Not every hero in a role-playing game (RPG) is eager to align themselves with a specific faction, kingdom, or ideology. Occasionally, the most intriguing journey is the one that leads you to stand apart from everyone.
Throughout my gaming experiences, there have been countless moments where my personal principles overshadowed the ambitions of surrounding factions. Unfortunately, many RPGs tend to force players into making difficult choices about allegiances.
The ability to forge your own path—or even avoid commitment altogether—is increasingly rare, which is unfortunate because it can significantly diminish the sense of player agency.
Whether you are striving for independence or seeking to dismantle the system, here’s a curated list of the top RPGs that celebrate players embracing the grey areas of morality.
To compile this list, we exclusively considered games categorized as RPGs that allow players to shun factions and maintain a neutral stance.
10 Mass Effect 3
Reject The Catalyst and Starchild
In BioWare’s climactic installment of the Mass Effect trilogy, players steer the galaxy’s destiny through intricate moral decisions. One particular conclusion, the Refusal Ending, enables Shepard to remain neutral.
This hidden route, introduced in the Extended Cut DLC, sees Shepard dismissing the Catalyst’s proposed solutions, asserting that organics should navigate their own direction without compromise.
Although this ending leads to grim consequences—Shepard’s forces are obliterated and the Reaper cycle endures—it’s a powerful stance of defiance rooted in willfulness.
9 The Outer Worlds
Choose the Dumb Option and Bury Your Head in the Sun
The Outer Worlds combines humor and depth as it presents players with choices among factions, including an eccentric twist where you can embrace chaos instead of conformity. By lowering your Intelligence at character creation, you can unlock absurd [Dumb] dialogue options.
In a pivotal moment, instead of relying on the ship’s AI to hijack a colony ship, a low-Intelligence player can fly straight into the sun. It’s a hilarious and chaotic display of rebellion against engagement.
This unconventional path is also the only method to earn the “Sunburn”achievement.
8 The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Neutrality Lets the Bigger Evil Win
As a dedicated follower of The Witcher series, it is clear that the underlying message is: neutrality leads to malevolence triumphing. In The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Geralt aims to avoid politics and focus on monster slaying—but let’s be honest, very few players adhere strictly to this idea.
However, players can pursue a neutral course by refusing to align with the Nilfgaardians, steering clear of the Skelligan succession struggles, or even rejecting both romantic interests, Triss and Yennefer, to keep Geralt solitary.
These decisions, however, come with dire consequences. A lack of action often results in chilling outcomes, such as the dramatic alterations to Skellige’s future and Geralt’s eventual isolation.
In The Witcher 3, neutrality isn’t presented as noble; instead, it reveals a harsh reality: failing to engage signifies a critical choice that often leads to dismal resolutions.
7 Cyberpunk 2077
Taking One for the Team so Everyone Survives
In the world of Cyberpunk 2077, a game defined by its choices and allegiances, one ending allows you to reject all relationships: the Path of Least Resistance.
Here, V silently accepts their fate devoid of companions or allies. They toss Johnny’s pills, share a final heart-wrenching moment, and sidestep the risk of endangering others.
There’s no grand confrontation or betrayal—just the city slipping away, culminating in a solitary gunshot.
This ending, though somber, embodies ultimate independence. V demands nothing from anyone, refrains from executing anyone’s plan, and leaves on their own terms.
6 Disco Elysium
Reject All Ideologies and Become a Boring Common Man
Disco Elysium presents a wide array of conflicting ideologies—from fascism to communism and beyond—all clamoring for attention in your troubled detective mind.
However, there is no necessity to choose a side. Players can consciously remain undecided, opting not to internalize any ideology and completely bypass the Political Vision Quests. While this approach can result in the absence of fascinating quests, the ability to refuse everything is entirely feasible.
This choice may not seem grand or admirable, but therein lies its significance. In a world overwhelmed by dogmatism, taking no action becomes its own subtle form of defiance. Alternatively, it may further emphasize the tragic life Harry is leading.
This poignant neutrality is still a narrative worth exploring. From a particular perspective, the act of rejecting societal expectations might even be perceived as courageous.
5 Fallout: New Vegas
Become a Wild Card and Reject the Legion and House
In Fallout: New Vegas, players encounter a landscape populated with flawed power players like the NCR, Caesar’s Legion, and Mr. House, but you have the opportunity to stand apart from them all.
The Wild Card route, available through siding with the Yes Man, permits the Courier to assume control of the Mojave. You can take down the NCR, obliterate the Legion, dismantle House, and dictate the fate of various tribes.
This isn’t just freedom handed over; it’s freedom fought for through strategy and sheer independence.
Unlike many other titles, New Vegas doesn’t penalize players for dismissing all established paths. Instead, it offers a rewarding experience. The Mojave may not crown you, but it will inevitably yield to true boldness.
Choosing the Wild Card path will also unlock the Wild Card achievement.
4 Deus Ex: Human Revolution
Let Humanity Take the Wheel and Destroy Panchaea
As Adam Jensen in Deus Ex: Human Revolution, you navigate a complex societal landscape shaped by technology. The game culminates in critical choices that can ultimately influence society, with one standout option: destroy Panchaea and choose silence.
This particular choice has Jensen opting to reject all factions, favoring faith in humanity above manipulation. He eradicates both the narrative and the purveyors of the tale, refusing to dictate the story.
In his final moments, Jensen quietly advocates for humanity’s right to choose its destiny despite adversity. This ending captures a true sense of neutrality in the game and showcases how rejecting all sides can still lead to meaningful choices.
3 Planescape: Torment
Will Yourself Out of Existence to Escape Fate
Planescape: Torment is a one-of-a-kind RPG experience, entwining psychological darkness with mechanics that are as extraordinary as they are thought-provoking.
In this narrative, players can choose to align with no one, including their past selves. The game features three main endings, each influenced by different decisions. You can reconcile with former selves, descend into an abyss, or take the truly neutral route—terminate your existence using the Blade of the Immortals.
While technically, players can will themselves out of existence, it requires impressive in-game attributes, making the Blade a more accessible option for most players.
This ending highlights the power of choice—expressing that in a game focused on the question, “What can change the nature of a man?”, the answer lies solely in that man.
2 Tyranny
Take the Anarchist’s Path and Bow to No One
Within Tyranny, you are tasked with domination—but that doesn’t necessitate doing so for anyone other than yourself. The Anarchist path allows you to defy Kyros, rebel forces, and essentially everyone else.
By betraying all factions early in the game, you seize control of the Spires, renounce alliances, and carve your own path of ruthless governance. Keep in mind that this treachery rivals the shock of the Red Wedding; not for the faint of heart.
Consequently, you become a ruler in your own right, yet you must possess considerable strength or wit to conquer and maintain the territories.
However, the Anarchist path leads to a chilling culmination: cities are laid to waste, oppressive regimes crumble, and omnipresent darkness prevails, yet you endure.You ascend.
This game is ideal for players desiring total narrative control—even if that control leads to a devastated world.
1 Baldur’s Gate 3
Who Needs Allies With a Tadpole in Your Head
Baldur’s Gate 3 excels in providing unparalleled player freedom that mirrors the Dungeons and Dragons experience, allowing for diverse approaches to various situations—even those that involve choosing to side with no one.
During Act II, a pivotal moment arises when you can command Gale to detonate himself, taking out the Absolute alongside anyone else, including your character. This scenario offers no allies or collaborative efforts; just a singular, fateful decision.
If you opt not to sacrifice Gale, you gain the option to dominate and become the Absolute yourself. While this outcome isn’t blissful, it embodies total, bloody independence.
Both endpoints exemplify true player agency, showcasing the freedom to reject all alliances at your discretion. Sometimes, pursuing the path of neutrality leads to solitude and Baldur’s Gate 3 empowers you to embrace that journey.
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