Not everyRPGhero wants to pledge allegiance to a faction, kingdom, or cause. Sometimes, the most compelling path isthe one where you side with no one.
There are certainly many instances where I felt that my own values outweighed the ambitions of the factions around me. Unfortunately, a lot of RPGs force players to choose a side.
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Being able to choose your own path, or even no path at all, is a rarity. That’s a pity since I thinkit undermines player agency.
Whether you’re walking the line to preserve your independence or dismantling the system entirely, I’ve put together a list of the best RPGs that reward players who embrace ambiguity.
To find the best RPGs, we only looked at games that classify as RPGs and that have a clear choice where players can reject factions and sides while maintaining neutrality.
10Mass Effect 3
Reject The Catalyst And Starchild
Mass Effect 3
Fextralife Wiki
BioWare’sMass Effect 3delivers a powerful sci-fi finale where players shape the galaxy’s fate through moral choices and branching narratives. Amongits multiple endings, one stands out for letting Shepard remain neutral: the Refusal Ending.
Introduced in the Extended Cut DLC, this hidden path has Shepard reject all of the Catalyst’s proposed solutions, declaring that organics must forge their own path without compromise.
It’s a grim outcome. Shepard’s forces are wiped out, and the Reaper cycle continues. I’ll admit, I’ve never had the guts to pick it.
Still, it’s the only ending where Shepard sides with no one, embodying resistance over resolution. It’s not a happy ending, but it’s a bold, defiant stand rooted in human stubbornness.
9The Outer Worlds
The Outer Worlds
InThe Outer Worlds, a satirical sci-fi RPG, you can side with rebel scientist Phineas Welles, the corrupt Board, or carve out your own bizarre path.Emphasis on bizarre.
By setting your Intelligence to “Below Average” at character creation, you unlock unique [Dumb] dialogue options. Late in the game, when it’s time to hijack a colony ship and jump it to safety, most players rely on the ship’s AI.
But with low Intelligence, you’re able to take the wheel yourself and fly the ship directly into the sun.
It’s absurd, hilarious, and oddly fitting. It’s a chaotic refusal to engage that still counts as agency.
This is the only way to earn the “Sunburn” achievement.
8The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Neutrality Lets The Bigger Evil Win
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
As a longtime fan of The Witcher books and franchise, I can say its core message is clear: staying neutral lets evil win. InThe Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Geralt is meant to avoid politics and just slay monsters—but let’s be honest here,few people stick to that.
That said, playerscanguide him down a neutral path: refusing to support Nilfgaard (or anyone for that matter), avoiding influence in Skellige’s succession, even rejecting both Triss and Yennefer to keep Geralt alone.
But these choicescome at a cost. Siding with no one often leads to bleak outcomes—Skellige’s future is radically altered, and Geralt ends up isolated.
Neutrality inThe Witcher 3isn’t heroic or wise; it’s a cold refusal that reflects Sapkowski’s deeper theme. Failing to act is still a choice, and it rarely ends well.
7Cyberpunk 2077
Taking One For The Team So Everyone Survives
Cyberpunk 2077
InCyberpunk 2077,a game built on choices and alliances, one ending lets you reject them all:the Path of Least Resistance.
V quietly accepts their fate without the presence of their loved one or any of the friends they made along the way. You toss Johnny’s pills, share a final moment, and avoid risking anyone else.
There’s no climactic battle, no big betrayal. Just the city fading into the distance, anda single gunshot.
It’s the loneliest ending in the game, but also the most independent. V asks for nothing, plays into no one’s plan, andwalks away on their own terms.
It’s plenty bleak, but in a world built on manipulation, it’s a striking act of neutrality.
6Disco Elysium
Reject All Ideologies And Become A Boring Common Man
Disco Elysium
Disco Elysiumhurls ideologies at you—fascism, communism, ultraliberalism, moralism—all fighting for space in yourbroken detective mind.
But you don’t have to pick one. you may stay undecided, refuse to internalize any doctrine, and skip thePolitical Vision Questsentirely. While you’ll miss out on some pretty interesting quests, it is completely possible to reject everything.
It’s not bold or glorious, but that’s the point. In a world drowning in dogma, doing nothing becomes its own quiet rebellion. Or it only reinforces the really sad life that Harry is living.
It’s a sad, fading kind of neutrality—but in Disco Elysium, that still counts as a story worth telling. And, from a certain perspective,choosing to reject what society wants to cram down your throatcould be seen as heroic.
5Fallout: New Vegas
Become A Wild Card And Reject The Legion And House
Fallout: New Vegas
Fallout: New Vegasis full of flawed power players—NCR, Caesar’s Legion, Mr. House—but you don’t have to serve any of them.
The Wild Cardpath, unlocked by siding with the Yes Man, lets the Courier take control. You eject the NCR, crush the Legion, scrap House, and decide which tribes thrive or disappear.
It’s not freedom handed to you. It’s freedom taken through blood, strategy, and pure independence.
New Vegas doesn’t punish you for rejecting every path. Itrewardsit. The Mojave won’t crown you, but it will bow if you’re bold enough to claim it.
That freedom to shape the Wastelandon your own termsis exactly why New Vegas remains one ofthe most beloved entries in the Fallout series.
Taking the Wild Card path will also unlock the Wild Card achievement.
4Deus Ex: Human Revolution
Let Humanity Take The Wheel And Destroy Panchaea
Deus Ex: Human Revolution
InDeus Ex: Human Revolution, you’re Adam Jensen, a man rebuilt by the very tech dividing humanity. Ultimately, you’re faced with a pretty big choice that could impact society, but one choice stands apart:destroy Panchaea and say nothing.
This choice has Jensen refusing to side with any of the factions in the game. Instead, you choose to have faith in humanity. You erase the message and the messengers,refusing to shape the narrative.
Jensen’s final words are quiet but resolute: humanity should choose its own path, even after disaster. It’s the game’s only true neutral ending. You walk away from influence, choosing faith over control. Jensen doesn’t preach, spin, or interfere. He just does what he believes is right.
And that’s what makes Human Revolutiona standout RPG.It trusts players to reject every side and still make a meaningful choice.
3Planescape: Torment
Will Yourself Out Of Existence To Escape Fate
Planescape: Torment
I’m not sure I’ll ever play another game likePlanescape: Torment—a dark, psychological RPG with mechanicsas strange as they are brilliant.
At one point, I literally convinced a man out of existence. It’sthatsort of cerebral and strange. But in this world, siding with no one, even yourself, is a valid path.
The game ultimately offers three endings with several different flavorings on top. you’re able to reconcile with who you were, reject yourself and become something worse, or take the true neutral route—cut your life short withthe Blade of the Immortals.
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You can also technically will yourself out of existence, too, but that requires extremely high stats. Most players will find the Blade the more accessible option.
It’s the only ending where you don’t align with anyone—not even your own past. In a game built around the question, “What can change the nature of a man?” this path quietly answers, “Only himself.”
Take The Anarchist’s Path And Bow To No One
InTyranny, you’re meant to conquer, but that doesn’t necessarily mean for anyone else. The Anarchist path lets you reject Kyros, the armies, the rebels—basicallyeveryone.
By turning against all factions before Act I ends, you seize the Spires, refuse alliances, and carve your own brutal future. Keep in mind that by betraying the factions before Act I, you’re basically committingRed-Wedding-level betrayal here.
That said, you’re no longer taking orders from anyone. Conquering is now all done in your name, but you’ll have to be pretty strong or smart to claim all the Tiers and hold them.
Now, the ending of Tyranny is cold and lonely if you choose to walk down the Anarchist path. Cities burn, old powers fall, and the world darkens, but you survive.You rise.
It’s a perfect game for players who want full control of their story, even if that story leaves the world in ruins.
1Baldur’s Gate 3
Who Needs Allies With A Tadpole In Your Head
Baldur’s Gate 3
Baldur’s Gate 3offers stunning freedom thatemulates the DnD experience pretty well, letting you approach situations however you want—even if that means siding with no one.
Early in Act II, you can have Gale detonate himself to destroy the Absolute, along with everyone else, including you. There aren’t any alliances or backups here.Just one final, fatal choice.
Later, if you don’t choose to sacrifice Gale to end the Absolute on your own terms, you can seize control and become the Absolute yourself. It’s not a happy ending, but it’s pure, bloody independence. Few allies will stand with you, but the power is entirely your own.
Whether through sacrifice or domination, these endings showcasetrue player agency. You reject every side, and the game lets you.
Sometimes siding with nobody means ending up completely alone, and Baldur’s Gate 3 is bold enough to let you walk that path.
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