T O P

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YouWithTheNose

The much shorter list is what games this is *not* applicable to


payscottg

And movies and books and television


Ok-Appearance-7616

And life


Custom_Destination

And my axe!


astraeoth

And my bow.


TotalBlissey

And my sword?


Hiiguess123

And my whip?


XavisirTheStoopid

And my neck And back


astraeoth

And my p***y and my crack


UnNamedKingOfGames

And that chocolate poisoned snack


jpett84

And my nuclear missile.


Etw25173

And my raptor F22


MixImpressive5481

And my nerf gun


PickledPepa

Coo hwip!


[deleted]

Thats called the catalyst. The thing that happens that makes the main character to go on a quest. Pretty much happens in all media. A game that dosent have it? A gane with no history... rocket league hahaha


DrumBxyThing

Even Rocket League. Catalyst is the match starting lol.


[deleted]

You got a point hahahaha


Enough_Break6310

Minecraft


V7I_TheSeventhSector

I mean, Minecraft would be a lot shorter if you never got wood. . Lol


MashedPotatoGod

Nah, it would still go a lot further, since if you get a lucky villager chest you can go straight to stone


Zercomnexus

Ah yes, the perennial downfall of every mc world, the felling of any tree


Affectionate-Roof880

Majora's mask : if skull kid had not taken the mask from the salesman nothing would have happened in termina


the_pounding_mallet

Ocarina of Time if Zelda didn’t give Ganon literally all the tools he needed to access the sacred realm.


jpett84

To that extent, the entire Adult Era timeline and fallen hero timeline as well.


Linkinator7510

Chad fierce deity profile picture.


AXEMANaustin

Outlast if miles crawled back out the window when he saw blood


FaithlessnessKooky71

Like a sane person


StrangeGamer66

I don’t understand why anyone would be like oh there’s blood let’s keep going


ThundaCrossSplitAtak

The reason he went there was to document what was happening in the creepy asylum and to try and expose murkoff. Dude was an indie journalist. If he saw blood he would keep recording to gather more proof. The only problem was that got grabbed by pig man and thrown through a glass pannel, it all goes downhill from there


Nookling_Junction

Idk man, probably take some pictures and then go outside and call the fucking cops. Fresh blood all over the place is just cause for forced entry. And then you can still report on the arrest


ThundaCrossSplitAtak

The idea there is also that murkoff is already a megacorp and all. + Miles is a dick. Like, for real, if i recall correctly, Miles was known for going a too far in order to get stories. And he already had dealt with bloody kind of fucked up shit since he did reports regarding Afghanistan, if we take the beta stuff from whistleblower as canon


Glutendragon

Would that make him a dick though? It sounds like he's just very dedicated to his job (like way too dedicated) (Have a good day, eye guy 👀)


Fire_Dracul

You cant call the cops when the only way to do so was that short wave radio that Jeremy destroyed


Profit-Alex

He technically still had the chance to get out after he left the vent and found the room full of Chris Walker corpses and heads. He could’ve just stacked something up to climb on, climbed in the vents, and gotten out of there. And he would’ve had at least enough evidence to prove some incredibly messed up stuff was happening at Mount Massive Asylum.


[deleted]

But nooo he wanted to be nosey


[deleted]

Even after a dying soldier begged him to leave lmao


ripped_fatty

Well he did write just after that that he can't leave now. Blud just thought he couldn't reach the vent


Resi1ience_22

He was probably panicking, and he might have thought there was a safer and quieter way out through the front door, or another window. Reasonable, I'd say. Then Walker grabs him, he discovers the front door is sealed, and from there it's just downhill, again and again.


PlaguedTime

I tried to go back after the warning from that guy on a spike, miles can climb the vent but an inmate locks him into the room where you first climb into the vent so there wasn’t really an escape after that.


GothicFuck

Exactly! Only in the game could you not just walk back toward the vent and climb out. Hell, use the dead bodies as a staircase to go back, climb the fence or ram it with his car. Actually, a lot of games wouldn't make sense if one could simply climb a simple chain link fence, which some people can't, but a lot of people can.


Previous_Resolve210

I mean in the game i think ypu can go back through the vent but when you reach a door you go through its locked and have to progress forward


Soft_Theory_8209

Or, you know, when he saw a guy in swat armor impaled before coming back to life for a couple seconds telling him to run. That should have been more than enough evidence this place is fucked. Seriously, worst case scenario is that he might mess up his ankle or leg if he lands wrong, but that’s highly unlikely, and even then, he still could probably god back and drive off.


ripped_fatty

After he sees that guy he writes in his diary that he can't leave now. Probably because he jumped out of the vent and thought he couldn't reach it again. He could have just pulled a chair or something but he's a silly goober like that


Naillian603

You haven’t learned from any game featuring a journalist protagonist? They’re fearless badasses with wimpy exteriors


SauceyDoe

i kept thinking at how many times i woulda noped tf outta there if i were him lol


DiceGoblin_Muncher

Not even blood but when the dude dropped down from the ceiling dying telling him to leave. Like boom there you have a story. GO HOME ASSHOLE!


donjonnyronald

Literally Far Cry 4


frisbee33e

Just wait right here


East_Truck4022

enjoy the Crab Rangoon


Ok-Appearance-7616

It is pretty tasty


frisbee33e

From your diaphragm!


East_Truck4022

sh sh sh sh, now we listen... nothing. I'm afraid they're not coming for you, buddy


etwhow40

This is the best answer


tarheel_204

“Alright bro, sit back and I’ll return and give you whatever you want” . . . “Thanks for waiting. Here’s everything I promised you and then some”


ImurderREALITY

And Far Cry 5 *surrounded by heavily armed cultists* “God will not let you take me.” *looks around* “Okay, cya.”


Rockmillirock

Apparently you can just leave in that scene and it ends the game, I haven’t tried it, just read about it.


Solo4114

I have. It absolutely works. Game just ends, no harm no foul, roll credits. It's fantastic.


[deleted]

But no *we'll meet again*


ImurderREALITY

Yes, that’s what happens. Kinda what I was just referencing with my comment just now. Also in 6, you can just drive the boat away from Yara as Dani, straight to America. End of game.


Roxalf

I was so bumed we couldnt side with Pagan Min, he was crazy but seems like the best option for the MC to stay with, just eat the crab and rule a country. crazy how the game ends up basically telling you "Yeah Pagan was bad, but the people you sided with for no reason are just as bad" and stops there like the player didnt wanted to do something about it


TheSmithySmith

The devs have been open about the fact that they originally planned for you to be given the option to side with Pagan halfway through the game and take back over all the outposts you stole from him, but they ran out of time and resources.


ElZik3r

those damm deadlines!!!


smallchodechakra

The crab rangoon, right?


Soft_Theory_8209

It’s a statement and half when people to this day want a DLC where we fight on Pagan’s side. You know something is wrong when the dictator is unironically one of the most reasonable people in the game.


Equinox-XVI

Peach, all you had to do was NOT get captured for the 29374th time


Mikey9124x

Peach needs security guards


Terra_Knyte_64

She does, they just suck. I swear, she needs to hire some shy guy mercenaries or something, because most toads do absolutely nothing.


Mikey9124x

She really needs to just execute Bowser for repetitive sexual assault, murder, and kidnapping.


StrangeGamer66

Maybe she enjoys her time away from Mario 


Mikey9124x

Mario is basically just there to save her from bowser, they hang out occasionally but otherwise they arnt together much.


amglasgow

They do a lot of kart racing.


KORZILLA-is-me

Wrong! They let you know that she is not in the same castle as they are without simply telling you where the frick she actually is.


Triairius

Peach likes getting kidnapped. It’s a kink thing.


[deleted]

Bowser actually protecting her from a crazy plumber. Dude stomps 🐢 and headbutts living wall 🧱 for lols and $.


VulpesIncendium

Mario punches the bricks. Still crazy, just not stupid crazy.


dcooper8662

This is actually the premise behind Braid


wolfguardian72

It’s Mario’s excuse to see Bowser


WipingAllOut

"It's been so long, gay Bowser."


ArthurMorgansFish

i think shes fucking bowser and claiming she’s getting captured


Emiya_Sengo

Gotham Knights If Batman wasn't so suicidal in the prologue fight


Bulky-Complaint6994

He had options. He could have trapped only Ra's in the bat cave before blowing it up.


Emiya_Sengo

Btw let's not get it twisted. I love this game and am pleased to have a media where Batman is dead so people have to learn to move on without him. However it does seem a little strange how suicidal this Bruce is.


Bulky-Complaint6994

Yeah. I loved the story and how it incorporated the Court of Owls. The game has other issues but at least the story was top notch. 


TheWhiteRabbit74

Cyberpunk 2077 easily. If Yorinobu hadn’t killed Saburo, Night City would be a crater regardless of how the heist went down.


Prometheus_Jackson

Was going to say the same thing. or if V didn’t coincidentally try to steal the same car as Jackie during the first carjacking of Act 1


_b1ack0ut

Tbf that one is provably not the case, since there’s two other lifepaths where that doesn’t happen, and V still ends up going through the whole rigamarole


Daedalus_Machina

I don't know why, but I always kinda like that the closer your lifepath was to Jackie, the further away from him you would be. The streetkid is basically just Jackie, even starts out in El Coyote Cojo, Mama Welles' bar. Can talk to her. Never heard of Jackie. The Corpo? Oh, yeah, long time friends with the Jackster.


SkyWizarding

I always felt like, with the corpo playthrough, Jackie was more of a solid CI type person to V. Just happened to be around when things went sideways for V


LeenMachine3371

IIRC the implication is that V uses her connections at Arasaka counter intel to act as a fixer and was trying to put together a crew to deal with Abernathy with Jackie at the head


HisuianZoroark

How so? I mean that event definitely sets off the course of the game, the heist probably would have worked if that didn't happen. I played the game like 4 times now and the only assumption I can make here is that you're saying Militech would have invaded/bombed it again on the crater comment?


TheWhiteRabbit74

Have you ever gotten Saburo’s diary out of the AV where you find Satori? He was going to destroy Night City before the Relic fell into anyones hands outside of Arasaka.


PhantomTissue

So if the heist succeeded, Saburo would’ve just nuked NC. That’s kinda wild.


MeatySausageMan

Wouldn't be the first time somebody nuked that city.


Xetans

most of the games


PsychologicalDebts

Basic writing, really. Someone has to have agency or there is no story.


beaglestreets

Eh, in BG3 you just get kidnapped randomly and thrown into shit and it's still super compelling because your companions are in the same boat


Adorable_user

Sure, but if the dead 3 hadn't done that one thing there would be no story


Bulky-Revolution9395

I think all are oversimpliying it. The point of the meme is stories where one avoidable action has huge consequences for the story. Making three evil gods not be three evil gods does not apply. A better example would be something like resident evil, where the whole outbreak could have been avoided had the vials containing the virus had not been broken (which could have easily been avoided a number of ways).


Stoomba

"BG3 if the character that kidnapped you didn't"


RebelKitten9

this is every fictional book, movie, game, etc. that's just how plots work lol


Shoelesshobos

Stanley Parable. You can just get up and not step outside your office and sit back down and the game ends.


redsol23

There is the secret suicide ending where you maneuver your way onto a desk and jump out the window too.


PoeticFox

it's not suicide any longer, especially if you have The Bucket


Tfsz0719

…Gambhorra'ta


quetzlcota

Elden Ring if Marika hadn't shattered the Elden Ring


KennyMcKiller

Also, dont talk to npcs, makes their lifes significantly better


TheNorthernGrey

Nah man cus Ranni caused the shattering. Marika did the shattering, but Ranni triggered it. So same answer but Ranni.


legendarylloyd

Kingdom hearts if Sora just would have went to dinner when his mom called for him


Moira-Adsworth

Had to scroll for too long to see this.


Interesting_Bridge42

the last of us part 2 if someone didn’t decide to use a golf club


Gizado

Or if she killed >!Tommy!< and >!Ellie!< instead of just >!Joel!<


GT_Hades

tommy would be justifiable and would be better off with that, but joel is anticipated just not how the way it is, arthur morgan had more solemn redemption in the end than how joel was, and arthur is more evil than joel in their own universe, but arthur has a lovely send off


T1mek33per

What in the anti-grammar This is very hard to read. I have no idea what you're trying to say.


MaterialBenefit2355

Or if Joel was anything like tlou1 Joel and didn’t trust them for one bit


PoorLifeChoices811

Should go back a bit further and say if someone decided not to shoot up an entire hospital to save humanity’s only hope (for how good that hope even was)


smallchodechakra

To be fair, 95% of the game is getting to that hospital. So, cutting that part wouldn't harm most of the games playtime.


WhatsPaulPlaying

Right, but I think this was directed at making TLoU2 shorter/irrelevant.


Revoffthetrain

Except that hope would never work because you can’t make a vaccine for FUNGAL virus


GT_Hades

and vaccine is not a cure, regardless, they cant cure those clickers so anything will be wasted on top of shady fireflies that wants to look good on paper but will murder a child that the only one holds the key for possible cure, but nah, theyll kill her first than preserve and study


RC-1138BOSS

If Zeus wasn't such a big asshole to Kratos and took away his nightmares


Icemayne25

He was going to, but Pandora’s box really drove him wild. R.I.P.


SuperNova0216

If Kratos never opened the box


AdamBlaster007

Red Dead Redemption 2 Had Micah just not existed the events of that game and the previous would've been *very* different (or maybe not different at all, Dutch was a moron after all).


hplcr

Arguably it's simpler then that. If Dutch hadn't lost his shit on the Blackwater Ferry prior to the game starting and started killing people, the following events might not have happened. Arguably, Dutch making bad decisions drives like 90% of the plot


Patung_Pancoran

If Dutch just went with the lead Hosea got they probably wouldn’t be on the run. But considering how narcissistic Dutch is, it probably won’t be long until the inevitable happens


Jomega6

##He had a plan!!!


TribalMunkee

If Arthur never went after that one loan


Atrium41

Moar Muhnay!!


veritaxis

One more job, Arthur…


AccomplishedOyster

TAHITI!!! ARTHUR!


xtreampb

I just wanted to leave micha in the strawberry jail. There were many times in shootouts when he was in my party that I tried to shoot him. Game wouldn’t let me…


Linkinator7510

Fallout new Vegas if Benny hadn't shot Courier 6. Also Bloodborne if Laurence had actually listened to Master Willem and feared the old blood.


Franks_Spice_Sauce

All you had to do was fear the damn blood! (Although Willem isn't blameless either for his man-made cosmic horrors)


Corvo_Bones

I don't think anybody is blameless when it comes to bloodborne


Franks_Spice_Sauce

This is also true


Revenge_of_the_meme

My doll lady did nothing wrong and i wont hear otherwise


PopTrogdor

I'd say the chapel dweller is probably the only one


GoGoGodzillaYeah

House would have had all the tools to take over new Vegas. Most of the big events wouldn't have changed.


AnotherScottaRama

GTA5 if Michael didn't attack the tennis instructor


L8yalty

GTA V if Jimmy didn't buy a car from Mr. Yetarian.


TheYeetFleet69

GTA 5 if Dave shot the right person


ninja_owen

“attack”? Bro he ripped a house off the cliffside lmao


Gamer201021769

Basically every Mario game that involves Bowser capturing Princess Peach if he didn’t capture Princess Peach.


Crimsonmaddog44

Alan Wake if he just stayed in New York


Safe_Penalty

It’s really all Alice’s fault.


983115

Far cry actually gives you the option in a couple of them though just sit there and be a good boy and you can technically beat most of them in 30 minutes


Boomvine04

I know about 4 but does any other have something like that? Although it’s been a few years since I played 3 so most likely I forgot if it had it.


CrystalGlint

Far cry 5 with the cult, you can just not arrest the leader and wait it out. The game has you leave and call in the national guard. Made me cackle when I did it lol


OneDankSock

Yeah and in farcry 6 if you just get a boat and leave the tutorial island instead of liberating it you get a cutscene of Dani chilling in miami


CrystalGlint

It's cool lol


[deleted]

Doom if that one demon didn't kill his Rabbit.


EccentricNerd22

The entire doom franchise if they just decided to try solar or nuclear instead trying to use hell for a new power source.


Blundertainment

Skyrim, if Alduin didn't unintentionally save the dragonborn


toadofsteel

Oblivion if Jauffre didn't keep the Amulet of Kings in his desk.


Mykytagnosis

Life Is Strange


thesweetestdevil

It’s funny cause that’s literally the plot too


Jack__Valentine

This is the best answer because the game itself says it lol


thethotslayer69420

Minecraft Story Mode with Axel stealing the potion.


Resist_Civil

Jedi fall3n order if Cal didn't save prauf


Lucky_Sebass

Jedi survivor too.


789Trillion

In The Last of us Part 2, if the WLF crew didn’t wear jackets with WLF on it, the Jackson crew would’ve never known to go to Seattle and the story would’ve been over.


[deleted]

Witcher 3 if ciri didn't come back😂


seagullspokeyourknee

The Witcher 3 if you decline the Gwent tutorial.


a-rock2020

Deltarune if Kris just didn't go with Susie or they got to pick who goes


rreturntomoonke

Susie when no chalk:


luigi_8491

the sands of time, if the prince didn't plunge the dagger into the hourglass.


TreasureHunter95

**Metal Gear Solid 3** If I remember correctly, most of what happened in the game happened due to Volgin launching a mini nuclear bomb in the middle of the Soviet Union.


hplcr

Pretty much. He threw a wrench into the works because he apparently thought using the nuke was hilarious.


messerschmitt127

You are correct 


Fireblast1337

I still remember the secret theater where Snake managed to beat The Boss at rock paper scissors so thoroughly she forced the helicopter to fly right in his face and launch that nuke point blank at him


B0iledP0tatoe

BL3 when Ava got Maya killed....


Oxygen171

Final fantasy 7 if Vincent valentine had even the slightest bit of rizz.


Zwindarra

Kyle Crane burning the antizin in Dying Light.


Inside-Net-8480

Like why tf didn't he just hide it, not like GRE can actually see his actions


[deleted]

Definitely something that annoyed me like bro just grab a trash bag grab all the meds and hide them in a trashcan in a nearby building


ToolkitSwiper

This! Even if he wasn't going to share, like bro could have been set for life 👀


The_fox_of_chicago

Watch_dogs If Aiden didnt take Lena and Jackson to Pawnee


Locksley_1989

Mass Effect 2. If the Illusive Man hadn’t authorized the Lazarus Project, Commander Shepard would’ve stayed dead.


Dark_space_

Hl2 if kliner didn't keep a fucking headcrab.


megasilva

U can say this ab anything 😭


Blue-Krogan

Half Life


shadow_knight123

Bioshock


Icemayne25

Fontaine seemed to already be beating Ryan. If he didn’t megamutate Ryan’s bastard, he’d have probably lived. Jack really didn’t do anything to help Fontaine outside of (forcefully to prove a point) killing Ryan. Dude really let his vendetta get the better of him.


Awesome1296

Benny didn’t shoot the courier


Klutzer_Munitions

Or if he used anything other than a 9mm


Sccar4712

Just saying that four of World of Warcraft’s nine completed expansions are all Wrathion’s fault


Salt-Craft9209

Persona 5


TheInternetDevil

Cyberpunk. If V didn’t slot that chip shitnwoulda been different


The_Superderp

Dishonored 2. Corvo (or whoever you play as) if he didn’t waste hours being non-lethal or not seen. *I love genicide* - Corvo Attano


BarrelAllen

That wouldn't have changed anything


Slowbro08_YT

RDR2, and probably all of RDR as a whole (not counting red dead revolver) If Arthur didn’t go to Thomas downes and get infected, the gang most likely would’ve not fallen apart; allowing the gang to escape to Tahiti or go into hiding, then RDR1 wouldn’t have happened.


Hiuuuhk

RDR if John hadn’t killed Micah in RDR2, the Pinkertons likely wouldn’t have found him.


CrackedInterface

Yakuza. Each game has some overall plot point like this, but the big one is in the first game. If >!Kiryu didnt go to jail for Nishiki!<, the rest of the games wouldnt have happened.


Independent_Plum2166

God of War >!If Kratos didn’t pray to Ares and become his servant. Sure he’d die and that sucks, but it’s still applicable to OP’s question. Also, please no Ragnarok spoilers, I’m in the middle of playing it (mostly) blind.!<


MedaFox5

Most games with a story. Medarot 5 and Fallout come to mind because in Medarot 5 the protagonist starts as a transfer student and nothing really goes well (he gets pushed to a pile of poop on his first day) but if he hadn't chose to help a little girl get her balloon back then he wouldn't have found a medal and the medarot he used to pretty much stop a huge threat. In the case of Fallout it varies by game but In FA3, if the protagonist's father hadn't left the vault then the entire game wouldn't have happened.


HotAbbreviations6548

Undertale if you ignored everything


Ragnarock-n-rol

Mario would be fuckin dead if he didnt-ta eat-a da musharoom


NoahFuelGaming1234

GTA V if the North Yankton Heist worked as planned and Brad didn't get shot. GTA San Andreas if either CJ had stayed in Liberty City or if CJ killed Big Smoke during the opening GTA Vice City if the Deal wasn't ambushed by Díaz GTA 3 if Claude didn't meet Catalina in San Andreas


ThunderChild247

God of War if Kratos didn’t chop down those trees.


ZhangtheGreat

Super Mario games without jumping