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[ARF Initiative]

I know there are some games which stories just changed all. Stories that got us involved in for a long time. Those stories became a really important part of our favorite video games libraries. 

I'm just thinking about games I really enjoy because their stories are simply amazing. And so, this is my Top 3:



Last of Us.

This story of a surrogate father and daughter fighting for personal survival, forging bonds, and looking toward the survival of the entire human race is at times triumphant and others painful.



The Witcher.

The kind of story you will enjoy playing for 200 hours. No doubt. It's a complex but classic story of knights, witches, magic, gods, betrayals, transformations and love. Put everything together and let the story both hits and subverts fantasy and adventure. You can't blink your eyes or you'll loose something important about the game.


Zelda: Ocarina of time.

Probably the best game I've played in my whole life. Not only for the story (it's another Link story more, yeah, but deeper), but also for what it means to me (my early times playing video games).

Obviously, there are much more games to talk about (Bioshock, for example). What are your Top3 Story Games?

[Superb Joe]

nier automata is the only video game ive played since metal gear solid 1 that felt like it had anything to say and really tried to explore a theme, but i have spent much more time thinking about yakuza 0. it's not a particularly groundbreaking story and most of it revolves around internal organised crime squabbles surrounding the ownership of a small patch of land, but it has some of the best character writing in games. without posting videos of spoilers its hard to communicate why but its incredibly good.

[v790]

Kingdom hearts
This is one of the best stories until now. To grasp all the details one should play every game on the series, but it's worth it.

Horizon: Zero dawn
At the beginning it doesn't seem much of a great story, after a while though it get really really really interesting.

Persona 5
Same story of Horizon: starts slowly (about 100 hours of story) and then gets great

[Canned Turkey]

Red Dead Redemption
Not the best story ever written by purely objective measurement; the game is an action packed adventure, not a tear jerking drama with any complex motifs or messages. But the art of writing isn't only contained to drama or philosophy. There's more to videogame writing than there is to other mediums. The goal of the writers at rockstar was to make you not only relate to and care for John, but ultimately for you to feel like you are the baddest gunslinger in the west. And they pulled it off brilliantly. Never before or since has a game truly captured my imagination and wonder. When I rode into mexico and heard Far Away playing, with the orange sunset over the desert horizon; it was me who was riding into the distance, not just an avatar in a video game. Read Dead 2 has been an incredible ride so far too, but in terms of fully immersing me in it's world and character, it's incomparable to the original.

Shadow of the Colossus
I felt like I had lost something at the end of this game. Not for the loss of the protagonist characters, but the '"antagonists". I had killed those once gentle beasts for my own gain. Video games, music, movies, TV, fictional books; all forms of created media are at their core entertainment. But sometimes a work becomes more than that. Sometimes a rare gem like SotC teaches you something. This game not only deals with themes like loss and suffering, but it shows you a bit how you feel those emotions, by using the common tropes of action games to lure in your trust. Once you trust this game, it draws you in by spelling out how it's you that's causing pain in the world, driven by your own selfishness for something that is most likely impossible. Most writers stray away from pointing out the flaws you the player possesses, which is sometimes their mistake. This game will always be in my favorites of all time for doing just that.

Papers, Please
When I saw Infinity War and was an onlooker to almost every single "hero" prioritizing their handful of loved ones over the greater good of life itself, I scoffed. "I love my mother, my dad, my sister, my brothers, but if it was them or the whole world I would chose the world!" I said. But then I remembered. How I turned in every rebel and poor immigrant so that my family would have food, warmth, and shelter. In Arstotzka anyways. In Papers Please, Lucas Pope masterfully uses the games mechanics to give you a clear choice between what is right and what is easy, without yelling at you that you are even making that choice. And every time I say that I believe in saving the most lives and choosing what is right, I remember when I prioritized getting the least amount of infractions so I could care for my family over the entire countries suffering.

[litHermit]

Zelda: Link's Awakening
Not overly complex, but is offbeat and poignant and deals with change, death and loss in a meaningful though somewhat subtle way. There's also the nostalgia factor for me, and is tied in closely to Ocarina of Time.

Fallout
Just a somewhat tounge-in-cheek, bleak-but-not-quite story about humanity at its base level. The writing is pretty decent, characters are interesting, and the atmosphere this game creates (story playing a huge part in that) is my favorite of all time.

Life is Strange or The Talos Principle
I have a hard time picking, for completely different reasons. I'm a sucker for heart-tugging drama (and a certain attempted-suicide scene in LiS is one of the most memorable scenes in all of gaming for me.). While Talos is all about philosophy and introspection, and I basically played through its puzzles for the writing alone (and well, I really enjoyed the game's mood)

[v790]

Heavy rain is not bad either

[Cobralad]

Indigo Prophecy: you go on fascinating virtual adventure that involves multiple profesions and races.

[cynicalsandel]

mother 3

[ARF Initiative]

Persona 5
Same story of Horizon: starts slowly (about 100 hours of story) and then gets great

I didn't know Persona 5. How many hours of gameplay?

[ARF Initiative]

Zelda: Link's Awakening
Not overly complex, but is offbeat and poignant and deals with change, death and loss in a meaningful though somewhat subtle way. There's also the nostalgia factor for me, and is tied in closely to Ocarina of Time.

I love all Zelda video games, but I believe Ocarina of time is simply the best.

[ARF Initiative]

nier automata is the only video game ive played since metal gear solid 1 that felt like it had anything to say and really tried to explore a theme, but i have spent much more time thinking about yakuza 0. it's not a particularly groundbreaking story and most of it revolves around internal organised crime squabbles surrounding the ownership of a small patch of land, but it has some of the best character writing in games. without posting videos of spoilers its hard to communicate why but its incredibly good.

My friends also recommend me Yakuza 0. So I guess I have to give it a try.

[ARF Initiative]

Shadow of the Colossus
I felt like I had lost something at the end of this game. Not for the loss of the protagonist characters, but the '"antagonists". I had killed those once gentle beasts for my own gain. Video games, music, movies, TV, fictional books; all forms of created media are at their core entertainment. But sometimes a work becomes more than that. Sometimes a rare gem like SotC teaches you something. This game not only deals with themes like loss and suffering, but it shows you a bit how you feel those emotions, by using the common tropes of action games to lure in your trust. Once you trust this game, it draws you in by spelling out how it's you that's causing pain in the world, driven by your own selfishness for something that is most likely impossible. Most writers stray away from pointing out the flaws you the player possesses, which is sometimes their mistake. This game will always be in my favorites of all time for doing just that.

I really enjoyed this one, and It's the poster I have in my wall.

[ARF Initiative]

Heavy rain is not bad either

What is this game about?

[ARF Initiative]

Indigo Prophecy: you go on fascinating virtual adventure that involves multiple profesions and races.

Is it a racing video game, then?

[s0]

Heavy rain is not bad either

What is this game about?

inclement weather

[Cobralad]

mother 2 is a story about leaving your homestead, finding that big city money controlled by stone idol worshippers, sighting ufos, charging up from earth crystals and defeating evil with the power of prayer.

[litHermit]

Illusion of Gaia has a pretty interesting story too (as does its rather grindy sequel Terranigma). It's full of mythical undertones, but the overarching plot isn't where it shines as much as in small vignettes.

[Superb Joe]

nier automata is the only video game ive played since metal gear solid 1 that felt like it had anything to say and really tried to explore a theme, but i have spent much more time thinking about yakuza 0. it's not a particularly groundbreaking story and most of it revolves around internal organised crime squabbles surrounding the ownership of a small patch of land, but it has some of the best character writing in games. without posting videos of spoilers its hard to communicate why but its incredibly good.

My friends also recommend me Yakuza 0. So I guess I have to give it a try.

I cannot recommend it highly enough. Until I played Yakuza 0 I thought there was no earthly reason for a story driven game to be longer than 5 hours. I've now played 5 Yakuza games with the longest being like 80 hours.

[v790]

Persona 5
Same story of Horizon: starts slowly (about 100 hours of story) and then gets great

I didn't know Persona 5. How many hours of gameplay?

I played just the main story. It took me about 100 hours. Then, there is new game+.

Heavy rain is not bad either

What is this game about?

This is an investigation about the origami killer. You play as four different characters with different roles in the story.

[Chris MacAdam]

Nobody has said "LISA" yet. Pretty short RPG Maker game, but one that has stuck with me since I have played it. It touches on some dark subjects, like drugs / rape / abuse.