What Choices Affect Endings In The Game?

Here's my breakdown from a hands-on, get-in-and-play perspective: I treat endings like puzzles with pieces scattered through combat choices, dialogue, optional quests, and character survival. The most frequent culprits that change endings are who you save or don’t save, which factions you support, and whether you complete certain character arcs.

Dialogue options often set hidden flags that only matter at the very end. Romance paths or confidant systems (think 'Persona 5') can alter the final cast or epilogue. Side content matters more than people expect — a seemingly throwaway quest can be the key to a better ending. Mechanics like killing a final boss in a specific way, or using/ not using an item, sometimes toggle secret branches.

Practically speaking, if I want a specific ending I keep quick saves before big choices and I read through codex/quest descriptions to spot hints. Some games nudge you toward a ‘true’ ending by requiring multiple full runs (again, see 'Nier: Automata'), while others use a cumulative score or alignment meter that quietly tallies your actions. It’s part strategy, part curiosity, and I get a kick out of finding the tiny decisions that flip the whole story — it makes replaying worthwhile.

Big picture: endings are rarely decided by a single line of dialogue — they're usually the sum of a lot of tiny flags, NPC fates, and the specific route you pick. I tend to break the choices that matter into categories so I can track them while replaying a game.

First, story-critical choices: major mission outcomes, whether you kill or spare key characters, and decisions about factions will often split the plot early or late in the game. For example, in games like 'Mass Effect' or 'Dragon Age' those faction and companion outcomes shape which endings are available. Second, relationships and bonds: romance options, companion loyalty, or friendship meters can unlock alternate endings or scenes in the epilogue. Third, morality/karma systems and how consistently you play them — going full pacifist versus full aggressive often leads to radically different conclusions, as seen in 'Undertale' or parts of 'The Witcher 3'.

There are also mechanical or hidden triggers: collecting specific items, completing optional side quests, or achieving a high completion percentage can unlock a 'true ending' or secret epilogue. Timing matters too: skipping a quest or failing to show up before a certain chapter can lock you out of an ending. And don’t forget meta endings: some titles, like 'Nier: Automata', expect multiple playthroughs with certain actions performed to reveal all outcomes. Personally I like keeping a stash of saves before major moments — it’s half detective work and half storytelling, and I love discovering how small choices ripple into the finale.

My checklist style take: endings are influenced by (1) major plot choices like who lives or dies and which side you pick; (2) companion loyalty and romances — miss those and you might lose an ending; (3) morality or karma systems that accumulate actions into a final verdict; (4) optional side quests and collectibles that unlock 'true' or secret conclusions; and (5) timing and failure states — skipping or failing a mission can permanently alter available outcomes.

I also watch out for hidden flags set by specific dialogue lines, and for meta-requirements that need multiple playthroughs as in 'Nier: Automata'. Games occasionally require you to perform an odd action (use an item, refuse a cutscene choice, or complete everything at a certain percentage) to see the real finale. I always keep several saves before milestones so I can experiment without losing progress. In short, endings are usually cumulative rather than single-decision-driven, and part of the fun for me is finding the small actions that change the whole ending — it keeps me replaying titles I love.

Big-picture, choices that change endings usually fall into a few familiar buckets, and once you spot them it becomes way easier to plan for the ending you want. I find it helpful to think in terms of major plot forks, relationship meters, completion flags for side content, and cumulative moral or numerical scores. Major plot forks are the big, obvious moments—save or sacrifice a character, align with faction A or B, accept or refuse a mission-critical bargain. Those are usually what slap you into completely different final cinematic tracks, like how a single decision can split you into three very different final acts in games like 'Mass Effect' or 'Dragon Age'.

Then there are relationship and affinity systems. Falling into good or bad graces with companions, lovers, or factions often toggles who shows up for the finale, what lines you get, and which epilogues play. Games such as 'The Witcher 3' and many narrative RPGs use these meters to decide whether a character survives, leaves, or settles down with you. Alongside that, optional side quests and fortifying the world state matter a lot—complete certain character arcs or stabilise regions and you can unlock better, happier, or more complete endings. Conversely, ignoring those threads can lead to bleaker, truncated finales.

Don't underestimate cumulative, subtle stats either. Some games keep a hidden counter for violence versus mercy, for chaos versus order, or for key items collected; those numbers are tallied at the end and push you toward different conclusions. 'Undertale' and 'Fallout' are famous for this: your pattern of actions, even small ones, paints a final portrait of the hero in the engine’s eyes. There are also endings gated behind NG+ or completionist runs—'Nier' famously expects multiple playthroughs to reveal the full truth, and many indie titles hide secret endings behind rare item collections or obscure conversation choices. Timing matters too: making a call earlier can lock or unlock options later, and sometimes the order you complete quests changes which NPCs are available during the final battle.

A few practical habits that have saved me countless replays: keep multiple save slots (one for ‘see what happens’ decisions and one for a full completionist run), pay attention to dialogue cues that hint at relationship shifts, finish companion/romance arcs before the final act, and don’t blow off side-content marked as ‘optional’—it’s often not actually optional if you want the full ending. Also, if a game has secret endings, look out for cryptic achievements or impossible-to-miss hints during later acts; these usually signal that the developers expect extra work. I love how games use endings to make choices feel meaningful—whether you prefer sweeping moral drama, intricate character epilogues, or a surprise twist, paying attention to big forks, social meters, hidden tallies, and completion flags will steer you toward the ending you want. Happy replaying, and may your best decisions lead to the endings that stick with you the most.