What game has your favorite story?

kuwisdelu

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I just finished Horizon Zero Dawn and it's probably my favorite video game story so far.

But I also just love apocalyptic stories.

With those we love alive is also very good.
 

Kjbartolotta

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With those two statements alone, you need to play Nier Automata. You'll enjoy it. Robots and philosophy, oh my.

Xenogears was super cool, but I never finished it. I tried more than once.

Yeah, I like Nier better than XG now. My stars. Not just the weird recursive existentialism & symbolic symbology, but the quirk and humour that keeps it from lapsing into darkness-induced apathy. Not gonna knock on the WitchRim Assassin's Age: Inquisitions of the world, because I play them all, but there's something special about AA games like these are their singular visions.

Not even halfway through Path A, so I expect things will only get better.
 

owlion

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I love the story of Owlboy, especially as you have to work a bit to find some of it (and the character interactions help with worldbuilding a lot). I also really enjoy the stories of Ghost Trick, Journey, Okami, Detention, What Remains of Edith Finch, SOMA, The Wolf Among Us and Nier: Automata.
 

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No mentions of God of War PS4? Do my eyes deceive me? The dynamic fully realized relationships between characters ALONE should have it on this list. That's before mentioning all of the optional lore you can discover in the world. I also second Nier Automata, but mainly for 9S's character development across the three parts.

And an honorable mention to Horizon Zero Dawn. The attention to detail and the way Aloy talks to herself constantly is extremely engaging. Then you throw in a rich, vibrant world with a mysterious past that makes the whole world feel like a compelling character you want to learn about. But literally every npc fell flat for me. Amazing world-building and protagonist, but the cheap dialogue attached to the side characters was sometimes a chore to slog through tbh. Looking at you, Sun King.
 

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One I haven't seen mentioned here is Until Dawn.

It's not revolutionary or anything. There's nothing about it that made it super fresh or new. But the characters just somehow felt very believable to me, I thought the many different paths the game could take was awesome... yeah, I was super into that. I love games that are mostly based on the player's choices.

And speaking of player's choices: honourable mention to Detroit: Become Human for the same reasons!
 

lizmonster

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One I haven't seen mentioned here is Until Dawn.

Added to my wish list, which is now at 27. :)

And speaking of player's choices: honourable mention to Detroit: Become Human for the same reasons!

I've become kind of addicted to this game because it's actually possible to get everybody a happy ending. The Kid likes to play by p*ssing everybody off, which gives it a very different feel. ;)
 

Cosmering

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I've become kind of addicted to this game because it's actually possible to get everybody a happy ending. The Kid likes to play by p*ssing everybody off, which gives it a very different feel.

Haha! I always say I'm going to play through it and make different choices, just to see... but I get too disappointed in myself when I mess up for someone and get them a sad ending.
 

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I'm not the biggest video game guy around, but I absolutely loved the story for Halo 3: ODST. I've never actually played that darn thing, but I've watched walkthrough videos on YouTube for the game at least three times. It's so darn awesome. I like stories about normal people who you'd typically find in the background of some epic story, where the focus in on them just doing their job while all around them, veritable demigods are engaged in an epic struggle, except this epic struggle is just set dressing for a more human, more personal story. I think that's the same appeal that the comic book Gotham Central has. I'd totally play a video game based on that book.
 

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I loved the story in Baldurs Gate 1 and 2, Final Fantasy 7,8,9, Star Wars KOTOR... so many to name.

Has anyone played Red Dead Redemption 2? That one is pretty new and has a decent story to it. I haven't finished it yet but if it's anything like the first one it probably won't end well for Arthur.

I'm finding it harder and harder to find games with a compelling storyline these days.
 

lizmonster

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I'm finding it harder and harder to find games with a compelling storyline these days.

I've been playing Prey a lot. It's maybe not quite what you're looking for, because it's possible to play it as a first person shooter without a ton of engagement with the backstory. But there's quite a bit there, and it rewards you (sometimes literally!) as you uncover and act on little character bits.

It's also a really phenomenal world to explore. I revisit it in part because the station is so rich and beautiful.
 

owlion

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I'm finding it harder and harder to find games with a compelling storyline these days.
If you like stories where you have to hunt for lore to figure them out, Hollow Knight is a good one. Owlboy too, although the story to that is much more overt (and it's really compelling).
 

chimneyswift

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I've been playing Prey a lot. It's maybe not quite what you're looking for, because it's possible to play it as a first person shooter without a ton of engagement with the backstory. But there's quite a bit there, and it rewards you (sometimes literally!) as you uncover and act on little character bits.

It's also a really phenomenal world to explore. I revisit it in part because the station is so rich and beautiful.

If you like stories where you have to hunt for lore to figure them out, Hollow Knight is a good one. Owlboy too, although the story to that is much more overt (and it's really compelling).

Thanks! I'll pick them up next time I'm at a games shop.
 

kujo_jotaro

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Final Fantasy VII for me.

Has anyone played Death Stranding yet? Am reading a lot of mixed reviews for that but was always a Kojima fan so was wondering if it was worth the purchase?
 

RedMargarita

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The one where the characters feel like real people to me is Stardew Valley. Even though the quests are mostly as arbitrary as any other game, it also feels like the player's actions have a real impact on the community and the characters' lives.

Definitely agree! I love character driven stories anyway, and Stardew Valley is a near perfect game for me. I played it so many times just to see all the romance arcs, and do different choices. I'm glad you mentioned it, because it's not just a farm simulator, it's got some great stories and mechanics in it.
 

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An old PC game from the 1990s.... Hype: The Time Quest.

You follow a knight through 4 eras/generations of a family's rule over the land. As characters age, your character remains ageless (time hopping from era to era). The dialogue interactions with the characters throughout the game is fantastic.

Knights, magic, an evil god looking to end the MC, dragon, and so forth.... It has it all.
 

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Added to my wish list, which is now at 27. :)



I've become kind of addicted to this game because it's actually possible to get everybody a happy ending. The Kid likes to play by p*ssing everybody off, which gives it a very different feel. ;)

Little late... But you might enjoy "Life is Strange." It's been out for a few years, but it has the some of the same feel as Detroit. It's less about 'playing a game' as it is making choices and seeing how those effect the story/characters.
 

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Golden Sun, for the GBA. It's what got me into fanfiction, then writing as a hobby, and eventually hoping to get something published.
 
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Biffington

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Planescape: Torment was a good example of what writing can be in games. Depending on your choices, even your silly choices, unforeseen consequences could ensue. Like creating new people from scratch. Or spoilers. Or other spoilers.

When you learn to become a wizard, it teaches you the pitfalls of wizardry under the disguise of a series of fetch quests. The game doesn't end when you die. It ends when you give up. And in the end, the whole point of the game is to find yourself.
 
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Aegrin

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I really enjoyed Primorida's story. Humorous interactions between protagonist and sidekick, sad setting where humans are mythical creatures worshiped by some robots, great foreshadows and setup and amazing reveal at the end.
 

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So many! (and a lot of them are already mentioned)

FF VIII was the first time I felt like crying in a video game.
The start/first few hours of Mass Effect 1 was amazing. (The rest was good too, but the council scene was just done perfectly)
Homeworld (Especially the mission when you just finished testing the jump drive and return to Kharak...)

There are many others but these are just off the top of my head.
 

ConnorMuldowney

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Both "Last of Us" games, "Night in the Woods" and "Persona 5," tonally quite different but in all of these games there is a lot to dig your teeth into. Someone could write a dissertation on the insecurities of some of the bosses in Persona 5.

Never heard of "Nier Automata" before, but will definitely give it a look.
 
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micahkolding

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Chrono Cross. That game succeeds at being a work of art where dozens of overwritten pretention-fests have floundered ever since.
 

mschenk2016

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Tough call, there's so many. Just off the top of my head, some of the stories that stuck with me the most are KOTOR and Red Dead Redemption 1 & 2.
 

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So much love for the SNES RPG's (FF3 and SDV (kinda)) I have to mention the best RPG for the system Chrono Trigger.

The game focuses around time travel and has you traveling back and forth through time to try and save the world from an apocalyptic event that destroys the world in the far future. You pick up party members from different periods (From a robot from the future all the way to a prehistoric caveperson)

They had a lot of fun time travel based quest, for example you need a favor from a guy but he is being stingy. The solution is to travel back and be charitable to his mother so she will raise her kids to be better.