Windows
-- Dragon Age: Origins	$29.99	Tactical Role-Playing	Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Xbox One, macOS
-- Mass Effect	$19.99	Action Role-Playing, Third-Person Shooter	PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Windows
-- Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic	$9.99	Sandbox	-
-- Life is Strange	$19.99	Adventure, Narrative	-

Mass Effect 2

Top Pro

Your choices have true consequences on the story

Your choices have direct consequences on how the story plays out, not only in this game but also across the rest of the Mass Effect trilogy. In Mass Effect 2, you get to choose between options like keeping or destroying inhumane scientific research that could help an entire galactic race, or exposing the dark truth about a squadmates' family for the greater good or keeping it hidden. Who you bring along for the final mission and how you lead your team has a huge impact on the ending. Each of your decisions, big and small, carry over into Mass Effect 3, opening things up for many different playthroughs to see how things turn out with other choices. See More

Top Con

Levels are very linear

Mass Effect 2's levels are more like winding corridors with the occasional wide open space here and there. You always have a clear sense of where to go next, but there isn't much room for exploration. It's also obvious when enemies are about to show up, since you'll come to a place with a bunch of chest-high walls conveniently spread around the area for you to take cover behind. It's unimaginative, making missions feel like you're only going from point A to B. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Mixed

Genre:Action Role-Playing, Third-Person Shooter

Top Pro

Memorable cast of authentic characters

Mass Effect 2 has an amazing cast of both human and alien characters who feel like real people. While just about any NPC you meet is fantastic, your squad members are the ones that stand out the most. You have about ten squadmates to choose from, not including DLC characters. They all have backstories and traits that are believable and natural. Their personalities shine through the most during their optional loyalty missions where you help them complete certain personal tasks separate from the main story. One of your human squadmates, Miranda, is cold and intimidating at first, since she distrusts you for her own reasons. Her loyalty mission is unexpectedly emotional, showing Miranda as more flawed and caring than she lets on. There's also Garrus, one of your returning squadmates from the first Mass Effect. He's a turian that looks somewhat bird-like in design, but his easygoing personality is very cool, making him feel relatable and reliable. His loyalty mission shows his darker side as you help him tie up loose ends from his past. Getting to know everyone through dialogue and squad banter is a lot of fun, making it easy to grow attached to your favorite characters. See More

Top Con

The main enemies, the Collectors, feel misplaced in the trilogy

The Mass Effect trilogy's story is about stopping the Reapers -- ancient, unknowable beings who destroy all life -- but this gets interrupted in Mass Effect 2 by the Collectors who are more like minions of the Reapers. The Collectors are dangerous because they harvest humans, though this is not as important as the Reapers who seek to end all life in the galaxy in Mass Effect 3. It would have made sense for Mass Effect 2 to focus on the Reapers instead of the Collectors, since they're more of a secondary problem. See More

Top Pro

Improved third-person shooting combat from the first game

The combat in Mass Effect 2 is much better than its predecessor in every way possible. You can enter cover and vault over it whenever you want this time around instead of your body magnetically sticking to whichever surface you stand next to. Guns use expendable thermal clips, which are like bullet clips, meaning you're no longer held back by your weapons overheating if you fire them too much. They also feel more satisfying to shoot with a real kick to them, especially the meatier shotguns and sniper rifles. Your squadmates are smarter this time around, like how you can order them to use their own abilities to chain them with yours for cool bonuses like melting armor with fire powers. The combat is actually fun in Mass Effect 2 and stands on its own next to the great story and characters. See More

Top Pro

Good romance subplots

The romance subplots in Mass Effect 2 are great. Playing as male Shepard, you can romance most of your female squadmates, while female Shepard can romance most of the male squadmates. If you romanced someone in the first Mass Effect, then that story continues here in Mass Effect 2. There are certain consequences for being unfaithful where your partner will confront you or the person you're cheating with in a heated showdown. Sticking with one person for the whole game rewards you with a romantic scene near the end of the story. A lot of care and attention went into these subplots, giving you the chance to see each of the characters in a new light. See More

Top Pro

You can customize your protagonist Commander Shepard

There are lots of ways to make Commander Shepard feel like your own character. The character creator at the start of a new game lets you change all sorts of options, from your hair, to your skin color, the shape of your nose, mouth, and ears, and so much more. Or, if you prefer, you can simply stick with the default male or female Shepard. You also get to pick which class you want to be for combat: soldier, infiltrator, vanguard, adept, or sentinel, each with their own unique abilities, like the adept's helpful "magic spells" and the infiltrator's specialty with sniper rifles. You can role-play as Shepard however you want, with plenty of options to customize your looks and your combat specialties for whichever role suits you the most. See More

Dragon Age: Origins

Top Pro

Your choices can give you vastly different playthroughs

The choices you make affect the gameplay and plot, opening things up for very different playthroughs. Right from the start, you pick which race and combat class you want for your protagonist -- human, elf, or dwarf -- each with their own playable origin prologue, such as a human mage with noble blood or a dwarf warrior part of the working class. Which origin you pick also has a big impact on how your companions and NPCs react to you, such as people respecting you more if you're a noble or looking down on you if you're an elf. Once you become a Grey Warden, the choices you make during the story segments determine who will join you for the final battle. You can side with the people whom you know will provide the most support in the finale against the darkspawn, but these characters might be irredeemable and reprehensible, so you might not want to help them after all. Or there may be other groups or people that you absolutely want to help, yet this comes at a great cost that negatively affects others in the world. It's a balancing act where you have to carefully take everything into consideration. All in all, your choices give you the chance to experience unique playthroughs, with potentially hundreds of hours of gameplay if you want to see how each outcome plays out. See More

Top Con

Too easy to fix relationships with companions who dislike you

It's way too easy to smooth things over with disagreeable party members. Your companions can grow to actively dislike you if you pick certain dialogue options with them, or they can judge you harshly for certain story decisions you make. By giving them gifts, you can greatly improve their approval of you as if nothing had ever happened in the first place. None of your relationships with your companions really have any consequences when it's this simple to make them like you again after disagreements. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Mostly Positive

Genre:Tactical Role-Playing

Top Pro

Epic dark fantasy story

The story in Dragon Age: Origins is long and expansive with many different parts that are all fit together by the finale. As a Grey Warden, you specialize in killing demon-like darkspawn enemies in order to prevent them from taking over the world in a cataclysmic event known as the Blight. Even with the darkspawn threat, there are many other issues across the country of Ferelden, such as the oppression of mages and elves at the hands of humans, and several displaced dwarves who were nearly wiped out during the Blights in the past. There's plenty of political drama as well, with you and your fellow Grey Wardens caught in the middle of a betrayal at the highest level of Ferelden's monarchy. You play a big part in the culmination of the drama with the choices you make, many of which aren't just black and white. All of these threads come together nicely by the end as you fight against the darkspawn to save the country and all the people that you get to know on your journey. See More

Top Con

Characters are partially clothed during romance scenes

The romance scenes include characters wearing their undergarments, which ends up looking weird and distracting. Full nudity isn't absolutely necessary, but it just seems off here. Having more creative camera angles to cover things up would have had a better effect without coming off as unrealistic. See More

Top Pro

Great ways to interact with companions

There are interesting ways to get to know your team members in Dragon Age: Origins. Giving them gifts, talking to them at camp, and listening to party banter are all realistic and fun. You can increase approval with your favorite characters by figuring out what types of gifts to give them, like general trinkets in the shape of a dragon, or more sentimental items with personal meaning to them like a parent's cherished locket. While resting at a camp, you can chat with anyone about what's on their mind, opening up side quests, and possibly triggering romance options. Party banter is always insightful and entertaining, with characters giving different lines depending on who you bring along. For instance, if two of your party members don't like each other, you can expect them to snipe insults or make more passive-aggressive backtalk depending on their personalities. Your companions feel like actual people you can interact with and listen to, each with their own preferences and perspectives. See More

Top Con

Silent protagonist even though everyone else has voice acting

It's jarring that your protagonist is the only character in the game who doesn't speak. While everyone else has a voice with their dialogue, it's awkward when you pick your own dialogue options and your character says nothing. When you choose your response, there's a pause between the other person's lines that doesn't quite feel right. It would have been nice if the voice acting were consistent, with voices for everyone or no one, to keep things on the same page. See More

Top Pro

Plenty of mods available

Nexus Mods contains many mods to change just about any aspect of the game such as adding new dungeons, new companion interactions, and ways to save time like with the auto loot mod. See More

Top Pro

Well-implemented tactical combat with unique playstyles

The combat gameplay is great, featuring various playstyles and a key way for you to control the flow of battle. The different battle classes -- warrior, mage, and rogue -- have branching specializations with unique abilities. Going with a templar that branches off from the warrior class gives you an edge over enemies who use magic, while duelist rogues have more speed to strike quickly and dodge the most hits. You can also pause the game to bring up a radial menu to pick which abilities to use and specific enemies to target, meaning you can take your time in battle and not get overwhelmed by everything. Mastering your class specialization and using the radial menu to your advantage gives the combat a lot of strategic depth. See More

Mass Effect

Top Pro

Memorable cast of authentic characters

Mass Effect has an amazing cast of both human and alien characters who feel like real people. While just about any NPC you meet is fantastic, your squad members are the ones that stand out the most. They all have backstories and traits that are believable and natural. Ashley is a human soldier who joins your team early on. As you chat with her in between missions, you get to learn about her history with her family and religious faith back on Earth. But then as you explore the Citadel, the game's main hub area, she makes snide comments about all the aliens around, keying you in on her true feelings about non-humans. By contrast, your scientist team member Liara is an asari: Mass Effect's species of blue female-only aliens. Despite being reserved and shy, Liara often jumps at the chance to gush about her research. Talking to her gives you the chance to learn more about the asari and why exactly she's so devoted to her academic studies. Getting to know everyone through dialogue and squad banter is a lot of fun, making it easy to grow attached to your favorite characters. See More

Top Con

Tedious inventory management

The game overloads your inventory with weapon upgrades, modifiers, equipment, and all sorts of duplicates of those items. Clearing out your inventory can take several minutes at a time since there's no quick way to select the things you don't want and get rid of them. If you're diligent enough to trek to a store to sell things off every single time you're low on inventory space, you can make quite a bit of money, but it's not always convenient to do this, like when you're out in the middle of a remote planet. It takes a lot of patience to not get annoyed with managing all of your items and components. See More

Specs

Genre:Action Role-Playing, Third-Person Shooter

Top Pro

Good romance subplots

The romance subplots in Mass Effect are great. Playing as male Shepard, you can romance either Liara or Ashley, while female Shepard can romance Liara or Kaidan, your human male squadmate. There are certain consequences for being unfaithful where your partner will confront you or the person you're cheating with in a heated showdown. Sticking with one person for the whole game rewards you with a romantic scene near the end of the story. A lot of care and attention went into these subplots, giving you the chance to see each of the characters in a new light. See More

Top Con

Clunky third-person shooting combat

The third-person shooting part of Mass Effect isn't that fun because of how janky it is. Your character gets glued to cover whenever you're close to a wall instead of letting you press a button to enter cover whenever you want. The actual shooting mechanics are slow and heavy, and with guns that overheat if you keep firing them for too long. Suicidal squadmates run around getting killed unless you remember to keep directing them to hide behind cover everywhere you go. The combat is just unsatisfying, clearly taking a backseat to the game's story and characters. See More

Top Pro

Your choices have true consequences on the story

Your choices have direct consequences on how the story plays out, not only in this game but also across the rest of the Mass Effect trilogy. You get to choose between options like sparing or killing off an entire race of potentially dangerous enemies, saving or sacrificing one of your own squad members to finish an operation, and dealing with an enraged teammate who feels betrayed by your actions. How you handle certain side objectives during story missions can also have an impact on how the galaxy at large reacts to you. Each of your decisions, big and small, carry over through your save files to Mass Effect 2 and 3, opening things up for many different playthroughs to see how things turn out with other choices. See More

Top Con

Vehicle controls with the Mako are absolutely terrible

Driving around on planets to get from place to place in the Mako is awful. Controls aren't as responsive as they should be and the vehicle's physics are all over the place. Just trying to make basic turns is bad enough; roving up a rocky mountain, for example, makes the Mako bounce and spin around like it's in zero gravity. These driving parts are mandatory and unskippable, so there's no way around them. It's so bad that the developers got rid of the Mako in Mass Effect 2 and 3, but you unfortunately still have to deal with it here. See More

Top Pro

You can customize your protagonist Commander Shepard

There are lots of ways to make Commander Shepard feel like your own character. The character creator at the start of a new game lets you change all sorts of options, from your hair, to your skin color, the shape of your nose, mouth, and ears, and so much more. Or, if you prefer, you can simply stick with the default male or female Shepard. You also get to pick which class you want to be for combat: soldier, infiltrator, vanguard, adept, or sentinel, each with their own unique abilities, like the adept's helpful "magic spells" and the infiltrator's specialty with sniper rifles. You can role-play as Shepard however you want, with plenty of options to customize your looks and your combat specialties for whichever role suits you the most. See More

Top Pro

Calm and thoughtful atmosphere

There's something calming about Mass Effect's atmosphere that really gives you the space to think and reflect. Exploring places like the indoor trade port Noveria feels special because of the cool blue color scheme, the blizzard blowing outside the full pane windows, and the ambient, yet quietly emotional synth music looping in the background. Even the title screen has a thoughtful song playing over the beautiful sight of Earth from orbit. The atmosphere is wonderful in a way that's almost nostalgic, making you feel right at home each time you start up the game. See More

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

Top Pro

Engaging story thanks to the superb writing

Being a role playing game, KotOR has a pretty long story that the player feels connected to that luckily was written well, making for a good story that is very engaging. See More

Top Con

Somewhat buggy

Crashes can happen while playing, while not a huge deal they can be annoying. See More

EmpatheticBaalat's Experience

Good and bad decision making system. (The light and dark side) See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Controller Support:HID (IOS), Yes (PC)

Top Pro

Handles Star Wars license well

Seeing things like Jedi vs Sith and politics in the game that are now staples of the newer movies helps to feel as though the game fits into the cannon quite well. With so many movie license games in the past being quick cash-ins it is great to see the Star Wars license used in a manner that fits with the cannon and of high quality development. See More

Top Con

Outdated combat system

Top Pro

Longevity through multiple playthroughs thanks to the sheer amount of text and choices to be found in the game

The games story is pretty deep and the text that can be found within that, tells it will take multiple playthroughs to see it all, making for not only a good reason to play many times, but creates the feeling of a very deep universe. See More

Life is Strange

Top Pro

Choice based gameplay with a twist

Your character can rewind time, so you can undo any recent choice or action, allowing you to try out different ones. This feels really awesome since in most games you'd have to reload your save or replay through entire sections just to view the other choices. See More

Top Con

Choices feel a little lacking

While there are many choices in Life is Strange, most of them have no long term impact on the story. The only noticeable changes are the dialogue lines and what scenes you get. While this adds some nuances to your journey, the destination is ultimately the same. See More

Specs

Genre:Adventure, Narrative

Top Pro

Great story

Life is Strange expertly portrays a teenagers life during high school, capturing all the good and bad emotions, while also adding a supernatural twist. The main character and her issues are relatable, side characters are interesting, and the plot twists are very unexpected. The story as a whole is very enjoyable, keeping you on the edge of your seat most of the time. See More

Top Con

Some audio sync issues

In addition to poorly done lip syncing, character voice lines sometimes overlap as well. You might not understand what's being said unless you turn on the subtitles. It can be really annoying at times, even with subtitles. See More

Top Pro

A well-polished experience

Excellent voice acting, great story, smooth lighting, detailed object/level design, extensive number of people and objects to interact with, and even amazing music. Everything about the game makes it very enjoyable to play. See More

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Top Con

Some main story segments drag on for way too long

The story is generally excellent except for certain parts that seem to go on and on for hours with no end in sight. You start off looking into someone who has information on Ciri, only to get the run-around in the worst of ways, chasing down several leads for many different characters all at one time. Just when you think you're done with a series of main quests, you have to go talk to someone else, or kill some other monster, or go to some other place instead. It's really annoying and kills the pacing of the otherwise well-written narrative. See More

Top Pro

Immersive story

The dialogue of the game is very intriguing as well as voiced superbly making for a very immersive experience as far as story is concerned. It is through the care the developers took to implement such realistic writing and voice work that makes the game so intriguing and an experience to play. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Overwhelmingly Positive

Genre:Action RPG

Top Con

The combat can take some time to get used to

The real-time action combat with Geralt's swords and magic doesn't quite feel right. When you first try it, you might find the controls to be imprecise and a bit sluggish. You may need a few hours to get used to the way the swordplay works with parrying and dodging, on top of knowing when to use your defensive and offensive spells to take advantage of enemy weaknesses. See More

Top Pro

Gigantic openworld

Deviating from the previous two games Wild Hunt now has open world environments that are so large and detailed it can be intimidating. In comparison to other open-world games such as Skyrim the open World in The Witcher 3 is 3.5 time larger, in comparison the GTA5 The Witcher 3 is 1.5 times larger. See More

Top Con

Story feels like a chore

Most quests feel like a chore in that it is basically fetch quests in exchange for information to advance the story. While this is often a mechanic found in games to keep the gameplay long it does get tiresome. See More

Top Pro

Thoughtful and expansive story with well-written characters

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt tells a deep and intricate story about the main character, Geralt, on his long journey to find his adoptive daughter, Ciri, who's on the run from the evil, supernatural warlords of the Wild Hunt. You spend the game following various leads on Ciri's whereabouts, meeting up with old friends, former lovers, powerful politicians, and all sorts of people from many walks of life. These characters usually want something in exchange for giving Geralt the information he wants, leading you down some unexpected and eye-opening paths as you learn more about who they are, how they met Ciri, and how she helped them grow as people, letting you form a bond with her through these thought-provoking tales. And as Geralt either helps or hurts these people himself, he inevitably impacts their lives in even more ways. Aside from the main story, there are also two great expansions: Hearts of Stone, and Blood and Wine, both of which offer their own amazing narratives with hours and hours of content. Hearts of Stone has you get involved with a shady, all-powerful manipulator who gives Geralt a series of seemingly impossible tasks, while Blood and Wine lets you explore the rolling hills of the wine-loving country of Touissant, with all the political intrigue surrounding the Duchess there. The Witcher 3's story has so much to offer, easily keeping you hooked for well over a hundred hours as you play and replay the base game and the excellent expansions. See More

Top Pro

Your choices lead to morally-gray consequences and multiple different endings

There are rarely any right answers when making decisions. The situations that the story puts you in are unique and oftentimes unsettling, sometimes leaving you agonizing over which dialog option to pick during story conversations. During your first playthrough, it's isn't obvious which of your decisions are "important" and will impact plot outcomes, making you think critically about all of your choices. Most surprising are the critical decisions that determine which ending you get -- once you see your ending, you learn how organic everything is, with the game keeping track of your relationships with other characters in subtle ways. See More

Top Pro

Memorable and meaningful side quests

The Witcher 3 sets a new standard with how well-done the side quests are. Since Geralt is a witcher, meaning he specializes in dealing with monsters with his swords and magic spells, people often go to him when they need a monster problem taken care of. Some of these problems involve people who have lost loved ones to a monster and simply want help tracking down their corpses to give them a proper send-off, or they want Geralt to take revenge by tracking down the monster and killing it. These side stories go a long way to humanize the minor characters, letting you feel their grief, hopelessness, or anger within only a few short minutes of speaking with them and getting the quest details. It's impressive that the writers manage to consistently pack so much emotion into these optional quests that you might not even choose to play through. See More

Top Pro

Vast and beautiful open world to explore

The world is gorgeous in how untainted it is, with many locations to see and visit. Full of vibrant life, the medieval-style setting is simple and understated, with wide open fields, rainy meadows, snowy mountain ranges, and modest wooden towns and cities for you to roam around on horseback or on foot. There are tons of secrets to find all over, like monster lairs to destroy for loot, treasure maps to follow, and hidden side quests in remote villages. The in-game clock keeps the skies changing with the hour as you cross from city to city, country to country, brightening the horizons with brilliant, golden sunrises in the morning and burning crimson sunsets in the evening. Everything is amazing to look at, encouraging you to wander around aimlessly just to take in the sights. See More

Top Pro

Fleshed-out romance options

Playing as Geralt, you have the choice to have one-night stands with ladies at certain taverns, or you can focus on his more involved romantic subplots. By this third game, Geralt has quite a long history with two competent and beautiful sorceresses: Triss Merigold, his love interest from The Witcher 2: Assassin of Kings, and Yennefer of Vengerberg, his old flame from the series of The Witcher novels that the games are based on. The two women also happen to be best friends, injecting some drama depending on how you go about things. Triss is really sweet, fun, and spontaneous with the way she makes the stoic Geralt smile and open up more as they get up to mischief together. On the other hand, Yennefer is strict, straightforward, and no-nonsense, not wanting to get into feelings all that much, and yet she and Geralt have such a strong bond over several years, making it feel special when Yen does occasionally let her guard down. Both of these romances intertwine well with the main story, with great optional side quests that add even more layers to whichever relationship you decide to pursue. It's also possible to try romancing both of them at the same time, but you might regret it, so choose carefully. See More

Top Pro

Accessible to players who are new to the Witcher series

Even though this is the third Witcher game, you can still jump right in and not feel lost. The story is generally good with the way it introduces you to the main characters without expecting you to know who they are. Geralt often reminisces with his friends from the first two games, letting you in on their history and adventures together to give you an idea of what happened in the past. And you don't have to have read the series of Witcher books, either, as the games all take place beyond the stories there. See More

Detroit: Become Human

Top Pro

The types of story situations you find yourself in are unprecedented

There's both quantity and quality with the branching paths in Detroit: Become Human. Connor, Kara, and Markus all experience some pretty remarkable events, leading them to grow as characters in satisfying ways according to your choices. Connor can go down a truly intriguing path that puts him at odds with his programming, trapping him in some harrowing predicaments that test his loyalties. Kara can go on a real adventure with her friends and loved ones, leaving her with nothing as she tries to make things work despite the odds against her. Markus has the freedom to lead either a peaceful protest or a violent revolution against the humans, at the cost of losing relationships, and possibly himself in the process. The places and emotions you can lead your characters to are surprising and unforgettable. See More

PowerfulSamshinHalmoni's Experience

AMAZING GAME See More

Specs

Genre:Interactive Narrative, Action-Adventure

Top Pro

The story isn't afraid to tackle social commentary issues like discrimination, politics, and slavery

Detroit: Become Human centers around subservient androids rising up against their human creators, either in peaceful protest or violent revolution. The plot gets into some heavy themes, like how the androids take care of so many jobs that the human unemployment rate is quite high, causing resentment. Humans openly discriminate against androids, delegating them to remain in the back of buses, restricting their rights, and openly treating them like slaves. The story is unabashed in the way it portrays these ideas that aren't typically shown in video games, taking risks that ultimately pay off in the long-run. See More

Top Pro

Impeccable graphics and visuals

Detroit: Become Human has next-level graphics and presentation. Characters look exactly like the actors they're modeled after, down to imperfections like razor bumps on the back of Connor's neck from his perfect, precise haircut. The environments set in the city of Detroit in the year 2038 are also great, showing the sheen of futuristic, automated cars and buses driving down the road, the bustling cultural meccas downtown, and even the grittier, dirtier aspects of the poverty-stricken areas. Everything looks amazing, showing off what games of this console generation can put out in terms of graphics and detail. See More

Top Pro

The three playable android characters are each great in their own ways

You play as three androids--Connor, Kara, and Markus--all of whom have their own interesting character traits and storylines. Connor is cold and direct as an investigator for the police, concerned first and foremost about finishing the job by any means necessary. Kara is more docile and mother-like, but determined to protect those she cares about. Markus is the leader who rallies the androids together for their cause for the sake of justice. The three characters intersect in intriguing ways, with Connor maintaining the status quo, Markus upsetting the norm, and Kara wanting to find her own path. But, ultimately, who they are depends on your choices, since your actions are what determine how the protagonists turn out in the end. See More

Top Pro

An ambitious amount of branching paths via player choice

The sheer number of branching choices and outcomes is staggering. After every chapter, the game shows you a flowchart of the choices you made, the paths you unlocked, and which conclusion you arrived to. You get to see the blank spaces for paths you didn't unlock, which shows the surprising scope of how gigantic the script is. Getting to see the percentage of players in the world who unlocked your same outcomes also puts things into perspective. Each decision you make leads to a true a culmination of your choices by the end, encouraging near-infinite different playthroughs. See More

Top Pro

AMAZING

Life is Strange: Before the Storm

Top Pro

Choices have consequences

Much like in the first game, Before the Storm features several choices throughout the game that have an impact on future plot points across the three episodes. How these choices end up impacting the ending are debatable, but there are still a myriad of choices that change the outcome of a single playthrough, such as Chloe's decision to handle certain sums of money, or whether or not she's willing to accept her mother's unlikable new boyfriend. Chloe and Rachel's interactions can also be limited to friendship or expanded into a romantic relationship through player choice. See More

Top Con

Feels more like a prologue to be played before the much better prequel

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Genre:Adventure, Narrative

Top Pro

Great soundtrack

Daughter, the indie folk band from England, worked on the tracks for Before the Storm, pulling together many of the game's great moments with thoughtful acoustic tunes and moody piano tracks. The more upbeat, hopeful tracks fit in incredibly well with Chloe's adventurous scenes with Rachel, giving a sense of wonder as the two explore Arcadia Bay together. One song in particular, 'All I Wanted', is a memorable, catchy folk track that captures the feeling of Chloe and Rachel supporting one another through their struggles, which is what Life is Strange: Before the Storm is all about. See More

Top Con

Limited exploration

With much of the focus on the storytelling, it's still unfortunate that Chloe can't leave the designated story areas without turning around and repeating the same line about how she's supposed to focus on her objective. The limited areas to walk around in are understandable, yet disappointing, with missed opportunities for Chloe to walk down the street from her home and see what her neighbors are up to, or for her and Rachel to hang out in more places around Arcadia Bay together. See More

Top Pro

Chloe is more likable this time

In the first Life is Strange, many players complained that Chloe was insufferable and selfish as Max's best friend, complaining in order to have more of her time when she might not have deserved it. This time around, watching the events of Before the Storm unfold from Chloe's eyes is enjoyable, largely thanks to how easygoing she is with Rachel--for the most part--and how far she's willing to go to sacrifice for her throughout the plot. Chloe makes dorky jokes that don't always land and back-talks school staff at Blackwell Academy with harmless ease, making her a much warmer, sillier character compared to her prickly, temperamental self in Max's adventure. See More

Top Con

Third episode falls flat in some areas

Life is Strange: Before the Storm is an all-around stand-out title, with the first and second episodes building up to an impactful third installment that feels lacking in certain aspects. Without getting into spoilers, there are a few plot holes that aren't wrapped up by the end, and much of the tension in the episode falls flat because of these glaring holes that none of the characters bother to address. See More

Top Pro

Improved writing over the first game

The original Life is Strange suffered from some instances of awkward lines that sounded like a middle-aged adult trying to emulate how teenagers speak; thankfully, Before the Storm has a much clearer, down-to-earth script that helps the characters sound more authentic and real. Rachel's use of "hella" is more amusing this time around, as it gives context as to why Chloe picked up on it and used it frequently in the first game. Overall, each of the characters in the game are more well-rounded across the three episodes thanks to the smooth writing. See More

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Top Con

Immersion can be broken due to game limitations

While the game offers players many choices some of these choices are not reflected in the game accurately. There are instances where NPCs should know who your character is or what classes they belong to but due to the limitations of the tech used in the game it is unable to "remember" these things and so NPC text will often break immersion in the game by saying the wrong things. See More

Top Pro

Deep lore rivaling classic fantasy literature

Skyrim inherits the stories and world-building of The Elder Scrolls series, which stretches back 20 years. It has numerous stories surrounding the various races (orcs, elves, lizardmen, demons, etc.), mythical beasts, gods, cataclysmic events, parallel worlds, and just about any fantasy trope you could think off. What's even better you can read the lore in books found in-game, allowing you to immerse yourself for countless hours. See More

Specs

Genre:Fantasy Role-Playing

Top Con

Broken "Skill System"

You play as a master of non. See More

Top Pro

Massive sandbox to explore at your own pace

The in-game map is absolutely gigantic. There are so many places to go and so much to do in the world, easily giving you hundreds of hours of content. Exploring the wide range of environments, from the snowy mountains to the richly-detailed towns and cities is such a joy because of how lush and beautiful everything is. Wandering around often surprises you with new side quests to find off the beaten path, with new characters to meet and history to learn about in whichever area you find yourself in. You can get into all sorts of battles with powerful enemies or stumble into hidden dungeons with awesome loot at the end. Or you can sneak around towns at night stealing peoples' stuff while they're asleep to sell everything off for money. And there's just a ton of other intriguing secrets and fun diversions to discover as you adventure throughout the world. See More

Top Con

No real choice nor consequence

Top Pro

Total freedom in how you choose to play through the world's different factions

You can set off to any of Skyrim's different towns and discover new storylines from interesting factions that flesh out the world and the lore, with great characters and their own absorbing narratives to get lost in. There are a good number of these factions, like the scholars at the snowy College of Winterhold, the secretive assassins of the Dark Brotherhood, or the cohort of rogues and bandits of the Thieves Guild. After picking whichever faction you want to learn more about, you can eventually become a Master of the guild and learn new skills for your character. Playing through each of their individual stories lets you really feel like a member of the faction you choose, like with how the Thieves Guild sends you on missions to pick locks and steal valuables without getting caught by the guards. And if you only get through some of the faction's story and decide you don't enjoy it, you can easily go find another one and play through that one instead. There are no limits on how you play through the plot, with Skyrim giving you the flexibility to pick up stories, set them down, and come back to them whenever you feel like it. See More

Top Con

Forgetful NPCs can break immersion

After completing certain story quests NPCs get new lines added to their dialogue based on your decisions. Sometimes the NPCs might become forgetful and return to their default dialogue, which can break immersion, especially if they talk about an event that's been long resolved. See More

Top Pro

Huge variety of mods

Bethesda Softworks has upheld a tradition of releasing their internal content-creation tools to the public since Morrowind (2002). Many modders transition to new Bethesda games as they are released, bringing their experience with them and helping newcomers through forums and wikis. As a result, Skyrim's mod selection is outstanding in both variety and quality. See More

Top Con

Combat is too simple

Fights within the game don't have very many options. "Headshots" don't matter, and most combat options in the game are poorly balanced. Few examples: Doesn't really matter if you go mace, sword or axe, fire, ice or lightning, or even two handed vs dual wielding. The options mostly add flavor to your character and little else. Despite the fact that you might have ranged attacks, dragons are impossible to hit while in the air, so you end up fighting them similarly to a melee character. "Twincasting" the first healing spell is actually worse than just casting it once in each hand. Illusion magic becomes useless at later levels, since the spells don't do anything if the enemy is too high level and enemies scale to your level. Enemies are too stupid to make hiding a bad thing. The worst one is leveling as an Alteration mage, which gives you access to the Dragonskin spell, granting maximum armor for 30 seconds and has a 5 second cast time. Or you could just go Heavy Armor, level that up (so it weighs nothing) and have maximum armor ALWAYS without ever having to cast an Alteration spell before combat ever again. Combat comes down to how you leveled, not how you play. See More

Top Pro

Moral choices that can affect gameplay

Things like stealing (and getting caught), fighting or killing in towns will change how the game plays as now those people or towns will be angry with the player, which makes things much more difficult. There are also many moral choices in game such as if one should betray the person who gave then their quest by keeping the treasure they were hired to return. All of these things will change how the game plays and how NPC's react to the character making for a simulated real world of consequences. See More

Top Con

Buggy and crash prone

Skyrim, like all Bethesda in house game engines (GameBryo) is buggy and prone to crashing. Non modded games have plenty of issues, but to then add mods on top is just asking for a crash or corrupt game save. There are still many community mods for Skyrim that try to make the game more stable by addressing memory issues and general buggynes. While the game is not as buggy as it was upon release, there are still many people that have issues with the game crashing on boot or just randomly which is why these mods are still widely used and still very relevant. See More

Top Pro

Unrestrictive skill-based RPG system

Skyrim has no concept of character classes, and there are no restrictions on what equipment or magic a given character can use or learn. A character's capabilities are defined by skills (e.g. heavy armor, marksman, enchantment) which automatically improve as they are used. Levels are gained by increasing skills, and each level grants one perk -- a passive, secondary effect which further enhances a particular skill -- and increases an attribute of your choice (Magicka, Stamina or Health). See More

Top Pro

The longest-running RPG-FPS franchise, with world lore rivaling classic fantasy literature

The Elder Scrolls series stretches back 20 years and has always focused on providing a rich world to explore. Skyrim inherits the stories and world-building of over half a dozen previous games. See More

Undertale

Top Pro

Your choices lead you down different story paths

Depending on your choices, your playthrough can change in drastic ways. If you don't want to kill enemies in battle, you can choose to have a dialog with them instead. Doing this consistently is basically a pacifist playthrough where you don't kill anyone, and characters respond to you in certain ways based on that. Or you can go for a genocide playthrough, which is basically what it sounds like, where you kill everyone you come across whenever you get the chance. This can have serious consequences, since the game does its best to make you feel bad about this approach, by having certain characters hate you. It's an interesting way to get to see the world and story from different angles. See More

Top Con

The visuals could be better

Much of the game is plain-looking with simple graphics, but sometimes the visuals are just awful. The pixel art can be charming for some players, though it's hard to ignore when certain areas are barren or have ugly textures. It's notable that a single person created the whole game; it would have been nice if they'd had more time or resources to clean up some of the visual problems. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Overwhelmingly Positive

Genre:Role-Playing

Co-Op:Single Player

Top Pro

Incredible soundtrack

Just like the simple but pleasant graphics in the game, the music matches this with a retro-sounding score that fits right in with the art style. There are a lot of catchy tunes that only use a few sounds to make up memorable songs. The simplicity really adds to the charm, with some of the songs easily able to get stuck in your head for days at a time. It's nostalgic enough for older gamers who grew up in the early eras of gaming, while still having enough to pull in newer gamers who aren't as familiar with games from the 1980s and 90s. There's something here for everyone. See More

Top Con

Replaying can be a chore

The first time going through the game it's a nice experience, especially when you know nothing about the characters, story, mechanics, etc.. By your next playthrough, you already know all the jokes and plot points. Even when taking a new route, it can take a while for you to notice anything different from one playthrough to the next, making things feel like a drag. See More

Top Pro

Amazing characters

The characters in the game are written well, each with their own unique personalities. Some may be too shy, and will lower their hit points when you attack them in battle, just to avoid offending you. Others are deeply caring and do their best to help and protect their friends and family, including you as the player. Many of the characters are quite funny in their dialog and the unexpected choices they make throughout the story, including the ways they react to your choices. Almost every character is incredibly memorable and enjoyable to get to know better. See More

Top Pro

Many interesting secrets to find

There are many secrets to discover in the game, like hidden mechanics that might take you by surprise. It may take a couple of playthroughs to find them all, but once you do, it may completely change how you see the story, the characters, and a lot more. There's a lot more to Undertale beneath its simple-looking surface. See More

Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony

Top Pro

Quirky storytelling

Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony is a mish-mash of a visual novel, an adventure game, a colorful cast of anime characters like talking bears with varied creepy designs and a host of high school characters solving a murder mystery, all packed together as a competition of wits to investigate each crime scene and figure out what happened. Getting fellow classmates to believe the player's version of events involves stylish debates with text flying across the screen, where the other characters can be swayed by the correct answers or timely lies that risk the chance of perjury. See More

Top Con

Polarizing ending

Love it or hate it, the ending is undoubtedly polarizing, with some fans enjoying the conclusion to the game's many twists and turns, with others left feeling disappointed or annoyed. Your experience will vary, so be prepared to fall on either end of the spectrum once you reach the end of your 30+ hour series of investigations. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Mostly Positive

Genre:Adventure, Visual Novel

Top Pro

Unique blend of different gameplay concepts

Filled with heated debates, character bonding and relationships, whodunit murder mysteries, along with mini-games and dungeon-crawling, Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony is a blend of ideas and mechanics that manage to work as an unexpected, yet cohesive package. This is a game that sounds impossible on paper, but everything fits together as a package surprisingly well. See More

Top Con

Questionable mid-story pacing

Unfortunately, things begin to drag on toward the middle of the story, where the plot begins to feel tedious and repetitive. These crimes in the middle are more tedious and repetitive than anything, lacking the finesse and enjoyment of other parts of the game. See More

Top Pro

Eccentric cast of characters

The sixteen main characters in Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony are all at the "ultimate" level of their specialties, such as the ultimate detective, the ultimate tennis-player-turned-convict, the ultimate artist, and many more. Their personalities shine through during debates as they argue their points of view, some with no shortage of pointed vulgarities, with other outright lying in order to keep the player on-edge. The localization's many pop culture references to "alternative facts" and misinformation campaigns helps the characters feel relevant and real. See More

Top Pro

Great music

DRV3's soundtrack encompasses many genres, allowing you to enjoy a wide variety of instruments, which includes guitars, drums, brass instruments, synths and many others. The end result is a gritty, futuristic soundtrack with punchy, energetic songs that make the proceedings feel action-packed while also making key story moments memorable. See More

Katana Zero

The Walking Dead A New Frontier

Top Pro

Main character Javi is very likeable

Main protagonist Javi is a bit of screw-up and the black sheep of his family when the story starts. However, as the world starts to fall apart, he quickly grows into his own and becomes a very likeable character. He is forced into many tough situations where he is always putting his family's safety above his own, and as a result, we get to watch him grow as a person. Overall, he is very easy to relate to and it's fun to cheer him along on his journey from goofball to hero. Javi is a great new addition to the series. See More

Top Con

Too many quicktime events

QTEs are used during action sequences, which is fine, but sometimes they are used in places where they are not needed, such as pushing a dumpster to block a doorway or connecting some wires. These unnecessary QTEs disrupt the pace of the story at best, and at worst, completely ruin immersion by having to repeat the same frustrating sequence over and over when you mess up. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Genre:Story Rich, Adventure

Top Pro

Great story

TWD: A New Frontier features a brand new story in The Walking Dead universe with an all new cast of characters. This time around, you play as Javi, an ex-baseball player with a gambling problem who is trying to protect his family during the zombie apocalypse. Javi is somewhat of the black sheep of the family, but as the world devolves in chaos, he is forced to step up and protect his sister-in-law, nephew, and niece after his brother disappears. The four of them hit the road together to salvage for supplies and search for a new safe place to call home. During the course of the story, you'll be fighting for survival in this messed up world, meeting interesting characters, running into plenty of problems, and making really tough choices to save yourself and your loved ones along the way. See More

Top Con

Very short

For a $25 game, only having seven to eight hours of playtime among five episodes is pretty poor. Each episode is only 60-90 minutes long, whereas episodes in the other two games in the series were around three hours apiece. While the story itself is great, it is overall much, much shorter than season one and two, which may be a great disappointment to some. See More

Top Pro

Voice acting is incredible

Voice actors deliver their lines with a lot of emotion, never feeling forced or fake. This excellent acting really helps draw you into the story and its characters. There's a lot of great chemistry between the various voice actors as well, resulting in conversations that flow well and sound very natural. See More

Top Con

Some choices will be biased towards Clementine

The whole reason season one and two existed was to tell the story of Clementine. She has grown into the beloved character of the franchise. This third installment in the series, however, has us playing as a new character named Javi. Clementine is still heavily involved the storyline, and this is where the issue arises. Sometimes we are asked to make choices as Javi that involve Clementine. However, since we've built up a strong liking for Clementine over the past two games, it's way too easy to swing all choices in her favor - even if Javi wouldn't actually make those choices himself. This can be bit a immersion breaking and make for some rather biased decisions that make little to no sense in the actual context of the story. See More

Top Pro

Loads of difficult and impactful choices

At the heart of this story-driven game are the wide array of interesting choices you get to make. What you say and do will have an impact on how the story plays out, so it's kind of fun to ponder each one. Characters will remember your past actions and conversations, which means all your decisions and dialogue choices carry a lot of meaningful weight. How you choose to interact with various characters will influence how they treat you down the line. Each episode contains many different dialogue paths, as well as 3-4 major heart-wrenching, tough, and super impactful decisions that literally determine the fate of each character and how the story unfolds. See More

Top Pro

The game is cross-platform

You can play it on PC, Mac, PS4, Xbox One, iOS, Kindle Fire HDX, and Android. See More

Top Pro

Huge amount of replayability

Resembling an interactive novel, TWD: A New Frontier plays out as a series of dialogue choices or decisions that result in specific actions. It's pretty interesting to replay the game many times and choose all the different ways of handling situations just to see how they play out. See More

Top Pro

Maintains a sense of familiarity while offering a new perspective

Even though we take on the role of the new character Javi this time around, an old fan favorite, Clementine, makes an appearance and becomes heavily involved in the story as well. The inclusion of Clementine in the story and the newfound relationship between Javi and Clem really adds a wonderful touch of familiarity to the series, while still giving us an all new story to play through. We get to see the world through Javi's eyes, instead of Clem's, which is an interesting perspective shift. See More

Fallout 4

Top Con

Choices don't matters

No different endings and no real consequences. See More

Top Pro

Deep perk/skill system

The perk/skill system is presented as a large grid of perks the player can pick from. As the player levels up, they earn skill points which can then be used to gain perks in this large grid. The choices are pretty vast with seven different areas that perks can be picked from. This is called the S.P.E.C.I.A.L. system, standing for Strength, Perception, Endurance, Charisma, Intelligence, Agility and Luck. Each of these seven skills have their own row of perks, of which those perks cost a certain amount of skill points to use. A total of 70 perks give the player a lot of choice and customization to their character. If you want to make a character centered around being a sharp shooter, there are perks for that, if you want to focus on creating a tank of a character that can plow through enemies with little damage, there are perks for that too. This way anyone can create a very original character on each playthrough. See More

Specs

Genre:Action RPG

Co-Op:Single Player

Top Con

Horrible RPG

This is a pretty bad choice-based game to be recommended here. Your choices here and the respective consequences are shallow black-and-white designs compared to the likes of Dragon Age: Origins or even the Mass Effect games. See More

Top Pro

Heavily moddable

Users can find all sorts of mods at Nexus Mods, which will help expand and change the gameplay making for an infinitely playable game due to the vast amount of options available. See More

Top Con

The dialogue choices are confusing

Most of the dialogue choices will only show a few words that don't actually reflect what your character is gonna say. This creates a disconnect between you and your character, making it seem like you don't control what your character is gonna say at any point. See More

Top Pro

Base building mechanic that makes for a solid distraction to the main story

Base building is a way that the player can collect components in the world to then use them to make their own base for equipment and supplies. There is also an interesting aspect where the player can attract NPCs in the game to their base in order to create a settlement (basically a small town of people). This can only be done in particular spaces in the game though. The rest of the base building mechanics can be used anywhere the player wants and in any style they like. If you want to build a floating base that only you can access, this can be done. Want to build a giant towering structure that goes as high as you like, you can do that too. Really there is very little limiting the player from creating anything they imagine for their base. This can make for a solid distraction from the main story of the game as the player can sink as much or as little time into it as they like. See More

Top Con

The dialogue choices are limited and non-meaningful

In a lot of the cases the choices you make when talking to people don't actually impact what happens. There are some exceptions, but Fallout 4 is more about telling a story to the player than being able to do things your own way. See More

Top Pro

Challenging and diverse enemy types

There are quite a lot of different enemies found in the game, ranging from Super Mutants to Feral Zombies to Blood Bugs. Each has their own weakness and strength, which asks the player to constantly adjust their fighting style due to what is being thrown at them at the time. See More

Top Con

Buggy gameplay

There are bugs in the game that users will run into. While most are not game breaking, it can detract from the experience. See More

Top Pro

Companions can help make the game a little easier

There are a bunch of companions to find in the game, starting with a dog. Each companion has their own skills that can help the player in the game, such as the dog can find hidden items in the world and retrieve them. As the player progresses in the game, more companions can be found, though only one can be used at a time. They can be easily swapped out for those that would like to see what each offers easily. Even better is the player does not have to use one if they do not like, which may make the game a little more tough, but some may enjoy that challenge. See More

Top Con

Pipboy UI is hard to use

The default UI does not make it easy to manage your items and there are a lot of inconsistencies such as escape and tab both being used inconsistently to exit in-game features. See More

Top Pro

Great storyline that is expanded by sidequests

The main storyline is well written featuring the main character looking for redemption and their lost son. Expanding on that is the many side quests available that flush out the world that is Boston in this post apocalyptic future. See More

Top Pro

Solid gunplay

Fallout has typically used a slowed down time based gun mechanic called VATS, which works as an assisted shooting and aiming mechanic that allows one to pick the body parts of an enemy to target in slowed down time. This system is present in Fallout 4, but the first/third person gunplay has been improved so much over previous titles that it is not as necessary to use anymore (as it once was). Basically the gunplay works so well in this game that players can run and gun with ease, though the VATs system is still there for those that prefer it. Either way, the gunplay feels and plays well, no matter the system used, which makes for a varied design that feels solid and enjoyable. See More

Top Pro

Unique loot

There is quite a lot of loot to be found in the game. Weapons and armor are scattered all over the wasteland map as well as contained in many dungeons. Unique and legendary loot can be found by defeating certain types of enemies as well. Overall this gives a good incentive to keep exploring and defeating bad guys, all in the search of getting that better piece of gear. See More

Top Pro

Huge world with a lot to discover

The Fallout world is massive and even outside of the main campaign there are so many things going on that the world feels real and alive. Lots of the buildings are actually enter-able and usually have something unique and interesting to discover. See More

Top Pro

Weapons and armor can be improved by adding mods

Add a scope, change the barrel or ammo clip, add a stock to turn it into a rifle or remove it to turn it into a pistol. A lot of awesome weapons are to be made. Same goes for armor. Leather lining or metal painting, padding or extra pockets. Then there's all sorts of menacing melee weapons too. See More

The Walking Dead: Season 2

Top Pro

Choice of protagonist increases emotional impact

Viewing the story through the eyes of Clementine, a young child from the first season, is an interesting choice and makes some of the decisions you have to make even more heartbreaking. Not only is she growing up, she is growing up in the midst of a brutal zombie apocalypse where survival is rough, and life or death choices have to be made on the fly. Experiencing some of the game's situations from the viewpoint a young girl make them even more disturbing and troubling, increasing their emotional impact. See More

Top Con

May distress some people

There is a lot of violence, gore, and very disturbing situations. Some people may not react well to some of the scenes. Despite the fact that the main character in this game is a young girl, this is a game for adults. See More

Specs

Genre:Adventure, Narrative, Survival Horror

Top Pro

Gripping and emotional story

TWD: Season 2 continues the story about the struggle to survive during a brutal zombie apocalypse. You play as Clementine, a young girl from the first season, who is growing up in a cruel world. Food and resources are scarce, and people will do whatever they feel they must do to survive. Not only are the hordes of zombies a constant threat, but people are also dangerous with hidden motives. The story does a really good job showcasing the lengths people will go to to survive, and constantly offers up interesting and tough decisions for you to make. It hits on every emotional level. There are moments of horror, sadness, tragedy, and even a little humor thrown in. Through meaningful dialogue and character interactions, the game is able to flawlessly switch gears between them creating a very gripping and emotional story. See More

Top Con

Some obnoxious quicktime events

While this game is almost fully story based, there are still some fairly long and annoying quicktime events during action sequences. There are a few in particular that feel like they drag on a bit too long, and if you hit the wrong key/button at any point, you'll have to restart the event. See More

Top Pro

A huge amount of replayability

Resembling an interactive novel, TWD: S2 plays out as a series of dialogue choices or decisions that result in specific actions. It's pretty interesting to replay the game many times and choose all the different ways of handling situations just to see how they play out. See More

Top Pro

Stellar voice acting brings the characters to life

Voice actors deliver their lines with a lot of emotion, never feeling forced or fake. This excellent acting really helps draw you into the story and its characters. There's a lot of great chemistry between the various voice actors as well, resulting in conversations that flow well and sound very natural. See More

Top Pro

Standlone story makes it accessible for all

Even if you don't read the comic or watch the TV show, you can still play and enjoy this game. It's a completely standalone story. While there are some mild easter eggs for fans of the show/comic, you can still understand the game just fine without any prior knowledge of The Walking Dead. See More

Top Pro

Dynamic and impactful decisions

Surviving in the midst of a zombie apocalypse is hard, and oftentimes decisions will require you to make heart-wrenching choices to progress the story. In most cases, there are no easy or pleasant solutions to most of the scenarios the story places you in. However every choice you make, be it through dialogue or an action, will influence the story playing out in a new way. Characters will also remember your past interactions with them, which results in the story playing out in dynamic ways. For example, at times you can choose whether or not to help other characters. If you do, they may remember your kindness later in the game. If you don't, they may not trust you in the long run. Characters also remember your dialogue choices, and it will always influence later events. See More

Steins;Gate 0

Top Pro

Dark and mature storyline that grapples with grief and loss

Steins;Gate 0's story is quite serious, dealing with some real concepts that many games don't really explore. The story takes place in an alternate timeline after the first Steins;Gate game where the protagonist failed to save his loved one, causing him to struggle with anxiety, PTSD, and depression. You spend much of your time speaking with other characters who try to get through to the main character, hoping that he overcomes his grief to help save the world from falling into war. It's a poignant yet realistic approach that still has layers of hope, keeping things from getting too bogged down in sadness. See More

Top Con

Not for people who want more involved gameplay

Since Steins;Gate 0 is a visual novel, that means a lot of reading. The gameplay boils down to how you get one of the multiple endings, which is limited to your responses to text messages and emails with other characters. If you want a game with more interactivity, then this one probably isn't for you unless you're willing to try something different. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Genre:Visual Novel

Top Pro

Multiple endings that depend on your choices

One of the best parts about the story is how your decisions affect the ending you get. The multiple paths branch out depending on how your respond to emails and text messages, which show the recipient characters how you think and feel. Their reactions to your state of mind determines how things play out in the long-run, opening up lots of chances to replay the game to see all the different outcomes. See More

Top Con

Some reused art assets stick out

From time to time, you may notice that the characters don't always look the same. There are some old models from the first Steins;Gate game that get reused here, probably to save time, but it's distracting. The old character models aren't as interesting or detailed as the new ones for this game, so they end up sticking out in a bad way. It's nothing too terrible, though it may throw you off. See More

Top Pro

Great English localization

The English localization is pretty good. The voice acting is purely in Japanese, so the game relies heavily on its subtitles to get its story across. Thankfully, everything sounds natural and flows well, keeping things relevant and accessible for non-Japanese audiences. Every little thing on-screen is translated to English, too, including things like cute reaction stickers that your friends send you through text messages. There are a few mispellings and mistranslations here and there, but it's not bad enough to pull you out of the experience. Anyone will have an easy time understanding all of the dialog here. See More

Top Pro

Unique concept of bending time to prevent World War III

The story takes things one step further with its themes and concepts. You're part of a group of students who use time travel and artificial intelligence support to stop a terrible future where World War III breaks out between the major powers on the planet. There's plenty of intriguing science-fiction lore to learn about along the way, and it's all easily digestible thanks to great tips that the game shows you from time to time. It's a cool concept that goes beyond the usual stories about war, keeping things new and exciting. See More

Warsim: the Realm of Aslona

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