Poll of the Day > What are some games where your choices affect the throughline of the game?

(+) Yeah! (+)

I'm told Witcher 2 does this, but I haven't even... I did the tutorial

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Anyways: Games have a throughline, even those with complex choice interactions. For example, in Mass Effect you always play the first planet, become spectre, a couple missions, planet vvvrr.rmr...., couple missions, final mission.

Your choices will never change that throughline.

There is a logical reason for this, of course; the devs don't want to design a huge expensive cutscene if the player will not see it.
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Assassins Creed Odyssey.
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Witcher 3 is probably the best choice. Deus Ex too.
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Every megaman game?

dedbus posted...

Every megaman game?

(Intro mission) 4~8 robot masters, 4~8 finale stages

Not only does megaman have a very structured throughline... they ALLLLLL have the same throughline
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So Megaman X2 with rebuilding zero?

dedbus posted...

So Megaman X2 with rebuilding zero?

Sidequest, same throughline.

Like, don't worry about it for older games - this doesn't apply to linear games, they have to have a stable throughline to even make sense.
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you really need to specify what you mean by "throughline" here that's way too broad
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Well, there's Kingdom Hearts 0, but that's just one choice, and you visit pretty much the same worlds regardless of your decision, anyway.
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TheWitchMorgana posted...

you really need to specify what you mean by "throughline" here that's way too broad

It's the roadmap the player goes through from the start of the game to the finish, as I described using Mass Effect as an example.

It's basically the chain of mandatory objectives.

A game where your choices change the throughline would be something like True Crime: Streets of LA's 3 paths system... all 3 endings are alternate timelines based on your choices.
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Yeah I didnt know what it meant either, so I simply looked it up, the definition was straight-forward and then I gave my answer.
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Dead Rising has at least a couple of branches that never reconnect. They lead to their own endings.

Uncanny Valley is entirely based around this concept. To the detriment of all other factors, but that's a different discussion.

Fight'N Rage sorta branches like True Crime, but not to the extent. Most branches have their own endings, but reuse a lot of the same areas.

Blasphemous gets an honorable mention for hiding a bunch of content behind the path toward the good ending. This content is very very easy to miss, and requires considerably more time and effort to get than the standard ending. It's disqualified for being a detour on an otherwise identical throughline.
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The Blade Runner action game maybe?

It randomizes who is a Replicant and what you need to beat the game every playthough. Granted the main storyline is pretty much the same, but the things you need to do to advance it change every time you play.
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Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis
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y'know what.... I think I might be wrong about Megaman X2 and X3

Collecting the Zero Parts DOES change the throughline. The basic throughline is to fight one boss and then follow the weakness cycle, but the addition of the 3 sub-bosses changes that.
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if I recall, Starfox games do this to some degree, where you have to choose a route from the start planet to the end planet (essentially the difficulty selector), but can deviate somewhat from the chosen route and/or have choices to make at certain parts between more than one level. a large part of the game is "what path are we taking to get there". maybe it's not as strong a feature as I recall though, haven't played them in a very long time.

another game that does this (IIRC) is Tyrian, where secret levels take you on alternate paths.

you might be able to say that some Mario games do this, where secret exits take you on alternate paths, but since you can take every path in one game it's not the same thing. in Starfox and Tyrian, taking a different route is permanent for that playthrough.
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Guardian Heroes

But there are only three endings, I think. You get a choice after each mission about how to proceed next, and based on your choices, you discover a different main antagonistic force (default enemy kingdom, heaven, or hell).
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King's Quest VI: Heir Today, Gone Tomorrow
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The Tony Hawk games. Depending on who you choose is what video you get, and from 3 on, you get different goals.
In Proving Ground, you can do all three paths at once or experience separately. You eventually unlock everything, but the skills you earn change depending on the path.
Spider Man Web of Shadows and infamous 2 are great examples as well, since they have good and evil.

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