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What game has a great story and is worth the time investment?

I recently finished Rise of the Tomb Raider and Final Fantasy XVI, and I’m hesitant what I should play next (PC or PS5).

With FF I enjoyed the game and the story was all I expected from it, and I’m really looking forward to the DLC.

With Tomb Raider… damn that game is all over the place. The story is predictable, and also stupid. “Why did you rush in there? Without weapons? Against an army?”, and other similar thoughts kept running through my head. I don’t feel inclined to play Shadow of the tomb Raider (the sequel).

I have a backlog of too many games, and lately it takes a lot of effort to start because I don’t know if it’s worth the time investment. I love games with good stories, and playing a game that puts the lore and story in the background feels like a waste of time.

Sure, I could get started on Baldurs Gate 3, I’ve heard great things. But is the story great? Will I be able to say “oh that chapter/fight/act is awesome!” To other people looking for game experiences?

Experiences like Escaping from the ship in Super Metroid, helping that king in Witcher 3, fighting Psycho Mantis in MGS, fighting Titan in FFXVI, killing the first colossus, escaping from darth Vader, that first Mario odyssey stage, beating the first boss in Bloodborne, playing “Brothers” for the first time and getting to the ending… all great experiences with awesome stories to tell

TL;DR: what am I missing?

EDIT: Holy crap I didn’t expect these many replies. Thank you! There are many recommendations I’ve already played, and many others I will definitely play. Thanks!

If anyone is interested in the result:

Recommended, bought:

  • Bioshock 2
  • Black mesa
  • Cyberpunk 2077
  • Death stranding
  • Deaths door
  • Detroit become human (PS5)
  • Disco elysium
  • Dragon Age
  • Elden ring
  • Fallout 3
  • Fallout 4
  • Fallout new Vegas
  • Ghost of Tsushima
  • Hades
  • Half life alyx
  • Hellblade senuas sacrifice
  • Homeworld
  • Horizon zero dawn
  • Inscryption
  • Just cause 3
  • Life is Strange
  • Mass effect 3
  • Metro series
  • Ori and the blind forest, and sequel
  • Oxenfree
  • Persona 5
  • Planescape: torment
  • Shadowrun dragonfall
  • Shadowrun Hong Kong
  • Soma
  • Spider-Man
  • Subnautica
  • Tyranny
  • Wolfenstein series

Recommended, to buy:

  • 13 sentinels (PS4)
  • Age of decadence
  • Cruelty squad
  • Dead space
  • Ghost recon wildlands
  • God of war ragnarok
  • Grandia
  • Kingdom Come Deliverance
  • Octopath Traveler 1 & 2
  • Outer wilds
  • Pathologic 2
  • Red dead redemption 2
  • Song of horror
  • Star Wars: The Old Republic MMORPG
  • The hex
  • the last of us part 2
  • The upturned
  • Torment: tides of numenera
  • Withering rooms
  • Yakuza

Already Played, and yeah, these are awesome:

  • Alpha centauri
  • Bioshock 1
  • Bioshock infinite
  • Borderlands series
  • Control
  • Dark souls series
  • Deus ex human revolution
  • Deus ex mankind divided
  • FFXIV
  • Ghost trick
  • God of war 2018
  • Guardians of the Galaxy
  • Hollow knight
  • Hotel Dusk
  • Mass effect
  • Mass effect 2
  • Nier: automata
  • Nier: replicant
  • Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney
  • Portal
  • Portal 2
  • Psychonauts 1 & 2
  • Spec ops: the line
  • Stray
  • the last of us part 1
  • The Stanley parable
  • Titanfall 2
  • Undertale
  • What remains of Edith finch
  • Witcher 3
boletus ,

The Hex, Inscryption

ansik ,
@ansik@kbin.social avatar

Currently playing a second Fallout 4 play through so that will color my view but honestly, all the fallout games.

Not the main story necessarily but all the smaller stories you find absolutely everywhere in those games are magical, piecing together what happens with a family who’s been dead for 200 years through terminals and notes or going through a vault slowly realizing what horrors have taken place keeps me pushing to exploring!

knobbysideup ,
  • stray
  • black mesa project
  • portal 2
JimmyMcGill ,

Bladur’s gate 3 is awesome but if you can wait, do so and you will have a much more seamless experience in the near future once more patches come out.

My recommendation is the following.

NieR Automata. It’s a masterpiece of a game with innovation all over the place. Trust me, it’s much more of a JRPG with some hot chicks. Go in blind and you will have an amazing experience.

On a similar note, Death Stranding. The story is less cohesive and honestly as a game it isn’t as good either but I still maintain that it is a game that everyone must try at least once. It’s not one of the best games I’ve played, by far but I am 100% happy that I played it.

Last recommendation is Hades. Flawless game with incredible amounts of polish.

P.S. all these games have AMAZING soundtracks

Big_Boss_77 ,
@Big_Boss_77@kbin.social avatar

I'll second the NieR suggestion, and raise the prequel/original. Both of those games have no right being as good as they are story wise.

JimmyMcGill ,

I’m already waiting for a discount to buy the first game

RedAggroBest ,

NieR, come for the 2Booty, stay for the existential questioning of the meaning of life.

One of my favorite games of all time and I 1000% picked it up because the fan art of the MC is hot.

AnyProgressIsGood ,

Homeworld

DefiantBidet ,

God of War 2018 - such a great story and you don’t need to know the previous games.

God of War - Ragnarock - it’s rare a sequel to a banger is good. Even more rare when the sequel to a banger is an even bigger banger. 2018’s story was good, ragnarock is so damn moving.

Red Dead Redemption 2 - never played the first one but bc 2 is chronologically before it, no matter. This game is so immersive and deep.

Horizon Zero Dawn - this one is probably hit or miss. You either lovr the lore or couldn’t be fucked. For me it was a great story. Gameplay may not stand the test of time however.

Ghost of Tsushima - this game is so fucking pretty.

Hollow knight - the lore. Omg the lore and the art style and omfg the music. Hidden gem.

I can’t think of more but there are a ton 🙂

MajesticSloth ,
@MajesticSloth@lemmy.world avatar

Horizon’s story stuck with me for a few weeks after completing it. Also one of the few games I played all the way through without playing other games as well. I usually have to play a few different games so I don’t get burned out of any one game.

I agree on the God of War games as well. So well done.

Also, Fuck Ted Faro.

DefiantBidet ,

Fuck Ted Faro.

Edit to add: for me the lore of HZD was like 1 generational leap from plausible. Like it’s science fiction for sure but 1 leap in tech and it’s science plausible. That said… Fuck Ted Faro

Xanvial ,

It’s already here actually. reuters.com/…/factcheck-eatr-robot-flesh-idUSL1N3…

Just like in HZD maybe they can use alternative if no plants near them

HeyJoe ,

I also agree, I loved Horizons story and lore. I also agree people either love it or hate it which is super odd to me because it is such a great game and reminds me of all the other great games yet somehow this one gets shafted. You never got to see the past but just the retelling of what happened throughout the game was perfect.

MajesticSloth ,
@MajesticSloth@lemmy.world avatar

Also the lore you could find that gives glimpses into the past really helped if you cared or took the time to listen/read them.

Chobbes ,

I liked the lore, but the game was a bit of a slog for me. Just kind of sick of that kind of open world game, I guess! I don’t think it’s a bad game at all, but I can imagine others might feel similarly. Also I guess I really wasn’t invested much in what was happening story wise in the present in that game and the side quests are just aggressively mediocre and I kind of regretted bothering with any of them.

ProffessionalAmateur ,

You’re missing Elden Ring. Bang for buck one of the best games hands down if you have 150ish hours to spare. Absolutely beautiful game with a great story, if a bit cryptic and dystopian. It’s a game that takes patience and can punish mistakes but just such a rewarding experience, wish I could start it over without knowing anything.

Montagge , (edited )
@Montagge@kbin.social avatar

The story in Elden Ring is super generic high fantasy. It's so boring.

SCB ,

I’m not the biggest fan of Elden Ring’s story, but it is decidedly not low fantasy.

pricklypearbear ,
@pricklypearbear@lemmy.world avatar

Red dead redemption 2 has a really good story. Gameplay is pretty immersive and lots to explore.

God of war have a really good story and gameplay is overall fun.

Ni no Kuni II I found to be an interesting story. Gameplay was fun overall.

Ori, both games, has a good story to tell. Overall good platformer

Hollow knight is a fun platformer and overall story is good. Similar but not as good, death’s door.

Death stranding has an interesting story but kind of strange. Gameplay is OK but can get a bit repetitive at times.

Spider-Man, overall fun. Story is unique.

Ghost of tsushima, good story and gameplay. Visually lovely.

Cyberpunk 2077 I found immersive, story wasn’t bad but might not be for everyone.

ProffessionalAmateur ,

Second the GOW’s, RDT2 and GOT. Fantastic emotional plot driven games. I’d add both HZD’s too.

pricklypearbear ,
@pricklypearbear@lemmy.world avatar

Forgot about Horizon. That was a good story as well.

JimmyMcGill ,

I’m halfway through RDR2 and the gameplay is boring af. Ok not all gameplay, mostly the quests. The world is amazing, and it’s quite immersive indeed but 90% of the quests are, go here, shoot some guys, come back.

cygnosis ,

The issue with quests in RDR2 is that they give you no autonomy. Most games set a quest objective and give you a dozen ways to achieve it. RDR2 forces you to follow the exact path through the quest that the game wants you to take. If you deviate it either fails to progress or simply fails the quest. It felt more to me like an interactive movie than a game in that respect, though you get full freedom outside of quests.

implicit_cast ,

Inscryption.

I don't dare say anything at all about it. Go in completely blind.

chandz05 ,

God damn yes. What a mindfuck of a game. Loved everything about it

LordTekno ,
@LordTekno@kbin.social avatar

Conversation that could go a few different ways. Are you looking for games with massive lore and world building? Dark Souls, Destiny, Nier, FFXIV.
Are you looking for something short and sweet that keeps you engaged with story the entire time? Bioshock, Horizon, Last of Us

I would recommend trying FFXIV if you liked XVI. Same team (Creative Business Unit III) worked on both games. They have done a lot of work so that even tho it is an online game, mass majority of the story elements can be finished solo. And then there's the joke about the free trial....which expands this October to not only include the base game + The full first expansion Heavensward...they are also adding in the second expansion Stormblood for absolutely free.

Also, if you want a mecha sci-fi game, play 13 sentinels. It is an fantastic unique storytelling experience.

Perroboc OP ,

I absolutely loved FFXIV, it was one of the reasons I played XVI. Yoshi-P, Zoken, and Koji Fox are awesome.

ArtVandelay ,
@ArtVandelay@lemmy.world avatar

Do you know… La-Hee?

Starb3an ,

I haven’t seen anyone mention BioShock. BioShock 1 and 2. I’ve heard mixed reviews about the third and haven’t played it so I’ll make no comment on it.

Prey is in the same vein as BioShock.

Dead space has some horror but is also good.

Sovereign_13 ,

All I’ll say about Bioshock Infinite is that it feels/plays very differently from the first one (and, I assume, the second).

The atmosphere is just entirely different and lacks most of the “horror” element that you had in the ruins of Rapture.

idunnololz ,
@idunnololz@lemmy.world avatar

I love the setting tho

crypticthree ,

Disco Elysium

zaphodb2002 ,

My favorite game of all time. Second is Portal 2.

FullFridge ,

This should be the top answer. I’m also a person that can’t really enjoy a game unless it has a good story and Disco Elysium blew me away. The best game to come out since 2019 as far as I’m concerned

Scrof ,

Torment: Tides of Numenera, Disco Elysium, Age of Decadence, Shadowrun: Dragonfall, Shadowrun: Hong Kong, Tyranny, Fallout: New Vegas, Planescape: Torment

Taztrophe ,

BioShock. The whole series has an interesting storyline. One and two are related directly. BioShock Infinite isn't directly related to the first two but arguably has the most compelling story arc. The ending is one of the first games I remembered being just dumbstruck.

Perroboc OP ,

I should play them again. I played 1 and Infinite only. Bioshock 2 felt like a cash grab at the time. Is it worth it?

Endorkend ,
@Endorkend@kbin.social avatar

If you can deal with dated graphics 100% the original DeusEx.

And DeusEx Human Revolution still looks splendid and also has damn great story.

Perroboc OP ,

Played both Human Revolution and Mankind divided. Incredible games, shame that the second one was cut before the story finished 🙁

aaaantoine ,

Also, the other good Ion Storm game, Anachronox.

I haven’t played it in 20 years and still remember some great moments.

Endorkend ,
@Endorkend@kbin.social avatar

Oh yeah, one of the more original RPG stories still.

Democratus is still one of my favorite RPG companions of all time.

Chobbes ,

I was kind of disappointed with all of the planets after leaving Anachronox and I kind of just stopped playing at some point. I kind of want to pick it up again but I’m not super into the combat system either.

aaaantoine ,

Well… if you want most of the main story but without the gameplay, someone had made a movie out of the cutscenes awhile back.

I ended up quitting on the final boss. Partly because I was gut punched by an unexpected plot point just prior. But also because it was the third big fight since the last save point and I got lost on the mechanics. I caught the ending through the movie I found.

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