The Best Games With Companion Characters That Evolve Over Time

RPGs are some of the most popular titles found on shelves today. Getting immersed in a world as another character, fit to impact it in whatever manner players see fit, is a brief that many developers fill with as much imagination and detail as they can muster.

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What really grips players in RPGs if not the story? And what good is a story if not for its characters, who change and react according to the direction the game takes? More than simply grinning or pouting at a level relative to how nice the player is to them, the companions in these games organically go through their own arcs as the story unfolds, evolving into someone entirely different than who players started out with... For better or worse.

5 Fallout 4

Companions Have Strong Feelings Towards The Major Factions

Is Fallout 4 a good game? Yes! Assuredly. Is it a good Fallout game? Alas, almost nine years later, the jury is still out on this topic, in part due to the many departures Fallout 4 makes from its predecessors. One area where Fallout 4 does rise to meet or surpass the other entries in this series is with its companions, who all feel very well-realized and three-dimensional. Each has a list of likes and dislikes that might make them seem a little judgy (it's a bit of cannibalism, Piper, please get over it) but also make them feel like reactive characters.

This reactivity extends to the plot. Regardless of how much they personally like or dislike the protagonist, accompanying them on key story missions, and seeing how things unfold with Shaun and the major factions, all change how they view the player and the wasteland, isolated from their respective likes or dislikes.

4 Baldur's Gate 3

A Modern Classic Among RPGs

The first two hours or so of Baldur's Gate 3 (not including the five hours spent deciding which dragonborn sub-race to play as) are a bit of a whirlwind. It doesn't take long for the player to round up the majority of the major companions, and a brain parasite, and find themselves sitting at camp with them all, trading bits and pieces of their tragic backstories. The companions in this game are all incredibly compelling, in no small part due to how many parts of these stories are already in motion, even though the player might influence the end result of their personal story.

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Gale's particular affliction with the Weave, Wyll's warlock troubles, Karlach's heartburn, are all notions that affect the companions and change them over time, even if the player does not intervene in their stories. Especially if the player does not intervene in their stories, in some cases.

3 The Outer Worlds

Companions Are Here For The Ride, But Also Have Their Own Interests

The Outer Worlds tends to fluctuate between "criminally underrated" and "dangerously average" among fans of both Obsidian works and the RPG genre as a whole, but the companions are almost universally seen as one of the game's highest points. They never losing any depth or engagement despite Obsidian's decision to omit romance from the title, which does tend to draw in a pretty large crowd for these kinds of games.

Throughout the game, each companion's personal quest changes who they are. They undergo real-deal, bona fide character development as the events of the Halcyon colony — both the ones related to them and the ones more broadly related to the plot — begin to take shape and substance. Parvati, in particular, stands out for having a character arc that must be seen through to its conclusion in every run, no matter what, all the time, but each character has the wit and depth needed to make their personal development something the player will want to see happen.

2 Dragon Age 2

A Tighter Story Leads To More Companion Focus

Dragon Age 2 is often underrated among the series' three (soon to be four) mainline games, but the story's tighter scope and focus have given it many boons, one of the major ones being how central most companions are to the story. In some RPGs, the companions, even if they have incredible depth and great writing, can feel supplementary to the overall plot, either by writer oversight or as a deliberate design choice. However, everyone has a part to play in Kirkwall and the surrounding area, and as the game unfolds, it's very easy to see this in effect.

Hawke's sibling changes over time based on a variety of factors the player has a part in deciding, including their class. Other companions throughout the story cope with some fairly intense emotions, including grief, obsession, ambition, and internal conflict, and these emotions, along with the stories they're attached to, can become major parts of Dragon Age 2's climax.

1 Triangle Strategy

Companions Have Dynamic Convictions That Shift Along With The Story

Triangle Strategy showcases a masterful, branching narrative that rides along the path forged by Serenoa and his convictions. WIthin his retinue, however, he is not the only person to hold such strong views on how things are and how they should be.

Throughout the story, independent of Serenoa, certain key companions who originally represent one of the three major convictions in its purest form will slowly shift and begin to align themselves with a separate conviction. This makes the game's setting, as well as its cast, feel so much more alive and detailed, with nothing remaining static throughout the course of the game.

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