What makes us human? A question biologists can easily answer while philosophers find themselves contemplating the question, because it’s not a simple answer. Some argue it’s because of our empathy, others argue it’s our creativity and curiosity, but I like to say what makes us human are our choices. Every human has choices that can inevitably change the trajectory of your life. In video games, Choose Your Own Adventure Games, it’s not your life you are choosing for, but you are choosing for others. Others who don’t have a choice. Whose lives are in your hands, so to speak. Even though they are pixels, these games make you feel for the characters. They feel real and your choices feel real, because to those pixels the choice you make chooses their life trajectory. One little action can have a butterfly effect that ripples through the game and can have possibly devastating consequences. Here I am going to list the games where these actions may haunt you for quite some time.
- Detroit Become Human
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The year is 2038, society has advanced to having androids assisting humans with everyday tasks. The story follows three points of views, all of them being androids: one cop, one revolutionist, one civilian. The cop is investigating deviance, a new ‘infection’ plaguing androids and causing them to go outside of their coding parameters. These androids also known as deviants can do something that no other androids can, they can feel. So, the cop is actually fighting to take down his own kind. This game actually is emotionally damaging, and you will be thinking about it for years. As the cop you decide whether to be a robot and do your job or deviate and support the cause. As the civilian you are trying to seek asylum to save the little girl you are the nanny for, you have to decide whether to be an example to the girl or whether to break your morals for her safety. Finally, as the revolutionist you are deciding how you want to leave this revolution for android rights, peaceful or violent. I think therefore I am, that’s the argument the deviants use. This game reaches into your humanity as you question what really makes a human. What separates us, humans, from a robot. The answer may be not what you expect as your perspective will warp overtime along with the story.
- Until Dawn
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A wicked prank was played while a friend group was out partying in the mountains during winter break. This caused two sisters in the group to go missing and to never be seen again since that lonely night. Years pass and the group is invited to reconnect back at the place where it all happened, but something goes wrong. Someone is watching and it seems that they want to get revenge for the prank gone wrong. Now they are facing the demons of their past and what really happened to the missing sisters. In this game, we face the cliquey nature of friend groups and creatures from the mountains haunting them as they go. The goal? To survive until dawn. This game makes you feel like you know these characters. You hear about the group’s dynamics, the relationship drama, and everything is normal until it isn’t. In the game you switch point of views of everyone in the friend group. Throughout the game you play as each friend in the group, varying in skills and attributes. You find yourself having to balance certain relationships because you can only survive when you have one another, sounds sweet right? Well, it can be rough especially when certain characters despise one another. It’s a game that will make you rethink friendships and contemplate where you went wrong on certain choices.
- Life is Strange
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Out of everything on this list, Life is Strange is probably one of the most popular of this genre. The game tells the story of Max Caulfield as she is coming back to her old small-town home, she hasn’t been back in years. She sees her old best friend of the past and saves her after developing a new ability causing her to rewind time. With this new ability and the help of her ex best friend, she will do what she can to stop the terrible future that may occur. In the game you have an overarching theme of second chances. Second chances are what Max gets with her rewind ability, she gets to change and manipulate events to come out with a better future. As Max you go through a whole storm of feelings as you try to push through. Through the story though, there’s other stories revolving around the people around you. You may not think these people or plots matter, but they do and they can change everything. Also, I love the aspect of going through and seeing how different things are to the past, and perception can also be skewed. It’s hard to describe without any big spoilers but it’s a game that goes well into themes of holding onto the past, rewriting your present, and eventually changing your future.
- The Walking Dead Telltale Games
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This choose your own adventure is based off of The Walking Dead tv show and comic series. In the game, we follow unique and diverse characters as they go through the zombie apocalypse. The first game follows an ex-convict who finds a little girl named Clementine. The main protagonists of the game switch around a bit before settling on Clementine, an 11-year-old at the time. We see her grow up literally from childhood to being a teenager. We watch as her morals and decisions can help save lives or leave them for worse wear. Also, since she was growing up during the apocalypse we get to see through the games as her innocence starts waning and waning. We see her harden from being an optimistic go lucky kid to being a leader and a survivor. I find it a fun game because of how the choices can come and bite you in your backside. Little moments I never would have imagined matter now can dictate the life or death of a character. I believe by having a younger protagonist that we grow with, our choices feel more tied to her because it’s as if we are with her in this. She’s alone but not really because we are with her every step of the way. This game delves into the concept of a Grey and Gray Morality which means that neither side is completely good or evil and it makes you choose your morality. Will you spare others or leave them on their own in the zombie wasteland? You decide.
- Beyond Two Souls
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This game is the oldest out of this whole list. We follow Jodie Holmes, an orphan who has a psychic connection to an entity that gives her psychic abilities and telepathy. Once she was found out, Jodie was taken in by the government to be tested on and raised to be an agent for them. In the game, I honestly was feeling sorry for Jodie who basically never got to be a human. She didn’t grow up normally and we see her struggle with interacting with others her age and how otherworldly she is treated by others. Jodie was forced to be a weapon. In the game, you kind of have to decide whether or not you trust in what you have known or do you escape and find freedom. I found myself aligning with choices I probably wouldn’t make for myself, but it was my goal to get her a happy ending. This game goes into the complexity of duty, freedom, and normativity. Jodie has to decide, and ultimately you have to decide whether or not she should be free or if she’s honestly better off being dead or a puppet to the entity or the government. If you like Stranger Things, this honestly fits into that.
In general, my favorite aspect of this genre of game is the ability for it to make you think. To make you ponder and say: wait a minute. You really think about every single choice you make for these characters but in real life when making choices sometimes you don’t even bat an eye at it. These games gave me a new perspective as I find myself thinking more on choices I make and the domino effect it can cause on my future. In general, I love this genre of game, and I believe you should definitely give it a try. Who knows? You may learn something new about yourself.