10 RPGs Where Companions Cause Chaos

Companions form the heart of many RPGs. They're the video game characters who stick by you, who you build relationships with, and who inform the world and the story. While you're the main character and your companions are often expected to fall in line with you as the protagonist, sometimes they go on their own path to set the story in a very different direction.

This comes in the form of betrayal or simply characters forging their own path. I feel like the best version of these is when you understand completely why the companion has taken action against the protagonist, and brings in those conflicting feelings of still liking the character even though they derailed the story.

10 Divinity: Original Sin 2

All's Fair on the Path to Divinity

Betrayal hurts, especially from companions who you thought were loyal. Usually, the betrayer is limited to only one companion in an RPG, but Divinity: Original Sin 2 gives the option for all six companions to betray you, including the one you romance.

These betrayals upend the game's story, resulting in the many endings Divinity: Original Sin 2 has on offer. They come down to the decisions you make throughout the game and the companions' attitude towards you. You'd think that in a game about aspiring to divinity, some betrayal is expected, but it still comes as a shock to have what are typically loyal companions turn on you when it counts.

9 Disco Elysium

Kim is Your Moral Compass

Playing Disco Elysium is one of those gaming experiences that becomes transformative. It's one of the best depictions of differing political ideologies in a video game, and this is all balanced against Kim and his belief system.

Kim's first impression of Harry is already bad, and it can either improve or get worse based on Harry's actions. There's nothing that tracks Kim's approval towards you, but it's clear if he doesn't respect you.

There are certain actions that Kim will actually block if he's around, and you have to wait until he's gone if you want to do them. Kim gives a helpful summary of your actions and ideologies to Jean at the end of the game, determining Harry's fate and hope for the future.

8 Fallout: New Vegas

Your Loyalties Matter

Sometimes a companion's influence is more subtle, but their actions, dialogue, and perspective can lead you to make decisions you didn't originally consider.

Fallout: New Vegas' companions are there to assist, but they also represent the different factions in the Mojave Desert. They offer insider perspectives on the factions, and go a long way in influencing your decision of which faction to support at the end of the main storyline.

Another way companions in Fallout: New Vegas affect the narrative is that they will refuse to join you if you have a positive reputation with a faction that they vehemently disagree with. This limits who you can recruit, and you either have to find a workaround or recruit them in another playthrough.

The End of an Age in Tamriel

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion doesn't have a companion system per se, but it has a follower system, and that makes it eligible for this list. The opening of Oblivion sets up the idea that the Hero of Kvatch is a Chosen One, but the main story of Oblivion makes it increasingly clear that the main character is actually Martin, while you serve the role of an enabler and observer.

Martin ends up derailing the entirety of the story as well as changing the politics and landscape of Tamriel forever in the last hour. Instead of being crowned Emperor, he smashes the Amulet of Kings and mantles Akatosh. This ends the Septim line, breaks the pact Akatosh made with Alessia. He ends the Oblivion Crisis, but makes you fail your goal.

6 Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

Doing the Same Things to Each Other

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 cycles through protagonists for each act, with Verso and Maelle taking turns for Acts 2 and 3, respectively, despite only playing as Verso. Both Verso and Maelle derail Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's storyline in significant ways, depending on which perspective you take.

Verso keeps important information from the group to achieve his own goals that are detrimental to the rest of the group, derailing the plot at the end of Act 2. Maelle essentially replaces her mother, becoming the new Paintress to the detriment of her own health and falling into the same trap of grief as Aline, forcing Verso to go off on his own at the end of the game to force a conclusion.

5 Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

The Path of No Return

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic has a colorful crew of characters, including the compelling Jedi Knight Bastila Shan. There are numerous endings in Knights of the Old Republic, and all of them are triggered by Bastila's decisions. She keeps your identity and true mission a secret from you, stays behind to let you escape imprisonment. From there, she turns to the Dark Side, helps Darth Malak, and then offers to become your Dark Side apprentice.

At this point, you can turn your back on everything and join her, even if you've been strictly following the Light Side. This completely upends the narrative and results in the rise of a new Sith Empire and the destruction of the Old Republic. You can also reject her, which leads to either her turning back to the light or dying by your hand.

4 The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Ciri Decides Everything

Like Oblivion, The Witcher 3 doesn't have a traditional companion system, but it does have characters that follow Geralt for sections of the game. One of the characters who does this is Ciri, and you even play as her for several sections, making her something of a deuteragonist rather than simply an important NPC.

Ciri upends the opening of the game with her return, but she also determines The Witcher 3's ending. She can become the Empress of Nilfgaard, become a witcher, or die. These endings are determined by your choices throughout the game, but you ultimately leave it to Ciri to decide right at the end.

3 Mass Effect 2

An Ignominious End for Shepard

Mass Effect 2 is very focused on its companions, with most of its missions centered on recruitment and gaining their loyalty. The death of all the squad members means the death of Shepard in the final mission, creating a save file that can't be imported into Mass Effect 3. However, the real derailment comes in the form of Morinth.

There's not much reason to recruit Mortinth, considering she's a violent murderer who has no incentive to ensure the mission's success. She attempts to seduce Shepard. You're warned several times about Morinth's ability to kill, and if you let her seduce you, you immediately die and are left with a game-over screen.

2 Baldur's Gate 3

Prematurely End the Game in Act 2

Baldur's Gate 3's roster includes several companions with their own agendas, and not building a relationship with them can lead to some pretty negative or unintended outcomes. In this regard, the worst of them is Gale, who will be driven to self-sacrifice in Act 2 and use the Netherese orb in his chest to blow up Moonrise Towers.

This ends the game. As the narrator points out, it is an end, but it's not a very good one. All the infected across the Sword Coast are immediately transformed into mind flayers, causing chaos, and you and the rest of the party immediately die.

1 Dragon Age 2

Anders Ruins Everything

The first three of the Dragon Age games all include at least one companion who derails the story. Dragon Age Origins has Morrigan and Alistair, Dragon Age: Inquisition has Solas. None quite ruin the campaign quite like Dragon Age 2's companions.

First, Isabela causes a Qunari uprising in Act 2, then Anders blows up the Chantry in Act 3, triggering the end of the game and forcing Hawke into choosing sides in the Mage-Templar war. What really gets this is that there's nothing you can do about Isabela running off with the Tome of Koslun, and there's nothing you can do to stop Anders.

You can send him away in Act 2, and he'll come back at the eleventh hour. You can refuse to help him gather ingredients for his bomb, and he'll do it without you. You'll just continue trying to make everything work out, only for Anders to arrive and ruin the day.