Video games often have you step into the role of a prophesied Chosen One who will save the world from a looming evil that threatens everything and everyone you love. However, some games put you in the shoes of just another person struggling to survive in the world.
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The adventures of these protagonists might not be as important, but they certainly provide the player with a different approach to the stories being told, and it's often what makes the plot more compelling. This leaves you with a better sense of the world around you and a greater appreciation for the protagonists who simply help keep the world running.
7 Coffee Talk
Coffee Talk is a visual novel that puts you in the shoes of an unnamed barista who is the owner and sole employee of the eponymous Coffee Talk, a cafe located in Seattle.
In this world, fantasy meets reality, and your customers vary from elves and aliens to regular humans, all looking for a bit of respite from the world and a listening ear.
As you brew their drinks, you’ll be able to influence the plot using the power of caffeine, but otherwise, you’re just a listening ear who helps solve a small portion of the problems faced by your regular customers.
6 VA-11 Hall-A
Similar to Coffee Talk, VA-11 Hall-A (or to give it its full title, VA-11 Hall-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action) is a visual novel about brewing drinks for your patrons and listening to their woes.
In this iteration of the genre, however, you’re now Jill, a bartender in the dystopian downtown of Glitch City: a location rife with corruption, oppression, and a good dose of waifus.
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Although Jill spends most of her time at the bar, she influences the plot and the lives of her patrons in subtle ways, making choices that either better or worsen their predicaments. After all, it’s the little things that count.
5 Viscera Cleanup Detail
Ever wonder who cleans up all the blood and guts after every large-scale battle, lab incident, and alien invasion? Viscera Cleanup Detail takes it to a whole new level by placing you as a janitor tasked with exactly that.
Working for a shady company that takes these cases under its wing, your entire goal revolves around sanitizing the aftermath of unfortunate workplace incidents.
From disposing of body parts to painstakingly scrubbing bloodstains off the ceiling, you are never directly present for those gory ‘accidents’, but from the notes and items scattered around levels, you piece together what exactly happened.
But don’t get too curious, or you might find yourself jettisoned into space.
4 Neo Cab
Neo Cab is another cyberpunk affair that follows Lina, a driver for Neo Cab, in a world where a call for all vehicles for hire to be driverless is slowly gaining momentum.
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Although the main mechanics of the story revolve around Lina maintaining her vehicle and chauffeuring customers to their destination while learning their life story, there lies an underlying plot of Lina’s missing friend, Savy.
In Neo Cab, you’re simply another citizen trying to survive in a world that seems to want to render your very way of life obsolete. Sounds familiar?
3 Cloudpunk
Following the trend of cyberpunk games where you play as a delivery person/driver of sorts, Cloudpunk tells the story of Rania, a driver for a shady delivery company, the eponymous Cloudpunk.
An immigrant from out of town, Rania is enlisted by Huxley, a private investigator, during her work to save a young girl called Pashta. As Rania makes her deliveries and pieces together the lives of the residents in the city, she also finds clues in her investigation that will lead her and Huxley to the truth.
2 Recettear: An Item Shop’s Tale
Ever wondered what a day in the life of a video game merchant would be like? Recettear lets you experience just that with the tale of Recette: a young girl who is tasked with running an item shop after her father mysteriously disappeared, leaving her saddled with debt.
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Recette has one month to pay up her debt, although she has help from a fairy called Tear. The game allows you to manage your shop’s inventory, swapping what is on sale for the day, and generally ensuring the upkeep of the shop.
However, Recette is also able to follow adventurers into dungeons to maintain a steady flow of goods for quest-hungry heroes.
1 The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion
The arguably second-most popular Elder Scrolls game, The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion is the ultimate game where you play as a side character. Starting as a nameless prisoner rotting in your cell in Cyrodiil, you find yourself quickly thrust into a story that speaks of bastard princes, a world-consuming evil, and ultimate sacrifices.
Unfortunately for you, you don’t get to do all that. You’re tasked with being the second-in-command to Martin Septim, a priest-turned-emperor, and the true hero of the narrative.
Although you can find and participate in your adventures, the main plot of the story doesn’t need anything more than your support, as you help Martin towards his quest of vanquishing evil once and for all.
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