Summary
- Some RPGs like Neverwinter Nights prioritize a linear narrative over player choice for a focused and satisfying gameplay experience.
- Games like Pillars of Eternity offer impactful choices within a linear narrative, balancing side quests to break up the main story.
- Titles like Mass Effect 2 blend linear storytelling with engaging RPG elements for a riveting gameplay experience.
Many people assume that RPGs are epic branching adventures with non-linear progression that adhere to the player's choices throughout the game. This is true in many cases, but certainly not all of them.
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Some players don't mind linear video games, especially because they tend to offer tighter narrative beats than their more open-ended alternatives. In fact, some of the most notable games in the RPG genre tend toward more linear storylines. Players love the sense of progression and the variety of choices in these games without feeling like the story can go down a particularly wild route that they didn't expect.
Spoiler Warning: these entries delve into some narrative spoilers for their respective games.
8 Neverwinter Nights
A CRPG With A Fun And Linear Narrative For Players To Follow
Neverwinter Nights
- Released
- June 18, 2002
WHERE TO PLAY
Neverwinter Nights is one of the best classic CRPGs that fans can get their hands on. Instead of focusing on player choice and branching narratives, the game aims to tell a tight, focused story set in the Forgotten Realms universe.
This makes for a tight and satisfying experience where players can complete numerous quests and help their party become stronger. It's a classic role-playing experience that isn't so open-ended that fans will get lost in the proceedings.
7 Pillars Of Eternity
Harkens Back To The Golden Age Of CRPGs
Pillars of Eternity
- Released
- March 26, 2015
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Obsidian Entertainment
- Publisher(s)
- Paradox Interactive, Versus Evil
- Genre(s)
- RPG
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
Pillars of Eternity was one of the first modern games to trigger the CRPG revival. Some fans didn't appreciate how linear the narrative could be, but the choices in the game were impactful enough to change certain events along the way.
Side quests could also break up the monotony of the main story while allowing players to become stronger. If players want to check out a simple and riveting CRPG that isn't too open-ended, then Pillars of Eternity is the way to go.
6 Dark Messiah Of Might And Magic
A Fun Action RPG With A Straightforward Path
Dark Messiah Of Might And Magic
- Released
- October 24, 2006
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Arkane Studios, Ubisoft Annecy
- Publisher(s)
- Ubisoft
- Platform(s)
- Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360
Dark Messiah of Might and Magic is a fascinating game for fans who want to see how Arkane Studios evolved to become the modern pioneers of the immersive sim genre. The RPG elements in this game aren't too overpowering, and the game's true strengths lie in the combat system.
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Slicing and dicing enemies up with powerful attacks and special moves makes for a great time. The gameplay is so riveting that most fans won't mind that the story itself is rather linear and a bit generic.
5 South Park: The Stick Of Truth
A Hilarious Story That Doesn't Branch Out Too Much
South Park: The Stick of Truth
- Released
- March 4, 2014
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Obsidian Entertainment
- Publisher(s)
- Ubisoft
- Genre(s)
- RPG
- Platform(s)
- Xbox One, Xbox 360, PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
Obsidian Entertainment's work on South Park: The Stick of Truth made this great South Park game into one of the best video game adaptations of all time. It helped that Trey Parker and Matt Stone personally saw to it that this game's humor and tone would be perfectly in line with the TV series.
The combat isn't too challenging, and the story mostly follows a linear path with little variation in the lead-up to major events. This is not a negative at all, since The Stick of Truth's comedic narrative didn't need branching paths to keep players engaged over the course of its ~12 hour campaign.
4 The Witcher
A Hilarious Story That Doesn't Branch Out Too Much
The Witcher
- Released
- October 30, 2007
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- CD Projekt Red
- Publisher(s)
- Atari, CD Projekt
- Genre(s)
- RPG
- Platform(s)
- PC
Out of the three mainline Witcher games that CD Projekt Red has developed, most people agree that the first game is the most linear one of the lot. Players follow a chapter-based structure across several notable environments where they complete quests and make important choices.
That being said, the narrative is heavily impacted by the choices that Geralt makes along this journey. However, major story beats don't change all that much, barring who Geralt allies with and how his actions influence other aspects of the game.
3 God Of War (2018)
An Amazing Action Game With Lite-RPG Elements And A Riveting, Linear Story
God of War
- Released
- April 20, 2018
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Santa Monica Studio
- Publisher(s)
- Sony
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 4
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
God of War's reboot decided to integrate a number of RPG elements to let players enjoy a steady sense of progression throughout the more predominantly action-adventure title. This helped enhance the game's tantalizing hack-and-slash combat and marked a major evolution for the series.
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The biggest strength of this reboot was undoubtedly its mature story that helped humanize Kratos. The narrative is mostly linear, and the side quests aren't so numerous that the linearity of this story is affected heavily by them, leaving them as more colorful dressing to the otherwise focused narrative of Kratos and his son's journey through the Norse realms.
2 Mass Effect 2
Shepard's Crusade Against The Reapers And Collectors Is Quite Riveting
Mass Effect 2
- Released
- January 26, 2010
WHERE TO PLAY
Despite the morality system and the numerous choices players can make in the Mass Effect series, the bulk of these experiences are largely linear. This is especially true in the case of the second game, which can't take too many wild turns and derail the series' overarching story.
After being restored by Cerberus, Shepard must amass a team of experts and figure out a way to defeat the Collectors, newly introduced agents of the Reapers. It makes for an amazing narrative full of harrowing moments that feature meaningful choices, even if the broad strokes of the story don't change all that much.
1 Deus Ex
A Legendary Immersive Sim Action RPG That's In A Class Of Its Own
Deus Ex
- Released
- June 23, 2000
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Ion Storm
- Publisher(s)
- Eidos Interactive
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG, FPS, Stealth
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 2, PC
Deus Ex is one of the best video games ever made, with this linear action RPG letting players control one of the most legendary no-nonsense protagonists of all time. JC Denton must take part in several missions and uncover conspiracies that threaten to uproot the world.
While players can approach gameplay situations in whatever manner they wish, the story is largely linear with only a few deviations along the way. Eventually, no matter what players do, they will always be placed on a path at the final level that lets them unlock one of three endings.
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