10 RPGs that Reinvent Themselves Halfway Through
- Dragon Age: Inquisition
Dragon Age: Inquisition is a game that takes a major shift halfway through, with players being called upon to aid either the Templars or the Mages. Choosing one faction will condemn the other and establish which villainous faction will haunt you throughout the rest of your playthrough. Following this major main story quest, your home of Haven will be besieged by the forces of 'The Elder One', easily dispatching you and your forces with ease. It's also here that we learn the perpetrator who opened the breach in the sky and blew up the chantry is, in fact, an ancient Tevinter Mage turned Darkspawn called Corypheus.
Left alone in the cold with your forces depleted, your wise and Egg-like companion Solas guides your people to their new home: the Skyhold, a nearly impenetrable fortress. The game here takes a major shift as, not only is your main hub entirely different, but you're not introduced to the major foes you'll face throughout the rest of your playthrough. It's also from this point onwards that you'll officially be named the Inquisitor, rather than the Herald of Andraste everyone has been dubbing you, cementing your role as leader for the remainder of the game.
- Final Fantasy VI
Final Fantasy VI had one of the most impressive rug pulls in any JRPG at its time. Throughout the first half of the game, you believe you're building up towards an epic confrontation with the emperor Gestahl and his evil empire. After the devious villain breaks his ceasefire and invades the Esper's home town, capturing them in Magicite. Here, they also find the Warring Triad, and raise the continent into the skies harnessing their power.
As we believe we're gearing up for a major boss fight, Kefka, in his deviancy, murders Gestahl and takes control of the Warring Triad. With their balance disrupted, the Warring Triad's power unleashes a major cataclysmic strike onto the earth below, destroying entire cities and reshaping continents. With your airship destroyed in the ensuing chaos, scattering your party across the world, the game effectively hard resets itself for a depressing second half.
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is filled with plot twists and subversion's that entirely change how players see the game. The earliest example of this comes right after the game's introduction, as your entire Expedition is wiped out by a man well above the age of being Gommaged.
A few hours after this, we'd be hoodwinked again as Gustave, our beloved protagonist and all-around good guy, is effortlessly slaughtered by the same old man in an effort to save Maelle. Immediately after this event, we're introduced to Verso, who becomes the new party leader in place of Gustave. It's these chains of events that would be enough to qualify the game for this list, however, it's the major reveal towards the end of Act 2 that changes everything you know about the game.
- Divinity: Original Sin 2
Divinity: Original Sin 2 is a game where Act 1 can feel like an entire game. At least, that's what I keep telling myself on my fiftieth run before abandoning the playthrough partway into Act 2.
- Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is already a stellar RPG set within the Star Wars universe, but its infamous plot twist is what's kept it a mainstay with RPG fans to this day.
- Bloodborne
Bloodborne first starts with the Gothic horror premise of you hunting down monsters and other hunters who have become monsters themselves. But as you keep playing, gaining more insight into the events of the game (and literally 'Insight' the stat), you come to learn that there's a more sinister cosmic force pulling the strings.
- Deus Ex
Deus Ex is a game that speaks to themes like transhumanism, surveillance, and how capitalism can corrupt institutions, and no single plot point reinforces this more than its mid-game twist.
- Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Fire Emblem: Three Houses initially starts as a lighthearted JRPG where you train child soldiers and send them off to war, but eventually becomes a story about religion, class, and oppression, and the need to reform the institutions that enforce them.
- World of Warcraft: Cataclysm
World of Warcraft's third expansion, Cataclysm, gave the world of Azeroth a huge makeover, much to the dismay of fans. The expansion would see Deathwing the Destroyer enter Azeroth through Deepholm, fracturing the World Pillar and causing the Elemental Plane to start collapsing onto Azeroth.
- Slay the Princess
Slay the Princess starts off with many questions, although it seems no different than your usual anti-trope indie game that wants you to kill a princess rather than save her. This radically changes after your first run, however, as you'll find yourself stuck in a loop, with new voices appearing each run, as well as a princess whose disposition can radically change depending on your choices.
