Fallout (and to a lesser extent, Fallout 2) was, ironically, a haven in a wasteland of linear games. Fallout is famous for being incredibly flexible to the player; most notable is the ability to play through without even using combat, just by interacting with the huge cast of characters. So open was Fallout that people are able to play through the game and see almost nothing that another player might have seen. Sure, there are modern games that use the “open world” dynamic, but Fallout still stands up as one of the biggest and most expansive worlds open to players today.

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Widely considered to be one of the best PC games ever made, Deus Ex is an example of an FPSRPG- that is, a first-person shooter/role-playing game hybrid. Like Fallout, Deus Ex is one of the most non-linear games you can play- each problem can be worked around in a multitude of ways. This usually results in unique player experiences, as it could take many, many playthroughs to see every inch of the game. As the old saying goes: “Deus Ex was awesome. Man, I should play that again.” Well, I say ‘old saying’: I just made that up. I’ve heard people say it though, honest!