20 Video Games That Secretly Reward You For Failure

Wasteland 3 is a 2020 isometric RPG set in post-apocalyptic Colorado. You play as a group of Arizona Rangers who set out into this treacherously cold land in hope of securing an alliance with its ruler, the Patriarch.

To convince him, your team has to catch his three rebellious children and bring them back to him. However, the longer you play the game, the more you realize it’s probably better to fail your main objective.

As you progress through the story, you find out that not only are the Patriarch’s children spoiled brats who engage in banditry and torture just to spite their father, but the man himself is also a terrible tyrant.

Following specific side quests will let you uncover that the Patriarch is secretly trading his own people and refugees from nearby regions as slaves to keep raiders from attacking his settlements.

Completing the main mission will let him continue doing this after he helps you, but if you oppose him and fail your primary objective, you can liberate Colorado Springs from his rule and reach a much more satisfying ending, where you replace the Patriarch as Colorado’s new leader.

It’s not always about following the objectives.