Do Choices Actually Matter?

[Baron Robie]

I'm ~9 hours in and choices do not appear to matter at all; it is very linear. I love the game, but the hype seems overblown. I'm hoping this is because I'm still in the "intro" phase and things branch out.

Without spoilers please (I'm on day 2 in the same area as where you start), does this game branch out or is it basically run around to different people, connecting the same dots? Thanks in advance.

[Stabbey]

You're solving a murder. The murder happens the same way no matter what your choices in character development are, and the killer is the same, the suspects are the same, the progression of the investigation is generally the same (there will be variations depending on what skill checks your detective can pass).

I would say that no, this is not a game with significant branching. The branches all end up converging back at certain points.

[James]

choices don't matter in this game... or any game... or real life

[jack_of_tears]

I've been playing a second playthrough wearing one shoe and no shirt, and after a couple hours no one has mentioned it, once. On the other side of that, I punched a kid and tried to shoot a little girl, so I am hoping those have some kind of impact.

[Naijiro]

Choices do indeed matter, for example, I went into a certain scene without a weapon, and multiple characters were killed off for good, and though out the remainder of the storyline my character kept commenting on their pain.

I'd say the main plot kinda stays the same, but choices in the sense of how much knowledge you have going into a situation, or who lives or dies, or what you notice about certain things.

[LDiCesare]

The choice of putting zero points in shivers matters a lot, since that will prevent you from finishing the game.

[a Gabriel! Santos, Mariano.]

Originally posted by thefollowingcharacters:

This is a ROLE playing game. You play a role. How good of a detective are you? Will Harry be a person who can recover, or is he doomed to wallow in his own excesses and pain?

Those choices matter very much. Are you merely pursuing the story, or are you pursuing the role?

Originally posted by Sisyphus:

Reactivity =/= story branching. Your choices greatly impact Harry and his perception of the world and interaction with others. It's the Planescape Torment style of character building, where it's an internal process rather than the external one of almost every other RPG.

Thanks for spoiling his hairy name.

[Boomstar]

I mean yes? But like just because you are always jerking off about communism isn't going to change how the case goes. But the game does acknowledge it.

[Metalhead123]

The game seems to force you to do at least some side quests, so you get more xp so you level up so you can put points into a check that is tough. These tough checks are required to advance the story.. The game is trying to make you explore in an open world type of setting meaning your skills will become stronger, so you can move on with the story. In my opinion its not linear at all but it's the age old thing of doing fetch quests going back and forth from scenes you have seen multiple times. It gets boring quite quickly.

[Aria Athena]

Originally posted by jack_of_tears:

I've been playing a second playthrough wearing one shoe and no shirt, and after a couple hours no one has mentioned it, once. On the other side of that, I punched a kid and tried to shoot a little girl, so I am hoping those have some kind of impact.

I was wearing no shirt and no shoes for a whole day. The little girl outside the bookshop commented on me running around shirtless and Kim wondered how did I manage to wander around all day without shoes.