Pacifist Games

[Krantos]

So, I've just about finished my Pacifist playthrough of Deus Ex:HR (late to the party, yes, I know).

Anyway, I'm having a blast with this and was wondering if the Escapist community could offer any other game titles that allow you get through without killing anyone (or at least most people, things like boss fights, etc., excluded).

Titles I already know about are: Thief, Splinter Cell, Alpha Protocol, and Dishonored (actually the reason I finally decided to try DE:HR Pacifist). Also, games like Amnesia or the Batman games where it's not possible to kill people excluded as well.

For discussion's sake What does everyone think about Pacifist runs?

Spoiler: My Thoughts

I, honestly, have been getting pretty tired of killing people. Really and honestly there are way too many games out there that allow you to kill people in droves. It's gotten to the point where doing so doesn't typically evoke any sort of enjoyment. You're just doing what the designers expect you to do. They give you this power and they expect (most times force) you to use it. There's little choice when the choice comes down to kill person X with weapon y or Z. It's much more fulfilling, for me, when I have the ability to kill a person, yet choose not to. I have the power over life and death, but I choose when to use that power, if at all.

Additionally, the constant killing begins to raise questions regarding the main characters. Take Nathan Drake. No matter what other traits he has, he is a remorseless killer. He kills dozens, hundreds even, with nary a concern or compunction. It lessens our attachment to him. Even my beloved Shepard has an body count in the thousands that she never had the option to spare.

By contrast, Sam Fisher (from the earlier titles) and my current Jensen are much more likeable to me. Sure there are times they are forced to take a life (boss fights in Deus Ex, and kill targets in SC), but their refusal to take the life of a lowly henchman/red shirt when they can avoid it paint them as much more principled protagonists than most.

It just seems, to me, that the video game industry just can't get over killing. I understand that taking a life is considered by many to be the ultimate expression of power, but when you're forced to do it, it's like you're a slave to that power. When the game gives you option, however, it's simultaneously giving more respect to human life than most of their peers, but also gives the player control of this power rather than tying them to it.

...well, that got philosophical quickly... anyway, thoughts?

 

[Able Seacat]

MGS games offer non-lethal options.

My favourite thing about Pacifist runs is simply the fact that the choice is available. Should I? Shouldn't I?

 

[aguspal]

Why why why would someone want to do a pacifist run is beyond me.

Other than to make the game harder to themselves, of course. But even then the games are usually not optimized for those kind of things so its usually horrible.

 

[l0ckd0wn]

Thief II: Metal Age offers a similar experience... It's not a pacifist run, per se, but there are 3 levels of difficulty with the hardest level normally requiring the player to not kill anyone. I'm not 100% certain because I didn't play the whole game on the hardest difficulty, only most of it (One of the nice things about Thief 2 was that you could choose any difficulty level at any stage of the game, leaving the player to decide how to handle each stage scenario individual from the last, or the next).

My favourite thing about Pacifist runs is simply the fact that the choice is available. Should I? Shouldn't I?

I'm kind of with you there; it's the challenge and the availability to accomplish that achievement for me...

Why why why would someone want to do a pacifist run is beyond me.

Other than to make the game harder to themselves, of course. But even then the games are usually not optimized for those kind of things so its usually horrible.

What games are you citing as "usual?"

 

[hazabaza1]

Iji does it too. What's even weirder is that it's a sidescrolling shoot 'em up.
I tend not to do them myself, (or at least, I rarely do a "avoid combat" run) but the choice is always nice and so long as there's appropriate bonuses and downsides to doing the run it's cool.

 

[ElectroJosh]

The first Fallout Game can be played this way; its not easy but quite fun. I would suggest it to people who have already played it through once before - its kind of mind-blowing when you consider how combat-heavy the game is normally.

I have heard Fallout 2 can be done this way as well but I haven't attempted it.

 

[DementedSheep]

Mirrors edge? There are a few places where you have to fight but for the vast majority of the game you don?t, the point of the game is more to avoid and out run them. Even when you do have to stick around and fight her take downs are non lethel and you don't have to use the guns.

I personally love pacifist runs. I love stealth games which is where this option most common and generally find it more rewarding and challenging than simply killing. In some cases the story works better if you?re not slaughtering hundreds of people just doing their job.

 

[SajuukKhar]

Pacifist Skyrim, it can be done.

 

[FrozenCones]

So, I've just about finished my Pacifist playthrough of Deus Ex:HR (late to the party, yes, I know).

Anyway, I'm having a blast with this and was wondering if the Escapist community could offer any other game titles that allow you get through without killing anyone (or at least most people, things like boss fights, etc., excluded).

Titles I already know about are: Thief, Splinter Cell, Alpha Protocol, and Dishonored (actually the reason I finally decided to try DE:HR Pacifist). Also, games like Amnesia or the Batman games where it's not possible to kill people excluded as well.

For discussion's sake What does everyone think about Pacifist runs?

Have you gone for the "Foxiest of the Hounds" achievement? That was a lot of fun as well.

 

[BartyMae]

Metro 2033...for human encounters. You do have to kill mutants, but you're always provided a way of getting around killing any humans, if I recall correctly.

 

[el_kabong]

I don't mind the concept of pacifist runs, but I usually don't employ them. Sometimes, I just want to gun someone down. Maybe the character's voice-acting is annoying. Maybe the last level took me 100 times to get through. Maybe I'm just having a bad day and need to blow off some steam.

Either way, I couldn't commit to a pacifist run. If I wanted pacifism, there's games that don't have killing that I also enjoy.

 

[Naeras]

Fate of the World [http://www.fateoftheworld.net/]
It's a turn-based strategy game about saving the world from global warming and economical crisis.
It's not entirely pacifist(military interventions are one of your options if conflicts break out in a region), but the whole goal of the game is ultimately to keep mankind alive, so it's definitely worth checking out if you want something where violence isn't one of the core mechanics.

Then again, it is a strategy game, so it might not be to your taste.

 

[Darthlex]

Well, assuming you're loving the idea of the "Principled killer", which you mention in regards to Jensen & Sam Fisher, I'd say you should play the Hitman games, if you haven't already.

The way you kill your select targets in that game is *very* much the same idea - Besides, even if you have actually played these (excellent!) games, there's a new one coming out this month, and it's looking amazing!

 

[johnnyLupine]

I never really thought about there a game allowing you to be a pacifist but I do know how compelling the desire to achieve what I concider to be a perfect run in stealth based games can be.

Its really satisfying knowing that you have managed to get around an obstacle rather than destroying it.

There have been games where ive seen the main character/s as a rumor which their enemies pass on as their comrades dissapear, if a body does turn up whatever killed them is long gone..that sort of thing.

Tenchu (2 although I expect the others were similar) allowed you to attempt this sort of run if I remember correctly but sadly I no longer own a copy so I can't actually comment on what it was actually like, just what I remember of it.

I think it ought to be mandatory for any list of recommendations to include MGS, it very nearly goes without saying.

 

[Krantos]

snip

Have you gone for the "Foxiest of the Hounds" achievement? That was a lot of fun as well.

Unintentionally, yes. I didn't know about it until you mentioned it, but thinking back, I'm pretty sure I didn't set off any alarms during my playthrough.

I actually lost the chance to get the pacifist achievement last night, but I'm still considering it valid in my mind. It was during the helicopter crash.

Spoiler

There was no way I was letting Malik get killed.

I actually managed to take all the soldiers down alive, but then one of them got caught in the blast (while unconscious) when I was fighting the mech (didn't have any EMPs). So even though the game doesn't consider it pacifist, I do since the death was accidental and I had neutralized him non-lethally first.

 

[MidnightSt]

What do i think about pacifist runs? I was always intrigued by the idea, and games which enable it, and in those games I kind of try to do them, as the fact it's possible invites me to try it, and enables me to role-play much more, because it makes the decision to kill or not to kill have actual weight and meaning. However, I'm usually not good or patient enough to do a real pacifist playthrough, so after a while I stop sticking to the idea, and just play the way it goes - trying to be as pacifist as possible, but when not killing requires too much skill or patience for me, then doing it. Generally, I like it to be not a constraint (you must not kill anyone), but an option (you can finish the game without killing anyone).

The "problem" for me may be that pacifist run-throughs are the hardest, and I try to do them the first time I play the game, because the first time is always the one I naturally role-play the most.

Also, Dishonored:

Spoiler

I absolutely LOVE the way they enabled also the "bosses" (targets) to be disposed of in non-lethal way, and the fact that so far at least one of these disposals (the first one, I believe) has (morally) pretty interesting consequences later... I was, again, trying for non-lethal, which pretty soon turned into "it's a preffered option, not a requirement" approach. But then again, in the lower wards/assasin territory level, I consciously went for the "kill them all, they're friggin' hitmen with no morals" approach, which I then broke at the bossfight (when the boss gave up and gave his speech) - I came up with an idea for a cool disappearance (slow down time, blink back through the half of the building), which I did, and then realized "this is the guy who killed the empress, what the hell did I just do, letting him live?!", reloaded and killed him.

Also, the only thing I didn't like about it yet: it seems impossible to kill the guy silently right away, I tried several times to slow down time, blink behind him and stealth kill him, but it seems not to work, it always launched the battle, I suspect so the player doesn't miss the final speech.

 

[Batou667]

Games that you can complete without killing anyone:

FIFA 13
Need for Speed
Hexic HD
Sonic and Mario at the Olympics
Wii Fit

...wait, have I missed the point?

 

[Austin Howe]

MGS games offer non-lethal options.

My favourite thing about Pacifist runs is simply the fact that the choice is available. Should I? Shouldn't I?

Metal Gear not only offers legit pacifism as a gameplay choice in most cases, but the story is pretty much all about that, and very few games have gone into as much effort to make you feel like a dick when you kill shit. Listen to the sounds enemies make and the graphics that get used when you kill someone, especially the blood just bursting out of dude's heads in MGS2, or of course, the Sorrow. It's not as blatant as say, Shadow of the Colossus, but Metal Gear does go to some length to make you want to be the pacifist.

 

[DioWallachia]

Already gave my thoughts about it:

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.381764-The-pacifist-run-that-is-faaaar-from-being-an-actual-pacifist