Best Story Games: 9 Titles That Will Wreck You

Plenty of games have writing. These are the ones where someone who doesn't care about games would still finish the story and sit with it afterward. The table keeps to opening setups, so you can browse without the actual turns being given away.

Spoiler-free at a glance

Where the writing actually does the work

Edith Finch says the most in the least time

Each family member's story is told in a different style, and one of them, the cannery, is about as good as short-form game storytelling gets.

Firewatch proves two voices are enough

You barely meet anyone face to face. The whole thing rests on radio conversations, and they're written well enough to carry it.

Red Dead Redemption 2 earns its length

It's slow, and that slowness is the point. By the end you feel the gang running out of road rather than being told it.

Questions, answered

Will these be spoiled if I read the table?
No. The table only gives the opening setup and keeps the actual turns out of it.

Are these mostly walking simulators?
A couple lean that way, but there are third-person action games, an RPG, and an open-world title in the mix too.

How long is each one?
Firewatch and Edith Finch are short evenings. Red Dead Redemption 2 and Disco Elysium are the big commitments.

Does good story mean easy gameplay?
Not here. God of War and The Last of Us have real combat; the writing just happens to be the part people remember.

Which should I play first?
What Remains of Edith Finch if you want something tight and memorable, or The Last of Us if you want a full production.