General Gaming Games with great stories.

[CastletonSnob]

What games would you say have great stories?

[EternallDarkness]

Pac man! 

[Bacon]

I think RDR2 and Shadowbringers have great stories.

 

With a lot of RPGs I feel the overall story is somewhat weak but they have great character moments and have a lot of quests with good stories, but if you were to try and make a movie or book or show out of them they would fall a bit short. That's ok because video games can offer a far better experience. I could watch a RDR2 movie and get a pretty similar experience. I don't think I could watch a DA:O or ME movie and ever be happy with the result. Tho the prequel book for ME with Anderson is pretty great.

 

FFXIV could actually pull off being a show, but you'd lose that personal connection with the WoL, your avatar.

[thedarkstark]

Nothing. Even "the best" game stories wouldnt be good enough for a B-movie.

 

 

[skillzdadirecta]

17 minutes ago, thedarkstark said:

Nothing. Even "the best" game stories wouldnt be good enough for a B-movie.

 

 

I used to feel this way until fairly recently. Mass Effect, Dragon Age Origins, The Witcher 3, Last of Us 1 and 2, The recent Jedi games, Red Dead Redemption 2 and a few others all have great, well written stories. Hell I would even praise GTA's campaigns as being pretty good satires. Oh the Sony Spiderman games as well.

[thedarkstark]

19 minutes ago, skillzdadirecta said:

I used to feel this way until fairly recently. Mass Effect, Dragon Age Origins, The Witcher 3, Last of Us 1 and 2, The recent Jedi games, Red Dead Redemption 2 and a few others all have great, well written stories. Hell I would even praise GTA's campaigns as being pretty good satires. Oh the Sony Spiderman games as well.

There are games I'd put on the fringe of being good but even something like the last of us (which is one of those games for me) is a very cliche and "been there done that" experience with a few interesting twists.

 

There's a reason why all the movie TV show adaptations are ass. Some of it certainly has to do with poor direction but most of it is poor source material. I love video games but never once has the story ever been a reason that keeps me playing.

[EternallDarkness]

4 hours ago, thedarkstark said:

Nothing. Even "the best" game stories wouldnt be good enough for a B-movie.

 

 

 

 

don't agree with that at all. 

[crispy4000]

12 hours ago, thedarkstark said:

I love video games but never once has the story ever been a reason that keeps me playing.

 

I won't often stick with a 40+ hour RPG unless the story keeps me invested on some level.  It's really hard to just have the systems, puzzles and environments carry a game for that long. 

 

Dropping an occasional story beat is a no-brainer way to keep things paced and fresh.  Even a game like TotK could use a little more of it IMO.

 

Also, game endings.  I expect at least a halfway decent plot pay-off after investing so much of my time and effort.  Games are better for it when they resolve in a satisfying way.

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

"Papers, Please" presents a compelling, self-driven narrative in a manner that fits the interactive nature of fhe medium.

[Paperclyp]

14 hours ago, thedarkstark said:

There are games I'd put on the fringe of being good but even something like the last of us (which is one of those games for me) is a very cliche and "been there done that" experience with a few interesting twists.

 

There's a reason why all the movie TV show adaptations are ass. Some of it certainly has to do with poor direction but most of it is poor source material. I love video games but never once has the story ever been a reason that keeps me playing.

I think video game adaptations are typically bad much more because of poor direction / lack of resources. A good set of writers should be able to take almost any base story and turn it into something good. It’s the same reason most adaptations of passive mediums to video game form are bad - they’re typically trying to make a buck based on the name rather than utilize the medium. 
 

There have been plenty of video games that have incredible stories and use the medium to enhance their telling. Just to use that example of Papers, Please - an interactive experience with source material that absolutely could make a good passive tv or movie experience if adapted properly, but the way the story is told through your own choices and skill is unique to the medium. 
 

So I guess I reject this idea that video game stories are at their base level inferior to other mediums. As with everything it’s a spectrum and it depends on what you’re looking for. 

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

12 minutes ago, Paperclyp said:

Just to use that example of Papers, Please - an interactive experience with source material that absolutely could make a good passive tv or movie experience if adapted properly...

 

Like this?

 

 

[Paperclyp]

2 hours ago, Commissar SFLUFAN said:

 

Like this?

 

 

I had no idea 

[ort]

Bioshock had a cool story...

[gamer.tv]

I’m been popping in and out of this thread for a few days and I still can’t think of an actual, good story. Was MGS3 good? Probably not? RE2 was actually serviceable when I really think about it…

 

Despite being dumb, Gears of War 1 was a well told story.

 

Really, the only true answer I can give is God of War.

[Chris-]

Plenty of games have good stories; most games have bad writing. That is an important distinction that I think people don’t consider when this question is posed. 

[ShreddieMercury]

Modern games generally haven't been able to reconcile their desire to tell stories with the fact that the player has agency and that the gameplay needs to be fun.  The less they try to tell stories, the better video games are in my opinion.  I think "interactive entertainment" is actually great branding for Sony, because I don't find what they put out at this point to really fit the definition of a "game".

[thedarkstark]

15 hours ago, Paperclyp said:

So I guess I reject this idea that video game stories are at their base level inferior to other mediums. As with everything it’s a spectrum and it depends on what you’re looking for. 

I don't think games are incapable or are inherently an "inferior medium" I think its moreso that 95% of games view story as an afterthought and the 5% that dont probably don't spend nearly enough of their budget hiring good writers.

 

I think games are capable of far surpassing movies in both their storytelling & atmosphere building which is why it's always so disappointing to me that none really do.

 

I think games are incredibly underappreciated as an art form because their ability to immerse you and evoke a sense of euphoria I just wish the writing & direction would catch up. I do think we're getting much closer to that but I wish more of it was told organically & less through cutscenes.

[best3444]

7 hours ago, thedarkstark said:

I don't think games are incapable or are inherently an "inferior medium" I think its moreso that 95% of games view story as an afterthought and the 5% that dont probably don't spend nearly enough of their budget hiring good writers.

 

I think games are capable of far surpassing movies in both their storytelling & atmosphere building which is why it's always so disappointing to me that none really do.

 

I think games are incredibly underappreciated as an art form because their ability to immerse you and evoke a sense of euphoria I just wish the writing & direction would catch up. I do think we're getting much closer to that but I wish more of it was told organically & less through cutscenes.

 

TLOU 2 says hi for this example. 

[unogueen]

Games don't tell stories like books do. Could you imagine a gaming iteration of The Red Pony? Or She's Come Undone? Totally off the field.

[best3444]

Super Mario Bros. 1985

[Kal-El814]

On 9/8/2023 at 3:12 PM, ort said:

Bioshock had a cool story...

 

Bioshock has some excellent moments and I absolutely adore the vibes, but I don’t think the story whole cloth is good. Few games fumble the bag as badly as Bioshock does in the last 1/3 - 1/4 of the game or so. And in hindsight I don’t think the “choice” of… “you can either save this child’s life OR kill it for ammo” is even the slightest bit interesting.

[Kal-El814]

On 9/9/2023 at 9:14 AM, best3444 said:

TLOU 2 says hi for this example. 

 

I know I’m a broken record here, but Naughty Dog games have near-unparalleled cinematic presentation and then gameplay that’s just completely separate from that. TLOU2’s story says a lot about the horrible cost of the cycle of violence, then gameplay that revels in it and rewards you for engaging in it every time you have control. Both “sections” are separately great, but I think the disconnect makes the final product less than it could be, even if it’s still great.

 

On 9/8/2023 at 8:25 AM, Commissar SFLUFAN said:

"Papers, Please" presents a compelling, self-driven narrative in a manner that fits the interactive nature of fhe medium.

 

9 hours, 9 persons, 9 doors ends up being a perfect use of the Nintendo DS in some interesting ways.

 

I think Inscryption also does a good job of using its medium well.

[best3444]

9 minutes ago, Kal-El814 said:

 

I know I’m a broken record here, but Naughty Dog games have near-unparalleled cinematic presentation and then gameplay that’s just completely separate from that. TLOU2’s story says a lot about the horrible cost of the cycle of violence, then gameplay that revels in it and rewards you for engaging in it every time you have control. Both “sections” are separately great, but I think the disconnect makes the final product less than it could be, even if it’s still great.

 

I found the gameplay in TLOU2 incredible. It's top 5 games ever made. 

[Kal-El814]

28 minutes ago, best3444 said:

I found the gameplay in TLOU2 incredible. It's top 5 games ever made. 

 

It’s not that high for me, but it is very good.

[Pikachu]

Hades!

[Keyser_Soze]

Hotel Dusk: Room 215

[Remarkableriots]

Soul Reaver, Darksiders, and Ratchet & Clank have great stories.