What are some good games with really awesome stories?

Gregor@gregtech.eu to Asklemmy@lemmy.ml – 93 points –

(With a Linux version or at least works good with Proton) Edit: just bought disco Elysium, going to post updates in the comments when I try it tomorrow. It's on sale until tomorrow in case anyone is going to purchase it.

125

def Disco Elysium

heed this warning though: after Disco, there is no going back; most storytelling might seem subpar or just of low quality afterwards

it's also soul crushing, existentialist and doesn't shy away from critiquing/ridiculing society and what it believes in (from a Marxist pov, though Communism itself isn't spaired either in the game, with a harsh critique only communists could write), but it's also one of the most hopeful games I've ever played at the same time

I would rly recommend a blind play through without cheating through quick saves! (aka. save scumming) A lot of decisions in the game succeed based on the probability of your stats accomplishing it. I made the mistake in my first play through and just forced everything I wanted by reloading over and over again -_-

I bought this after for my switch after watching a playthrough and can’t wait to have time to play it myself. The writing is SO GOOD and so beautiful. Belongs on my bookshelf with all the other books. Just poetry, and all kinds of themes and resonances. Top tier

I've owned this game for years. And I want to love it, but I've never been able to make it past the dude hanging in the tree part. Which is basically the very start of the game 😄

100% this.

For me I got so immersed in the world and character that it didn't even occur to me to save scum. This RPG is so good that I actually felt like I was living the story. The only game that ever managed to accomplish that.

Thanks for the warning. This has been on my wishlist for a while now, and I very likely would have done exactly that.

Just bought it, going to give it a try tomorrow.

Hope you did it on Steam. 75% off so $10

uuu you are in for an adventure with so much replayability

and as some other comment said: even "failed" checks lead to interesting outcomes

I'm especially interested in the fact that the game is from a Marxist perspective.

My blind playthrough was great, despite or even due to mistakes made. Lost once playing sport so badly it destoyed my self-esteem, but also won a miracle 5% perception roll right at the end (although we scared it away). On my first playthrough I intentionally tried to avoid losing and I played conservatively enough for the game to start bullying me over it, which is great design.

I'm the kind of person who thinks it's hilarious how fragile the player can be where (esp. because of the class I picked). The cursed chair didn't get me but it sure made me laugh.

Outer Wilds, if you haven't played already. Obligatory warning to avoid spoilers like your life depends on it, go in completely blind if possible.

I shall read nothing about it

Absolutely seconded btw. Cannot express how good this game is. If I could wipe my memory of any one game and play it fresh it would be this

Okay then, you seem to really love this game. I'll give it a go! It's not to expensive on steam either.

Enjoy it! I still can't get over how good it is. Don't even read the Steam description!

I would prefer to save some money right now, so if you already have it would you be willing to either family sharing thing with me? Please don't feel obligated to do so, as you would have to give me your account password and the 2fa code. Lmk if you want to do this, message me on Matrix at @gregor:gregtech.eu

I'd rather not do that :)

But you can see on SteamDB that it regularly goes on a -40% sale. I'd suggest you just put it on your wishlist and wait to get the email from Steam that it's on sale 🙂. It hasn't had a sale for a while now so probably won't take long.

This game impressed me so much by the time I finished it that it immediately became my all time favorite.

I couldn't get into it for the life of me, despite several attempts. I am happy for those who enjoyed it - seems like a chill game.

Pretty sure Portal and Portal 2 are playable in Linux.

They are more than just playable. They have native versions, because Valve wants to push gaming on Linux. Both are awesome games! I have already played them.

I also think the smartest thing Valve ever did was add Proton to their Linux platform. They are going to capture about 90% of gamers migrating from Windows to Linux. It's a lot easier for gamers to use a pre-configured platform than fiddle with Wine settings for each game.

Witcher 3 has an amazing story and 2 DLCs that feel like entire games themselves. Runs great for me under Linux Mint (Steam / Proton).

Firewatch, cloudpunk and Cyberpunk 2077 are some I've played recently where I was really immersed.

I have already played Firewatch, it was very awesome indeed. I'll take a look at the other games you mentioned too.

If you enjoyed Firewatch you’d probably like

  • Gone Home (somewhat the OG of this style of game)
  • The Vanishing of Ethan Carter
  • What Remains of Edith Finch

Disco Elysium hands-down. Has a brilliant story with a bunch of branches, it's a great way to kill 20+ hours.

A shorter experience but one still pretty fun is Thank Goodness You're Here which is a comedy with brilliant voice acting and setting. 2.5hrs ish.

I love the fact that even "failed" skill checks lead to interesting stories, and how having some skills "too high" starts leading down dark alleyways too.

My fiance and I both played it, and wound up with radically different stories.

The original BioShock is a masterpiece

If you don’t mind horror, I would definitely recommend SOMA. It’s also one of those games where it’s best to go in blind. If you are interested, do yourself a favour and do not look at any spoilers before playing.

Lots to think about.

Since nobody else has said it, Titanfall2. Not a long story, but it's an absolutely fantastic 6 or 7 hours. Usually it's like 5 bucks during a sale.

Titanfall 2 is really great.

The gameplay is also very varied and each level has a new fun gimmick and it never overstays its welcome.

Nier Automata. Fair warning you won't feel happy after finishing it, but it's something everyone should experience

  • Disco Elysium

  • Citizen Sleeper

  • 1000xRESIST

Japanese and somewhat fan servicey at times but also recommended:

  • Nier: Automata

  • 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim

Slay the Princess

Oh yes, I have played this. Also Scarlet Hollow, by the same studio, is truly awesome and if you liked Slay the Princess you'll love Scarlet Hollow.

This looks good but I'm really not into horror at all - how much horror would you say this is?

I've been gaming on Linux exclusively for 3 years now. So. These are all proton-tested-and-approved. Though a couple (especially the old ones) require a bit of tinkering.

  • Pillars of Eternity I and II -- Slow burns. cRPGs. Get very good, but take a while to get there

  • Tyranny -- Same developer, also a cRPG, but gets to the point faster, and in fact can be finished in one weekend. Do note: It's an "evil campaign" type of RPG.

  • Pyre -- A fantasy basketball game with a Visual Novel on the side. Very touching story, made me cry twice. And the gameplay is no slouch either, even if I kinda suck at it. (... Though when you lose the games you don't game over, the story just changes)

  • Wolfenstein the New Order -- FPS set in an alternate history where the nazis won WW2, where you play a resistance fighter. Very enjoyable action, and it always feels good to blow nazis away.

  • Dishonored 2 -- Stealth-FPS/Immersive Sim where you play as an assassin-princess who can turn herself into a horrid tentacle monster. Also a nice story.

  • Enderal: Forgotten Stories -- Skyrim Total Conversion title. Very surreal and trippy story. Pushes the Skyrim engine to its absolute breaking point to realize the developers' vision, and doesn't always get there.

  • Fallout: New Vegas -- I mean, if I didn't bring it up, someone would. New Vegas is a flawed and messy game, but it is just about competent enough that you are fine with it being less-than-ideal in the name of getting to the story.

If old games & emulation are on the cards --

  • Terranigma (SNES) -- What if Legend of Zelda... But you are literally creating the world by doing your quest. It's nuts. I love it.
  • Legacy of Kain series (PS1, PS2, PC) -- Very flawed gameplay on all of them (each in its own unique way)... But it is legitimately one of the greatest tales ever told through gaming. (note: It's also edgy)
  • Prince of Persia Sands Trilogy (PC, PS2, GC, Xbox) -- This little trilogy of games from the sixth generation delivers in both elegant platforming gameplay and entertaining storytelling. Does suck that they are from a time that game devs thought subtitling your cutscenes would make your skin fall off (or something. No games back then had subbed cutscenes and it sucked)
  • Paper Mario/Mario & Luigi series (Nintendo machines) -- Comedy RPGs about the Mario characters (duh). Very well written, especially Thousand Year Door (GC/Switch) and the original Mario & Luigi (GBA/3DS). Story is as vanilla as you'd expect, since it's Mario, but it is worth it for the comedy imho

I’ve got a mod list sitting about waiting for a New Vegas replay. Just some light stuff to make it feel like it holds up more today. What a good game.

Enderal is fantastic. If you don't speak german I would still recommend it. If you do speak german then you have to play it. Yes, this is a gun. Now sit down and install the game!

I haven't finished it yet but celeste has a good story and works basically perfectly. It is very difficult though

AoE2. I played the hell out of singleplayer back in the day, and with Remastered they both added new ones and improved the storytelling in old ones. Art of War campaign also is a good introduction to multiplayer combat.

If you like historic stuff; you'll like it. There also exists lot of community campaigns

Unfortunately last time I checked, aoe2:de does not run on Proton (but aoe2:hd does), maybe things changed

It might be worth trying to make it run directly under Wine, instead. I can play older games like Deus Ex and Giants: Citizen Kabuto without any problems.

aoe2 works fine under wine, but the definitive edition does not. In my opinion proton pretty much almost works better for games than simple wine

The Talos Principle. It's my all time favourite game. It has a sequel too that expands on the story.

It's a puzzle game with a story that you discover while solving the puzzles. It's kinda similar to Portal in that sense but instead of a focus on comedy, there's a focus on philosophy. If you don't mind reading some philosophical texts and being asked questions that will literally make you question your own value system, then definitely give it a shot.

Time to shill CrossCode again :)

I think the characters are phenomenally written and the plot is fun and has excellent ups and downs.

The games are a bit buggy but pillars of eternity and dead fire have awesome stories and characters. Then classic crpgs like bg2, planescape torment. And the reboot tides of numenera.

I love Celeste's simple, effective storytelling. Every aspect of the game ties into its own meaning--the environments, the music, the challenge. Extraordinarily well done.

Surprisingly detailed is the Horizon series. Replaying Zero Dawn and seeing just how much of the story is set up before and during the tutorial is genuinely crazy. Every event feels like an actual part of the narrative, rather than random filler.

Chrono Trigger. Timeless masterpiece. Arguably the greatest JRPG ever made, and yet another one that gets more fun the more you analyse it.

All of these were pretty good on Deck, and should work well on anything. Went for a mix of genres.

Celeste mentioned 🥳🏳️‍⚧️

I also recommended zero dawn, it is masterful storytelling honestly.

100% agree with Celeste!!! Go crack your egg and climb a mountain!! Lol

If you're down for a retro RPG via an emulator, Earthbound. The overarching story is about dealing with traumatic events as a child and coming of age while hitting the endearing but quirky note similar to games like Undertale that was a cult classic on the SNES. It came boxed with a full color, complete strategy guide made to look like a travel guide so it's intended not to be too difficult and really experience the story.

Yeah, Earthbound was definitely the major inspiration for masterpieces such as Undertale and Omori

If we're breaking out the old school SNES RPGs, there's a list of great ones, with Chrono Trigger being the top 5.

Others (in no particular order):

  • Secret of Mana

  • Secret of Evermore

  • Zelda: Link to the past

  • Illusion of Gaia

  • Breath of Fire (1-3)

  • Actraiser ( not 2, though...)

That's off the top of my head, I'm sure I'll remember more later, but that's easily 100+ right there.

I found Prey to be fantastic.

Just came here to say this. Played it a while back and daaamn it blew my mind, such an awsme, underrated game.

I found Spec Ops: The Line to be a good story. Starts off as a typical gears of war third person military shooter. I immediately was skeptical since I don't typically like cod like military arcade shooters. Let's just say the story gets dark. Mainly the character development. I saw the reviews and don't regret grabbing it, well worth the play in my opinion.

If you consider emulating older games a viable option, I would suggest:

  • Chrono Trigger (SNES)
  • Silent Hill (PS1)
  • Any Legend of Zelda game (Majora's Mask is my favourite story-wise)

Exquisite taste.

Seconding the Zelda rec, Majora's being my favourite as well, with Minish Cap being a close second. (narrative-wise, that is)

That's a fine choice sir/ma'am.

My close second, story wise, would be Link's Awakening. The story was a real mind fuck when I was a kid.

Subnautica (Do not use any hint/spoiler sites, just enjoy the evolving story) Last stop Deliver us the Moon/Deliver us Mars and to a lesser extent Quantum Break (play in story mode)

One of my friends is an enthusiast of this game, I'll ask him if we can set up Steam daily sharing.

Firewatch, not really sure if it’s on Linux but i played at osx so at least multi playform.

The game is mostly about the story, really something else.

Confirmed running on Linux under proton. I started replaying it just the other week. Struggled to get back into it for a second time, but not because it’s a bad game, I’m just a very different person from the one that got a lot from that story. Would absolutely recommend the game.

I'll add Kingdom Come: Deliverance to the list. Great story, fun (if challenging to learn) gameplay and really amazing environments.

  • Ghost of Tsushima
  • Nier Automata
  • What Remains of Edith Finch
  • Bioshock (quality varies as the series continues)
  • Soma
  • The Sexy Brutale
  • Fatal Frame 2 and 3
  • Fran Bow
  • Telltale's Walking Dead (first one)
  • First 4 Silent Hills

The story in To The Moon absolutely floored me when I played it.

I can’t say as to whether it runs on Linux, but it’s pretty old at this point and was never graphically intense to begin with so should. It’s a pretty short game too, but really is worth the time you’ll spend with it.

It's a really old game, but Lucas Arts The Dig was really great and directed by spielsberg

Except for that one bit that everyone gets stuck on.

You have to hold down a pressure plate. The solution is to use a metal rod on the big stone tile. You're welcome.

I don't know if any of these have native Linux versions all I know is that I played them on steamdeck with no issues:

Beacon Pines has a fucking great story and I loved it so much.

Horizon: Zero Dawn has a really cool thing going on where you're experiencing a fully compelling story unfolding in the present day, but you're also gathering up data logs and recordings that allow a story from the distant past to reveal itself at the same time. One of my favourite storytelling experiences in gaming.

Night in the Woods was just a joy. Made me miss friends and memories that I never had.

Citizen Sleeper is basically a fully fledged science fiction novel with gameplay elements attached. It takes inspiration from the excellent Wayfarer series by Becky Chambers and holy shit its just. Mm! Its cozy, its thrilling, it is beautiful, its lonely, its warm and welcoming. It has some similar elements to Disco Elysium's gameplay.

To The Moon has the wonderful voice of Laura Shigihara on the soundtrack, and a story which brought me surprises and to the point of painful, beautiful, big girl tears.

Exit/Corners is actually a free flash game but don't write it off. It's an incredibly well crafted cast of characters and a story which will keep you on the edge of your seat. I wish I could go back and play it again for the first time.

Fallout 3, but especially New Vegas have great stories and hundreds of hours of gameplay, and work fenomenally on proton (I mean, they are equally buggy as in other versions). Fallout 4 is good as well, but I have never tested it on linux

I can't make the radio stations play in New Vegas, under Proton. And I'm a sucker for Fallout playlists, just can't play without Radio New Vegas. It was a known bug but nobody has a fix.

Pillars of Eternity 2 Deadfire is just one of my favorites that I keep coming back to

Wildermyth is a weird game that comes up with really interesting procedurally generated stories as you play through the life of an adventurer.

I have seen a loot of old games here so I will throw in a game I have played so many times as a teen and picked up and finish again earlier this month because of the great story and gameplay: Dragon age origins.

It never disappoints me. I am thinking about playing da 2 again too (got a lot of hate but I never thought it deserved it because the story is great, origins is better tho)

I added some texture mods to make it look a bit better but don't do anything crazy it can't handle too heavy textures.

It is very tactical (if you play on higher difficulties), I really recommend setting up the skills and conditions (tactics tab for the characters) for your followers. There isn't anything better than when your followers sync their attacks with you like when your mage freeze an enemy who tried to jumped on your main character so your character won't get stunned and can do a follow up attack. Or when you use two spells that increase the damage together. You can make the whole group play as you like which I like a lot.

So both story and gameplay is great and that is why I love the game so much.

Almost all of the side quests are worth your time too. there are a few you can miss out on so don't wait too long with doing them and talk to everyone before it is too late. You can play how ever you like. You can even just play main quest but you will miss out on a lot of story and interactions if you do so. Try to challenge the game like stealing from ppl, you may find stuff out that helps you out by being creative.

This became a book and I had to stop my self. I really recommend dragon age for anyone who likes a good story, likes being creative, strategize and just listen to their followers banters while you run around in the world.

Thank you for coming to my Ted talk I hope you will play the game.

Alice is missing : Content warning, it's a game about a missing kid, Bullying and sexual harrassment will be at the table, it's also a game with a lot of bleed potential. The game mechanic using text messaging is pretty great, and the sound track is amazing.

I had a really good surprise when discorvering the Forged in the Dark mechanics which are PBTA with a bit more rule. Works quite well, but like many other story first game, it pushes more improv style and less prepare awesome stories

As a wildcard (my first pick is already here) I put forward Pathologic. I've never played it and playing it seems torturous, but it's absolutely an amazing game with an powerful immersive story. Or perhaps, it's an amazing game which is a powerful immersive story. The game mechanics are a story-telling mechanism, rather than a mere medium to overlay story onto.

Hbomberguy video: Pathologic is Genius, And Here's Why

Just saw you got it already - enjoy Disco Elysium!

Some of the best, most enjoyable, games writing I have ever seen. Every character is a treat.

I would recommend Omori, or In stars and Time. They are really good RPGmaker games, especially Omori which is like the best psychological horror story ive ever seen. Their gameplay are pretty basic turn based rpg fighting, but their ambiance, characters and world are just incredible

Ready for the hate but I love Devil May Cry 5's story. Even if sometimes it was cliche

It is probably been said, but roll with the failures in disco elysium, sometimes the failures bring out a better result. It systems do a great job commenting on your decisions and whether you do your job as a cop or not, it still drives across a very human story

In regards to a game with a good story, I can say OneShot surprised me. It breaks the 4th wall by having you be the character that guides the protagonist through the world as they wake up in another world and go on a journey trying to get back. Simple graphics and one has to read everything, but by the story's end was I left feeling some emotions in regards to its conclusion.

CrossCode. Excellent fluid combat, fun puzzles and an interesting concept. But most of all, the story is great and the characters are really good. You just can't help but love the characters the more you play I feel. Give it a shot, it's good.

I’ve been playing the System Shock remake, and it’s been a dream!! It could be a tad more hand holdy, particularly with actually presenting the story, but it’s very true to the style at the time, leaving you to just explore an “abandoned” space ship to figure out what happened. It feels very Bioshock, meets Metroid, meets Marathon, meets Alien Isolation.

Metro 2033, and I’m fairly confident the 2 sequels, has also been running very smoothly. I plan to do a full play through of all 3 games having played the first 2 zones of metro exodus years ago and falling in love with the world building. Something I realized I was missing in a lot of games was full voice acting. If there are captions/words/subtitles on the screen someone is saying them out loud. I guess in world words like posters and such no, obviously not, but even the “loading screen” are these lovely journal/map moments, reminiscent of travel transitions in old films. They come with a fully voice acted paragraph to make it not feel like a loading screen at all, but a transition in the “film” or chapters of the game. This makes sense being based on books. The story is just given to you so well, while also allowing enough freedom to make it feel like you are an active part.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Final Fantasy 14

HAVE YOU HEARD OF THE CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED MMORPG FINAL FANTASY XIV WITH AN EXPANDED FREE TRIAL WHICH YOU CAN PLAY THROUGH THE ENTIRETY OF A REALM REBORN AND THE AWARD-WINNING HEAVENSWARD EXPANSION UP TO LEVEL 60 FOR FREE WITH NO RESTRICTIONS ON PLAYTIME

AND THE AWARD-WINNING HEAVENSWARD EXPANSION UP TO LEVEL 60

*and the award winning heavensward expansion and also award winning stormblood expansion up to level 70

Probably because DT has seriously damaged many people's view on their storytelling ability

ARR->EW is a fucking great ride though

To quote myself from a different thread:

I liked how Dawntrail played out, but I feel there are a ton of stuff in there that met the cutting room floor. I think Krile was supposed to be present more, Solution Nine feels empty despite bring vast, and I thought we were finally getting a rideable train. But anyway, I understand the mixed reception, still, the game had to have its next Realm Reborn world-building steps after Endwalker concluded ARR, and they couldn’t do much without being the slog A Realm Reborn was.

couldn’t do much without being the slog A Realm Reborn was.

I agree with everything else you said, but not this. I've seen multiple people write out different mild rewrites of areas and bits of the story to make it more interesting, and it wouldn't have been much more work to flesh out the MSQ into more than just "go here talk to person" to the extreme it was. It didn't have to be a slog

Hell, had they just picked between the two completely different stories in this expansion (hi Stormblood critique from 2017) and kept with that for the whole epac they could have produced something far less of a slog at least, and actually really GREAT at best (just look at the content design after all)

Shit my queue just popped I'm off to fight THE BEST BEE GIRL EVERRRRR