The butterfly effect. It’s the notion that one small choice can influence a much bigger picture. Games that make use of this effect are often categorized as “choices matter” – they’re games that make you stop and think about the weight of your decisions. They’re games you’re able to play again and again, because different choices will ultimately lead to different outcomes.
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Until Dawn, which was released as a PlayStation 4 exclusive in 2015 and is being remastered for PS5 and PC later this year, is oftentimes considered the standard for these “choices matter” games.We even predicted in 2015that Until Dawn would redefine the interactive genre, and more than a decade later, it’s fair to say that it has. And if you’re looking for another game to scratch that choice-making itch while you wait for the remastered version to be released, there are fun and thought-provoking options out there.
10The Quarry
One Night At Summer Camp…
Release Date:
July 04, 2025
OpenCritic Score:
From Supermassive Games (that’s the same studio behind Until Dawn), The Quarry follows another unlucky group of teenagers – this time, at a summer camp. The nine characters are all camp counselors at Hackett’s Quarry, spending one final night together after sending campers home for the season. There’s booze and a bonfire-edition of Truth or Dare. What could go wrong? We won’t spoil it, but there’s a total of 186 possible endings.
This game is styled much like its predecessor. The story is divided into ten chapters and in between each chapter, there are occasional narrator intermissions, this time from a fortune-teller named Eliza. Unlike its predecessor, however, The Quarry features an online multiplayer mode, where players can vote in key (life-or-death) decisions throughout the game.
9Detroit: Become Human
What Defines Humanity?
July 23, 2025
The year is 2038. In the bustling city of Detroit, androids live among – and work for – humans. They’re caretakers, shop clerks and even police officers, but whatever their role, their primary purpose is to serve humankind. The game opens with Connor – one of three android characters you control – entering the scene of a crime. The decision-making begins almost right away, with the option to save a fish (throw it back into an aquarium) or leave it flopping uselessly on the floor. It might seem nonconsequential at first, but as the decisions keep coming, they’ll start to make sense: It’s a test of humanity.
Review: Detroit: Become Human
Though it comes off as heavy-handed at times, Detroit tells an endearing story that verges on the profound, diving deep into the nature of humanity itself.
You’ll swap perspectives from Connor, an android tasked with hunting deviant (“rebel”) androids, to Markus, a caretaker android who ultimately leads an android rebellion; and Kara, a housemaid android with close ties to the little girl she watches over. This game tells three individual and captivating stories that you guide through your own choices. Ultimately, you’ll leave the game learning what it really means to be human.
8Life is Strange
Being A Teenager is Hard
August 10, 2025
Being a teenager is hard enough, and as 18-year-old Max Caulfield learns, being a teenager while also possessing the ability to rewind time is even harder. Life is Strange is anepisodic adventure game developed by Dontnod Entertainmentin which you follow the main character, Max, who reunites with her old friend, Chloe Price. Max, who gets disturbing premonitions, must balance the day-to-day life of being a teenager with the weight of having the knowledge of oncoming disasters. Through her(your) choices, Max must grapple with the consequences of her actions.
There are plenty of choices to make that will influence the narrative, from choosing whether to answer a phone call to deciding whether to interfere and prevent a friend’s suicide attempt. This is a coming-of-age story and a powerful one at that. It’s not hard to see why it’s received so many accolades.
7As Dusk Falls
One Moment Can Change Everything
June 17, 2025
As Dusk Falls begins in the year 1998, where we’re introduced to the Walker family, made up of Vince, his wife Michelle, six-year-old daughter Zoe and Vince’s father, Jim. After getting into a car accident on the way to their new home in Missouri, the family seeks refuge at a motel: the Desert Dream. There, the family is taken hostage by the Holt brothers – Tyler, Dale and Jay – who are reeling after a botched burglary. The first half of the game follows the hostage situation, and as you swap perspectives between Vince and Jay, you’ll make decisions that will impact both families for years to come.
Review: As Dusk Falls
As Dusk Falls – if a little hap-hazard on execution and relatively safe on the gameplay front – does fortunately get the basics right.
The second half of that game follows the fallout of those decisions – it’s 2012, meaning enough time has passed for Zoe, that little girl from the start of the game, to be a grown woman. you may see how the choices you made in the first half of the game are still impacting these families fourteen years later. No pressure.
6Beyond: Two Souls
Elliot Page, William Dafoe Star In Action-Packed Story
July 11, 2025
In Beyond: Two Souls, another interactive game by Quantic Dream (the minds behind Detroit: Become Human, also mentioned on this list), you follow Jodie Holmes, a girl born with a connection to a mysterious entity that enables her to perform telepathic acts. Through a journey that’s filled with conflict, run-ins with the United States Department of Paranormal Activity and CIA, and yes – countless decision-making – you will ultimately determine Jodie’s fate.
What makes this game shine is its impressive cast: Elliot Page plays Jodie and William Dafoe plays Nathan Dawkins, Jodie’s guardian and mentor. Both Dafoe and Page bring that big Hollywood star power to each motion-captured scene.
5Life is Strange: True Colors
A New Adventure Deserves Its Own Mention
August 15, 2025
Yes, we might already have a Life is Strange title on this list, but with True Colors' compelling and beautifully styled return to the franchise, it deserves a mention of its own. True Colors, which launched in 2021, is self-described as a new era for the Life is Strange franchise. Here we follow a new protagonist: Alex Chen, a young woman who possesses the ability to experience, absorb and manipulate the emotions of those around her. Shortly after moving to the fictional Haven Springs, Colorado, to live with her brother Gabe, he winds up dead, and Alex must use her powers to discover the truth behind his death.
Review: Life is Strange: True Colors
Life is Strange: True Colors is still a sweet, heartfelt journey to a quaint neck of the woods that’s worth taking.
Much like past installments in the Life is Strange franchise, True Colors' story is organized by chapters, and along the way, you’ll make decisions that will uncover what really happened to Alex’s brother and what dark secrets are hiding in Haven Springs. There are six different possible endings in True Colors, so choose wisely.
4The Wolf Among Us
August 04, 2025
The Wolf Among Us is now more than a decade old, but its choice-based narrative stands the test of time. The five-episode thriller is based on the Fables comic book series, but you don’t need to be ultra familiar with the comics to enjoy this game.
You play as Bigby Wolf – yes,theBig Bad Wolf – the sheriff of Fabletown. Each episode consists of various creatures from fairy tales and folklore, and as Bigby Wolf, you are tasked with investigating a series of murders. Along the way, you will interact with characters like Beauty and the Beast; Colin, one of the Three Little Pigs; Tweedledee and Tweedledum; and others. Now’s a great time to relive The Wolf Among Us story because a sequel,The Wolf Among Us 2, is set to be released later this year, after several setbacks.
3The Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes
Not Quite ‘Until Dawn,’ But Still Plenty of Fun
July 17, 2025
The Dark Pictures Anthology is a four-part series, also produced by Supermassive Games. While most entries are widely considered to be underwhelming compared to Until Dawn,House of Ashes is a standout star from the rest. (Other entries in the Dark Pictures Anthology include 2019’s Man of Medan, 2020’s Little Hope and 2022’s The Devil in Me, in case you were wondering.)
House of Ashes is set during the 2003 invasion of Iraq and follows five characters – five American soldiers and one Iraqi soldier – who end up trapped in an underground temple being hunted by vampire-like creatures. The goal: get out alive. What makes House of Ashes so fun is that there are hundreds (yes,hundreds) of possible endings.
A 2D Supernatural Adventure
August 15, 2025
Oxenfree is a choice-based supernatural thriller that follows a group of friends who unwittingly open an other-worldly rift while visiting the fictional Edwards Island. You play as Alex, a blue-haired teenager, who while exploring a cave with her brother Jonas, comes across a strange object. Attempting to tune the object with her pocket radio, she accidentally unleashes a supernatural force, and soon realizing the graveness of the situation, she must help her brother and friends get home safely.
Review: Oxenfree
Oxenfree is a beautiful, if imperfect, adventure told through the relatable eyes of a teenager and one of the year’s first remarkable releases.
What sets this game apart is not how action-packed it is – in fact, the gameplay loop amounts to little more than walking and dialogue, but that’s where Oxenfree shines. The dialogue options matter and will impact Alex’s relationship with her friends throughout the game. Visually, they’re also presented in a fun and unique way. Speech bubbles appear over Alex’s head at different points as you play, and at the same time, you can still move around the world. Unlike most other choice-based games, you’re not “locked in” until you select a dialogue option, and you can choose when and how to reply to the conversation.
1Slay The Princess
Your Princess is in This Castle
July 03, 2025
This game is strikingly different from every other suggestion on this list and it’s also one of the most recent. Slay the Princess is a twist on the damsel-in-distress archetype: instead of saving the princess, your goal here is to kill her. It won’t be easy. She’ll do everything in her power to stop you, using equal parts charm and violence.
You advance the game through hand-drawn scenes, selecting dialogue and action options along the way to determine how the story unfolds. An unseen narrator will pitch in from time to time, trying to influence the choices you make, but what you decide on is ultimately up to you. An expanded version of the base game, titled The Pristine Cut, is set to be released later this year, promising additional chapters and other expansions.
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