Games with The Best Stories
I love solid mechanics and gameplay. If you can give me a good game I'm on board. However, what I love more than that is a good story.
If you're like me and you want to exerience a game on a visceral level then these are a couple of stories I love in gaming.
20. Mafia 3
Mafia 3 Let’s play from CohhCarnage
Murder, betrayal, and revenge are center pieces for the tale of Lincoln Clay. Home from the Vietnam War and looking to put his violent past behind him Lincoln is pulled into the underworld of New Bordeaux. After learning that his brother is in debt to the mob, Lincoln volunteers to help ease his debt by robing the Federal Reserve. This sets off a chain of events that will change the face of organized crime in Louisiana.
Set to the backdrop of 1968 Louisiana, Mafia 3 tells a tight story with tons of flavor. Filled with wonderful music, colorful characters, and a few exciting set pieces that keep the story moving. However, a vicious grind and bad enemy AI is going to keep this game at the bottom of our list. There are great moments. Those moments come a bit too slowly for my taste.
Lincoln deals bayou justice to those who stand in his way.
Mafia 3 features a wide array of weapons that you can use to confront all sorts of situations.
19. Telltale Games Walking Dead Series
Walking Dead let’s play from Gamer’s Little Playground
What happens in a world of Zombies when Rick Grimes and company aren’t there?
That’s the question Telltale Games seeks to answer with their long running Walking Dead series. Based on a comic book and a TV series, the Telltales Games Walking Dead franchise covers four games with a fifth and final instalment rolling out later this year. Walking Dead focuses on the hard choices you have to make to survive the zombie apocalypse.
Decent story choices keep this game going. There are some dark moments that have real emotional kick. Unfortunately, some spotty voice work and a couple of events and outcomes that feel forced muddy this otherwise good game.
For the most part, the game is good and the story engaging. It’s sad there are just a couple of places that break the immersion.
Lee and Clementine are two of the principal characters from Season 1. Creators used their relationship to focus the family theme that was so important to the game into the forefront.
A well-built conversation system with lots of options helps to give players more control over the story and its outcomes.
18. Kingdom Come: Deliverance
Kingdom Come: Deliverance let’s play from ESO
Medieval Europe brought to life. Kingdom Come focuses on taking you on an adventure following Henry, the son of a blacksmith. In a nice change of pace, you get to play an average citizen. You are not the chosen one, favored by prophecy, or picked by the gods. You are in fact, a guy living his life when forced by circumstance to head out on adventure.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance uses realism as its selling point. While not a perfect simulation of life in the 1400’s, the game tries to get as close as possible.
Kingdom Come is packed full of historic information and educational write ups. Pass the tanner, the blacksmith, or the armor smith and you’ll get a huge entry in your journal that will tell you about life in these trying times. If you’re fascinated by the dark ages and everything that went with it, this game may be what you’re looking for.
Henry speaks with his father. The conversation system in the game sets up lots of options and ideas that will help focus the gameplay later on.
Featuring beautiful settings help keep the players invested in the game world. Everywhere you go you will be met with rich settings filled with color.
17. The Wolf Among Us
The Wolf among Us let’s play from PewDiePie
There’s been a murder amongst the fairy tale creatures living in New York and the Big Bad Wolf is on the case. Based on the popular Fables series of graphic novels. The Wolf among Us follows Bigby Wolf, the town sheriff as he follows the clues to find a killer. The game features a fantastic supporting cast of characters such as Snow White, Ichabod Crane, and Jack.
Like all Telltale Games, this fantasy story teller rolls out in episodes with a focus on keeping the story going. Because it’s a mystery I’m not going to go too far into the story. The choices feel impactful and different events can come up based on past decisions. Character interactions feel earned.
A rare moment of peace for Bigby and Snow. These brief moments of character help build emersion in the game and build a connection to the story.
Even quiet moments highlight how deep the world of Fables is. A simple moment with a fairytale family shows how much thought as been put into updating these characters.
16. Baldur’s Gate 2
Baldur’s Gate let’s play from Kart Gaming
It’s hard to ignore the classics. Baldur’s Gate 2 is one of those games often spoken of in hushed whispers. I think it’s fair to say that Baldur’s Gate had a long lasting effect on the gaming world that has extended far beyond the scope of this small game released in 2000. With sweeping story that hits on some of Dungeons & Dragons most iconic characters and monsters.
I think the characters are what really keep this game floating around people’s memories. There are few people who have completed the story of Baldur’s gate and don’t draw a smile at the names of Minsc and Boo. It’s that love of character’s who are well formed and fleshed out that keep this game coming back into people’s memories.
One of the many load screens that feature the deep rich art famous in Dungeons & Dragons.
Baldur’s Gate 2 makes your decisions matter with several dialogue choices.
15. Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor
Middle Earth: Shadows of Mordor let’s play from GhostRobo
Mormog the Surgeon is a bastard. I cannot begin to explain just how much I hate him. If you’ve ever played Middle Earth: Shadows of Mordor then you most likely have a similar reaction to someone I’ve never seen. This is because the nemesis system in Middle Earth helped build a thriving world filled with horrible jerks.
For me the king jerk was this little orc who killed me early on in the game. Mormog. He would begin showing up at random points whenever I was fighting other orcs and kill me. By the end of the game I was actively angry whenever he showed up. It will be a long time before I forget Mormog the Surgeon.
Of course the nemesis system isn’t the only thing in the game. The story behind the gameplay is quite solid. It does stray from the original Lord of the Rings canon so if that will upset you, you may want to avoid this one. That said, I had a ton of fun here. I loved the adventures, the history of every weapon, and the various characters you run into.
Those long missions where you are forced to follow Gollum and just wait for that other shoe to drop as he betrays you. There are great moments in this game but I’m not sure how much of its story and how much is the Nemesis system. That’s why it’s back here at 15.
The inner workings of the Nemesis system. Every decision and attack changes how the various commanders in the orc army react, grow, change, and even murder each other.
An easy to master combat system lets you face off against large numbers of foes without feeling outmatched. Even with that it balances it well with a challenge level that makes you feel as if you’re never safe.
14. The Darksiders Series
Darksiders 1 let’s play from Scribe
The end of the world has come. The seven seals have been broken and humanity is doomed. War, the first rider of the Apocalypse, comes to Earth to collect the souls of the fallen. Unfortunately, the seals haven’t been broken, the end isn’t here, and he’s been accused of starting the end of times.
The Darksiders series focus on what happens after the war between Heaven and Hell is set off accidently.
You play War in the first game and Death in the second. Both riders are trying to prove War’s innocence. You battle your way through multiple worlds. You combat angels, demons, and lords of darkness as you solve the mystery of who started the end and why.
War stands ready to fight with his massive sword at the ready. This is just one of the many weapons available to War as he slaughters his way to the truth.
Death prepares to unleash a flurry of attacks with his twin axes. Death’s combat style is faster and more mobile than War’s. It is still just as devastating.
13. Stories: the Path of Destinies
Stories: the Path of Destinies let’s play from Wanderbot
You have been chosen by Destiny to defeat the Emperor, get the girl, and save the world. You just have to live through it. It’s oaky if you don’t, Destiny will make you try again.
Stories: the Path of Destinies, follows a branching path through a story of love, rebellion, and heroics. As you reach important junctions in the story you make choices. Make the right choice and it sets you towards helping a friend. Make a wrong choice and you’ve doomed the world.
Every time you pass through the story your actions could open new paths and options. Find the right one and it will become a focus of the story as a whole.
With 24 different endings, you can keep coming back to Stories just to see how else things can change. Even after getting the true ending I kept returning just to see what else would happen.
Bright colorful settings and enemies fill the screen as you travel the different paths of the story. Even combat is filled with beautiful effects that keep things interesting.
The storybook map of endings that shows all of the pieces in play as they are uncovered allows you to return to previous stories to see how they went.
12 Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines
Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines let’s play from Cryaotic
You have become the undead. Based on the popular World of Darkness tabletop Role-Play setting from White Wolf. Vampire the Masquerade throws you into the deep end of court intrigue, diplomacy, murder, betrayal, and madness.
The world building in this game is top notch. There are seven vampire clans to choose from each with its own strengths and weaknesses. Each clan has its own distinct look, weapons, missions, and outfits. Other vampires in world the react differently to you based on what clan you’re from.
Even the story options are different based on clan. Toreador’s are able to flirt their way past problems. Nosferatu are physically stronger but their appearance makes it impossible to travel the streets. Malkavian’s are cursed with insanity but get to have informative conversations with a singing fish.
While the core plot and missions are always the same, how you get past them changes based on your clan. This gives the game a lot of replay value. It also helps that you get to see things from one clan that you didn’t get to see while playing another.
Vampires aren’t the only thing that go bump in the night in World of Darkness. All you have to do now is figure out if it’s friendly.
Vampire abilities are great to have and use in the Masquerade. But power uses your energy reserves and forces you to feed. Guns just use bullets.
11. Injustice 2
Injustice 2 let’s play from Rage Select
What is the aftermath of a world where the Joker tricks Superman into killing Lois Lane? This is the heart of Injustice. Superman kills the Joker and begins a campaign to destroy criminals and anyone who stands in his way. The story then asks where everyone else falls. And what happens after the fighting is done. That’s the premise of Injustice, an alternate dimension take on the classic DC superheroes we all know and love.
Everything I’ve explained so far is from Injustice 1. It’s all you need to know to get into Injustice 2. The idea is solid and fascinating. Unfortunately, the first game didn’t fully realize the story. They crowbarred in the original Earth DC heroes and gave everyone nanites to make Batman and Green Arrow stand toe to toe with the Flash and Superman.
Injustice 2 abandons that. Inserting story reasons for these fights to work and ignoring the difference in favor of fun visuals and interesting fights. The story is mostly on rails, but does a good job of looking at DC heroes and villains in a new light.
We get to see Harley Quinn in a world where there is no Joker. We watch here redeem herself and start working for Batman to help save people. We see heroes who stood with Superman in the first game try and become heroes again. We see villains pushed to their wits end.
As Brainiac attacks the Earth, what does batman do when he needs the help of Superman to save the day? What about the other factions that formed during the previous war? We get to see all of these things in a fun, exciting, and compelling story with some deep moments of heart.
Powerful attacks and special abilities give the game a dynamic sense of wonder. Even moments like this where Superman and Batman battle over the fate of humanity feel spectacular.
New heroes added to the roster keep the game and the story feeling alive. The addition of Supergirl groundes the story while at the same time giving it much needed heart and hope.
10. Batman: Arkham Series
Batman: Arkham Asylum let’s play from TetraNinja
You are Batman. You’ve arrested the Joker and taken him back to Arkham Asylum. Unfortunately, that’s all part of his plan.
The Arkham series starts with a simple premise and an enclosed location. Everything in the first game takes place at Arkham Asylum. The Joker has organized a prison break and released all of the inmates. You now have to go around the island and recapture some of Batman’s greatest foes.
The game manages to fit in some tight surprises and decent plot twists. The immersion is helped by the inventive mechanics that were so good they’ve been become industry standards. The invention of detective vision, the combat system, and the way the game implements health have been copied over and over.
Following Asylum the story expands to Arkham City where a section of Gotham is walled off and used as a prison. The final game in the series, Arkham Knight, allowed you to play through all of Gotham. Each story raised the stakes, created more story opportunities, and built on the stories told from the previous games.
One of the major reveals in the final moments of the last game revolve around a minor event that occurred in the first game. What makes this series great is that even if you have never played any of the other games, they built the story in a way that you never feel lost. Everything is explained in a way that lets you follow the story.
A well-built stealth system allows for Batman to pick off enemies one by one. This makes dealing with large groups of well-armed enemies with guns until they are at a much more manageable level.
By Arkham Knight a growing combat system allowed for larger fights with more types of enemies. The combat system was improved with additional gadgets and move sets. This gave the combat a more satisfying crunch.
9. Bioshock Series
Bioshock let’s play from Alyce Rocha
A steampunk noir detective story set in an underwater city. Bioshock keeps you guessing by giving you a mix of magic, science, and horror.
What makes Bioshock special is the twists in the story. There are things that happen that get dropped on you and in a lesser story would feel forced. In Bioshock they come with a sense of awe. Every time a twist occurred it was followed with the realization that I should have seen that.
This is taken to another level in Bioshock: Infinite, the third game, where an early reveal plays on one of gaming’s biggest troupes. It appeared out of nowhere and yet once it was pointed out it was obvious that it had been there the whole time. Bioshock made me feel uncomfortable with myself and decisions in the best way possible.
Big Daddy and Little Sister are some of the iconic enemies that show up in Bioshock. Dealing with them helps fill the game world with deep sense of character.
Changing the setting from the undersea base of the first two games to the flying city of Columbia gave Bioshocks Infinite a safer feel. It made the first plot twist and reveal of the darker side of the society more of a shock.
8. Undertale
Undertale let’s play from PressHeartToContinue
It is very hard to talk about Undertale without spoiling anything. The story has so many twists, turns, and reveals that are jaw dropping. I don’t want to ruin anyone’s experience of this game by accidently revealing anything.
At first glance the game feels simple, the art style and basic premise direct you to a set idea. As you move further into the game it unveils more complex concepts and characters. It plays on expectations well.
The game also features an innovative combat system that is easy to understand. Every move you make, puzzle you solve, and character you meet opens more fascinating ideas. This game is well worth your time.
A simple art style blended with a rich story gives Undertale a unique style all its own.
Combat in Undertale is a mix of decision making and a mini-game with different variables depending on the enemy type.
7. South Park: the Stick of Truth
South Park: the Stick of Truth let’s play from JackSepticEye
In a lot of ways South Park: the Stick of Truth is a traditional fantasy RPG. However, like the TV show it’s based on, it’s also its very own monster. Equal parts crude toilet humor, political commentary, and out of left field jokes, Stick of Truth delivers everything that fans of the show want. If you’re not a fan of the show there are still tons of references, story hooks, and jokes for you too.
The story follows New Kid played by you as he wanders the town, plays a fantasy war game with the other kids, and choses sides in the ultimate battle between good and evil. Even as the story lets you battle for traditional fantasy rewards it peppers in those moments that are purely South Park.
The humor won’t be for everyone. There's a long section that takes place in an abortion clinic an a bit wher you're shrunk down to make your way up another characters butt. These will turn some people off. However, if you enjoy the TV series or can look past the crude humor you will find a wonderful story that is full of surprises and laughs.
The gang's all here in South Park: the Stick of Truth. You’ll be hard pressed to think of a character that doesn’t show up at some point during the game. Everyone has a fun series of conversation options and no one felt tacked on or unnecessary.
A fun combat system gives you access to multiple items, spells, and other powers in order to deal with your foes.
6. Soma
Soma let’s play from Jesse Cox
Part survival monster horror part debate on the nature of human beings. Soma lets a dark atmosphere with more questions than answers be the story that fuels its own conversations. The twists in this game come so fast that I worry about spoiling the story before you get a chance to play.
Working under the idea that the fear of violence is scarier than violence itself, Soma makes you wait for your first scares. That’s not to say the scares aren’t there. Horror comes in short burst of terror that make you keep looking over your shoulder to make sure it’s not coming back.
Soma plays with your expectations. It allows you to get comfortable with an idea and then yanks the rug out from underneath you. One of the things that I truly appreciated about the game was how well the dialogue felt to the individual characters. I became so invested in the story of these characters, that at one point there’s a five minute conversation between two characters and I was fascinated by the scene because of what it meant to the story over all.
The game won’t be for everyone. Some of the puzzles were hard. While it may not mean much to most of you out there this game can get frustrating if you don’t get the right train of thought to solve it. Still, the story was so fascinating it may still be worth it for the conversations it starts.
The world of Soma is filled with robots in trouble. Who they are and how you try and help them creates many of the most interesting story moments.
Enemies in Soma are slow moving but unstoppable forces. This creature will pop up at some of the most annoying moments with no warning. Its ability to sneak up on you leads to some of the best tension in the game.
5. Night in the Woods
Night in the Woods let’s play from GeekRemix
There’s an old saying, “You can’t go home again.” Night in the Woods takes this idea and places it at the front of its story. Using interesting characters, simple but beautiful visuals, and difficult choices Night in the Woods leaves a distinct impression.
The story follows Mae as she returns home after dropping out of college. It focuses on everything from growing up, to religion, to homosexuality. It highlights each of these topics in an engaging way while still being respectful.
Part of what makes the story of Night in the Woods good is the use of characters, exploration, and time. You are rewarded for spending time with different characters in the town but there is only so much time each day. This forces you to choose who is important. Spending enough time with secondary characters will yield interesting results that will give you a better understanding of the town. The problem is to get time with one character you have to give up time with others. This helps give the world a living feel.
By the time you reach the end of the game and discover what is going on in the town, learn everyone’s stories, and discover why Mae dropped out of college you will feel as if you’ve taken a beautiful journey.
A huge part of Night in the Woods charm is its characters and how Mae interacts with them. Choices of who you spend time with have ripples throughout the story.
Exploration is an important part of Night in the Woods. It unlocks missions, hidden characters, and information about the town.
4. What Remains of Edith Finch
What Remains of Edith Finch let’s play from Gloom
The Finch family was cursed. This is a fact given to you near the beginning of the story. It’s also something that you get to see play out again and again.
Every member of the Finch family has died as a result of mysterious and horrible circumstances. After being willed her family home Edith returns to learn what events led to the end of her family. The story is told by Edith through her journal, a theme that will continue throughout.
Edith narrates her journey through the house. She follows a path that leads through secret doors, across ledges, and high up into towers that had been added to the original house. The story follows her exploration of how her family members ended their different stories.
As she journeys through the house she reads every other family members journals. Each one focuses on how a different member met their end. Every journal is told in a different style. One member who had been a horror movie scream queen has her journal told in the style of an old horror comic book. While another is told as a fairy tale that slowly covers up the persons dull life.
I was drawn into this story in a way I can’t quite explain. I needed to see what would happen next even though I knew it could only end in tragedy. Every new story started with the realization that I was going to see how someone died. This gave some of the stories an even more horrible cringe factor based on who the person I was following was. A particularly difficult chapter is one where you play a baby. Though, still not the hardest one to play. There is one story where every button press made my body tense.
It is not a happy game by any means. But the story is inventive, beautiful in places, and fascinating. I cannot recommend it enough.
Every story in the game is told through a journal. Even Edith’s story is her musings in a diary that explain everything she’s doing there. The theme of journals and what they contain is an important thread to the story.
Every family member has a colorful bedroom filled with things that make it uniquely theirs. Barbara’s room reflects her life as an actress. Every room is filled with image to explore to find all of the hidden details.
3. Mass Effect Series
Mass Effect let’s play from Mr. Odd
Commander Shepard will go down as one of the best heroes in video games. This is due mostly to the story that backs them up as they travel the universe. Nearly every piece of their story is built wonderfully around them and their crew.
I think it’s the characters and the relationships that really focus how well this game plays out. There are a lot of things that happen. Actions and events that give rise to different outcomes. In the end it’s how Shepard interacts with the people in their crew that makes this story.
While I think the relationships are the most important part, the story itself is still very good. Every challenge you face comes with hard choices. This includes several moments of who to sacrifice and when to do it. The story also features several nice twists that can catch you flatfooted if you miss the subtle clues that things are coming.
While I will admit that the game drops the ball right at the end if you only play the core story. There are a few pieces of DLC that can be used to fill the ending out a bit. For a more satisfying ending I would recommend the Citadel DLC that came out for the third game. It includes a fun mission where everyone is involved instead of the typical two helpers you normally get to choose. It also ends with an amazing going away party that lets you give everyone a nice send off. I think this DLC helped temper the lack luster ending for me. There’s a group photo taken at one point during the game that I still want as a framed image on my game room wall.
Shepard and some of their crew as they get ready to move out on a mission. Each crew member comes with different strengths, abilities, and powers. This makes choosing the right people for the job as important a decision as what things you’ll do once you get there.
A wide variety of enemies are featured throughout the series. Some more powerful than the last. It makes keeping yourself safe behind cover a necessity.
2. Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons
Brother’s: a Tale of Two Sons let’s play from PewDiePie
There are few games that I think really show the idea of video games as art. Brothers: a Tale of Two Sons is one of them. With a beautiful graphic style and moving story, Brothers finds itself in a class all its own.
The story for the game is simple. Two boys must go into the wilderness to find a cure for their dying father. They encounter challenges, monsters, creatures that help them, and people that they can help as they travel.
Even though the story is simple it is still expertly told. A feat that is made even more impressive by the fact that there is no dialogue in the game. With characters who never talk the game manages to never be confusing. There was no point where I didn’t know what was happening or what I had to do next.
Using an innovative system where you control the brothers at the same time using a separate thumb stick for each brother. Several puzzles require you to move them at the same time in conflicting patterns. The system takes a little while to get used to but the mechanic reinforces the feeling of cooperation that is one of the games major themes.
However, the real strength of this game is how the story and the relationship between the brothers. Every interaction with the world and the environment feels earned. Brothers has some wonderful moments and is worth your time.
Puzzles are solved in a lot of ways in the game. It almost always revolves around the two brothers working together.
Even this quiet moment at the beginning of the game show a wonderful world and the closeness of the two brothers. There are several places throughout the game that will give you a chance to stop and enjoy the view that has been set out before you.
1. Life is Strange (and the prequel)
Life is Strange let’s play from Jesse Cox
Life is Strange is the story about a young girl who suddenly discovers she can rewind time several minutes and change the outcome of events. Maxine “Max” Caulfield is a photography student at the Blackwell arts school. She’s quiet, shy, doesn’t have a lot friends, has managed to get on the bad side of the schools mean girl, and is unsure of herself.
The story starts slow. It introduces most of the characters and they are displayed in fairly typical fashion. Victoria is the mean girl, Kate is the quiet Christian who gets picked on, Elliot is the boy with the crush on Max, then there’s the skater, the science geek, Victoria’s minions, and the cool kids in the cool club. As the story progresses each of these characters is given more. They each get fleshed out and shown to have depth. In a story where they could easily have just dismissed the second and third tier characters Life is Strange takes time to flesh them out. Sure, some characters get more of an arc than others.
The story also gets to move away from simple problems. You go from how you deal with a bully to saving someone’s life in the first few minutes. You go from seeing posters of a missing girl to trying to solve the mystery of what happened to her.
The real heart of this game is the relationship between Max and Chloe, her oldest friend. The dynamic between these two characters it what drives this game. Some of the decisions I made were done specifically because of how it affected these two. The love and history between these two characters is something that moves this story forward. Fleshed out even further by the prequel you get to see why Chloe is so broken. You also get to watch why Max feels so responsible. Some of the decisions made in this game hurt me deeply because of how it effected them.
This game is one of my top three favorite games of all time. I can’t wait until my niece is old enough to play these so I can share them with her. There aren’t many games that have affected me the way Life is Strange does. There are several places in this story where I straight up ugly cried. I streamed it on my own YouTube channel and you can hear me agonize over a conversation at the end of chapter two. Life is Strange and the prequel, Before the Storm, broke me in the best way possible. I love these stories so much that I still watch other people’s let’s play videos just to see and hear their reactions.
This story is fantastic. I know there is a Life is Strange 2 coming soon and I’m deeply hopeful that it will be in my hands before the year is out. Even if you don’t play it yourself, this story is so good I recommend you at least watch someone else play it. That’s how I started. Of course, I got to a point where people kept making decisions I disagreed with and I had to play it myself just to get Max to do the right thing. I suppose I should warn you, I know a couple of people who started that way before they started playing themselves. If you think it might be for you but you’re not sure, episode 1 is free on steam. Take the time, try it out. I think you’ll find it’s worth the time.
Even a quiet moment between Kate and Victoria reveals a deep layer of storytelling. These small side moments keep the story focused on the hazards of life in high school.
The focal relationship of the main game Max and Chloe are the relationship that keeps all of the games coherent and alive. What happens between these characters is what keeps you engaged.
There you folks. That’s my list of 20 games with the best stories. What do you think? Are there any other great story games I missed?
Let me know in the comments down below.
