5 10/10 Turn-Based RPGs Where Your Choices Matter

The RPG genre is one of the best for multi-branching storylines, a lot of which comes with the freedom of interpreting your character and making decisions along the way. A fine example of this, for instance, is the outcome of the civil war story arc in Skyrim, which is impacted directly by the decisions you make, aiding either the Stormcloaks or the Empire. Despite being a massively known choice-based story arc, there are several other titles that do a better job of making your decisions feel a lot more meaningful and affecting the outcome of the game.

A lot of these titles are RPGs that defined the genre, including Skyrim and The Witcher 3, though decisions affecting storylines are often most attributed to narrative games, be they visual novels or interactive fiction. Titles like Life is Strange and Detroit: Become Human are well known for the way that the narrative choices you make along the way impact the storyline and, ultimately, the ending of the game. However, there are some turn-based RPGs that do a remarkable job at that, allowing you to effectively customize the story as you play.

Baldur’s Gate 3

Baldur’s Gate 3 is one of the most recent and well-known examples of games like this. This turn-based RPG changed video games forever with its three-part story arc and roster of memorable characters who only grew with the more time you spent with them. Larian’s award-winning RPG did not create anything new, specifically, but expanded on what was working for other titles in the CRPG genre and made it so much larger and more impactful that it’s hard to forget.

As you progress through your Dungeons and Dragons-inspired campaign through the Sword Coast in search of a cure to a Mind Flayer parasite living in your head, you’ll meet up with several other characters, some of whom join your party. Depending on your decisions along the way, you can romance your Baldur’s Gate 3 companions or antagonize them, which changes how the story plays out and what you learn along the way.

On top of that, your choices change the world around you. You can, for example, help the druids protect themselves from the goblins, or perhaps side with the goblins if you’re feeling particularly evil. These choices go from the macro decisions, like the aforementioned one, down to smaller narrative options that impact individual NPCs in the slightest, and depending on what you do, this could have repercussions. It’s one of the most fleshed-out turn-based RPGs in terms of narrative choices – so much so that you can replay Baldur’s Gate 3 dozens of times.

Fallout 2

Another older title that helped shape the genre and this type of branching narrative is Fallout 2. Released in 1998, the turn-based RPG is a direct sequel to Fallout (1997) and expands on how your decisions affect the outcome of the story. Apart from the character customization options, which are central to the genre as a whole, in Fallout 2, you can interact in different ways with the NPCs you find along the way, and a few of them can be recruited as companions.

One of its new mechanics, which did not exist in the first entry, is reputation. This system determines how your character is viewed by the several factions and settlements that compose the social structure of Fallout 2. Depending on your reputation within a certain community, you can unlock more playable content, like extra side quests or even alternative ways of completing some other quest you had already unlocked. On the flip side, a bad reputation could have you locked out of certain interactions.

In the worst-case scenario, you may even end up with new enemies to face. Depending on how you explore the world, your main story quests will also be affected, as taking your time to explore everything can have a negative reaction from some of your allies. This is one of the most beloved entries in the series, and fans are even preparing an open-world remake of Fallout 2, while Bethesda, the owner of the IP, is working on Fallout 5.

Divinity: Original Sin 2

From Larian Studios, Divinity: Original Sin 2 can be considered a precursor to Baldur’s Gate 3, given how similar their overall structure is – even if BG3 is a much larger and more ambitious project from a technical standpoint. Much like the 2023 GOTY, Divinity: Original Sin 2 is an amazing turn-based RPG with a huge open world to explore as you progress through the several acts that compose its story.

With the goal of escaping your prison and ascending to godhood, you’ll move through the story alongside allies, who you will get to know more the more time you spend with them. This game features a ton of choices to make along the way, be they directly linked to the main campaign or not. You can decide whether or not you help Sebille assassinate a certain target, or choose how to escape Fort Joy.

Some decisions even happen in unconscious ways, as avoiding certain fights could lead to the death of what could have been an ally, for example. There are many things that Divinity: Original Sin 2 does better than BG3, too, and the way some of your choices change the world around you, even if passively at times, is a huge accomplishment. This is one of the most surprising narrative-fueled turn-based RPGs you can play right now, and it shouldn’t ever be overlooked.

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

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Originally released back in 2003, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is a great example of a turn-based RPG with choices that affect your story. Even though the game is technically a real-time with pause RPG, it works as a turn-based title, and there are many different ways to go as you build your own custom Jedi – one that does not necessarily need to share the principles of the Order and can become fully corrupt by the temptation and the powers of the Dark Side.

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic has an alignment system that is constantly scaling toward the Light Side or the Dark Side, all based on your decisions during the campaign. This not only affects your alignment gauge, which will be decisive when defining which of the two possible endings your campaign will have, but also prompts different types of reactions from the characters in Star Wars: KOTOR.

These decisions can also affect your quests, rewards, and more directly, the powers that you obtain to build your character as they continue to level up. If you want to feel like a true Sith Lord – even if the game does not acknowledge you under that term, specifically – you can. I’m particularly curious about how this freedom of choice will be represented and, perhaps, augmented, in the confirmed Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Remake.

Dragon Age: Origins

Much like Star Wars: KOTOR, Dragon Age: Origins is a real-time with pause RPG where your choices affect the story – and, in this case, a lot more. The 2009 masterpiece from BioWare lets you create your own character, and this alone heavily affects the early portion of the game, as you get settled in the universe with this character and how you molded them. Origins in Dragon Age: Origins play a big role in your story.

On top of that, you are showered with important choices to make in Dragon Age: Origins. The first and most immediate decision is about whether you save Redcliffe or not, and this has long-lasting repercussions. There are multiple ways of tackling nearly every story arc and questline you participate in, and each of them comes with different results. These choices can lead to character deaths, romances, and even change the state of the world for other titles.

Nowadays, we’ve got plenty of titles that have the story and world adapt and change depending on what you choose, and Dragon Age: Origins still stands tall as one of the strongest titles in that category. If you want to play something that feels alive and reactive, this is one of the best turn-based RPGs with choices that actually matter.