Open-World Games With Hidden Factions That Completely Change The Story

Open-world games have many parts – gameplay, level design, and most importantly, a compelling story. While exciting action is fun, a strong narrative is what truly keeps players engaged and gives them a reason to explore the game world. Many of these games also feature different factions or groups of characters, ranging from heroic to villainous, that often play a central role in the gameplay. Sometimes, these important factions are hidden, requiring players to complete challenging quests or explore secret areas to discover them and understand their impact on the overall story.

Discovering these hidden groups is a genuine pleasure, as they often present players with completely fresh viewpoints and ideas they wouldn’t encounter otherwise. Some are driven by aggression, others by a desire for revenge, but what unites them is their ability to significantly impact the world while operating in the shadows. While major factions usually dominate the landscape, guiding players toward specific paths and narratives, many players find that smaller, more secretive groups are actually more captivating. These organizations feature a wealth of unique and intriguing characters who, despite their limited resources, possess the ambition and power to truly change things.

Fallout: New Vegas

A Whole World Dictated By Alliances

Stories of the past are reframed by different factions.
Groups like the Boomers can play huge roles in later quests.

Many of the most important ideas in Fallout: New Vegas are explored through smaller factions, not the main power players. The Enclave Remnants, for example, appear as scattered, defeated soldiers, but they subtly change how we understand the history of the Mojave Wasteland. Their presence shows that the powerful figures of the old world didn’t disappear completely – they simply lost, grew old, and were eventually forgotten. This makes the game’s main conflict feel like just one part of a much longer, ongoing story that extends beyond the game’s ending.

Groups like the Boomers offer a different perspective and play a specific role in the game. They’ve chosen to isolate themselves and are wary of outsiders, showcasing one way people adapted to the harsh wasteland. While easily overlooked, discovering these factions shifts the focus of New Vegas from political conflict to a more thoughtful exploration of the past, the future, and what people leave behind. They add a deeper narrative that connects the game’s events to a long history and hints at what’s to come.

The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim

Underground Nations And Societies Galore

Several underground groups are hidden away from prying eyes.
They have a huge influence on politics and the governance of the world.

While Skyrim features many easily found factions, its secret societies offer a much more intricate tale of power, manipulation, and their resulting consequences. The Nightingales, discovered through the Thieves Guild questline, bring Daedric forces into what starts as a realistic story about crime. This reveals the Guild isn’t just a group of outlaws, but pieces in a larger, divine plan, fundamentally changing how players perceive them from the beginning.

For players who don’t enjoy stealth and thievery, the Blades offer an alternative path. Once famed dragon hunters, they’ve become stuck in the past, challenging players to think about the dangers of following tradition without question. Beyond that, groups like the Psijic Order hint that Skyrim’s conflicts are small compared to larger, timeless powers at play. These details add depth to the game’s story, moving beyond typical fantasy tropes and exploring themes of fate and divinity, ultimately leaving players to grapple with profound questions.

Elden Ring

Dictating The Fate Of The World

Entire endings are dictated by faction allegiance.
No markers to guide players to the next step in a quest.

Elden Ring is a notoriously cryptic game, leaving much open to interpretation. Even following the main story can require online research to understand, but the most impactful quests are hidden even deeper. Discovering the Frenzied Flame, for example, demands players actively seek out forbidden areas and ignore helpful advice. Choosing to side with this group doesn’t just lead to a specific ending – it fundamentally changes how you view the entire world, portraying it as a flawed creation deserving of destruction.

The group known as Those Who Live in Death offers a subtle but powerful challenge to the established narrative. Fia’s storyline shows that undeath isn’t necessarily a corrupting influence, but rather a way of life that’s been unfairly targeted. This faction highlights the hypocrisy of the Golden Order, portraying the Erdtree not as a beacon of life, but as a tool used to suppress anyone who doesn’t fit its ideals. These groups don’t just add detail to the story; they fundamentally change it, revealing a world built on fear and oppression—a much darker reality than the one presented by those in power. Connecting these groups to specific endings feels like an extra bonus; the real reward is uncovering the hidden history of The Lands Between and learning the truth that lies beneath the surface.

Red Dead Redemption 2

Rival Clans Of All Shapes And Sizes

Darker elements are otherwise missed in the main story.
Different kinds of societies are hidden behind closed doors.

While the main story of Red Dead Redemption 2 focuses on grand adventures, its most unsettling groups are found off the beaten path. The Night Folk, discovered through careful exploration in places like the Bayou, bring a chilling horror to the game, contrasting with the romanticized view of the Wild West. Their strange rituals and unnatural presence make you question the relationship between civilization and the wilderness—a theme not explored in the main storyline.

Groups like the Murfree Brood, found on the edges of civilization in the Grizzlies, show what can happen when people are completely cut off and resort to violence. Unlike Dutch’s gang, the Murfrees don’t bother with any beliefs or principles – they’re a stark example of isolation’s destructive power. While you won’t find major storylines with these groups, they add a darker tone to the game, reminding players that the Wild West is fading not just because of change, but also because of the darkness that still hides within it.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Full Storylines Hidden Underneath

Large groups spanning several different eras.
Implications about the story before and after the game.

While The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt doesn’t always put its key groups in the spotlight, some factions are incredibly important to the story. The Scoia’tael, often mentioned in whispers or found in complicated side quests, seem like a minor presence at first. However, their war against humans is a central theme, exploring a conflict that isn’t simply about good versus evil, but about long-standing injustice and broken promises.

The Eternal Fire works in the shadows, hinted at more often than directly shown. You sense their influence through things like witch hunts, public executions, and the fearful things people say – not through open battles. This secrecy makes them even more mysterious, as they control events on a much larger scale than Geralt realizes. They prove how powerful beliefs can be, and how easily large groups can be manipulated with ideology, transforming what seems like a simple tale of fate into something far more complex.

2026-01-14 08:35