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Games with extremely good story on Steam

Here's one out of the left field, but if you like point and click adventures of old, check out Chains of Satinav and the sequel, Memoria.

It might not have the most bombastic story but I got myself completely lost in the setting while playing them. Felt both epic and personal at the same time. Especially Memoria.

cried at the end
 
- To The Moon is one of the few games that actually made me tear up, it's really beautiful.
- Danganronpa 1 and 2.
- Spec Ops: The Line.
- SOMA, it was probably my favorite video game story of 2015.
- Undertale
- Grim Fandango
- Oxenfree
- Shadowrun Dragonfall
- The Witcher 3: Hearts of Stone, the main game had a average main story with a lot of really cool side stories. Hearts of Stone is an amazing story with a really compelling villain.
- The Wolf Among Us
- The Walking Dead Season 1
- Life is Strange
- Firewatch, while the story is kind of meh, i loved the characters.
- Bioshock
- Mass Effect

I honestly don't get why so many people say that all video game stories are bad and you should stick to movies/books if you want a compelling story.
 
Suprised at the many mentions of Root Double, i hope that many more people will give it a chance, it definitely deserves more sales :)

For other not often cited VN on Steam with a good story, i recommend Enigma: and The Silver Case both are really unique, the first more fantasy and the second goes full on cyberpunk 90s style!

And naturally Fata morgana too, but i hope that at least all of you have heard about it as of now
 
*Reads thread title*

Root Dou-

Durante said:
Root Double -Before Crime * After Days-

Its only sin is that the pacing is a bit sluggish in some parts, but the payoff makes up for it.
Click to expand...

Well, glad that one got recommended right away. I second everything that people have said about the game. Excellent story, characters and themes that all come together really well, making up for a few places (mostly in Before) with fairly weak pacing.

And the plotting and foreshadowing is excellent. Rather than relying on out of nowhere "Tweests", the game makes sure that all of its twists are built up to extremely well by everything, so the story always maintains a strong sense of consistency. This is Zero Escape done right.


Aside from Root Double, I'd also recommend Steins;Gate, which is a really fantastic story about time travel and hubris. It starts a bit slow, and you'll probably find the main character annoying to begin with, but it's all worth it in the end.

Higurashi is another really good VN series on Steam, this one being a horror/mystery title. The first four chapters are all up currently.

If you want something gamey, Trails in the Sky and Trails in the Sky SC are available. They're classic style RPGs with really strong stories. The stories are really slow moving at the start, bu the character work is magnificent, and they have the best world building of any RPG out there.
 
All these Root Double mentions, man I hope my backer Vita version comes sooner rather than later!

Maximilian Kolbe said:
fault milestone
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Haven't played 2 yet, but I can vouch for the first one being a fantastic visual novel. Has some of the most fascinating lore I've seen in the medium, coupled with immensely well realised characters.
 
xuchu said:
i'll recommend planescape:torment as well. While it isn't on steam, it's on GOG. I haven't played it in a while but you may have to install some mods like a widescreen patch and bug fixes. In fact here's a quick guide https://www.gog.com/news/mod_spotlight_planescape_torment_mods_guide

It really is the best story gaming has to offer by far. It deals with existential questions, subverts many RPG and general gaming tropes and has some of the funniest, strange and unique cast of characters in your crew. You will have to be prepared to read and there may be times where you'll ask yourself why isn't this simply a novel but I would argue that taking away the interactivity and choices would simply be missing the point of the story. Also, I think the art style holds up remarkably well.

xwdU3Fy.jpg
Click to expand...

lol that statue

EDIT: I don't want to derail, I'll do it for another thread.
 
Play Shadowrun dragonfall. The Shadow run games are massively overlooked and the writing in Dragonfall is incredible.
 
Debatable, sure, but I think Inside has a marvellous story inside. It's something quite different. I reckon OP is after heavy spoken or written narrative but the way Inside introduces and unravels it's story is amazing. There's no verbal or written narrative, everything is told with the world and details.
 
Couple games where I legit wanted to see what happens next in the story:

Deus Ex (first one, not HR)
System Shock 2
Dead Space 1
Witcher 3
Alien: Isolation
Mass Effect
STALKER: Call of Pripyat
Metro 2033

For me it's not necessarily the structure of the story or the plot twists that compels me to play bur rather a combination of immediately relatable characters or a good sense of mystery coupled with decent pacing. Most of the games I've listed are short (10-20 hours) and Witcher 3 does suffer somewhat from pacing issues (depends on how you approach the game) but I included it anyway because it has outstanding character writing and gives a sense that you're reading a good book. On the flip side, I didn't include classics such as Baldur's Gate 2 because they are slow burns and often hint at what's coming next hours before you actually get to those parts.
 
Durante said:
The game or the payoff? I won't tell you the latter, but the game is a visual novel which shares stylistic similarities with the Infinity series (Never7, Ever17 and Remember11).
Click to expand...
Holy shit, wasn't expecting to see people who know about Remember11 in here. :P

Anyways:
Portal 1,2
System Shock 2
Thomas Was Alone
Umineko (half released like Higurashi)
The Nonary Games (upcoming, a double pack of my favorite games of all time)
What little I played of Planescape Torment was amazing
Bioshock
Dark Souls (as above)
Danganronpa 1,2
Higurashi (4 of 8 chapters released, rest will be released later)
Dead Space 1,2
The House In Fata Morgana (incredible visual novel, a must-read unlrss you're allergic to text)

Steins; Gate and Spec Ops aren't half bad either.
 
Hmm I never heard o SOMA before.

Might look into that.

Also, I didn't like to the Moon as much as most of Gaf. The "humor relief" guy and overall tone didn't made me connect.

It's not even the graphics, since Undertale was my goty last year and the second game to make me tear up (first was Mother 3)
 
SOMA
Firewatch
Syberia I and II
The Longest Journey
Gone Home (may not be for everyone but if you grew up in the 90's it hits a lot of notes)
 
Papo & Yo - It's an allegory that deals with alcoholism, addiction, and abuse. Your enjoyment and emotional attachment will be greatly affected if you research why Vander Caballero made the game. It's only $2.24 on Steam right now.
 
An obscure Japanese VN: Planetarian. It's good, but I played it when I was all emotionally messed up from starting my first year of teaching, so I was a complete wreck by the end.
 
I'm amazed people think Soma has a great story. It's extremely predictable and the premise is unconvincing and overtly silly. Mix in the terrible "horror" moments with bad AI.
 
The Witcher 3. If you are interested in some good fantasy storytelling in a game, I would absolutely recommend it. The detail that goes into every narrative, even some of the great side quests, is pretty remarkable.
 
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