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What are some RPGs that really capitalise on player choice and branching story?
I keep seeing a lot of complaints surrounding Cyberpunk 2077 that it's not a particularly good RPG, because the story is pretty linear and the player choice doesn't really amount to much. I'm not yet done with the game so I don't know how accurate that assessment is. But either way, with my limited knowledge of programming and game design, I assume that doing this sort of thing well is a significant technical challenge.
What are some games that rise to this challenge and make the most of player choice and branching story?
Undertale is probably the most fully realized version of the branching morality that I've played, in that the game accounts for every encounter you run into, and gives you the option to passively best every mob and boss you run into, beat each and everyone into the ground, or play somewhere in between, and the game will unfold accordingly.
I haven't played Disco Elysium, but I've heard that it goes pretty deep on player agency.
Disco Elysium was the one I came to look for in these comments. It takes into account so much and keeps on suprising you with excellent writing. I would wait for the new edition coming out in a few months with full voice acting and some extras.
I think this is a discussion that's going to be very colored by people's individual interpretation of the words "player choice", unless you specify what you mean. There are games with non-linear stories, where the "path" you end up on can change and alter the outcome of the story. There are also games with entirely linear stories that try to account for and react to how you play. Both of those are some form of "player choice", but they're not the same kind of player choice.
Some games do one and not the other, some games do both. Either is fine, we just need to agree on what we mean when we say "player choice". That being said, if you're looking for a masterclass in both, go play Alpha Protocol. Preferably twice. It's an RPG about spies, and sometimes I can't believe it exists.
The basic structure of the game has three "level hubs". After completing the tutorial area, you get to complete the three hubs in whatever order you want. The story of each hub changes to accommodate what you already know, as the plot unravels. It's more or less the same plot every time, but the parts of it you see will change - sometimes drastically so. When it released, reviewers panned the game for being short, but it's really a game that begs you to play it multiple times just to see it all.
On top of that, the game is also uniquely reactive. It cares a lot about how you play it. All the major characters will like you or dislike you depending on how you approach situations in the game. Some want you going in guns blazing, some prefer being a bit more subtle about it. Some want calm and professional, some enjoy chaos. Major details in the plot will change depending on who likes you and dislikes you at any specific time. Minor details in cutscenes will change depending on your skills, previous choices, casualties during the most recent mission, relationships with other characters, how far along in the plot you are, your clothes and weapons, what email signature you use, favorite ice cream flavor...
I bought it on sale for like 2€ years ago and it completely changed my perspective on what "player choice" can even mean in video games. Sometimes it's not having the choice of who lives and who dies, or the choice of good or evil. Sometimes it's choosing to ditch the body armor in favor of a Hawaiian shirt because kevlar looks really out of place in a subway station.
If nothing else, go play it just to experience Steven "brought a flame thrower to a hotel lobby gun fight" Heck.
Lengthwise it's on the shorter side, and it has plenty of flaws, but The Outer Worlds did prioritize player agency and did a fine job of it. I would recommend that one as a fairly recent answer to your question. TOW is something of a "spiritual successor" to Fallout: New Vegas, which itself is an even better answer to your question (but it's 11 years old).