The ability to choose between a good and evil (or somewhere in-between) playthrough is one of the pillars of a good traditional RPG, but even though many games posture as giving you those choices, how many of them actually do it well? RPGs often have a problem of making evil playthroughs less rewarding, whereas we all well know that sometimes being bad is the best path for personal power and gain.
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So you can keep your Paragon-Renegade dichotomies (sorry,Mass Effect), or reductive sets of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ dialogue options (bye bye,Fallout 4), and check out these RPGs that let you play out your most dastardly fantasies and have a great time doing it.
10Fallout 2
Will Someone Please Think Of The Children?
It’s a miracle that this one snuck past the censors, seeing as it gave you such unparalleled RPG freedom as to become a slaver, use children as suicide bombers, and wipe out entire towns like Gecko and Modoc by messing around with a nuclear reactor (whoops).
While your ultimate goal is a benevolent one—to reverse the effects of drought in your hometown—you can get caught up in all kinds of crazy politics out there in the wasteland. Get involved with trafficking drugs for the Mordino crime family, become a pimp, betray your allies for your own gain, and sow discord between factions if you feel like it.Fallout 2was one of the first RPGs to make evil feel great, and it remains one of the best.
In a world where the bad guys have already won, you’re a Fatebinder—a high-ranking general of a tyrannical god sent into a land known as the Tiers to seal victory, and stabilise the region, even if that means destroying large swathes of it.
Leading either the disciplinarian Disfavored or the chaotic Scarlet Chorus, you’ll face ethical quandaries about how to deal with civilians and rebels, and issue Edicts—powerful spells that can set a whole region ablaze, or ruin an unruly region’s land by turning it to stone.Tyrannyis one of the few games in which a relentless pursuit of power feels rewarding and actually makes it more challenging to play a good person in this world than a bad one.
8Baldur’s Gate 3
Give In To The Urge
Lies, deception, and intimidation can go a long way inBaldur’s Gate 3. Steal an item off a desperate NPC instead of helping them, betray the Druid Grove, leaving them for the goblins to slay, make deals with a devil, and tap into the powers of the Mind Flayer tadpole in your brain. What’s more, certain characters likeMinthara,Viconia, andLae’zelwill approve if you embrace the dark side.
The Dark Urge run makes it very hard to resist going down a path of wanton destruction.
Then there’s the Dark Urge playthrough, which makes it very hard to resist going down a path of wanton destruction (the ‘murderhobo’ playthrough, as Larian astutely put it, and which you’ll quickly learn after your first encounter with a squirrel). Lend a helping hand, or cut it off? It can be very difficult to resist the Dark Urge.
Baldur’s Gate 3
7Fallout: New Vegas
Hail, Caesar!
Continuing the legacy of Fallout 2 in Bethesda’s 3D engine, developer Obsidian did a great job of facilitating those wishing to walk on the dark side inFallout: New Vegas. Of the main factions you can join, the despotic Caesar’s Legion lets you see through the main narrative in the grimmest possible way: capture people for slavery, carry out assassinations, and help a tyrant rise to power over the Mojave region.
Help! I’m Just Incapable Of Playing Evil Characters In RPGs
Being evil is tough work.
Beyond that, you can be a bounty hunter tracking down NCR deserters, cover up for a cannibalistic casino, and of course rampage around stealing and killing all you want, which will alter your reputation and Karma in the world, slowly making the people of the wasteland fear your bad juju.
Fallout: New Vegas
6Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic
Take A Walk On The Dark Side
In the pleasingly binary universe ofStar Wars, Bioware’s classic RPGKOTORcaptured the allure of the Dark Side perfectly. Naturally, you can go full Sith in this game, embracing Dark Side powers and aid the bad guys in their schemes. Poison water supplies to kill innocents, escalate planetary conflicts for your own gain, and—most villainous of all—betray the Wookies! What have the teddies ever done to deserve that?
Beyond talking like an absolute egomaniac to everyone, you’re able to carry out massacres and assassinations in the name of evil, learn Sith teachings, and get rewarded with fun Dark Side powers and a full-on Dark Side ending to the game.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
5Planescape: Torment
Murky Morality
Tormentis one of the best explorations of morality (and mortality) in an RPG, and naturally, that involves letting you do some pretty objectionable things. Manipulate and lie to your companions to get what you need out of them or betray their trust, align yourself with a nihilistic faction dedicated to annihilation (and help them carry it out), and feel free to kill anyone who opposes your actions.
Torment is a little more nuanced in its exploration of evil (and good) than other RPGs, but its less clear-cut approach to a morality system is precisely what makes it special.
Planescape: Torment
4Arcanum: Of Steamworks And Magicka Obscura
Troika’s isometric steampunk RPG didn’t quite fly after its release in 2001, but over the years, players have come to appreciate its relentless freedom in letting you be as much or as little of a villain as you like. Break into homes, massacre villages, rob banks, and torment NPCs of less evil alignment than yourself to keep tipping your own alignment toward the dark side.
Play with high Beauty and Charisma stats for that classic foppish villain feel.
You can perform Dark Rituals, sacrificing people for personal gain, and the spectrum of evil actions ranges from telling a boy his dog is dead (when it’s alive) or as big as playing factions off against each other. Play with high Beauty and Charisma stats for that classic foppish villain feel.
Arcanum: of Steamworks and Magick Obscura
Evil Has A Horny Face
Be a ruthless landlord by buying out properties and raising rents to extortionate prices, enforce oppressive laws over the little barony you establish for yourself, and fully embrace Dark Magic to make great gains for yourself at the expense of others. On top of all that,Fable 2rewards your dastardly ways by sprouting devil horns for your hero and making you look like the malevolent bugger you truly are.
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Fable 2 is so binary in its good-evil setup as to be charming. Use, manipulate, and exploit everyone around you, and this folky little world will respond in a satisfying way.
2Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask Of The Betrayer
More Power To You
The oft-overlooked expansion to Neverwinter Nights 2 has its own campaign that you can jump straight into, andboydo things get dark here. One of its more interesting mechanics is the Spirit-Eater Curse, which you can feed with peoples’ (or even Gods’) souls to gain unspeakable power for yourself.
Your decisions will affect relations with your party members, even leading to confrontations, and you’ll get plenty of opportunities to extort vulnerable people, and play off factions like the Githyanki and Rashemi against each other. Ultimately, your choices will affect the ending, through which you can potentially ascend to godhood (or get punished for your wicked ways).
Neverwinter Nights 2
1The Age Of Decadence
When In Post-Apocalyptic Rome…
Maybe not as famous as some of the big names on this list, but this post-apocalyptic-yet-Roman-Empire RPG lets you play in a ruthless way befitting of the gritty setting. Threats, blackmail, extortion and assassinations of powerful figures are all viable ways to get ahead in this tough world.
Exploit peoples’ and factions’ weaknesses for your own gain.
Eventually, you might rise to the top of House Aurelian, where you’re able to enact powerful policies for your own gain; being leader of the Assassins’ guild lets you extort people and establish illegal trade routes, while becoming Guildmaster of the Merchants’ Guild lets you monopolize goods and set extortionate prices. Ride the wave of power, exploit peoples’ and factions’ weaknesses for your own gain, and be the post-apocalyptic Roman Senator you probably never fantasized about being until this very moment.
Age of Decadence
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