Video Games That Regularly Present Tough Moral Choices

Key Takeaways

Game studios must make choices count and thoughtfully integrate ethical gameplay.
Frostpunk regularly forces players to confront the consequences of their decisions, both immediate and long-term.
Disco Elysium deeply explores various ideologies, morality, and personal struggles.

As a seasoned gamer with over two decades of experience under my belt, I’ve seen it all – from the simple, pixelated games of yesteryear to the complex, immersive worlds of today. However, nothing quite compares to the moral dilemmas and ethical quandaries presented by games that force you to make difficult choices.

As a gamer, I can’t help but appreciate the thrill of making decisions that shape my gaming experience. Whether it’s navigating through tricky levels in first-person shooters or pondering over the different paths in platformers, choices make each playthrough unique. However, developers face a challenge when they try to incorporate numerous decision-making points, as it can easily lead to feature bloat and potentially sink their game into developmental chaos.

As a gaming enthusiast, I can’t help but appreciate the strategic thinking that goes into deciding when and how to incorporate moral dilemmas in video games. Some game developers have masterfully integrated this concept at the heart of their gameplay, leaving me grappling with one ethical dilemma after another.

Frostpunk

Reinventing Child Slavery To Save Humanity From An Icy Grave

In many strategy games like Civilization, the people carrying out the player’s plans are often reduced to mere resources used for expansion or project completion. This isn’t much different from how many world leaders view geopolitical issues today. However, Frostpunk takes a different approach by putting players in the thick of things, making them face the harsh realities of hardship, frostbite, and hunger. This is done by forcing players to see the immediate results of their decisions, whether it’s watching citizens perish or revolt when pushed too far.

Making decisions that safeguard most citizens often necessitates implementing stringent laws with severe consequences, such as requiring workers to work around-the-clock, allowing children to work in mines during harsh weather conditions, and exiling the ill into desolate areas to protect the healthy. Navigating Frostpunk without transgressing certain moral boundaries is exceptionally challenging. Maintaining an unyielding ethical stance may delay addressing problems, or it could mean watching the remnants of humanity succumb to the cold.

Disco Elysium

An Ideological Minefield in a Shattered World

As a fervent admirer of Disco Elysium, I’d like to share my perspective: This role-playing game isn’t your typical combat-centric title, and at first glance, it might seem devoid of life-or-death decisions. However, what sets this game apart is its profound exploration of the ideological currents that shape our reality, both subtly and overtly. Topics like the corrosive effects of unchecked capitalism, its biased propaganda wars, collective action, markets, racism, colonialism, and many more, are delved into with striking depth. It’s as if every taboo subject you hope won’t rear its head at this year’s Thanksgiving dinner (except for that one relative who always brings up conspiracies) is given a voice in this game.

In Disco Elysium, as the police officer navigates through post-revolution Revachol, each decision he makes carries significant weight, striking the player emotionally, often with a touch of humor or balance. This game consistently challenges the player’s philosophical and ethical convictions, not only by addressing the plight of Revachol’s downtrodden populace but also through the officer’s personal struggle with his fractured mind, personal demons, and the trauma of living in an era where everything solid seems to dissolve.

Papers, Please

The Life Or Death Plays Of A Bureaucrat

In the game titled “Papers, Please“, players assume the challenging position of a customs officer in a strict nation that’s been plagued by poverty, conflict, and terrorism. Every day, they must make critical decisions about who is allowed to pass and who is turned away, using the law, their personal ethics, or the urgency of feeding their own hungry family as their guide.

As a fan, I can empathize with the players, as they juggle not just their own survival and maintaining favor with their superiors, but also the well-being of their loved ones. This added responsibility often presents them with tempting paths of corruption, which only intensifies the pressure. Balancing the daily, sometimes conflicting demands of upholding the law and seeking justice becomes a precarious moral tightrope, where each choice could lead to unforeseen and dire outcomes.

Fallout: New Vegas

No Best Options In The Nevada Wasteland

Games that frequently require players to make moral decisions often share a focus on the importance of human life. It’s challenging to instill notions of right and wrong when the gameplay mechanics encourage accumulating numerous casualties, regardless of justification for these deaths. However, Fallout: New Vegas, with its relaxed approach to violence and suffering, might buck this trend (although it is feasible to finish the game without causing a single death). The first significant choice players face involves deciding whether to safeguard a town from bandits or side with the bandits in their campaign. Nothing particularly novel at this stage. Yet, as the narrative progresses, the player is repeatedly presented with increasingly ambiguous moral dilemmas.

At Helios One, the player encounters a crucial dilemma: Should they reactivate power for the whole region, with lower yield for everyone, send it exclusively to one faction, or convert the solar plant into a destructive tool? In due course, they are presented with another challenge: To determine who governs the Hoover Dam. Options include allying with the democratic but inefficient New California Republic, the authoritarian yet efficient Caesar’s Legion, the autocratic Mr. House, or choosing no one, allowing the wasteland’s destiny to be decided by chaotic chance. Each choice significantly impacts the region’s future, and every option presents persuasive arguments about their vision for the future; however, each comes with substantial trade-offs.

This War Of Mine

Each Level A Lesson About The True Horrors Of War

In contrast to many video games that feature war as a backdrop, only a handful manage to authentically depict the grim reality of surviving during prolonged periods of conflict. This War of Mine, however, plunges players into the stark reality of civilians caught in a city under siege, where survival is less about daring battles and more about scavenging for necessities such as food, shelter, medicine, and protection. The game doesn’t just present difficult decisions occasionally; instead, these tough choices are ingrained within the core mechanics of the gameplay itself.

In some games, players can perform actions that would cause severe PTSD or deep denial and cognitive dissonance in real life. However, This War Of Mine demonstrates that choosing actions under unbearable circumstances isn’t just about upholding basic ethics; it might require taking a life, such as murdering an innocent young mother when caught stealing scarce medical supplies.

2024-10-20 13:34