8 Obvious Moral Choices In Video Games You Couldn't Make

8. Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic II: The Sith Lords – Charity Is Bad. Or Is It?

The set-up: When the Jedi Exile arrives on the corrupt smugglers moon of Nar Shaddaa in search of a lost Jedi Master, one of the first residents they meet is a hapless beggar asking for credits.

The obvious choice: The beggar is asking for five credits. That’s a piddling amount, so why not help the man out?

The reality: Being charitable, however, incurs the ire of your mentor, Kreia, who points out that by giving the beggar what he has not earned all you have managed to do is to turn him into a target. And indeed, the man is swiftly mugged.

Or is he? The ‘incident’ happens out of sight and, Kreia never explicitly states that it does. Her argument is compelling to be sure, but is she being candid, or spinning a story designed to bring the Exile around to her way of thinking? And by casting doubt on the truth of the incident are developers Obsidian making Kreia out to be a liar? Or are they showing just how easily receptive minds can be manipulated, including yours?

KotOR II is a game that takes seemingly simple questions and turns them upside down, and thought-provoking dilemmas like this are why it’s genius.