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Does anyone else get annoyed when your choices don't actually matter?

It does'nt bother me, but of course i prefer if the the choice is really matter.
 
I remember playing a game that had an option allowing players to choose a solution to a problem. But in reality, there was only one solution. If you chose something else, the character's inner monologue would explain why the other options wouldn't work, and the story would then proceed using the only viable solution.

I don't like these "fake choices" that use inner monologues to force a "correction."
 
Depends on how often it happens honestly, if it's just 2 or 3 times throughout the whole game I barely notice. But if it keeps happening over and over then yeah it gets annoying
 
I'm not a big fan of them, it always makes a second playthrough of a VN that much more disappointing when you find out the choice didn't matter at all.
 
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omg yessss, i actually enjoy choices to have an impact in the routes, for them not to have it is actually kind of boring for me. I enjoy the drama behind choosing something, and i do get dissapointed when the choices have no real impact for the story. It annoys me to have choices when the story doesn't change depending on the story, i mean, there are pretty good games with a linear story that don't need the option of taking decisions and that doesn't affect my experience but to be honest, it's annoying to not have 'power' in a game supposed to be interactive.
Mechat is a good example for both escenaries (having choices that affect anything or actually choices that change everything), most of my matches have pretty good stories! yet there are few times where the choices you make actually makes you get a bad ending or something similar. It annoys me but i let it slide because of the interesting plot of the route. Give me more games with choices that have real impact in the story! That's one of the reasons i love Slow Damage so much, you can really mess everything up if you don't choose the right option
 
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Honestly, I feel like so many games are like this... They're not otome games, but Baldur's Gate 3 or the Dragon Age series have choices that heavily impact the story, so definitely check them out if you're interested!
 
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In a way, yes, especially when there are many interesting choices that end up making no difference whatsoever.

I usually play games with multiple endings, so if I play a game with one ending and there are choices that I know in a different game would give me a different ending, I get even more frustrated, but not angry, it's more like "Why is this here? It makes no difference at all haha." ꉂ(˵˃ ᗜ ˂˵)

I like to see that my choices have weight and make a difference. When a character remembers a choice I made at the beginning of the game, especially if it's a romance choice, it makes me more immersed.

The illusion of choice is terribly bad and sometimes it seems like the author is just padding the story with nothing just to make it longer or seem deeper than it is. ( ,,⩌'︿'⩌ꐦ,,)
 
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Don't even remind me of the many games where one is THE right choice whilst the other is just a dead end where I'm punished for funsies.
 
Yeah :( Feels like maybe then it just didn't need to be there; I'd rather have fewer choices but have them be meaningful
 
A bit. Purposely, there should be matter, big or small, to story when there are choices to choose. At the same, I'm kind of fine with it because it would be stressful to choose. Game is meant to be fun and entertaining. Being stressed because of playing game isn't futile.
But this is just me through. For someone who wants a challenge, they would love to play that kind of game.
 
I'm ok with linear plots, but when they're explicitly stated as such... It's kind of like reading a book and can be fun🤔 It depends on my mood, though, and also on the execution of the said plot. With choice-less choices sometimes the devs want you to play a very specific version of the story, to the point of the endings not being that different from one another, which is alright, but why bother making the options look significant then?.. And sometimes the story is just reallyyy bland and nothing happens ever.
Of course, I'm not expecting any game to give me a hundred drastically different endings depending on every small choice, so it's more about the result of my choices being illogical or not triggering more than 1-2 uninteresting dialogue lines... But maybe, just maybe, all this is a sign of poor writing😔
I really like the way the not-story-defining choices are executed in OVER REQUIEMZ, for example - I don't have to worry about getting the wrong ending because of a silly choice, but it still feels impactful and refreshing...
 
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This reminds me a bit of why I got super frustrated with Danganronpa (especially with its writer), most of his games are more 'false' choices than any that put any weight on the story. For example, no matter how close you get or talk to the character who is going to kill someone in the game or die, talking to him doesn't change the outcome at all, and that's the case throughout the entire game. Of course, the game would be much more complex if it actually changed those details, it would take twice the work, but every game that his writer works on always leaves a bitter taste in my mouth when I finish it.

For example, Detroit is one of those games that shows how your actions have consequences, it even gives you more chances to 'fix' the mistake. Or even the more recent BG3, which is practically like in a tabletop RPG, what you do always comes back to you. I think the general point of the story is that if your choices aren't going to impact much, being a straightforward story without any choices would be great.
 
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Personally, I always go blind on my first playthrough and just follow my gut, then look up guides on subsequent runs to unlock all the endings. But I absolutely despise that lazy design where no matter what you chose over dozens of hours, the ending only depends on a split-second decision at the very end. It makes me feel like a complete clown for taking the story and choices so seriously. It's just a massive slap in the face to the players.
 
I hate when my choices don't matter beyond picking a route. Why even add them then? Just make buttons with the love interests' names and don't waste my time.
What I like most are games that determine the heroine's personality based on the dialogue options chosen. Without locking out love interests, though. I want the freedom to choose exactly how I flirt with the character I'm interested in.
 
Yep, it's annoying. Like why they even ask if it doesn't matter? And eve worse- when there is only one right choice and all the others - just dead ends...
 
For me, I think it depends on the game. If the game has a lot of choices then I wouldn't mind if some of the choices don't matter because I can freely pick what I want, like the one I would pick if I was in that situation haha. Also, it's nice to see the small changes in dialogue based on the choice you picked. If the game doesn't have that many choices to begin with then yes, I get annoyed when choices don't matter. I get even more annoyed when the choices given to you are really similar or I'm not sure why the choice that raises affection is the right one lol.
 
Yes, the lack of options bothers me too, which is why I mostly quit Handsome Laundering and other otome games of that style.
 
I always follow walkthroughs so I don't think about the choices too much, but when I do notice that some options are essentially meaningless, it does upset me a bit.
 
I honestly feel like in most of the otome games I have played, the choices don't have that much of an effect which annoys me. I loved the choose your own adventure books as a kid, so as an adult, I still crave that interactive and my choice is meaningful aspect. So I kinda have been switching my time between mobile VNs and otome games because I find that in the mobile VNs I play, the choices actually matter a lot more
 
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I guess being the type to rely on guides kinda makes me a little immune to this? I walk in with some expectations set, that way you can kind of tell if a release is going to be a bit more linear than not! I do like the meta aspect of choices as a whole, though... affection parameters, the specific parts of the story where there's branching taking place, etc. Games where every choice matters are exciting though; feels more personalized for sure, so I get why people would gravitate towards that!
 
Honestly, yes and no. If it doesn't affect the story at all, it bothers and infuriates me that no matter what you choose or say, your opinion is never taken into account. Sometimes, even when you could avoid choosing stupid or embarrassing options (they're just pixels, but I'm still embarrassed), they don't let you choose, and the protagonist always picks the worst possible one. I absolutely hate that it seems like no matter what you choose, they always follow the same path; the only things that change are the routes or the endings. Sometimes there are scenes like, "Will you participate in the contest?" and if you say yes or no, they'll make you participate even if you said no. How infuriating is that? I don't mind if they're serious, but the fact that the most random option isn't considered, like going to do something embarrassing and still choosing the least embarrassing option, they insist on making you do something embarrassing.
And yes, I'm sorry, I know they're pixels, but my feelings are complicated because I do feel shame, fear, etc., even though I don't want to.
:akazukin_down:
 
Quite annoying. I like choice matter because how the story is changing by what your choices is. I can explore deeply to different ending and routes which makes it really fun for your gameplay experience.
 
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