History Main / FollowThePlottedLine

** Lampshaded early on in ''VideoGame/{{Portal 2}}'':

** ''VideoGame/PokemonScarletAndViolet'' attempted to avert this by having Paldea be a WideOpenSandbox and allowing you to challenge the Gyms in any order... and then completely undermined it by having each Gym be at a fixed level instead of scaling to your current level, essentially forcing you to complete them in a fixed order anyway.

** A JustifiedTrope in Gen VIII, where the Gym Challenge is an annual sporting event and the Gyms have to be challenged in a pre-determined order.

[[folder:Visual Novels ]]

[[folder:Wide Open Sandbox ]]

** If anything, [[VideoGame/HalfLife1 the original game]] was far worse about it. There was almost always just one accessible route through the twisted wreckage of Black Mesa, and it always took you exactly where you needed to go. ''Machinima/FreemansMind'' derives much of its humor from how much Freeman ''doesn't'' want to follow the plot, but is forced to anyway because there's no other alternative.

[[folder: Action Adventure ]]

[[folder: Action Game ]]

[[folder: First Person Shooter ]]

[[folder: Platform Game ]]

[[folder: Puzzle Game ]]

[[folder: Role Playing Game ]]

[[folder: Wide Open Sandbox ]]

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** no matter your intentions and the dialogue choices you make, you will always be forced to follow Gaelan Bayle inside his home and make a deal with him.
** you are also forced to join one side in the struggle between the shadow thieves and the vampires, even if the character is a paladin who would have big moral troubles in joining any of the parts (although the player could roleplay that it's the only available path to advance to the final goal, the main character simply accepts without questioning, however some companions might argue against specific choices). An undead hunter main character, or a ranger with vampires set as the racial enemy, could even join the vampires without anybody raising questions. Some modders have created a mod called "Alternatives" which allows for different paths in order to progress the story, for those player who find hard to roleplay certain choices.
** No matter which path you choose at the end of chapter 4, in chapter 5 you ultimately finish in the same place.

** If anything, [[VideoGame/HalfLife1 the original game]] was far worse about it. There was almost always just one accessible route through the twisted wreckage of Black Mesa, and it always took you exactly where you needed to go.

** The gen 7 gameS, 'VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'', lampshades this by having the [=NPCs=] explicitly tell you that they'll let you pass when you beat the various Trials, because the whole route is pre-determined for all who attempt the Island Challenge. (Things start to fall apart on the fourth island, though, which isn't organized as well as the others)

** The latest game in the series, ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'', lampshades this by having the [=NPCs=] explicitly tell you that they'll let you pass when you beat the various Trials, because the whole route is pre-determined for all who attempt the Island Challenge. (Things start to fall apart on the fourth island, though, which isn't organized as well as the others)