# Games that have phenomenal storylines.



## SkyIllusion (Jul 17, 2014)

I guess the reason I'm starting this post is because I just finished Spec Ops: The Line for the first time and the story was so gripping I finished it in one sitting.

I just want to know what some of your guys' favorite video game story lines are! So there it is, let's hear some! I'll start off by listing a few of my personal favorites. I know these are more recent I'll add to this list when I come up with more!

Spec Ops: The Line
Bastion
To The moon
Child of Light
Bioshock Infinite


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## Taylor (Jul 18, 2014)

The Mass Effect series is a good one.


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## Malkav (Jul 18, 2014)

GraveyardThrone said:


> The Mass Effect series is a good one.



Came in here to say exactly that, pretty much my favourite game series ever and I normally don't like Sci-Fi.

Arcanum
Planescape Torment
Dragon Age Origins
Vampire The Masquerade Bloodlines

Are all other suggestions I'd like to put forward


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## Konfyouzd (Jul 18, 2014)

Mass Effect
Dragon Age

Those are really the only ones where I actually follow the story.


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## Lorcan Ward (Jul 18, 2014)

Mass Effect 1 + 2 with all the DLC is incredible. 

Baldurs Gate 1 + 2
Fallout 1 + 2

They are old games but there is a reason they constantly appear in the top 10 games of all time. Baldurs Gate 2's story is epic and you get really invested in it.


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## SSK0909 (Jul 18, 2014)

Most of the old Bioware games had really good story.
It went a little downhill after Mass Effect 2, but the newer ones still have good stories compared to most games.

For Non RPG's, Silent Hill 2 has a very deep story, but it requires a lot of attention to detail since it isn't spoon fed.


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## Malkav (Jul 18, 2014)

I think people keep avoiding saying Mass Effect 3 because it originally was a bit meh, but if you get all the DLCs for it as well there's a better ending and tons of amazing stuff.

One of the things that really has to be said about Mass Effect 2 & 3 is that even though they're not the most modern games, but they are still pretty new, visually they're amazing, they're basically the only games that have left me staring at scenery going woah. The soundtracks are also incredibly well done, one of the best OSTs in a game I can think of.


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## asher (Jul 18, 2014)

Gone Home
Dear Esther
Brothers - A Tale of Two Sons
Psychonauts
the Dreamfall games
Journey (after a fashion)
Heavy Rain
the Persona games
Transistor (spiritual successor to Bastion)
FEZ
LIMBO
Portal
the Deus Ex games


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## Shimme (Jul 18, 2014)

I'll throw in The Stanley Parable, it has one of the most unique storytelling methods I've ever seen.

edit: even though each storyline only lasts about 10 minutes 

Have you played the original Bioshock or either of the System Shocks (Bioshock spiritual predecessor)? The first one had way tighter gameplay and a more unique premise in my opinion, but the System Shocks absolutely wreck the Bioshocks in terms of story.

While I'm thinking about psychotic AIs, check out both Portals!


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## Adam Of Angels (Jul 18, 2014)

This thread is going to result in me losing a lot of my time 

I know there are others, but I want to add Red Dead Redemption to that list. Rockstar has an addictive form of storytelling in a lot of games, though the stories aren't always great - Red Dead, however, DOES have a great story. I think I've played through it 5 times.


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## hikizume976 (Jul 18, 2014)

Any love for old school ones like Sanitarium or I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream??


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## asher (Jul 18, 2014)

hikizume976 said:


> Any love for old school ones like Sanitarium or I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream??



I'm trying to avoid redundancy or Planescape: Torment would have been at the top of my list 

Oh oh oh. the Monkey Island games!

The Amnesia games also have pretty good story.


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## hikizume976 (Jul 18, 2014)

asher said:


> Oh oh oh. the Monkey Island games!



Definitely! as well as a bunch of those lucasarts games like full throttle, day of tentacle...


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## asher (Jul 18, 2014)

Sam & Max, Full Throttle, Day of the Tentacle, Grim Fandango...


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## WrldEtrBenny (Jul 18, 2014)

uncharted 123.
the last of us was amazing. 
wolfenstein the new order


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## jbab (Jul 18, 2014)

Last of Us x1000. I honestly could not stop playing that game just for the sake of advancing the story. Gameplay was great too.
The first Knights of the Old Republic had a pretty cool story.
The Metal Gear series (MGS3 is my favorite).
Bioshock (all three).
Mafia: City of Lost Heaven had a pretty great story, but the gameplay wasn't amazing.
South Park: The Stick of Truth (if it's your cup of tea).


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## Ralyks (Jul 18, 2014)

Final Fantasy VII

The original Bioshock story was something else, too.


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## Steinmetzify (Jul 18, 2014)

TLOU had the best story I've played out of any videogame ever. That shit was INTENSE. 

I had to put that thing down numerous times just because of anxiety....I seriously couldn't stand it when I'd forget what I was playing and just run around a corner and get eaten because of no caution. I felt bad for the guy. Lent it to my cousin and he had the same experience. 



Spoiler



The part down in the tunnels where you could barely see anything the entire time and you could HEAR THE ....IN CLICKERS EVERYWHERE?!?!?! Jesus.


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## Repner (Jul 18, 2014)

Heavy Rain and Beyond Two Souls. Both more interactive movies than just games


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## ncfiala (Jul 18, 2014)

I can't believe no one has mentioned Eternal Darkness. One of my favorite games of all time, and I have played a lot of games.


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## Xaios (Jul 18, 2014)

jbab said:


> The first Knights of the Old Republic had a pretty cool story.



While it has it's problems, Knights of the Old Republic II also had some good things going for it, including a fantastic story with memorable characters. The villains were also markedly improved. Malak was a fine villain for the first game if a bit one-dimensional, but the trifecta of Sion, Nihilus and Treya in KotOR II were just a cut above. Nihilus was an especially interesting concept, a "Sith" in name only who was really a wound in the force, and who mirrored the player character.


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## Promit (Jul 18, 2014)

KotOR I and II were both amazing. Also agree strongly with Mass Effect.


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## Shimme (Jul 18, 2014)

Xaios said:


> While it has it's problems, Knights of the Old Republic II also had some good things going for it, including a fantastic story with memorable characters. The villains were also markedly improved. Malak was a fine villain for the first game if a bit one-dimensional, but the trifecta of Sion, Nihilus and Treya in KotOR II were just a cut above. Nihilus was an especially interesting concept, a "Sith" in name only who was really a wound in the force, and who mirrored the player character.



Definetly check out 2, especially with the Restored Content Mod. The way I hear it, Obsidian (the devs) were told to ship the game right that freaking moment, and tons of stuff was cut from the game. All of the info for that cut content was still on the discs and downloads though, and modders have basically finished the game based on that stuff. 

There's new planets, quests, voiceovers, the whole 9 yards. If the game had been allowed to continue to be developed it would have knocked the Kotor 1 out of the park.


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## InfinityCollision (Jul 19, 2014)

Malkav said:


> Planescape Torment









Hmm... For the sake of avoiding redundancy I'll say the FF Tactics games, Shadow Hearts/SH: Covenant, and Tales of Symphonia.


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## Bloody_Inferno (Jul 19, 2014)

Xenogears... before the whole deicide thing became a trope in itself.



InfinityCollision said:


> FF Tactics games, Shadow Hearts/SH: Covenant, and Tales of Symphonia.


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## JP Universe (Jul 19, 2014)

FF7&#8230;. the only game where I enjoyed the storyline. L.A Noire was quite good too


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## JustMac (Jul 19, 2014)

Fallout 1, 2...and, hell, screw the elitists...Fallout 3. All great post (and in 3's case post-post) apocalyptic tales with a 50's future twist


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## Malkav (Jul 19, 2014)

I didn't think of it before, but there's a game called Beyond Good and Evil, and it pretty much blindsides you with how good it's storyline is.


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## kylendm (Jul 20, 2014)

I really liked Half-Life series. But yes Kotor 1-2 are both great!


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## Cloudy (Jul 20, 2014)

Top 3:
Last of Us. Need I say anything?
Walking Dead Season 1, 400 days. Only game thats every put me close to tears, absolutely brutal.
Walking Dead Season 2. Game is still in progress but so far its been ....ing fabulous a good testament to Season 1, not on par just yet but Ill give it till E5 for that verdict.


Notable mentions:
Fallout 1, 2, 3, and NV
Mass Effect(s)
Broken Age
Bioshock
I have no mouth and I must scream
Limbo
Goat Simulator (lawl)
Metro 2033/Last Light
Half Life(s)
The Newest Tomb Raider
Wolf Among Us - I was considering throwing this in my top 3 but the ending was a bit 50/50 for me. Not brutal enough like Walking Dead
Elder Scrolls: Oblivion, Morrowind, and Skyrim
Stanley Parale
Alan Wake
GTA V/Red Dead
Assassins Creed I, II, and IV
Out of This World (they just did a reboot finally yessssss)




I didn't much care for L.A Noire and Uncharted, two that seem to pop up a lot. I found both of them to be quite unimmersive and they both definitely had gameplay mechanic flaws that didn't make up for it in my opinion. Although people can definitely say that about some of the games on my list I guess haha.


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## liberascientia (Jul 20, 2014)

Dragon Age (seriously cannot ....ing wait for Inquisition)
Red Dead Redemption
Fallout
GTA: San Andreas


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## redstone (Jul 20, 2014)

Tetris
Duck Hunt


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## Choop (Jul 21, 2014)

Personally for me:

Final Fantasy IV-X
Metal Gear Solid 1-4
Mass Effect 1-2
Dragon Age: Origins
Star Wars: KotOR
Xenogears
Kingdom Hearts
The Last of Us
Heavy Rain

Then there are ones that maybe weren't necessarily story driven, but still are super interesting like Bastion or Braid. I also am really interested in aspects of games' lore and atmosphere that may not necessarily be part of the driving force in the way a game is played. A few examples of this are World of Warcraft, Demon's Souls, Dark Souls, and fighting games like Street Fighter and Tekken.


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## Forrest_H (Jul 21, 2014)

I always thought the ICO/Shadow of the Colossus games had the best story lines. Very surreal. I'm ashamed to admit SotC's ending had me in tears


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## Jlang (Jul 21, 2014)

I completely agree with a tonne of these. 

Adam really hit with what I was coming in here to say, Red Dead was an amazing story and game , for anyone who was wanting a great western, it really delivered.

Also I think last of us is the most recent game that actually got me pretty hard back into gaming, great story and a tonne of fun.


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## Xaios (Jul 21, 2014)

Absolutely agreed with Red Dead Redemption. Anyone who hasn't played that has seriously missed out.


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## Negav (Jul 21, 2014)

I would say the original Tales of Symphonia for Game Cube. Beat that game around 5 times and still loved it back then.


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## Church2224 (Jul 21, 2014)

My Top Story Lines-

Bioshock and Bioshock Infinite 
Mass Effect 
Fallout 3 
Half Life 1 and 2 
And any love for Halo 1 and 2? I loved the story those two had when I was a kid.


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## Captain Shoggoth (Jul 21, 2014)

Anyone who's ever seen me post about Mass Effect on this forum knows that that series is more or less the closest thing I have to a significant other (I mean this a lot more seriously than you may think) so it gets my endorsement 

Other obligatory endorsements:

Fallout 1-3
Elder Scrolls
KOTOR I and II
GTA San Andreas, Vice City, IV (less so), V
Shadow of the Colossus

Although it's more for the characters and atmosphere than the plotline I wholeheartedly recommend Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, my favourite singular game ever. The sequels are pretty good but don't come close to the bar set by the first one.



Church2224 said:


> And any love for Halo 1 and 2? I loved the story those two had when I was a kid.



Big Halo fan here and eagerly awaiting developments re: the Arbiter, Covenant fragments and the Didact in Halo 2 Anniversary terminals/Halo 5 etc. but I think my love of that story is more borne of childhood engagement/obsession and extreme fond nostalgia as opposed to it being a truly phenomenal storyline. That said, H1/H2 (nothing wrong with 3, but it more presents a straightforward conclusion to these events rather than expanding on them) storyline is one of the best of any AAA FPS I've played. Halo 4 also raises very interesting plot points but these are conveyed atrociously within the context of the game campaign itself.


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## Sofos (Jul 22, 2014)

Persona 4 was absolutely fantastic. Persona 3 was good, as well, but not on the same level as 4.


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## WarMachine (Jul 22, 2014)

ncfiala said:


> I can't believe no one has mentioned Eternal Darkness. One of my favorite games of all time, and I have played a lot of games.


Absolutely dude! Eternal Darkness is one of hidden treasures of the GameCube. Highly underrated game!! 

Here's my $0.02:

Final Fantasy VII and its variants
The Legacy of Kain Series
Castlevania Lords of Shadow series (im a huge fan of the series but Lords of Shadow is ....in awesome!!)
Darksiders I and II
Call of Duty Modern Warfare series (just for the "oh shit double cross" moments lol)
Silent Hill series
Resident Evil series
Metroid Series
Megaman Series (more of the megaman x series for me)
Devil May Cry (most are badass but i actually liked the PS3 reboot the best)

And im sure of a shit ton more im forgetting, i'll be back


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## Qweklain (Jul 23, 2014)

A lot of the games I would mention have already been stated, but here are a few that I did not see...

Legend of Dragoon (PS1)
Star Ocean: Second Story (PS1/PSP)
Tales of Destiny 1 & 2 (PS1)
Saga Frontier 1 & 2 (PS1) *I never finished the second one and it may not be the greatest story, but all the stories blend in eventually in SF1 in different/cool ways*


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## texshred777 (Jul 26, 2014)

Edit: Not previously mentioned(I think)
The Witcher
Heavy Rain
Catherine


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## texshred777 (Jul 26, 2014)

Sofos said:


> Persona 4 was absolutely fantastic. Persona 3 was good, as well, but not on the same level as 4.


 
I have to check this one out, have heard a lot recently about it.


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## texshred777 (Jul 26, 2014)

Church2224 said:


> My Top Story Lines-
> 
> Bioshock and Bioshock Infinite
> Mass Effect
> ...


 
I used to love me some Halo. That said, I've had 4 since shortly after launch, and still haven't beat the campaign mode. My 8 year old on the other hand...


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## ZachK (Jul 26, 2014)

All Final Fantasy games up to 13(Haven't made it far enough in 13 to judge)
Resident Evil (Main series)
Legend of Dragoon
Suikoden series
Metal Gear Solid series - leaving this out would be criminal


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## Gothic Headhunter (Jul 28, 2014)

Arkham City. I think I've played it through about 6 times. I really love how there's so much going on. I beat it in less than two days everytime I play it because it's just so awesome. 
Killzone 3. One of the few FPS games in recent memory where the campaign rivals the multiplayer. It's like post-WWII Europe in space, except with a lot more grey area. It takes a lot from history, and I would love it for that alone. It has you going from cities to jungles to tundras and it never stops looking amazing or feeling engaging. Unfortunately the most recent Killzone wasn't that good.


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## SkyIllusion (Jul 28, 2014)

asher said:


> Gone Home
> Dear Esther
> Brothers - A Tale of Two Sons
> Psychonauts
> ...




I totally forgot about this post I made; I haven't been on this site in a few weeks now; I've been very busy. I'm glad to see so many responses.

I also have to agree with FEZ and Dear Esther, my god I forgot about those games. But I loved them.

EDIT: Also Journey kicks ass.


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## SkyIllusion (Jul 28, 2014)

I just remember the first time playing Eternal Darkness; it messed with my head so bad, haha.


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## ghost_of_karelia (Jul 28, 2014)

Spartan: Total Warrior.

About as historically accurate as Corey Taylor and Richard III lightsaber duelling Genghis Khan but I loved that game. It was so cool. I mean, c'mon. Fighting the Minotaur, Hydra, Ladon, Talos and Ares himself?!

sik 1


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## myrtorp (Jul 28, 2014)

I like the story in Majora's Mask.

I also enjoy stories that are told a bit differently, like Bastion where you have a cool voice narrating the stuff you do, or Alan Wake where it's almost like watching a tv series progress, with the main character narrating.


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## Orzech (Jul 28, 2014)

To The Moon has the most captivating story I've seen in a game so far. 

I really hope they make a movie out of it someday


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## Preacher (Jul 28, 2014)

An old PC game called the Nomad Soul has a great (if weird) sci-fi story. The best part though is that the soundtrack was done by David Bowie, and even has a Gig your character has to go to in game with by him (and yes, graphics were just good enough by then to tell it was him)

Bonus sneak peak. A cursory google says it was songs mostly from an Album called hours that's in it as well as a few written for it, such as the title song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzbKjSgvcdw


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## Churchie777 (Jul 28, 2014)

this had me hooked


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## WarMachine (Jul 28, 2014)

Churchie777 said:


> this had me hooked


Dude have you tried Metal Gear Revengeance yet? That is completely badass!!!

On that same ninja-esque side lol, the Ninja Gaiden Sigma Trilogy kicks some ass as well! My favorite by far is the 2nd one, had a badass story line to it


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## Gothic Headhunter (Jul 29, 2014)

Agreed on Revengeance (obviously ) 

I've been thinking about picking up Ninja Gaiden once I have the time, so if it's as badass as Revengeance I'll have to pick it up.


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## WarMachine (Jul 29, 2014)

Oh for sure dude, in fact it's better! If you pick one up, grab Sigma 2 first, that's by far the best one. Take Revengeance and mix it with Devil May Cry. Only real difference in gameplay is that you can't cut literally everything like you can in revengeance, but still, super fun dude


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## hairychris (Jul 30, 2014)

I keep replaying Mass Effect 1, 2, 3... It's a time sink because I love the story!

As I've just upgraded my laptop I'm doing it again. Too many hours in it. :-/


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## Murdstone (Jul 30, 2014)

Came to say Red Dead Redemption and Mother 3, looks like the first has been covered.


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## Malkav (Jul 31, 2014)

hairychris said:


> I keep replaying Mass Effect 1, 2, 3... It's a time sink because I love the story!
> 
> As I've just upgraded my laptop I'm doing it again. Too many hours in it. :-/



I'm totally the same man, I'm currently on my 5th playthrough of the trilogy, using a Femshep Vanguard this time, annoyingly playing Vanguard has made me think of a bunch of cool strategies I may be able to employ with the other classes, so I think I may need to play it through as Adept again 

Also now that I have so many characters that have gone through 1 I will never play 1 again, it's cool the first time to get the story but the copy paste buildings and that ....ing mako have officially killed it for me.


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## WarMachine (Jul 31, 2014)

I know i mentioned the Legacy of Kain series, but Legacy of Kain Defiance...total badassness  Even tho it makes me  to know that they stopped the series there, that was the perfect closer. It had a GREAT way to wrap up the series. If anyone here has tried the others and not defiance, you need to.....RIGHT NOW!!!


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## Repner (Jul 31, 2014)

I gave the Legacy Of Kain series so many repeat plays as a kid. I'm skeptical about this Nosgoth game coming out though. I know it's not a continuation of the story, but it just doesn't feel like a LoK related game


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## WarMachine (Jul 31, 2014)

Repner said:


> I gave the Legacy Of Kain series so many repeat plays as a kid. I'm skeptical about this Nosgoth game coming out though. I know it's not a continuation of the story, but it just doesn't feel like a LoK related game


I agree dude, to me it looks more like a goth'd out version of WoW... And they left the doors wide open with how Defiance ended to follow up with something great...i dont get it haha


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## frahmans (Jul 31, 2014)

Front mission 3 or front mission 4 for the playstation one. A rag tag group of wanZer pilots uncovers a global conspiracy of world domination, weapons, of mass destruction, and wanZer battles.


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## pink freud (Jul 31, 2014)

It came out not too long ago, but Valiant Hearts: The Great War. If you don't have tears in your eyes at the end you aren't human.


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## Repner (Aug 1, 2014)

WarMachine said:


> I agree dude, to me it looks more like a goth'd out version of WoW... And they left the doors wide open with how Defiance ended to follow up with something great...i dont get it haha



If they did do a proper sequel, it would be tragic to hear anyone but Tony Jay in the Elder God role. What a voice that man had.


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## Xaios (Aug 4, 2014)

Preacher said:


> An old PC game called the Nomad Soul has a great (if weird) sci-fi story. The best part though is that the soundtrack was done by David Bowie, and even has a Gig your character has to go to in game with by him (and yes, graphics were just good enough by then to tell it was him)
> 
> Bonus sneak peak. A cursory google says it was songs mostly from an Album called hours that's in it as well as a few written for it, such as the title song.
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzbKjSgvcdw



That game was actually called Omikron: the Nomad Soul. I remember reading a preview about it in a buddy's copy of PCXL magazine (which was, seriously, basically Maxim for PC gamers ). Apparently they touted a lot of "do anything you possibly want to" gameplay mechanics while it was under development. Alas, apparently it didn't come to pass like that. Not that it's really surprising in hindsight, we still hardly have games like that today.


EDIT: After googling it, I guess they did just call it "The Nomad Soul" in Europe.


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## Rock4ever (Aug 11, 2014)

The 1st Legacy of Kain
Heavy Rain
Mass Effect
FF6
Chrono trigger
Planescape Torment
Baldur's Gate 2
Alan Wake


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