Games That Challenge Conventional Notions Of Good And Evil

Almost every video game is based on some kind of conflict, and even though it looks like a simple story of two opposing forces, there are a lot of games that challenge the conventional notions of good and evil. Sometimes these games will have a morally ambiguous protagonist, or the main character will be an anti-hero, or even a villain.

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By  Levana Jane Chester-Londt

Some genres, like RPGs, often make the conventional notions of good and evil part of the main story, making the protagonist choose between ambiguous moral choices. Others might have a plot twist, or different endings, but all of them have a unique take on black-and-white notions of good versus evil. On another interesting note, it's partly because of brilliant writing that these kinds of games are among some of the most popular and highly rated of all time.

7 BioShock

Metacritic Score: 96

It's not until the ending of BioShock that players realize this is a game that challenges their deepest understanding of what it means to be good or evil. Fans and critics alike have raved about the storyline as much as the graphics and gameplay, and for those who consider video games an art form, this is a stellar example.

BioShock is primarily a first-person shooter, but its cinematic elements are often what elevate it above the more generic games in the FPS genre. The lore of Rapture, the underwater city built by rich industrialist and mad magnate Andrew Ryan as a future utopia, is just the beginning of uncovering the calculated nuance of good and evil in BioShock.

6 Baldur's Gate 3

Metacritic Score: 96

The animated discussion around which of the many companions and NPCs that make up the cast of Baldur's Gate 3 is the evilest, or the best, could fill up the entire internet every hour of every day for a hundred years. The writers and creators of these characters have seen an equal amount of love from the public as the voice actors have, which might be a first in the world of video games.

It's not only the companions that can be swayed to good or evil depending on the player's choices, but the whole storyline, and the myriad of possibilities available when it comes to the game's endings. This isn't just a game with good or evil choices, but everything in between as well, and even then, it might depend on each individual's point of view.

5 Bully

Metacritic Score: 87

It's understood that a bully is a bad person, motivated by their own insecurities to pursue violence and humiliation, and the word has an inherently evil connotation to it. The video game Bully turns that concept on its head by making the protagonist the titular bully, and putting him in opposition to even worse bad guys, like even bigger bullies, school administrators, and crooked teachers.

In regions with a PAL localization, this game is called Canis Canem Edit which is Latin for "dog eat dog," and that expression gives a better idea of the perspective this game takes. The main character is James Hopkins, or Jimmy, and he's a stereotypical brat who's been enrolled in an authoritarian school academy that would make a typical fantasy dungeon look like a walk on the beach.

4 Undertale

Metacritic Score: 92

The retro art style that makes Undertale distinct from other two-dimensional RPGs is also intended to be a part of its unconventional narrative, which takes on the typical good vs. Evil dichotomy. Like other RPGs, it has a variety of outcomes and endings depending on the protagonist's choices, and the choice isn't ever as easy as it seems.

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The main character is a child named Frisk, and the player has to guide him out of the Underdark, but how they accomplish their goal is actually a complex study of choices and consequences. It's surprisingly deep for a game that looks like it was made for kids in 1989.

3 Grand Theft Auto 5

Metacritic Score: 97

One of the features that made this franchise so popular was the moral ambiguity of the whole storyline and the characters involved in it. Ten years after its release, Grand Theft Auto 5 is still one of the best-loved games in the series, and the nuanced writing is one of the main reasons why.

Drug dealers, bank robbers, and, of course, car thieves are the main characters of this game, and therefore also the good guys. Every one of the three main characters has their own story, and each one has a good reason for doing the bad things that make up their careers or daily lives. Whether the player is willing to sympathize with - and potentially forgive - them for their deeds is up to the individual, but it's certainly never a cut and dry decision.

2 Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines

Metacritic Score: 80

If a creature can only survive by killing something, like a vampire, would it really be evil for it to do so? That forms part of the narrative morality of Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines, in which the main character plays a vampire whose main priority is survival.

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The roleplaying part of this game is connected to how "good" or "evil" the main character wants to be, and they start as a fledgling vampire that has to join a clan and move up in the ranks. Their ultimate fate depends on how well they serve their clan, and a better reputation means a better chance at survival. Choices range from good or evil depending on the player's moral judgments.

1 The Bard's Tale

Metacritic Score: 75

A classic parody of the RPG genre, The Bard's Tale pokes fun at the tropes and typical plotlines of the fantasy role-playing genre in a variety of ways. The original game dates from the earliest days of video games, and shows that even the developers of the 8-bit eras were thinking about the dichotomy of good and evil.

The Bard, the titular main character of the series, isn't eloquent, brave, or well-intentioned. The game itself is an RPG and a dungeon crawler, so it's fairly standard in regard to structure and gameplay, but the storyline and characters are unusual.

The protagonist is a textbook anti-hero; he's sarcastic, selfish, generally self-interested, and not interested in being a hero. He breaks the fourth wall, makes comments about the nature of the game and the quests within it, and has internal debates about good or evil choices. As the series progresses, these genre-breaking tendencies only become more frequent, and they force the player to wonder if they're really playing as a "hero."

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