The best role-playing games that allow you to play as an anti-hero

Key conclusions

• Anti-hero RPGs offer morally complex gameplay and storytelling.
• Baldur's Gate 3, Tyranny, and Fallout: New Vegas allow players to make morally questionable choices.
• Games like Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2 and The Outer Worlds have complex characters with dark sides.

The Oxford English Dictionary defines an anti-hero as: “A person who is the opposite or reverse of a hero; especially a central character in a story, film or drama who lacks the usual heroic attributes.' In the world of role-playing games, there are many games with heroic characters bound by a pure heart and a noble purpose, but not many high-profile games with the opposite.

However, some of the best RPGs made in recent years have at their core a character who can be alternately morally ambiguous, selfish, or just plain bad egg. Such characters create more diverse narratives, as well as more diverse gameplay mechanics, since not every choice the protagonist makes leads to a happy ending. Here is a selection the very best RPGs that let players become anti-heroes.

5 Baldur's gate 3

There are morally complex paths to follow in this epic role-playing game

Continuing the family of Dungeons and Dragons series, Baldur's gate 3 retains the same customization and freedom that allows players to create a character and make choices that affect the game world around them. In the game's setting, a parasitic infection is spreading across the land, and the player must stop it before it can wreak further havoc.

Such a huge task does not mean that the player has to fight angels. What makes the game stand out is that it allows you to make choices that reverberate throughout the rest of the game. Players can lie, cheat, and manipulate as they choose, and their morally complex decisions shape the game's narrative.

4 Tyranny

Fatebinder is able to establish the law, no matter the cost

Tyranny it's a unique experience in that the player works for the bad guys from the beginning of the game. The story begins with the evil lord Kairos having conquered the world, and the main character of the game, the Binder of Fate, is one of Kairos' minions and must work to control and monitor how order is restored in the game universe.

The game encourages morally questionable decisions, even when there is an opportunity to try to create a more just world after Kyros. As the player travels through the game world, they can make decisions about the best ways to deal with the many groups of survivors. All of these, in turn, affect the companions, spells, and abilities that the player can choose from.

3 Fallout: New Vegas

Players can roll the dice making questionable decisions

The Precipitation The games are well known for their dark sense of humor and dark in-game world where survivors do whatever they must to survive the post-apocalyptic landscape. It was perfectly portrayed in the Amazon TV series, but one thing Precipitation the game also embodies the philosophy of the franchise through its protagonist.

The game allows players to take control of a character known only as the Courier. Early on they suffer betrayal and are left to die in the desert, but then they have a chance to pave their way to power by teaming up with a variety of morally reprehensible groups, be it the totalitarian faction of Caesar's Legion or the opportunists in groups like the California Republic. . In the world Precipitationselfishness is a virtue rather than a flaw.

2 Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2

If only you knew the power of the dark side

The original Knights of the old republic was a highly rated deep dive into Star Wars A universe that gave players new characters and some particularly memorable villains. But for its sequel, the development team decided to go one step further and present an even more complex character.

The game allows players to take on the role of an exiled Jedi, which comes complete with a thorny backstory rooted in conflict as the Dark Side of the Force is explored in greater detail. The player is given the opportunity to invest more in their dark side to commit acts of evil and destruction.

1 Outer worlds

Big business can sometimes bring big rewards

Satirical commentary and a dark sense of humor are a big part of what makes Outer worlds so convincing. His critique of unregulated capitalism and corporate culture is evident throughout the play. Not only that, but it also reflects on the player's choice of exploring the galaxy.

The first-person role-playing game allows the player to forge their own path and do what they feel will best further their character's progress in the game. There is an option to fight back against the megacorporations, but if they choose, they can also side with the Council and help establish control over the colonies. Also, they can ignore either side and simply work to serve themselves and prosper at the expense of others, with or without a companion.