Games That Let You Influence Politics And Power Dynamics

Summary

• Video game tension often arises from power struggles and political conflicts within factions.
• Players can influence outcomes in games by choosing sides with factions, impacting the story.
• Open-world games like Skyrim, Fallout: New Vegas, and Cyberpunk 2077 offer unique faction systems.

With most video games, developers often create tension through storytelling. That tension can derive from things like struggling to fill a power vacuum left in the wake of a defeated villain, video game political ideologies fighting for control over a nation, or even the quest for the player to become the one true leader of the game world.

In some games, these things are out of the players’ hands entirely, but in others, players can pull the strings and control the game world, guiding it towards the outcome they desire. Whether that be supreme power wielded only by one, or spearheading a faction to an overwhelming political victory, these games let players influence the politics and power dynamics of their worlds..

For The Love Of Talos

The Stormcloak rebellion, or simply the Skyrim Civil War, is a conflict stemming from Ulfric Stormcloak’s killing of the High King of Skyrim. In Skyrim, players can choose if they will side with the Stormcloak rebellion, or side with the Imperial Legion and stand against the rebellion. Each side gives the Dragonborn unique rewards.

When a player reaches the end of either side’s questline, notable figures such as the Jarls of settlements who supported the other side will be dethroned, and guards patrolling in and around the settlements will become the guards of the winning faction.

9

Fallout: New Vegas

I Don’t Want To Set The World On Fire

A fairly common theme in Bethesda games, Fallout: New Vegas sees the world’s many factions try and reign supreme over the Mojave Wasteland, with the Battle for Hoover Dam being the culmination of the story.

Players can choose one of the three major factions to side with, leading that faction to victory, or they can opt to go with Yes Man and help enforce a new, independent New Vegas. None of the endings given are necessarily good, but no matter what, they conclude the Courier’s journey with the Mojave wasteland being under new management.

8

Cyberpunk 2077

Get Away From The Corpos

Cyberpunk 2077, set in the fictional Night City, has plenty of factions jumping at the chance to wield power and influence. The main character, V, struggles with battles, but they can make choices in the game to influence the power dynamic between the many outlaws in Night City.

Players can either choose to die a legend in Night City, become a test subject for Arasaka, or take the fight to the Corpos with a secret ending. In each scenario, V will have made their mark on Night City and will have aided their chosen faction in their endeavors.

7

Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord

‘Til Kingdom Come

Starting out as a noble, players in Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord must recruit units to fight for their kingdom and ultimately rule over Calradia. The player will fight for their territory on the front lines against eight opposing factions, each of which has their own goals and ambitions in mind.

Forever locked in battle, players can choose to either start with ​​​​​​​their own faction or begin their journey as one of the larger factions to divide and conquer in Calradia. Players can choose sides at will, so they can swear fealty to one kingdom one day, then stab them in the back the next.

6

Dragon Age: The Veilguard

They Will Remember That

The newest game in the series, the factions in Dragon Age: The Veilguard seek to stop Solas’ ritual from ripping apart the Veil. Depending on the player’s choices during character creation, the ​​​​​​​factions will each have a reputation bar the player should strive to uphold.

Each faction has a stake in the fight. As such, the players’ choices dictate who aids them in their ultimate quest to stop Solas once and for all. BioWare is known for their game-to-game world states, and if the player has played the previous entry, Dragon Age: Inquisition, and made a few key decisions, they will affect the story in The Veilguard.

5

Star Wars Outlaws

A Smuggler And A Wookie Walk Into A Bar

In a galaxy far, far away, there’s bound to be a few bad apples. Once she leaves Canto Bight, Kay Vess is thrust into a wide-open and lawless Star Wars galaxy where the only way to survive is to mingle with the larger criminal syndicates.

Each syndicate in Star Wars Outlaws has a grip on most of the systems that the player will visit, with one usually having a tighter grasp on a ​​​​​​​specific planet. It pays to keep Kay in the good graces of each faction as much as possible, as they will each have rewards tied to them, and will be willing to give the player lucrative contracts if they trust them.

4

Baldur’s Gate 3

Roll For Persuasion

Of the many, many choices included in Baldur’s Gate 3, players must choose their own fate as The Forgotten Realms fall into chaos. Players must gather their allies, and they will encounter many NPCs from all walks of life that they can call to their aid.

The player can pick any side they choose, opting to give into their Dark Urge and leave nothing standing, or go about saving The Forgotten Realms with their personal flair. The player’s selections and choices in Baldur’s Gate 3 really do shape the world around their journey.

3

Sid Meier’s Civilization 6

A Tale As Old As Time

Like many games in the ​​​​​​​Real-Time Strategy genre, Sid Meier’s Civilization 6 features an endless war between nations in an epic battle for world domination. Using the names and likenesses of many global characters and leaders, Civilization 6 lets players become a global superpower throughout the ages.

Players can choose to engage in peaceful trade, or they can show off their nation’s military dominance by declaring war on neighboring nations. The fate of the nations, and the world, truly lies in the player’s hands.

2

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Decisions, Decisions

Geralt of Rivia certainly has plenty of decisions to make in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. When the player isn’t off looking for Ciri or trying to romance Triss or Yennifer, the civil war between Temeria and Nilfgaard rages on.

Some of the ​​​​​​​secondary quests in The Witcher 3 directly affect who will ultimately win the power struggle, even if the decision seems both small and inconsequential at the time. It’s a web of interwoven connections that spins the tale of Geralt of Rivia, seemingly to no end.

1

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey

This Is Sparta

Kassandra/Alexios are a linchpin in the conquest of Ancient Greece in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. ​​​​​​​The game’s massive map is already divided between the ruthless Spartan army and the democratic Athenians, but it is the player who will tip the scales.

Each individual territory is fought over once the Misthios choose which faction to ally themselves with and the enemy forces are drained, in a massive brawl between forces on both land and the Aegean Sea in some cases. It’s a battle of epic proportions.