12 Games with Amazing Stories That Stuck With Me Long After I Finished

Video games are an immersive medium. A bully communicative isn’t conscionable engrossing, it tin consciousness similar the events of the crippled are happening to you. A bully communicative volition instrumentality with you agelong aft you’ve finished playing.

Sometimes the communicative reacts to your actions, portion different times you’re conscionable pursuing a way laid retired successful beforehand of you similar a bully publication oregon a movie. Here are immoderate of the medium’s finest moments, nary spoilers.

12 The Last of Us

Both games successful The Last of Us bid person impactful narratives, believable characters, and crippled points that volition person you connected the borderline of your seat. I’m going to azygous retired the archetypal crippled here, not lone due to the fact that it’s the evident starting spot for immoderate newcomer but due to the fact that masterfully depicts a rapidly changing satellite and the interaction that these changes person connected a varied formed of characters.

The Last of Us is simply a gritty zombie crippled successful which a mutated strain of the Cordyceps fungus turns its hosts into assertive hordes of infected. The crippled mostly takes portion from the position of antihero Joel arsenic helium escorts the young Ellie crossed the United States. The crippled twists and turns, peculiarly successful the 2nd game, portion the gameplay remains an engaging yet bloody substance of stealth, action, and exploration.

The Last of Us has been adapted for TV, though the communicative told successful the bid diverges from that told successful the games.

11 Red Dead Redemption

Red Dead Redemption is simply a 2010 open-world Western from Rockstar Games, a institution amended known for the Grand Theft Auto series. It tells the communicative of the subordinate quality John Marston arsenic helium is forced to hunt down members of his erstwhile outlaw pack during the dying days of the Wild West.

Players are escaped to soak successful the satellite arsenic they determination betwixt missions, completing broadside quests and stumbling upon random encounters. The crippled manages to battalion truthful galore Western tropes in, from storming well-guarded forts to buddying up with snake lipid salesmen and ambushing stagecoaches.

What follows is 1 of the finest stories successful video games, with top-notch world-building, performances, and the cleanable soundtrack.

10 Shenmue

Originally released connected the Dreamcast successful 1999 (and present disposable connected Steam) Shenmue tells a communicative of revenge arsenic you measurement into the shoes of Ryo Hazuki who takes it upon himself to analyse wherefore his begetter was killed and who is responsible. The ensuing enigma takes you beyond the confines of your tiny colony to unsafe and far-away places successful hunt of answers.

While immoderate aspects of Shenmue aren’t for everyone, the crippled represented a important measurement guardant for open-world gameplay erstwhile it burst onto the scene. The communicative itself is gripping, and you’ll research galore antithetic facets of Japanese civilization connected your journey. The crippled is acceptable successful the 1980s, which adds adjacent much flavor.

Fair warning: _Shenmue_’s creator Yu Suzuki inactive hasn’t managed to reason the saga, adjacent aft 3 games. While it’s the travel and not the destination that counts, you mightiness find yourself waiting a portion (or forever) for answers.

9 Firewatch

Having earned a estimation arsenic 1 of the champion “walking simulators” of each time, Firewatch is simply a must-play communicative escapade that you tin decorativeness successful an evening. Take connected the relation of a occurrence lookout successful Wyoming’s Shoshone National Forest, an isolated and theoretically peaceful mode to walk a summer.

But things aren’t rather arsenic they seem. You’ll soon find yourself investigating immoderate unusual goings on, which leads to immoderate genuinely puzzling moments wherever you’re truly not definite which absorption the communicative is going to take. The full clip you’re bathing successful the quality of a agrarian woodland setting, speaking to a mysterious dependable done your walkie-talkie.

The crippled keeps you guessing, portion its abbreviated runtime leaves you wanting much (in a bully way).

8 Outer Wilds

Outer Wilds is simply a time-loop crippled and it’s not a spoiler to accidental that if you cognize exactly what you request to do, you tin implicit the crippled successful a substance of minutes. Of course, the full constituent of Outer Wilds is to usage the time-loop mechanic to your vantage to acquisition and research arsenic overmuch of the satellite arsenic imaginable successful bid to unravel the mystery.

Though the crippled satellite resets each clip the satellite ends, your ain cognition dilatory builds. Each loop gets you a small further arsenic you larn much astir the cultures that telephone the beingness home, and the systems you request to manipulate successful bid to extremity it erstwhile and for all.

The crippled mightiness person the “loosest” communicative thread connected the database since it’s a communicative that you yet request to observe for yourself alternatively than pursuing a plot, but it’s besides arguably 1 of the astir satisfying games present due to the fact that of it.

7 Mafia

The archetypal Mafia was released successful 2002 arsenic an open-world enactment escapade that broke caller ground. In 2020, Mafia: The Definitive Edition was released and though the crippled is acold from cleanable the communicative unsocial is capable to support you engaged. Like a bully mobster movie, the enactment takes spot arsenic a bid of flashbacks portion an unfolding speech keeps the communicative grounded successful a “bigger picture” of sorts.

You play arsenic Tommy Angelo, a lowly taxi operator who falls successful with the formidable Salieri household successful the fictional metropolis of Lost Haven (which is based connected Chicago). As the communicative wears on, you spot Tommy determination from small-time racketeering to big-time organized transgression and the toll this takes connected him.

Though the shooting is clunky and the driving could beryllium better, the game’s writing, dependable acting, and eventual crescendo marque it worthy seeing done to the end. If you bask this, marque definite to cheque retired the remainder of the series.

6 Spec Ops: The Line

Most games astir warfare spot you instrumentality connected the relation of a battle-hardened enactment movie hero. Racking up hundreds of kills and past base-jumping to state oregon escaping connected the backmost of an ATV during a firefight is nary large woody these days. But Spec Ops: The Line hits differently. This third-person shooter puts you successful the shoes of Captain Martin Walker arsenic helium ventures into a post-apocalyptic Dubai arsenic portion of an elite squad of soldiers.

Over time, the crippled tells the communicative of a worker who is haunted by what helium sees. The intelligence effects of warfare manifest arsenic ocular and auditory hallucinations. You person to marque motivation decisions arsenic portion of the story, and the subordinate character’s actions go much convulsive arsenic your intelligence authorities deteriorates. This is not your mean Call of Duty oregon Ghost Recon.

While the gameplay is thing to constitute location about, the mode the crippled tells its communicative makes it worthy your time. Unfortunately, 2K has removed the crippled from merchantability owed to licensing issues which means it’s hard to get clasp of extracurricular of physical copies for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

5 Yakuza 0

It is sometimes said that Shenmue walked truthful that Yakuza could run, and it’s existent that determination are a batch of similarities betwixt the franchises (and SEGA is liable for both). But Yakuza 0 writes a precise antithetic benignant of story, a communicative of being afloat immersed successful Japan’s organized transgression world, told from aggregate perspectives.

2015’s Yakuza 0 is simply a prequel to the archetypal title, mounting up 2 of the series’ astir important characters: Kazuma Kiryu and Goro Majima. This is simply a crippled wherever a batch of things happen, and you won’t beryllium sat waiting astir for the enactment to start. As the 2 playable protagonists’ paths intertwine, you’ll beryllium near discovering a communicative that’s much akin to a four-season Netflix spectacular than a video game.

While there’s a batch of Yakuza to descend your teeth into, 0 is simply a large starting point.

4 Sleeping Dogs

It would beryllium casual to disregard Sleeping Dogs arsenic a specified GTA clone, but that would beryllium a mistake. The crippled tells the communicative of Wei Shen, a bull who goes undercover successful a bid to infiltrate a Triad organized transgression ring. The crippled continually throws curveballs that you indispensable navigate done the eyes of the instrumentality similar being told to beryllium your loyalty by sidesplitting rivals.

The communicative is made adjacent much lively by the beingness of police, triad, and civilian missions (with antithetic types of XP awarded for each). The crippled is dripping successful atmosphere, with a lively metropolis to explore, a slayer soundtrack, and a communicative that volition marque you consciousness similar you’re playing a Hong Kong enactment film.

On apical of an award-winning story, the crippled is notable for its usage of melée combat successful an open-world setting, which truly sets it isolated from its True Crime roots.

3 Hades

Rarely bash you play a run-based roguelike and travel distant feeling exhilarated by the prime of the writing, but that’s precisely what happened to maine with Hades. In it, you play the relation of Zagreus arsenic helium attempts to flight from his father’s clutches to scope Mount Olympus. Each tally gives you a random assortment of boons that pb to wildly antithetic quality builds, keeping the crippled feeling caller contempt its repetitive nature.

As each tally ends, you instrumentality to the Underworld and converse with its assorted residents (including those who combat to halt you from leaving). Successfully escaping is acold from the extremity of the game, and you’ll support trying conscionable to spot much of the communicative unfold arsenic you go.

Hades deserves a peculiar notation for its genuinely spectacular dependable acting.

2 God of War (2018)

God of War’s 2018 reboot gets a batch of things right. The visuals were groundbreaking for the clip (and the crippled inactive looks gorgeous, particularly connected the PC). The combat is satisfyingly weighty portion staying the close broadside of Soulsborne to marque it consciousness accessible. And the communicative works successful an epic tale, befitting the game’s mythological roots.

It's a blood-soaked yet touching communicative of a begetter struggling to travel to presumption with the decease of his woman portion raising his lad Atreus. As Kratos, you indispensable question with your lad to the highest highest to scatter your wife’s ashes, though the travel doesn’t spell rather to plan. The 2 indispensable bash conflict with foes who privation them harm and their ain clashing personalities on the way.

Come for the “thunk” sound that Kratos’ axe makes erstwhile it returns to your manus aft a throw, and enactment for the emotionally charged communicative astir increasing up and moving on.

1 SOMA

Last but surely not least, SOMA is simply a horror-themed communicative escapade that starts retired with your subordinate quality Simon having a regular encephalon scan pursuing a car accident. As the scan completes, you aftermath up successful an underwater probe installation sometime successful the aboriginal with seemingly nary thought what has happened betwixt present and then.

From present you indispensable navigate the installation and marque immoderate hard decisions that inquire you to ponder immoderate of life’s large questions. If you similar a crippled that pushes you to think, portion confronting you with the fearfulness of a world that you yet didn’t inquire for, you’ll get a footwear retired of SOMA.

The crippled is abbreviated capable that it doesn’t outstay its welcome, with lone a fewer dull navigation sequences holding the crippled back.

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Burned retired connected stories and looking for a axenic gameplay experience? Check retired immoderate of the champion simulator games.