Summary
- RPGs like Undertale and Disco Elysium champion player agency through meaningful choices and deep customization.
- Indie games like Griftlands and Kenshi emphasize player freedom and diverse gameplay through RPG elements.
- Titles such as Battle Brothers and RimWorld offer various options for customization and strategy, providing players with control.
While there's certainly a well-deserved space for scripted, linear games, they don't typically afford players a great deal of agency. This won't be a deal-breaker for certain gamers, but those who enjoy making their own decisions and carving their own path may desire something more. That said, some linear games, such as Undertale, also manage to champion player agency.
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These titles excel with their emergent gameplay and player freedom, emphasizing agency and creative thinking over clear direction and predetermined solutions. Be it meaningful choices in RPGs such as Undertale or the combat sandboxes of games like Battle Brothers, there's something here for all kinds of indie game fan.
8 Battle Brothers
A Sandbox RPG With Deep Customization
Battle Brothers
- Released
- April 27, 2015
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- t
- Genre(s)
- Indie Games, Tactical, RPG, Strategy, Adventure
Battle Brothers tasks players with managing a mercenary company in a grim and violent low-fantasy world, frequently brushing up against death as they seek out and fulfill dangerous contracts. This indie game excels, however, with its RPG character progression, which allows for a great deal of customization.
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With myriad perks, a variety of unique stats, and a plethora of gear to find and equip, each character in Battle Brothers can be specialized. As a result, players are able to develop their own strategy and play Battle Brothers in their own way. Furthermore, the game features a great variety of customization options before it even begins, allowing players to pick and choose the difficulty of combat, their starting funds, and even the end-game crisis they'll have to contend with.
7 Undertale
An RPG That Allows For Pacifism
Undertale
- Released
- September 15, 2015
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- E10+ for Everyone 10+: Fantasy Violence, Mild Blood, Mild Language, Simulated Gambling, Use of Tobacco
- Genre(s)
- RPG
Undertale is a distinctive RPG that stands apart with its witty writing and unique world. While its charming characters may be the highlight of the journey, Undertale also excels with its unique combat, which affords players the choice of sparing or killing their foes.
This adds a great deal of emotional weight to each encounter, and the player's choices also have an effect on Undertale's ending. As a result, Undertale is able to champion player agency while providing a memorable, linear adventure through a truly distinctive world.
6 Disco Elysium
An RPG Of Internal Choice & Struggle
Disco Elysium
- Released
- October 15, 2019
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ due to Blood, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Use of Drugs, Violence
- Genre(s)
- RPG
From the very start, Disco Elysium presents players with a great deal of choice. From character creation and progression to choosing how Harry, the game's protagonist, interacts and perceives the world around him, the player is very much a part of Disco Elysium's storytelling.
While the bulk of choices come down to dialogue options, skills and items can also have an impact on the experience. And, although Disco Elysium borders on interactive fiction, its RPG systems provide enough agency for players to play in their own way.
5 Griftlands
A Diverse Deck-Building RPG
Griftlands
- Released
- July 11, 2019
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- t
- Genre(s)
- RPG, Indie Games, Adventure, Strategy
Griftlands is a roguelike deck-builder that, through RPG elements, allows players to have a say in how they interact with its world. This player agency results in an experience that's diverse, replayable, and tremendously distinct.
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Griftlands features two distinctive combat systems: one for violent action and another for passive negotiation. The ability to approach many encounters without violence is particularly unique, but Griftlands integrates this into its gameplay by making negotiation a variation on combat. Since players have unique decks for both violence and negotiation, this added choice also deepens the deck-building aspect of the game.
4 Streets Of Rogue
Immersive-Sim Meets Action Roguelike
Streets of Rogue
- Released
- March 10, 2017
- ESRB
- t
- Developer(s)
- Matt Dabrowski
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG
Streets of Rogue is an action roguelite that stands out with its immersive-sim influences. Combining aspects of classic immersive-sims such as Deus Ex with the sandbox chaos of titles like Grand Theft Auto, Streets of Rogue takes a hands-off approach that encourages players to get creative and pursue objectives in their own way.
Streets of Rogue facilitates this gameplay via a systems-heavy design, offering dynamic factions and simulated citizens that roam each level with their own motivations. More important, however, is the abundance of unique items and myriad playable characters, each facilitating unique playstyles and multiple methods of approach.
3 RimWorld
A Colony-Sim With Diverse Options
RimWorld
- Released
- October 17, 2018
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ due to Blood, Use of Drugs, Violence
- Genre(s)
- Simulation
RimWorld is an expressive colony-sim with a distinctive sci-fi western setting, standing out with its accessible take on Dwarf Fortress. While more accessible than the titan it takes influence from, RimWorld remains a deep management game with an abundance of ways to play.
Most notably, RimWorld features a variety of AI "storytellers" that control the pace of the game in unique ways. Players are able to choose their storyteller from the very start and, as a result, have a great deal of control over the experience. Once in the game, players are also tasked with constant decision-making, choosing how to develop and manage their burgeoning colony with little interference.
2 Kenshi
An Open-World Sandbox With No Set Goals
Kenshi
- Released
- December 6, 2018
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- nr
- Genre(s)
- RPG, Open-World, Survival
Kenshi, with its dynamic world and simulated denizens, gives little attention to the player. With such a hands-off approach to design, Kenshi is able to champion player agency above all else, tasking them with setting their own goals and pursuing them however they see fit.
Kenshi's world lives and breathes with or without the player, with wandering mobs, diverse factions, and self-functioning settlements. This world asks nothing of the player, though it's often hostile. The RPG side of Kenshi, however, ensures that players have options and that they are always able to pick and choose something to focus on.
1 Caves Of Qud
A Deep & Detailed Character Creator
Caves Of Qud
- Released
- July 15, 2015
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- Roguelike, RPG
Caves of Qud is an open-world roguelike with an evocative science-fantasy setting and a deep, intricate set of RPG systems. The living, breathing nature of Qud is supported by a combination of hand-crafted and procedural content, allowing players to explore bespoke locations while enjoying a sense of discovery in the more random pockets of the world.
What really gives players agency over their experience, however, is the game's granular character creator. With its myriad options for mutations, cybernetics, statistics, and classes, Caves of Qud offers an abundance of ways for players to begin their journey. As a result, Qud is an RPG that encourages players to develop their character and play in their own way.
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