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Narrative and storytelling can be just as important as realistic graphics or even gameplay itself. These are our picks for the best interactive story games.
ByJason Cohen
UpdatedApril 22, 2020
Table of Contents
Each new generation of video games promises more polygons, pixels, and processing power than ever before. Developers gush about how the latest PlayStation and Xboxconsoles deliver buzzwords like bloom lighting, particle effects, 4K, ray tracing, and normal mapping. However, narrative and storytelling can be just as important as realistic graphics or even gameplay itself.
Some of the best-received games of the past few years are loved because of their plots. These games place such an emphasis on story that they're more like interactive fiction than traditional video games. Some are first-person shooters with a heavier focus on story, but others are point-and-click adventures and third-person exploration games. Then there are the more experimental ones, like text-based phone games with puzzles for readers to solve.
Games filled with amazing storytelling can be bought for any platform—PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, or Nintendo Switch.If you prefer smart drama and important decisions over dumb, flashy action, here are some of the best video games you should check out.
Ace Attorney
Ace Attorney for PC
TheAce Attorneyseries of visual novel adventure games debuted on theGame Boy Advancein 2001. In the nearly 20 years since, the franchise now includes over 10 game titles, an anime, and a live-action Japanese film. The player takes control of several different defense attorneys to investigate cases, gather evidence, cross examine witnesses, and determine the truth.
Though each game was initially released for a Nintendo handheld device, most of them have been ported to mobile. The original Ace Attorney Trilogy HD is available for free on iOS, or for purchase on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Switch. Capcom has made all other entries in the series available for purchase on iOS and Android.
Choice of the Deathless
Choice of the Deathless
The text-based Choice of the Deathless is a "necromantic legal thriller" that requires you to fight your way up the ladder of an elite demonic law firm. The game is available oniOS,Android, andSteam. You can also play for free onthe game's website.
Detroit: Become Human
Detroit: Become Human for PS4
The 2018 adventure gameDetroit: Become Human centers around three android characters who are each controllable through episodic chapters. Players have the ability to make choices on their behalf that can drastically alter the story, resulting in their success, failure, or even death. Episodes can even be replayed to discover new possibilities from choices that were not made in the previous play-through. Detroit: Become Human is available on PlayStation 4 and PC through the Epic Games Store.
Depression Quest
Depression Quest for PC
Depression Quest is an interactive fiction game that lets you play as someone living with depression. You must navigate everyday life events while managing your illness, personal relationships, and job. The game can be played on the web or through Steam, and is available through a pay-what-you-want model.
Device 6
Device 6 (for iPhone)
5.0
Device 6is actually a novel that just happens to have some casual gameplay elements. Surrounding the text are pictures, sounds, and even puzzles crucial to making progress and figuring out what is really going on in this thriller. For book lovers craving their first taste of interactive fiction, this is a good place to start. Device 6 is aniOSexclusive, and it ranks among thebest iPhone gamesyou can play.
Device 6 (for iPhone) Review
Dreamfall Chapters
Dreamfall Chapters for PC
Dreamfall Chapters takes place in a universe with parallel cyberpunk futuristic and magical fantasy worlds. You controlseveral characters as they explore environments, continue the story, and solve puzzles. There are no combat or stealth elements in the game, with Dreamfall instead focusing on the player discovering secrets through exploration and making pivotal choices that will alter parts of the story.
The title serves as the third and final installment of The Longest Journey series. The game is optimized for the PC, but has also been ported to theXbox Oneand PS4. You can get the first two games—The Longest Journey and Dreamfall: The Longest Journey—in a bundle on Steam.
Emily is Away
Emily is Away for PC
Remember the early 2000s when you talked to your friends through AIM? Emily is Away, available for free onSteam, provides that experience by creating a visual novel on a Windows XP desktop where you chat with Emily over a five-year span. Players can make dialogue choices that alter the course of the story.
Emily is Away Too expands on the first game, allowing you to talk with two characters at once. A third game called Emily is Away , which moves the game's conversations onto social media,is in development.
Fahrenheit / Indigo Prophecy
Fahrenheit: Indigo Prophecy Remastered for PC
Originally released in 2005 as bothFahrenheit andIndigo Prophecy, the game presented players with in-game decisions and dialogue choicesthat vastly changed the outcome of the game. You play as a man who is supernaturally possessed to commit murder and the police detectives pursuing him.Fahrenheit: Indigo Prophecy Remastered for PCandPlayStation 4brought the game into the modern day.
Firewatch
Firewatch for PC
Firewatchis a first-person adventure game that puts you in control of a fire lookout named Henry in the Shoshone National Forest. The game takes place in 1989, and follows Henry as he explores the forest and uncovers a conspiracy.
A majority of the game’s story and dialogue comes from Henry’s interactions with his superior over a walkie-talkie. Players decide how the two interact and how their relationship develops over the course of the game. Firewatch is available for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Switch.
Florence
Florence (for iOS)
In the mobile interactive story Florence, players guide the titular character through 20 chapters filled with minigames, from her daily routines tothe lifespan of her relationship with a cellist named Krish. Though the game is only 30 minutes long, it has earned praise for its storytelling, character building, and art direction. Originally released foriOSand Android, Florence is now onPC and Nintendo Switch, too.
Gone Home
Gone Home (for iOS)
Gone Homeis the dream of the '90s in video game form. Touting its lack of puzzles and combat as a selling point, this first-person adventure instead takes players on a spooky walking tour of an abandoned Oregon home. Set in 1995, the impeccably detailed environments feature VHS tapes of theX-Files, zines, and riot grrrl background music. It may be short, but Gone Home's tale deals with gender issues and young adulthood in an honest way that's rarely, if ever, seen in video games. Get it for PC,PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and iOS devices.
Her Story
Her Story (for iPad)
4.5
Her Story is an interactive movie video game available for purchase oniOS,Android, and Steam. This live-action game allows you to play detective with pieces of a police interview. Search the simulated desktop for new clips of video and piece together the story in order to discover the truth. It's among our picks forbest iPad games.
The game's spiritual successor is 2019's Telling Lies oniOS and Steam, where you watch pieces of various video calls between characters. You must piece together the information and figure out who is lying.
Her Story (for iPad) Review
The Last of Us
The Last Of Us Remastered for PS4
Though The Last of Us features a fair amount of zombie-killing action, its real focus is on tense post-apocalyptic atmosphere and the tender bond between its protagonists. You control Joel through combat and survival scenarios as he escorts Ellie, his teenage surrogate daughter, to safety.
Players experience a decimated America filled with pain, heartache, and zombies on a truly cinematic level.The Last of Us Remasteredis available on PlayStation 4;The Last of Us IIis currently in development.
Late Shift
Late Shift for PC
Late Shift focuses on a parking lot attendant who becomes involved with London's criminal underworld, and plays out as an interactive film that uses video to tell a story and give players choices along the way. Get Late Shift for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.
Life is Strange
Life is Strange (for iOS)
Installments of theLife is Strangeseries present themselves as episodic adventure video games focusing on different characters. You control the main character to affect the environment, obtain items, and interact with the characters around them. Player decisions will directly alter the story of the game.
Life is Strangeand Life is Strange: Before the Stormare available forPC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, iOS, and Android. All episodes of the first game are bundled together on Steam, and Episode One is available to play for free.Life is Strange 2 was released for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
Neo Cab
Neo Cab for PC
In Neo Cab, you play as Lina, the last human cab driver in a futuristic city who is looking for her missing friend. As an interactive visual novel, you talk to passengers and uncover clues and secrets through the progression of these conversations. The game is available for PC, Nintendo Switch, and is available on Apple Arcade.
Oxenfree
OXENFREE
The supernatural horror adventure gameOxenfreecenters around a group of kids who must uncover the truth about a mysterious island. There are no cutscenes in the game, so all dialogue takes place during gameplay, allowing the player to focus as much or as little on the story as they want.
Oxenfree has multiple endings and no game-over screen, which means the player's decisions directly alter the game's storyline. It's available on PC, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Android.
Sorcery!
Sorcery! iOS
Sorcery!is a series of text and graphic adventure games based on Steve Jackson's Sorcery! choose-your-own-adventure novels. Players can make thousands of different in-game choices to change the story around them. Get it oniOS,Android, andSteam.
The Stanley Parable
The Stanley Parable
Like a greatTwilight Zoneepisode,The Stanley Parablequickly goes from mundane to crazy, clever, and almost existential. As you're guided through an office building by a seemingly helpful narrator, you end up exposing just how meaningful (and meaningless) choice really is inside a video game. Narrative and game mechanics come together to form meta-commentary at its finest (and funniest).
Tacoma
Tacoma for PC
In the adventure gameTacoma, you investigate the disappearance of the crew aboard a space station in the year 2088. Thanks to an advanced AR overlay, you can view character movements in order to study the scene, learn new information, and continue the story. The game is available for purchase onSteam, PlayStation 4, andXbox One.
The Walking Dead
The Walking Dead for XBox
For years, Telltale Games made adventure games based on beloved properties like Batman and Fables. However,The Walking Deadseries trumps them all. The series' plots, characters, and writing are arguably better than the show and the original comic on which the game is based.
Though the game was released in episodic chapters, you can now own The Walking Dead: The Telltale Definitive Series on PC through the Epic Games Store, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
What Remains of Edith Finch
What Remains of Edith Finch for PC
The mystery adventure gameWhat Remains of Edith Finchcenters on the titular character’s exploration of her old family home. You explore the Finch house as expository voice narration guides you through the story. Memories, hidden secrets, and various cutscenes help the player learn more about the fate of Edith's family. The game can be purchased for PC, PlayStation 4,Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt for PC
As an action role-playing game set in an open world, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is easily the most traditional entry on this list. Though you'll be fighting many enemies, you also have to make important decisions throughout the game as the Witcher Geralt, like who lives and who dies. Some decisions might even seem inconsequential, only for it to change the course of the game later on. Released in 2015, Witcher 3 is now available for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Switch.
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter [Online Game Code]
Set in an open world,The Vanishing of Ethan Carteris a horror-adventure game that allows the player to roam around and explore while investigating and solving crimes. The main character can use paranormal abilities to sense important objects, and reassemble the timeline of events to help solve the case. The game is available on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.
Year Walk
Year Walk and Year Walk Companion (for iPhone)
4.5
Year Walk is a point-and-click adventure that features clever puzzles and a thick sense of ominous mystery. Come for the smart and engaging gameplay, get hooked by the moody and atmospheric world in which this Swedish adventure game is set. Download the game oniOSorSteam.
Year Walk and Year Walk Companion (for iPhone) Review
The Most Niche Simulation PC Games
Want more? These PC games painstakingly recreate mundane tasks, from driving to farming, for small but dedicated audiences.
Want more?These PC gamespainstakingly recreate mundane tasks, from driving to farming, for small but dedicated audiences.
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