Embrace the Power of the Dark Side

One of the best aspects of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and the sequel is how powerful and easy it is to be evil. Very few games provide proper good versus evil balance. In most games, being good almost always pays off more in the end. Sometimes the good option nets you more experience while the evil option nets you more cash. Unfortunately in RPGs, experience is always worth more than cash. By the midpoint of a game, the player has more money than a central bank.

It’s similar in games like Bioshock where good options earns less experience in the short term but long term being good is still materially better. I think that’s bogus. Being good should be a handicap. Most people are psychopaths, they need some incentive to kick the digital dog. I argue KOTOR has one of the best handles of the binary good/evil choices. Basically, your choices define your alignment. The more light sided aligned you are, the cheaper in Force Power it costs to use light side powers. Same for dark side.

So far so simple. What makes KOTOR so great here is that the dark side powers are so much more powerful and handling combat than light side powers. A highlight leveled Sith lord with Force Storm can dispatch entire platoons in seconds. Drain Life damages enemies and heals you. Once a character is all appropriately tooled up, the player can complete the game just mashing one button. That’s the power of the dark side.

I don’t know many games that make it far easier for the player if they decide to be an evil character. Players do not need strategy or item management if they play a Sith force user in KOTOR. All they need is the patience to slaughter random mooks while watching TV.