June 3, 2025, 6:06 am | Read time: 8 minutes
For many, one thing is essential for a good video game: a captivating story. Titles that prioritize this are often called story games. But what defines them, and which story games are truly worth playing?
The days when video games were not taken seriously as a narrative medium are long gone. There are simply too many good and successful games that impress with their plot and storytelling. The TECHBOOK editorial team presents its personal highlights in the realm of story-driven games.
How Do You Define Story Games?
Providing a universal summary for the genre of story games is not easy. Broadly speaking, it includes games that focus on their narrative and storytelling. Since much of this is subjective, it is more of an unofficial genre. However, the term story games has become established for many. So what exactly characterizes these titles in detail?
Primarily, these are games that define their progress through advancing the main story. In academia, the term “criterion of success” is used for this. This allows story games to be mixed with many other genres. Popular examples include open-world or RPG story games.
Games that are fundamentally story games often feature a high degree of linearity. Typically, they also have well-developed characters and carefully orchestrated storytelling. At many major video game awards, it is now common to have at least one story category–a testament to the importance given to this area.
The Last of Us (Part 1)
For many, the first part of “The Last of Us” epitomizes a great story game. It’s no wonder that the successful network HBO turned the video game into a blockbuster series. The plot, the core of the title, almost seems clichéd on paper.
The 2013 game by Naughty Dog is set in a post-apocalyptic future. There, a large part of humanity has been wiped out by a fungus or transformed into zombie-like creatures. However, these are not the only threat in the military-controlled society, where people mainly live in quarantine zones. Internal conflicts, a harsh totalitarian regime, and rebellious groups make survival a real struggle.
Amidst this turmoil, the smuggler Joel is tasked with escorting the teenager Ellie across North America. The young girl seems to be immune to the fungal mutation after being bitten by a mutant. Could she possibly be the key to a widespread cure?
During the journey, Joel and Ellie grow closer, each grappling with their own traumas. “The Last of Us” masterfully stages this journey and emotionally engages its players. As mentioned, it sounds clichéd but is anything but in execution. The well-placed perspective shifts further accentuate the story of this game. The title also provides a perfect example of how video games can function excellently as a narrative medium.
What Remains of Edith Finch
The great thing about story games is that smaller titles from indie studios often appear on best-of lists. It doesn’t take a monster budget to tell good stories. A prime example is the 2017 game “What Remains of Edith Finch” by Giant Sparrow.
The title character Edith returns to her family’s estate after years, following the deaths of all other family members. As Edith, the player explores the house, a secluded, mysterious mansion. While there is little room for free exploration, the level design is meticulously orchestrated through the individual rooms of the house. This allows the storytelling to have its full impact.
In each room, there is not only an individual, lovingly crafted design. You also learn in very different ways how each resident met their end. This creates various scenarios, some realistic, others resembling dream sequences. This leaves plenty of room for interpretation about how the family members actually died.
There’s a whimsical passage in the room of Molly, who died at age ten, or a small investigation in the basement bunker of her brother Walter, who died at 53. Barbara’s comic scenes are as unforgettable as Milton’s painted world. The theory that the Finches are cursed is always present. In the end, a diverse creative adventure emerges, where every detail of the game is focused on the story.
Dragon Quest 11: Echoes of an Elusive Age
“Dragon Quest” is one of the major JRPG series of the past decades. JRPG stands for “Japanese Role-Playing Game,” role-playing games from Japan. In this case, the game comes from Square Enix, the studio behind franchises like “Final Fantasy” and “Kingdom Hearts.”
The eleventh main installment of the series, titled “Echoes of an Elusive Age,” was released in 2017. Players experience a classic hero’s journey, especially in the first part of the game. The protagonist discovers that he is the reincarnated Luminary and must save the World Tree Yggdrasil from evil as part of his destiny. The motif of the World Tree is central to nearly every part of the series. And not only that: he is also the missing son of a fallen kingdom!
Unfortunately, no one seems to recognize this. Instead, he is accused of being the Darkspawn and must flee. On his journey, he gathers a small group of interesting characters to accompany him to the World Tree. And then–what makes the title one of the best story games in our view–everything suddenly changes. Not only does the story itself contain some nasty twists, but the endgame is one of the most extensive and varied ever.
Pentiment
Few games offer such an intriguing mix on paper as “Pentiment.” The game by Obsidian Entertainment is a 2D adventure that comes in the style of medieval illustrations. And it fits perfectly with the content, as the story is set in 16th-century Bavaria.
There, you play as the aspiring artist Andreas Maler, who is working on his masterpiece in the monastery of the quaint town of Tessing. He becomes embroiled in intrigues within the monastery walls and is tasked with investigating two murders. The game is divided into three acts. In the third, you take control of the young printer Magdalene. Years after the previous events, she begins to unravel the town’s history and its secrets.
What makes “Pentiment” one of the best story games is the combination of unusual graphics and truly surprising storytelling. Both Andreas and Magdalene can significantly influence the events with their decisions. This is particularly noteworthy because everything is interconnected, spanning game acts and narrated decades.
Baldur’s Gate 3
Larian Studios caused a stir with the 2023 release of “Baldur’s Gate 3”, impacting both the role-playing sector and the realm of story games. Like its predecessors, the game is based on the pen-and-paper game “Dungeons & Dragons.” And the core of such games is their stories–as is the case with this title.
The plot is once again set in the game world of Faerûn, on the Sword Coast. The player starts as a prisoner of the mind flayers, dark creatures with plenty of tentacles. These have implanted parasites in the main character’s head, as well as in the other prisoners on board. While these grant special powers, they also seem to be ticking time bombs, eventually turning their hosts into mind flayers.
Also interesting: The Most Valuable Video Games in the World
The starting point of the journey is the understandable desire to remove the parasites. For this, the player can recruit additional characters typical of role-playing games: the mysterious Astarion, the wizard Gale, the bloodthirsty Lae’zel, the warrior Karlach, the half-elf Shadowheart, and the warlock Wyll. What makes “Baldur’s Gate 3” special is that players have an incredible range of decision-making options, with the specific outcome depending on chance. As in “Dungeons & Dragons,” dice are rolled in many situations. The result determines whether a persuasion attempt succeeds or not, with players having the opportunity to level up skills and improve certain rolls.
This results in a wide range of possible player experiences within the main storyline. The strength of “Baldur’s Gate 3” is that everything still comes together in a coherent manner. However, it also leads to many great stories. Even the smallest side quest can become a real adventure. The promise that the next imaginative story could be waiting around every corner makes the title one of the most versatile and best story games ever.
CD Projekt does not want to repeat mistakes! All the info on “The Witcher 4”
These Nude and Sex Scenes in Series and Films Are Real
First “The Witcher 4” Trailer Answers One of the Most Important Questions
It’s All About the Story
So many video games are worthwhile primarily because of their stories. This article could have listed many more titles: “Horizon: Zero Dawn,” “God of War,” “Bioshock,” “Plague Tale: Innocence,” “Life Is Strange,” “It Takes Two,” or “Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.” Especially in this unofficial genre, much is simply in the eye of the beholder.
What makes a good story, and what defines it? Which stories do you remember even years later? And which games do you play repeatedly–or perhaps consciously only once?