6 Story-Heavy RPGs That Still Respect Player Agency

We often have our favorite playstyles that we're loath to leave behind. If you're a huge fan of heavy weapons in games, for instance, you might think that a more stealth-oriented title won't be a fit for your typical vibe of dashing in through the front door and challenging all foes you find. Fortunately, though, many RPGs absolutely take player agency on board. You know what your mission is, but the way you accomplish it is up to you.

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An RPG doesn't have to offer a gigantic open world to fit the bill. Sometimes, a linear story is what we're in the mood for, but with freedom where it counts: Open-ended missions that can tackled in a variety of ways, perhaps with some license to impact the story through decisions made along the way. These titles excel in those areas.

6 Ghost Of Yotei

Your Hunt, Your Decision

Sucker Punch Productions' Ghost of Yotei is a huge and ambitious title, in which the haunted warrior, Atsu, pursues those who killed her parents across the Japanese region of Ezo. The previous title, Ghost of Tsushima, presented a protagonist who struggled with the idea of the honorable code of the samurai versus the underhanded tactics of the Ghost, but Atsu has no such qualms. She has a far wider range of weapons than Jin Sakai had, including the kurasigama, different types of firearm, and scorch bombs, and so combat can be approached in a variety of ways. If you want to empty an enemy encampment solely through the use of assassinations and quiet arrow shots, you can absolutely do so. You can even find an armor set and charm setup that boosts your ability to do so in all kinds of fun ways. Alternatively, you can charge in, initiate a standoff by demanding your foes challenge you, and then carve you way through them all (terrifying them as the Onryu should). There are very effective setups for that too, and some unique charm options such as one that turns your kunai into flaming projectiles.

The hunt for the Yotei Six is always front and center in Atsu's mind, and the player has the freedom to choose the order in which they take some of them down. By visiting different towns and settlements and talking to NPCs, the player will accrue a range of cards which detail different types of mission, and can pin those that interest them so they know where to go. The map screen slowly develops as Atsu explores more, making for a journey shaped by her experiences.

5 Disco Elysium

Shaping Harry Du Bois Your Way

The protagonist with amnesia at the beginning of an RPG isn't the most innovative of concepts, granted, but it's incredibly useful in the world of Disco Elysium. This is because the game centers around the aforementioned detective, his choices and his personality, which, through the extremely creative Thoughts system, you can effectively shape as you wish. If you fell victim to the tie in the ceiling fan trick in Du Bois' hotel room at the very beginning of the game, you'll know that every decision, even the smallest ones, can have big consequences. For the most part, you control them all, which is both liberating and very dangerous.

It's a game in which your chance of success in a given endeavor is determined by your stat proficiencies in that area, any boosts you may have, and so on. One character build might be far better suited to a course of action than another, and of course it's for the player to find that out. Disco Elysium does a super job of balancing player freedom with keeping them on task, as you only have a limited number of days to attempt to solve the killing that you were sent to the town to investigate. How you spend that time, and the ultimate ending, is up to you. In a game with side content as compelling and character customization as unique as this, you can't resist making outlandish choices and simply experimenting. Luckily, there are few recent RPGs better equipped to let you do just that. Just try choosing which Thoughts might be best for you, for instance.

4 Baldur's Gate 3

Almost As Much Player Freedom As You Can Get

In a Dungeons & Dragons campaign, the unexpected can arise very quickly. The Dungeon Master may throw an absolutely ludicrous situation at the party members, only to be surprised right back when a player devises an equally preposterous solution to it. It's a game about creativity and, frequently, improvisation, and that's what Baldur's Gate 3 needs to provide too. Fortunately, it's a game that offers almost as many different routes and potential paths as its tabletop counterpart.

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Just about every NPC you meet on your journey has a significance to the story, a presence in the world, and your interactions will help to shape them. The combat system is also very open-ended and adaptable, whether you're confidently flinging spells you've mastered or resourcefully taking advantage of a terrain hazard to help deal with your foe. The stakes are high when you have a brain parasite, after all, and anything goes. What really makes this world feel alive, though, is the bonds that you form with close allies. Unlike titles such as the Persona series, where not advancing a bond can just mean a limited social link, relationships can sour with decisions you make, limiting your party and even turning allies into enemies. It's one of the biggest PC games by file size for a reason.

3 Triangle Strategy

Your Choices May Cost More Than You Think

It can be very frustrating when games present a dialogue choice or decision to make that you can't really read. Players are often sent scurrying to guides because they're concerned that this or that decision will be really significant 20 hours of gameplay later. Triangle Strategy can be very inscrutable in this way. Like a lot of TRPGs, you'll find yourself acquiring a varied roster as you play through the campaign, from Lionel the trader who deceives and flatters enemies to Cordelia the healer. The tricky thing is that recruiting everyone will take multiple playthroughs, because some are only available on specific story paths, or if the player has high enough Liberty, Morality, or Utility. At key moments, the story path you're on changes depending on the choice you make (surrendering Prince Roland or refusing to do so, for instance), and when the Scales of Conviction are used, you can attempt to divert the votes of some of your allies so that the choice you want is picked. Whether that ultimately works out in your favor is revealed in due course.

As with the likes of Final Fantasy Tactics, the units in your roster are so very different from each other. The important thing that Triangle Strategy adds to the equation is the ability to survey the area that will become the battlefield before the fight starts. By doing so, you have the chance to determine which of your units will suit the situation best. There might be a lot of high ground for archers, for instance, who recieve bonuses when firing from above targets. Your own strategies and playstyle comes into the decision too, whether you favor a ranged magical offensive or forming a shield wall of your hardier physical units and advancing gradually from behind them. This is an epic tale of warfare between three great nations of the realm of Norzelia, and it's surprising how significant an impact player-chosen diversions can have on that story.

2 The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind

You Get Out Of The Story What You Put Into It

When it comes to The Elder Scrolls, of course, many would tout the player agency of Skyrim. There's absolutely no doubt that it's chock full of it, and that it really does still kind of want you to stick with the story (that opening dragon attack was less than subtle, after all) to boot. It's arguable, though, that Morrowind's was on an even grander scale, with the protagonist on a quest to discover and fulfill the seven prophecies of the Nerevarine to live up to their destiny. If it proves to be their destiny in the first place, that is.

The player's dilemma, then, will be one familiar to those who have experience with other The Elder Scrolls RPGs: Where to go first and what to do. There are so many sidequests in the game and activities to partake in that those who want to really engage with and soak up this world will have ample time to do so. Like Skyrim, there's a true sense of adventure and an epic journey unfolding with every path you take, and the optional content is potentially as engaging as the main questline. Just remember where you were and what you were doing at the end of a session, because the Journal is often precious little help.

1 Roadwarden

A Potentially Tragic Tale

Those who played classic text adventures like Zork will appreciate Roadwarden, a modern take on the concept that incorporates elements of a visual novel into an engrossing tale. It wastes no time in establishing itself, as a newly-arrived Roadwarden arrives in the area they'll be tasked with taking care of: A road haunted by the Wilderness, by danger and loss. An opening conversation with a group of soldiers clears up some things about their perilous new duty, and a lot of exposition is provided in rather simple dialogue box fashion. The road must be protected from attack, from animal and human alike, we learn, as must the communities that reside in the area.

Roadwarden' s world is an intriguing, ever-perilous one, and the warden dutifully maps it as they travel. There are items to collect and quests to be completed along the way, all in the name of survival (of the road network and yourself). Depending on where you go and what you do, certain story branches will be affected, and it's very difficult to know if an action will pay off. For instance, you may find a curious altar in a swamp and be prompted to place an offering there, not knowing what the results might be. In another instance, you'll come across an enigmatic elder and have to choose your approach to him, through intimidation, a friendly conversation, or other actions. Everything you do will have a consequence, predictable or decidedly not. Roadwarden is a game rich with fantastic writing, pulling you into its grim world like an excellent book that you don't want to stop reading. Even more engaging is the way that you're able to direct the narrative, both directly through options that arise and through the actions you choose.