10 Storytelling Clichés In Video Games That Need To Die
9. Your Choices Actually Mean Nothing
Prime Offender: Wolfenstein: New Blood, all Telltale games
Video games are a vehicle for empowerment. We feel like the heroes, in charge of our own destinies and controlling what happens in the universe. Makes sense, then, to offer choices, right?
Choices, after all, are what separates games from every other type of entertainment (with the notable exception of choose-your-own-adventure books).
But so often in games, those choices turn out to mean… nothing whatsoever. They have no impact on the story, or offer differences so minor that it would’ve been easier not to give us the damn choice in the first place.
Look, it’s not easy for developers to create scenarios in which every choice you make has a genuinely different outcome – but some sort of worthwhile impact would be much appreciated.