Games With Different Ways To Solve The Same Encounter

Open-ended games give players freedom to tackle situations however they want. Technically, a lot of games are like that. RPGs with a class system, for example, let players attack enemies with melee attacks, elemental spells, debuffs, traps, and so on. RPGs are adjacent to this idea of problem-solving, but they don’t exactly fit.

The following games give players freedom in things like dialogue choices, gadgets, ways of breaking into facilities, and whether players want to kill or spare enemies. This open-ended style of gameplay gives these games a bigger reason to replay them, some more than others. Let’s get to the examples to see exactly what this is all about.

Baldur’s Gate 3

Almost Too Much Freedom

Baldur’s Gate 3 offers players numerous choices between commands in battle and preventing them. With high enough stats and knowledge in several categories, players can gain access to or solve issues by talking to NPCs.

Race can serve a purpose too, like in the beginning of the game, there is a villain camp that players can just walk into if they are a Drow. Combat is turn-based with a tactical edge, allowing players to strategize over a wide area before executing moves, and they can also choose their party members at camp.

The Outer Worlds 2

Even Your Flaws Are Strengths

The Outer Worlds 2 is another great RPG that values a dialogue system. When players set up their character, they can choose a background and various skills that can pop up in conversations.

If players are caught sneaking around, they may be able to talk their way out of combat, given the right stats or knowledge, like lying if they are a repairman. Getting into areas often gives players two choices, like a door could be engineered open, or a high enough strength star could let players rip it open. Combat is pretty straightforward.

Cyberpunk 2077

You Rule The Night

Cyberpunk 2077 lets players customize their looks at the start, and then throughout the game, they can mod their character with various cybernetics to make them less human and more machine. These mods can help players with dialogue options, sneaking around, and combat.

Hacking skills could open doors, a charming persona could get information, and the right hand-eye coordination could make getting clean headshots easier. However players want to approach a mission is up to them, as there are many ways to handle any given situation.

Deus Ex: Human Revolution

Another Cyberpunk RPG

Deus Ex: Human Revolution is a cyberpunk game with body modding like Cyberpunk 2077, but it’s also a stealth game more upfront. As a special agent, the game motivates players to learn passive skills to slip past enemies with hacking or lock-picking skills.

If combat is engaged, players have a choice to deal lethal or non-lethal damage, which is always good to see in a stealth game. There are limited interactions with NPCs to test speech skills, too, but Deus Ex: Human Revolution overall is a more active game that gives players more choices in the field.

Hitman: World Of Assassination

From Detective To Drummer

Hitman: World of Assassination features the best assassin in the world, Agent 47, and this compilation incorporates most of the missions introduced in the trilogy that began in 2016. On missions, players have one target, typically, and can dispose of them in a myriad of ways, along with NPCs or guards if they need to.

Players could execute a detective, assume his place, get close to a target, and then poison their drink, for example. Some of the disguises are goofy, but they add to the charm and make every mission a playground of possibilities that make them fun to replay.

Balloon Fight

Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain consists of large areas to explore once missions launch from a hub area called Mother Base. On missions, players could go straight to the area, or they could explore freely to look for bonuses.

Through crafting by committee, players will gain an assortment of equipment to deal with guards, and the gadgets are what make this game and its missions interesting. They can throw boxes that look like women to distract them, they can shoot them with tranquilizer rounds to put them to sleep, or they could simply start a gun battle.

Star Wars Outlaws

Pitting Factions Against Each Other

Star Wars Outlaws is not quite an RPG, but it has some elements that open up options. Gaining favor with one crime syndicate, for example, could open up new missions or allow players to pass in ways they couldn’t before, which could help in a particular quest.

When in the field, players could sneak around, use their pet to do some distracting, or shoot first and ask questions later. For a Star Wars game, it might have the most open-ended nature among all of them.

The Legend Of Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom

Monster-Based Solutions

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is a top-down adventure that stars Zelda instead of Link. With a magic wand, she gains early. Zelda can capture the essence of things, be it a monster, a bed, a trampoline, a plant, and so on.

Players can use objects to solve puzzles or to reach new heights in a variety of ways, like stacking beds as a makeshift staircase. In combat, players can summon other creatures to do their bidding, each with a unique approach to attacking. Between combat and puzzle-solving, it goes beyond most Zelda games, which is a good thing.

Sniper Elite: Resistance

Let The Bodies Hit The Floor

Sniper Elite: Resistance is the latest entry in the Sniper Elite series, still featuring a variety of open-ended missions in big sandboxes during the height of World War 2.

As the name implies, sniping enemies is the most satisfying way to kill, but timing shots just right to mask the sound can be tricky. Players can knock out or kill enemies up close, too, and they can even distract posts by sabotaging and blowing up vehicles. Despite the time period, players are given a lot of tools for the job of taking down the Nazi regime.

Disco Elysium

Talk It Out

Disco Elysium is the perfect RPG for players who truly value dialogue and dice rolls over direct and lengthy confrontations. By equipping gear and boosting stats in several trees, players can make their amnesiac detective open up new options in conversation, along with raising the likelihood of success.

The game is entirely text-based, with more voices in The Final Cut version, meaning that even combat is handled by dice rolls to see if players are successful in unlocking a new dialogue tree for a perp by knocking some sense into them.