Most difficult storyline decisions games ever forced on you...

[Lygus]

First - a couple of rules I'd like to outline to make this thread more worthwhile and useful:

1) Only list [your most difficult] decisions that affect a game's storyline structure/progression. Refrain from mentioning illusion decisions, as they're simply a cheap trick to make the content appear more interactive on a larger scale. (Example: A -> B, (C,D) in between, whichever you choose, your destination will remain B.)

2) A preferable mention would be a title which has multiple endings that aren't decided by pressing a button on the last scene (Deus Ex Human Revolution) or else, in a more tragic/comedic way. Most of the time, within a flexible story, player's actions / choices / decisions must influence the final outcome(s).

Please mention at least 3 different games to make this more exciting to read, as variety of experiences is important.

That's it. You can also discuss decisions forced upon player with others. Keep it civil, though.

 

[KingsGambit_v1legacy]

The only decision I've had to make in a game that meets the criteria (being tough to make and affecting the storyline) is in The Witcher when...

Spoiler

forced to side with either the Scoia'tael or the Order

.
I wasn't fond of either choice truth be told and I think that's what the developers intended. Skyrim attempted the same with the...

Spoiler

the Aldmeri Dominion/Empire and the Stormcloaks

. Neither choice is particularly palatable.

At best, all I could do was choose the lesser of two evils (the same way I vote incidentally). Whatever choice was made saw the player engaging people they may well have been questing for previously, or even been fond of.

The only choice in the Mass Effect trilogy that made any difference whatsoever was what to do with Rannoch. Sadly BioWare made most, if not all decisions made in the first two games entirely moot by reducing them to a handful of numbers in ME3 which played out precisely the same regardless of what happened prior. And the ending, controller by a ghostly "Choice Machine" only gave you a choice of colours for your ending cinematic. Ultimately though in the choice between...

Spoiler

the Quarians and the Geth

only a sadist would choose

Spoiler

the geth

. But considering

Spoiler

the Geth were the principle enemy in ME1 who did their utmost to kill me and succeeded with Ash/Kaiden, I had no issue picking organic life over the artificial, robotic kind.

The last toughy I can think of was at the end of Baldur's Gate: Throne of Bhaal.

Spoiler

After defeating Melissan, the player can choose to Ascend and claim his/her place in the Pantheon as Bhaal's sole remaining heir, or remain mortal and stay on Faerun

. I chose the latter since I couldn't leave Viconia, to this day my favourite romanceable NPC in any game. So I chose

Spoiler

to stay, only to find out she was murdered years later by Priestesses of Llolth in retaliation.

I'll say this now, if ever there were a Baldur's Gate III, may the gods have mercy on the denizens of the Underdark, because anything alive down there when I get there wouldn't be by the time I'm done.

I'll give

Spoiler

Rome

in Alpha Protocol an honourable mention as being quite tough morally, but ultimately moot since

Spoiler

choosing to save Madison results in her leaving you anyway

. Comes down to personal feelings or the greater good, never a fun choice to make. Speaking of Alpha Protocol, did anyway ever manage to get Scarlett in the ending cutscene (and if so, how!?)? I *always* get Mia, except one time I somehow got the dude from Korea (WTF?). Is it possible to get Sie in the ending?

PS. As an addendum to the ME3 point above about Rannoch being the only real choice, I say that because the only other major choice in the game...

Spoiler

the Krogan or the Salarians

is ultimately pointless. Firstly, there's no emotional investment in the latter group at all. Secondly, it's possible players missed Wrex entirely in the first game and thus the only Korgan connection would be Grunt (who also could have been ignored entirely in ME2). Lastly, the choice is irrelevant since all it does is add a number to the Galaxy at War map whichever choice is made. The choice about Rannoch has an actual consequence about available party members and a potential romance.

 

[piinyouri]

Well, it wasn't so much a decision, but the fight wit Wrex on Mass Effect 1.
I was trying to be nice and diffuse the situation, but of course that only makes him more irate, and eventually...well, you know.
I was shocked. Really fucking shocked. I felt tempted to reload a previous save. I LOVED Wrex, both character and combat wise, but I decided to keep the decision the way it was.

 

[The Wykydtron]

Well i'm playing Malkarian in my first run of Vampire: The Masquerade and every single choice is a hard one because they're all so cool. I do sort of hesitate whenever I can use the trademark Malkarian Mindfuck option because of how extremely cruel they can be but it's just too hilarious to not use. Once made a guy spend the rest of his life chasing the Moon

I know Malkarian is drastically different from all the normal classes and everyone says to play a non-crazy class first but fuck you, speaking in riddles and breaking into maniacal laughter mid conversation and then continuing on as if nothing happened is AWESOME.

"W-what were we laughing about again?"

"Does one need a reason?"

I guess the proper faction siding parts later on will be hard because yeah maybe LaCroix can act like a ***** but he's a cool guy underneath. Probably. Honestly I just like his melodramatic way of speaking.

I suppose all the Mass Effect games are obligatory for this thread, though my hardest one was the Rachni in Mass Effect 1. Get your "Waaa Geth waaa" arse out of here, honestly. Kids these days.

 

[The Madman]

Witcher 2 is quite good in that regard, lots of decisions with no clear moral right or wrong. I found that if you side with Roche for the second chapter you're faced with a particularly rough choice as well, since his story is just generally a lot more brutal and cruel than Iorveth's side of things.

In the end I went the proper Witcher route naturally; neutrality. Screw politics, Geralt's loyalty lies with himself and his friends, not some vague ill-defined faction or a plot of land.

I know Malkarian is drastically different from all the normal classes and everyone says to play a non-crazy class first but fuck you, speaking in riddles and breaking into maniacal laughter mid conversation and then continuing on as if nothing happened is AWESOME.

The reason is because there are a lot of in-jokes with Malkavian dialogue options you wouldn't understand unless you've already played the game. Similarly Malkavian dialogue options can often be confusing and unclear unless you've already played the game and have an idea what you're facing.

It's not because playing a Malkavian isn't fun, far from it, it's just more fun to play Malkavian if saved for a future playthrough instead of the first. Besides, one of the best things about Bloodlines is that every clan has something unique to them, Malkavian and Nosferatu are the most obvious but they've all got their special moments and you're doing yourself a bit of a disservice if all you've played are the Malks, fun as they are.

 

[mojoismydog77]

Dragon Age Origins has the worst(in a good way) decisions. SPOILERS!!!! I am unwilling to kill an unarmed man so I lost Alistar but oh well.

 

[LetalisK]

I'll give

Spoiler

Rome

in Alpha Protocol an honourable mention as being quite tough morally, but ultimately moot since

Spoiler

choosing to save Madison results in her leaving you anyway

. Comes down to personal feelings or the greater good, never a fun choice to make. Speaking of Alpha Protocol, did anyway ever manage to get Scarlett in the ending cutscene (and if so, how!?)? I *always* get Mia, except one time I somehow got the dude from Korea (WTF?). Is it possible to get Sie in the ending?

It is possible to get Scarlet for the ending. Not sure exactly what you have to do, but it's possible. As for Sie, no, I don't think you can, I think the sex scene you can have with her is the climax(pun intended) of the romance with her.

OT: Basically all of Alpha Protocol. Because it's a game that actually changed because of even the smallest choices you make, I was always worried if I fucked up or not the entire game.

 

[Rose and Thorn]

The Walking Dead video game gave me some difficult decisions. Like who to give food and who to save in situations of dire need. Lilly for an example was a character that really forced me to make emotional decisions. Kenny could also be another example.

 

[TheEvilCheese]

I wish, on reflection that I had done something to preemptively diffuse the Lily situation in the walking dead.

Spoiler

I mean, sure we splattered her dad's brains all over her and SOMEONE in the group practically sold us to the bandits. But still. You don't fucking shoot the one person who's backed me up this whole time and NOT expect to be left alone in the road to be eaten.

But yeah, my most difficult decision is one of about 50 in the walking dead, too close to call.

 

[Warachia]

Well, it wasn't so much a decision, but the fight wit Wrex on Mass Effect 1.
I was trying to be nice and diffuse the situation, but of course that only makes him more irate, and eventually...well, you know.
I was shocked. Really fucking shocked. I felt tempted to reload a previous save. I LOVED Wrex, both character and combat wise, but I decided to keep the decision the way it was.

You can diffuse that situation without using any paragon/renegade dialogue, and I like it that way, but to do so you need to go to the cargo hold, get to know him, get him to tell you about his family armour (or find the planet it's on, he'll tell you if he's with you), then help him retrieve it, if you do this he considers you enough of a friend that he'll listen to what you say, so long as you help him kill Saren later.

 

[Elvis Starburst]

Unfortunately, not a single point like that ever comes to mind cause it doesn't happen to me often. So, because of that, I'm gonna list a hard moment a game forced upon me that I couldn't avoid, cause SCREW THE RULES! :3 Story time kids, it's a bit of a long post, and I apologize for that XD

I was playing Soul Sacrifice (Never heard of it? It's Vita exclusive, that's probably why) in which you sacrifice enemies to gain power or save them to gain defenses and HP. I was at the start of the game with this ***** of an angry woman named Sotiara. I was going through the Sorcerer's Ordeal, which was where I would be partnered with someone and end up killing them at the end of it (though that was only explained halfway through this character arc). All of this just to join some damn sorcerer's group in castle Avalon. Yay...

Anyways, I hated her, obviously. She was angry and kept talking about blood and killing and how she'll murder me if I fuck up. Suddenly she starts getting a bit of sympathetic back story, and by the end of the Ordeal, I didn't want to kill her. I became her first and only friend, and apparently one of my character's few (or maybe only) friends.

The battle started with a tragically sad piano tune with her saying how she's sad it has to turn out this way, and she wishes things could've been different and we could've stayed friends with me yelling "STOP SAYING THAT SHUT UP RIGHT NOW!" cause I didn't want to hear it with this horribly sad music. Anyways, I knock her down and am given the choice to save her or sacrifice her, the latter option being the objective.

I thought I had a true story affecting choice, so I tried saving her. She gets up, starts fighting and says "Why would you do that...? Aren't you only going to make this more difficult?" and that's when I realized I had absolutely no choice... I hated having to kill her. It really really really sucked.

Decently good game, made me feel emotions not often brought up by other titles~ A little bit fucked up though, if you can't already tell x.x

 

[IllumInaTIma]

The Walking Dead was full of them.
Will I save Ben from falling to his death? Sure I will, I'm not a monster. Will I take provisions from some lone car in a middle of a forest? I was about to, until Clem gave me that look. Will I make Clem shoot myself? I... really don't know.

And Mass Effect, of course.
The most morally difficult decision was about geth heretics in Mass Effect 2. It really if freaking difficult decision because every available option is evil in some way!

But the winner is gonna be Persona 4.
I want to romance every female, but I don't want to friendzone Chie!!!

 

[TheYellowCellPhone]

Though it violates the second rule, I have to recall the ending of Spec Ops: The Line. It's one of those endings where I didn't choose the ending I wanted, I chose the ending I thought the game deserved.

Well, it wasn't so much a decision, but the fight wit Wrex on Mass Effect 1.
I was trying to be nice and diffuse the situation, but of course that only makes him more irate, and eventually...well, you know.
I was shocked. Really fucking shocked. I felt tempted to reload a previous save. I LOVED Wrex, both character and combat wise, but I decided to keep the decision the way it was.

I was shocked that the game was biased to kill the most badass of all of the crew, but also that it allowed you to kill what is essentially a main character around one hour after you met him unless you jump through a hoop or two.

I had to reload to save him, mostly because he was my favorite combat buddy next to Ashley.

 

[soren7550]

It didn't really effect the game later on, but choosing who has to die in the beginning of Fable 3. Your brother, Logan orders you to decide who will be executed. Your childhood sweetheart, or the leaders of a protest group that you and your sweetheart were trying to save. Your sweetheart has done nothing wrong, but then again, neither did the protesters. They're the love of your life, but there's several of them. Your sweetheart even tells you to have them executed and not the protesters, but you know them.

And if you don't choose in time, Logan has both your sweetheart and the protesters executed.

Even though I feel horrible either way, I like this choice since it's one of the few, if not only time in the Fable series where a choice wasn't black or white, good or bad. And the whole thing is super tense.

 

[bug_of_war]

PS. As an addendum to the ME3 point above about Rannoch being the only real choice, I say that because the only other major choice in the game...

Spoiler

the Krogan or the Salarians

is ultimately pointless. Firstly, there's no emotional investment in the latter group at all. Secondly, it's possible players missed Wrex entirely in the first game and thus the only Korgan connection would be Grunt (who also could have been ignored entirely in ME2). Lastly, the choice is irrelevant since all it does is add a number to the Galaxy at War map whichever choice is made. The choice about Rannoch has an actual consequence about available party members and a potential romance.

I kinda have to disagree there. Firstly, you say the Krogan situation can be skipped if you missed ME1 or if Grunt wasn't awakened in ME2, yet your reason for

Spoiler

Choosing to kill the Geth over the Quarians

is due to the former being a main enemy in the first game. So for those whom didn't play the first game, the choice is, as you said before, a matter of numbers. Secondly, about the potential romance, Tali can only be romanced in ME3 if she is romanced in ME2, therefore for those whom had not romanced Tali in ME2 or had her killed have no emotional connection to the Quarians. Similar situation occurs with the Geth as you can not activate Legion in ME2. Every mission is a numbers game, and so it should be seeing as how you are trying to amass the strongest fleet possible to take down the Reapers.

OT:
Mass Effect 1 and 3 - The Rachnai: Regardless of the choice between

Spoiler

saving or killing

the Rachnai in ME1, they make an appearance in ME3. HOWEVER

Spoiler

If you saved them in the first game and allow them to live they become a very powerful war asset. But, if you killed them and make the same choice they will betray you in the final battle and you will lose war assets

That's all I can think of.

 

[spartandude]

PS. As an addendum to the ME3 point above about Rannoch being the only real choice, I say that because the only other major choice in the game...

Spoiler

the Krogan or the Salarians

is ultimately pointless. Firstly, there's no emotional investment in the latter group at all. Secondly, it's possible players missed Wrex entirely in the first game and thus the only Korgan connection would be Grunt (who also could have been ignored entirely in ME2). Lastly, the choice is irrelevant since all it does is add a number to the Galaxy at War map whichever choice is made. The choice about Rannoch has an actual consequence about available party members and a potential romance.

I thought the the Krogan/ Salarian choice was pointless because not 1 mission later you can get the best of both. The salarians promise you their entire fleet if you sabotage the krogans (and either way you get the krogan army) but when you save their counselor in the next mission they give you their entire fleet anyway

 

[Vegosiux]

Alpha Protocol - Let Shaheed go or execute him? If I let him go, do I kill him on the second meeting, or take his side? I mean, yeah, the guy's a terrorist leader. But he's also a man of his word and does help me with looking into the entire thing; and my side has been using me and I was supposed to get killed off on the first mission.

So I ultimately said "Okay, let's bust up some shady US agency and mess up a private military company while we're at it, too."

 

[Lilani]

The Walking Dead is full of horrible choices.

Spoiler

Choosing whether the guy or the girl dies at the pharmacy shop at the very beginning.

Choosing whether to save Duck or the other guy at the farm.

Choosing whether to kill Larry or try to save him, and right there in front of Clementine.

Choosing to leave the lady that's alive in the middle of Macon or leave her for the walkers to save your own skin.

Choosing whether to save Ben or let him die as he wants to when he's dangling over the walkers in the bell tower (which I was surprised to learn most people learned to save him, even after all the times he messed up and failed to save everyone in the past).

Choosing when, if ever, to try and tell Clementine that her parents aren't alive anymore. And that's as far as it goes because I'm not done with Episode 4 yet.

Funnily enough, the decisions I found easiest enough to make were the emotionally fueled ones.

Spoiler

When it came down whether to keep or leave Lilly after she killed Carly, I left her without a second thought. And I chose to kill Duck and the little boy in the attic for Kenny.

 

[BrotherRool]

Despite you not liking it, by far the hardest choice I ever made was in Deus Ex: Human Revolution, I physically ran from button to button, pressing and then changing my mind, and after all that was done I still ended up reloading four times (but not with the four endings, I kept changing my mind on one) before I was satisfied with the choice I chose. In the end I wanted

Spoiler

Darrow's truth with Taggart's results, but without giving power to the Illuminati. The only reasonable person (Sarif) was the one solution that I couldn't agree with. Unbridled augmentation would cause to much harm to the people left behind, yet in the Deus Ex world it's impossible for there to be governmental restrictions without strengthening the Illuminati. It would be best if the world was left to decide for itself, yet I couldn't in good conscience condemn so many people to death without their permission. So I decided to repeat Darrow's truth to the world and hope that humanity wouldn't fall for his madness and stick with technology

To me it was the culmination of everything the game meant, less about trying to get an ending cutscene and expressing what Adam's journey meant to me and having seen everything that augmentation caused in silence, finally passing judgement.


Then the next hardest was curing the Genophage in ME3, because I couldn't import my ME2 save and so had a ruthless dictator in charge of the Krogan's. Again this is where I differ from people in that I don't want the game to show me the consequences of my choices. I want to make my choices with my reasons and be left with an uncertain hope, like a person who really had to make those choices. No going back, no looking ahead, it's all about what you think in the here and now and whatever the future holds you have to face it head on. In the end I decided that it was worth the risk, the Krogan deserve a chance to learn, and if Wreave is in danger of leading them astray. Well the Solarian Special Task Group have many uses and Wreave is only one very mortal individual.


After that I can't remember any other big moments. The Walking Dead could be roleplayed, KotoR was always lightside/darkside. The ending of ME3 seemed really obvious to me and whilst it was hard in inFamous 2, there was always a right choice

 

[krazykidd]

Who do i choose? Katherine or Catherine? Do i go for the mature adult choice or do i let my lust and immature side win ! Plus Katherine is a ***** . Oh did i mention the game i'm talking about is Catherine?