The Most Heartbreaking Decisions in RPGs

Key Takeaways

• RPG games offer players impactful choices that shape the game’s story trajectory.
• These choices may lead to devastating consequences, reflecting real-life dilemmas.
• RPGs like Mass Effect and The Witcher 3 present heart-wrenching decisions.

What makes the RPG genre so attractive to many players is the freedom of choice. Whereas other games will be railroaded to a single path with a linear plot to follow, role-playing games are never quite so simple. Instead, players get the option to put their own spin on things.

In these titles, choices influence the trajectory of the story. These decisions can be tough to make, as it isn’t always obvious what the consequences will be until much later. Sometimes, those consequences can be outright devastating. The heroes can’t always win no matter what they do, and these choices are proof of that.

7 Ending E (Nier: Automata)

Should Players Sacrifice Everything to Help Another?

Nier Automata poses serious questions, such as the age-old conundru whether robots can feel emotions. 2B herself claims emotions are prohibited, but this doesn’t deny that they can feel pain, love, hurt, hope. Players are sure to experience this array of themselves as they explore and battle the ruined world once inhabited by humans, and now overrun by machines.

There are scores of endings players can experience, some gags or false endings. Its only when they achieve ending E that players have experienced the true ending. Credits roll, but players still have one last, impossible mission of dodging projectiles. The game will ask players questions every time they die. And then, there is that infamous question: Will the player sacrifice their save data in order to help another random player through the battle they fought? Saying yes will delete everything they have done. It’s a heartfelt, emotional ending that will have players in a flood of tears, if they somehow weren’t already crying.

6 The Fate of Shadowheart’s Parents (Baldur’s Gate 3)

A Choice No One Should Have To Make

Baldur’s Gate 3 is without a doubt one of the greatest RPGs in history. The scope of its story was impressive, and the characters were all nuanced, with their strengths and flaws reflected in their dialogue and actions. Shadowheart is one of the most popular characters, with her backstory shrouded in mystery due to her missing a large portion of her memories. She is a cleric of Shar, cursed with pain that flares up every now and again.

In a twist, it turns out that Shadowheart has surviving family, whom the party encounters in the House of Grief. They are held prisoner by Shar, who delivers a shocking ultimatum to Shadowheart: she demands Shadowheart kill her parents, delivering them into eternal torment in Shar’s realm, while also removing the memory of her. In return, Shadowheart is blessed with great power. The path of Selune alters this slightly. If killed, they will go on to be Moonmotes while lifting her curse, remaining by her side as guiding celestial bodies. One might think, why choose to kill them at all? But betraying Shar will have ever-lasting effects on Shadowheart, dampening her emotions and inflicting nightly agony. It is not an easy choice, and there is no obvious happy outcome.

5 Killing Toriel (Undertale)

The Motherly Figure Deserves Better

Undertale is one of the most unique RPGs on the market, utilizing retro pixelated graphics to tell the story of a human child who falls down into the world of monsters. They learn to navigate the world of monsters and do so in their own fashion, sparing any who attack them, or killing without remorse. The genocide route is known for its iconic Sans boss battle.

There will be a number of boss battles as they make their way to the castle in order to return to their own world through Asgore. Toriel is one of the major characters they meet early in the game. She takes the player character under her wing, offering them a place to stay and a delicious pie. Toriel asks the character to not think about returning home due to how dangerous it is, interposing herself between them and the exit. She wants nothing more than to protect them, and players can choose the path of cruelty by killing this kind figure.

4 Return to Crookback Bog (The Witcher 3)

A Side Quest with Devastating Consequences

The quests revolving around the Baron and his family are among the darkest in The Witcher 3, which is not a statement to make lightly about this dark fantasy RPG. The Baron’s family have fled, and it turns out he abused his family, so his wife and daughter ran away from home. The Baron enlists Geralt for help, and it turns out this quest isn’t quite so simple as it seems on the surface.

If players embark on the side quest to return to the bog where the crones dwell, they will have to make a choice that ensures at least one character will have an unhappy ending. Slaying the ghost tree means Anna will lose her mind for the rest of her life, whereas saving it will transform Tamara into a feral creature. Either way, one of the Strenger women loses, resulting in a tear-jerking conclusion to this troubled family’s story.

3 Who Remains in the Fade (Dragon Age: Inquisition)

Who Lives or Dies Remains in the Players Hands

Inquisition was a brand new and exciting adventure in the world of Thedas, in which the veil separating the world from the Fade and the reach of demons was torn asunder. The machinations of a previous villain, Corypheus, must be stopped by sealing the veil and staunching the flow of demons into the world. Playing as the Inquisitor, gamers lead the Inquisition forward into victory or death. They travel into dangerous locations both new and old, with the Fade returning.

This is where the most heartbreaking decision of the game comes into play, as they must choose one person to remain behind in the Fade, where they will certainly die. One of those characters will be Hawke from Dragon Age 2, or one of three possible Wardens: Stroud, Loghain Mac Tir, or Alistair. If it’s Stroud, the decision will likely be simple. But throwing Alistair in the mix forces players to choose between a character they played for an entire entry, or an important companion and even a possible romance option from Dragon Age: Origins. This makes this choice nearly impossible, and always heartbreaking.

2 Refusing to Cure the Genophage (Mass Effect 3)

One of the More Evil Choices in the Mass Effect Series

The last game in the Mass Effect trilogy was the final showdown: the entire galaxy against the Reapers. Every game had been leading up to this, and now players can only hope they did enough in previous games to prepare the galaxy for the threat. There are a few other things that need to be taken care of to further bolster the army, and one such one is the matter of the krogan genophage, a bioweapon that renders the krogans almost entirely infertile.

Mass Effect 3 gives Shepard the option to cure the genophage, but there is a slight problem. The solution has been sabotaged, which would mean that the genophage would not be cured. Shepard has the choice to keep quiet or reveal while on Tuchanka. By keeping it quiet, they aredamning the krogan to genocide. Even worse, the player will have to shoot Mordin Solus to stop him. Mordin is a beloved companion from Mass Effect 2, gaining his redemption for working on the genophage by doing what he can to undo his handiwork. Shooting him is not only heartbreaking because the player is taking the life of an old friend, but stops him from atoning, which is what he wanted most.

1 Virmire (Mass Effect)

One Beloved Companion Must Die

Being a BioWare RPG, players are handed choices that can be a matter of life and death, millions of lives to save, and a whole slew of interesting companions with multi-faceted personalities for players to befriend or fall in love with. The first game of the series introduced two human companions, Kaidan and Ashley, to work in the Normandy alongside Shepard. They are both dedicated to the cause so fervently that they are willing to die for it.

This loyalty and bravery comes into play during the Virmire mission, an assault that takes an even more dangerous turn. To ensure the bomb is detonated and snuffs out the facility Saren is using to build his army, one of the human companions must stay behind. There is no way out for both of them, and it is down to Shepard to make that call. Having spent time with both of them, the choice can be difficult. Knowing that one will die makes this choice devastating.