7 Games Where Saving Everyone Comes At A Cost

Key Takeaways

• Life Is Strange forces players to choose between Chloe and Arcadia Bay
• The Last Of Us presents a tough choice where Joel saves Ellie over humanity
• Mass Effect puts players in a scenario where saving the Council might result in more lives lost

The best video games out there are known for presenting players with a wonderful experience and tough choices that will haunt them forever. In many situations, players will be forced to choose between their character’s friends or family and the rest of the world, which is a nightmarish scenario, even if it’s fictitious.

More often than not, the choice will be made for them. However, there are other instances where it will be up to them to decide if the world is worth their loved ones, or if they want to make the selfless choice and suffer for it for the years to come. Here are some of the best games where saving everyone comes at a cost.

This article contains major spoilers about the games covered, so please proceed with caution.

7 Life Is Strange

Is Arcadia Bay Really Worth It?

• Players must choose between Chloe and Arcadia Bay
• A wonderful storytelling approach

Life is Strange is probably one of the best games that involves multiple choices and an episodic adventure storytelling approach. This title focuses on Max, an 18-year-old photographer who discovers she has the power to rewind time to change several events. When Max is reunited with her old friend Chloe, they will set out on an adventure to discover the many mysteries behind Arcadia Bay.

At one point in this story, players will be faced with a very tough decision—save Chloe or the town of Arcadia Bay. At a glance, the decision might seem simple. Sacrifice one dear friend to save the lives of dozens or even hundreds of people. However, there is much more to this decision than meets the eye and players will have to think it through considerably.

The Life is Strange franchise features six different playable characters, so players will have plenty of options as they try the different titles available.

6 The Last Of Us Part 1

Saving Ellie Costs Millions Of Lives

• Joel makes a choice that many consider to be selfish
• Players aren’t given a choice, but many moral questions are raised

With the recent release of The Last of Us TV show, many players who’d never experienced either video game title available were given the chance to discover this interesting post-apocalyptic universe. At the end of The Last of Us Part 1, Joel is faced with a very tough choice—let Ellie die and be studied by the Fireflies to give humanity a fighting chance, or doom the entire species out of love for his new adoptive daughter.

Granted, players are not really given a choice when it comes to this situation, and Joel will always save Ellie from the Fireflies. However, even when this is the case, the story presents a very interesting moral conundrum. If given the chance, would players make the same choice as Joel, or would they have sacrificed a loved one for the benefit of the entire human species?

Many players on the internet claim that perhaps it was possible for Ellie to be studied without being killed, which is debatable, but it raises a few interesting questions.

5 Mass Effect

Save The Council Or Let Them Die?

• Saving the Council arguably results in a worse scenario, as more lives are lost
• Players’ choices will impact events in the sequels

Mass Effect is arguably one of the best deep space-oriented RPGs of the last two decades. Not only does this title present players with a unique and interesting story with multiple pathways and dialogue options, but it also forces them to make several tough choices along the way.

When players reach the end of the game, they will be forced to decide between saving the Citadel Council or ignoring their plea for help and focusing their efforts on destroying the mighty Sovereign ship.

Either choice results in casualties, so there’s no ideal scenario, and there’s really no way to save everyone. However, while letting the Council die seems like the darker choice, it could be argued that saving them results in the loss of more lives, which ultimately renders that scenario the worse choice in many ways. Depending on what players choose, there will be different consequences for the end of Mass Effect and its sequels.

4 Undertale

Players Can Choose A Pacifist Approach, But It Won’t Be Easy

• Players can opt against violence as they explore the Underground
• Keeping monsters alive is noble, but it will also make the game much harder

Undertale not only presents players with a very interesting story, but also allows them to choose how they want to behave and the path they want to take. The story begins with players controlling a child, who falls into what is known as the Underground, a mysterious and isolated region under the surface of the Earth, which is separated from the rest of the world by a magical barrier.

As they progress through the game, players will encounter several monsters who appear to be threatening and have malicious intentions. If players are hellbent on saving everyone, they can choose the Pacifist route, which allows them to opt against killing any monsters. And while this decision is very noble, it also means that they will have to face more challenges than if they simply chose to kill everything they encounter. Yes, that’s a very evil approach, but it’s, arguably, also the easiest way to finish the game.

3 The Witcher 3

Various Choices Affecting Multiple People

• Players can choose between saving a Tree Spirit or killing it
• The game features many choices that will put players on the spot

The Witcher 3 is one of the best (if not the best) medieval RPGs of the last 10 years, as it has everything players need to have fun. This title has amazing voice acting, a captivating story, many different combat approaches, and a ton of main and side quests that will give players hundreds of hours of unmatched enjoyment.

One of the toughest choices players will have to make comes along rather early in the story. When Geralt meets the Crones of Crookback Bog in Velen, he will have to choose between freeing a Tree Spirit or killing it. Depending on what players choose and when they address this situation, there will be a different outcome. If players choose to save the Tree Spirit, the children imprisoned by the Crones will be freed, but other characters will be in danger and an entire village will suffer for it. On the other hand, if the Tree Spirit is killed, the Crones will be satisfied, resulting in the village remaining unscathed, but the children will be doomed, which is viewed by many players as a very evil decision.

In either case, the Whispering Hillock quest is the perfect example that it’s impossible to save everyone.

2 Bioshock Infinite

A Mind-blowing Story That Ends With A Bang

• The concept of a multiverse is explored in depth
• Booker realizes that forfeiting his life can save thousands

Few games have left as many players scratching their heads as Bioshock Infinite. While the franchise has always been known for presenting players with a supposed plot and then revealing a shocking twist near the end of each game, Bioshock Infinite takes things a step further and plays with the concept of multiverses and fate.

Instead of being faced with a tough moral choice to save or doom a large group of people, this game decides to reveal to players that they are the cause of most of the pain in the world. When Booker DeWitt realizes that he’s Father Comstock and Elizabeth’s full powers are unleashed, she reveals a grim truth to him. The city of Columbia, Rapture, and any other utopia that exists in the universe come from his mind and the endless cycle of a man obsessed with changing a corrupted society and seeking righteousness.

Ultimately, both Booker and Elizabeth accept that the only way to prevent the suffering that these utopias represent is to destroy the man behind them before he can create them. Drowning Booker in his youth changes every timeline, sparing thousands of innocent lives. And while this isn’t great news for Booker, it does mean that his sacrifice is made for the greater good.

All in all, Bioshock Infinite is one of those games that must be played more than once to get the full picture—and even then, some things still don’t make sense.

1 Red Dead Redemption 2

Arthur Makes The Ultimate Selfless Sacrifice

• Arthur Morgan has an amazing character arc
• John Marston and his family get to live another day thanks to his sacrifice

Red Dead Redemption 2 is arguably the best Western story ever told in a video game. This title features amazing mechanics and combat, exploration and even NPC interactions. Not to mention that the environments are carefully crafted, meaning that cities feel alive, and open rural settings convey an unmatched feeling of inner peace.

Players who have finished the game, or at least progressed through the story up to the final chapter, know that Arthur’s fate is pretty much sealed due to tuberculosis. This not only gives him a new perspective on life but also prompts him to make the ultimate sacrifice to help John Marston and his family escape certain death. Although he’s unfortunately unable to save other party members like Lenny or Shaun as they’re killed earlier in the story, his final sacrifice allows others to live and gives this title an amazing ending.