Subjective List of Best Morality Systems in Video Games
Morality is like... well, everyone has their own. The morality systems in video games also come in various shapes and sizes. However, not all of them can be called interesting. Here, I list all my favorite ones.
Table of Contents
- Subjective List of Best Morality Systems in Video Games
- Demon's Souls
- Red Dead Redemption 2
- The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
- Disco Elysium
- Dishonored
- Mass Effect 2
- Black Geyser: Couriers of Darkness
Dishonored
- Genre: immersive sim
- Release year: 2012
I also remember the moral system from the Dishonored series. As we experienced its best variation in the first part, we will focus on that particular game. Arkane Studios approached the issue mainly from the gameplay perspective. The actions of the protagonist do have an impact on the ending, but if the creators had limited themselves only to it, I would not have listed it here.
To properly explain the morality system from the first Dishonored, I need to get into a little more detail in terms of the story. The main character – Corvo Attano, Lord Protector of Empress Jessamine Kaldwin – is framed in her murder and subsequently captured. However, he manages to escape from the cell. The defamed protagonist wants to deliver justice to those who are responsible for the death of the queen. He can just kill them, but each target can also be eliminated in more unconventional ways.
The last procedure – along with refraining from killing guards in general – is rewarded by the game not only with a better ending, but also with some aid, e.g. fewer rats on the streets. What surprised me most, however, was that by going through Dishonored a second time – the evil way for a change – I couldn't begin the final mission in a stealthy way. It was the because of Samuel – the carrier who accompanied Corvo almost from the beginning of the adventure. He turned out to be so disgusted with the hero's behavior that he informed his enemies that we were approaching. For which, of course, poor Samuel has to pay with his life.
MORALITY ON THE RAIL
I also liked the substitute of the morality system in Metro: Exodus. Avoiding spoilers, I will just say that to get the good ending, it is necessary to make at least two of Artyom's three companions survive until the last mission. I happened to achieve it on the first try without even knowing it, but I remember that I was close to seeing a completely different ending of this production.
