discussion Do you prefer games with multiple choices that affect the story or a linear story where choices don't affect anything?

[Knz]

Sometimes it's nice to play games just to "play", but honestly I like games where I can choose paths, but I don't like games that have mini games.

 

[AzraelReaper]

If the multiple choices are meaningful then i prefer them, like choosing which person to date, whether to be kind or evil, but if all those choices lead to the same ending then it feels like there's no point and they should've just made it linear

 

[ji3g417]

Of course it should affect something
Better be like Pale Carnations, the ability you choose at first will affect your choice
this is more immersive i think

 

[Republican Bear]

Sometimes I prefer a linear story where choices don't affect anything, and sometimes the opposite.

What grinds my gears is when choices lock out content and you bee to reload a previous save.

 

[mrgollum]

There's some games that get too ambitious with the number of branches and some are end being neglected as a consecuence

 

[locoulocou]

I like it when decisions have long-term importance, but deciding between saving x or y, mmm I prefer it to be a linear story then.

 

[fairy_neko]

i like to have choices

 

[robotar]

There need to be choices for sure. Even better if they actually affect the outcome. My first test of a game after downloading is holding down the skip button to see how long it takes me to get to a choice. If it takes too long I'll probably delete it again right away.

 

[The Void]

It depends. If the game has an actual good plot with different routes, I sometimes like to check them all (although most of the time I just go for the harem route). But if the choices don't matter, I'd rather they just don't exist at all.

 

[JojoLomax]

I do prefer choices as long as hey are meaningful and provides branching paths and different outcomes at the end. Makes me appreciate the game a bit more and the replay value much more exciting. With a linear game, is a quick ctrl hold and out to the bin.

 

[User_34365]

Little bit of both tbh, story and choices do add some fun to the mix. Depends on the situation really.

 

[HaRiKriShNa]

Choices for sure, make you care about the game, the story and the characters, which makes it more fun to play for me. I like linear stories too, but the ones that what're interactive or "open world" like the Summertime Saga, where the choices don't really matter, but you have to do things. Straight up non-interactive stories can be good only if the story is really good.

 

[MUTT]

I personally enjoy games that give meaningful choices. My only issue is that a lot of games that give "choices" theses choices don't really change the game in a very impactful way. Most of a time it's between the right choice and the wrong choice where if you chose wrong you lose something. I would much more prefer there be no "wrong" choice and that every choice actually gives a fully unique ending or event instead of you just won't get this one girl or you missed this event. More like, this choice will lead you to leave town and meet an entire new set of people, or this choice leads you be put in jail for 2 years and you come back and the people and situations have slightly changed due to your absence, or this choice has lead you to find a hidden event that effects the entire family that if never know prior would never had any effect on the game. I like choices that can completely change the direction a game can go.

 

[Tosser]

I CAN enjoy both.

A kinetic now and again allows me to just follow along, like reading a book/short story and gives the brain a break.

Where you have significant choices, I prefer if the Dev doesn't make the combination of choices to get with a particular LI or stay on a path so esoteric or idiotic that you can't get there without a WT mod. And, even with VNs with WT mods, keeping the paths so narrow that exploring a little blows you up is annoying - a good VN shouldn't be the Kobayashi Maru.

There was one set of related VNs I played that scored you down one of three paths based on decision style, but if you didn't walk this very narrow line, you couldn't get the ending that was cannon for the next story in the VN. No walkthru available (pretty old VN converted into RenPy from something else), so you often had to do a dozen or more replays to get the precise score to get the ending. Some decisions were between six or more items and only one would work in combination with the half dozen you'd had to get right to that point. If I hadn't liked the style so much, I would have abandoned the whole lot of them.

 

[Chainedpanda]

I do enjoy choices, but there is a limit. There is such thing as "too many choices", plus there are choices that I just don't want to make. I prefer being able to choose which LIs to go after, but I don't like choosing between two LIs.

Furthermore, I also don't want to be forced to play games multiple times to see various endings. I don't need to see ALL content in a single run, but I want to see as much as possible. It's fine to lock content away if it makes sense, but don't lock it simply because you want me to play multiple times.

 

[Ginger6409]

There needs to be a balance between the two. As long as a linear game isn't too boring, I'm more than happy to go along for a ride down the waterslide. I'm more for a game that offers choices, as variety is the spice of life. But when the choices available in the game start to look like the Cheesecake Factory's menu, then maybe the dev should tone it down a little bit *cough* roundscapeadorevia *cough*. The best games are the ones that can blend the two together, and offer just enough choice to keep you coming back for more without overwhelming you.

 

[codex06]

I like choice effects but not big change

 

[User_90167]

I like where games gives you choices for different endings but I hate when they give you choices that end up doing the same thing

 

[Akrash]

I like where games gives you choices for different endings but I hate when they give you choices that end up doing the same thing

same, i like the "paths" on games if it's somewhat clear, but those that gives you multiple options just to end up the same are kinda lame

 

[User_22565]

Both have their place, I lean towards where the choice matters. But having games where I can just do what the fuck ever and be fine is very entertaining at times.