Player choice. The golden promise of modern gaming. We’re led to believe that every dialogue option, every decision, every fork in the road is shaping a unique experience tailored to our every whim. The marketing tells us, ‘Your choices matter!’ and we dutifully nod along, convinced that we, the players, are the puppet masters of our own virtual destinies.

Except, more often than not, we’re not.

Let’s be honest—how many times have you spent ages agonising over a choice in a game, only to find out later that it barely affected the story? Or that two seemingly ‘opposite’ choices led to the exact same outcome? That’s because a lot of the time games aren’t actually offering us true agency. They’re just really, really good at making us think we have it.

So, let’s pull back the curtain on one of gaming’s greatest illusions: the myth of meaningful choice.

The Illusion of Choice: How It Works

Most games operate on what I like to call ‘The Wizard of Oz Principle’. This refers to the design technique where games create the illusion of player choice and agency while actually guiding players down a predetermined path. Much like the Wizard of Oz himself, who appeared all-powerful but was just a man behind a curtain pulling levers, these games make you feel like you’re shaping the story—when in reality, the game has already decided most of the outcomes for you.

Game designers achieve this illusion in a few different ways:

1. The Same Ending, Different Flavour
   A classic trick. You think your choices are leading to wildly different conclusions, but when you strip away the surface details, they all funnel into the same core ending. Mass Effect 3 is infamous for this—three different endings, all essentially the same thing in a different colour filter. (Look, mum, I made a difference!)
2. Dialogue Choices That Go Nowhere
   Ever picked the ‘mean’ dialogue option and found that it barely changes the conversation? That’s because a lot of RPGs use what’s called a ‘golden path’ approach—meaning, no matter how rude or kind you are, the conversation has to funnel back into the same key story beats. Take The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim—you can tell an NPC to go jump off High Hrothgar, and they’ll still offer you a quest five minutes later like nothing happened.
3. False Morality Systems
   Oh, you chose to save the villagers instead of letting them burn? Here’s +10 Good Boy Points. But does it actually change anything? Often, no. Morality systems in games like Fable and Infamous tend to be binary, where you’re either a cartoonishly good hero or an unhinged villain, but the actual consequences? They’re mostly aesthetic. Maybe your character gets cool glowing eyes. Maybe the NPCs cheer or boo when you walk past. But the plot? Still moving in the same direction.
4. Telltale’s ‘X Will Remember That’ Trick
   The Telltale Games era perfected this. The message pops up in the corner—‘Clementine will remember that.’ And you think, Oh god, what have I done? But in reality, Clementine was always going to remember something, and the writers were always going to steer the story toward predetermined key events. The illusion is convincing, but at the end of the day, your choices mostly dictate how a character reacts, not what actually happens.

When Games Actually Get It Right

Now, to be fair, not all games are guilty of tricking us. Some truly do offer meaningful choice—decisions that ripple through the world in significant ways. A few standouts:

• Disco Elysium – A rare RPG where your choices dramatically shape your character’s personality, skills, and interactions. Your entire approach to the game can shift depending on your choices, leading to vastly different experiences.
• The Witcher 3 – While some choices are aesthetic, many of them do lead to drastically different outcomes. The fates of major characters, entire cities, even Geralt’s own ending can change depending on your actions.
• Fallout: New Vegas – Unlike its more railroaded Bethesda siblings, New Vegas lets you align with different factions, backstab key players, and genuinely shift the balance of power in the Mojave Wasteland.

These games don’t just offer superficial choice—they weave it into the gameplay and narrative in a way that makes it feel real.

Does It Actually Matter?

Here’s the thing—just because a choice is an illusion doesn’t necessarily mean it’s bad. Sometimes, we want the illusion. The feeling of agency, even if it’s not completely real, is often enough to make us feel more engaged. After all, games are about immersion, not actual free will.

But it’s when a game promises meaningful choice and fails to deliver that things start to fall apart (looking at you again, Mass Effect 3). If a game wants to sell itself on player agency, then it needs to commit to that concept—not just sprinkle in the occasional dialogue tree and call it a day.

The Trick We Keep Falling For

Games have been pulling this trick for decades, and guess what? We keep falling for it. Every time a developer promises ‘choices that matter,’ we nod, we believe, we get excited. And then, ten hours in, we realise we’ve been gently herded into the same major plot beats as everyone else.

But here’s the real question: do we actually care? Or is it enough that, in the moment, we feel like we’re making a difference? Maybe, just maybe, the illusion is the fun part.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to restart Skyrim for the hundredth time and pretend my choices actually matter.