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Single-player narrative-driven games are an effective means of storytelling and have much to offer. You can design and evolve a character as you please and shape their destiny in a fantastical realm. Most importantly, you can progress in the storyline at your own pace. While there are many such titles, only a few delivered jaw-dropping tales with many plot twists and likable characters, and moved us.
We’ve compiled a list of some of the best narrative-driven games to try out in 2024.
Disclaimer: The games listed below only reflect the writer's choices.
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5 greatest narrative-driven games to try out in 2024
1) The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
There's so much to love about Geralt of Rivia and his exploits in Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Featuring multi-layered plots, a host of intriguing side-quests, and the simple fact that the very choices Geralt makes in the story lead to different endings. This further encourages gamers to try out the entire narrative once again with different choices.
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The title has an advanced dialogue tree system that lets you choose multiple options while interacting with NPCs. This enables Witcher 3: Wild Hunt to have as many as 36 endings that ultimately depend on how you take the storyline forward.
Beyond the narrative, its cinematography is undoubtedly one of the best in video game history, and for that reason alone, any RPG enthusiast should definitely try out the title at least once in their lifetime.
2) Red Dead Redemption 2
Any list of the best narrative-driven games would be incomplete without Red Dead Redemption 2. Rockstar Games ticks so many boxes with this open-world title that finding fault becomes difficult.
Right from an open-world full of possibilities with strangers, random events, and ambushes to the pleasure of horse-riding across the vast 19th-century American landscape, there is plenty of interactive elements to keep you engaged in Red Dead Redemption 2.
In the vast open-world, the title has a strict morality-based system mechanic that keeps Arthur Morgan’s actions in check. Unlike other Rockstar titles like GTA, he simply cannot randomly strangle a stranger and get away with it. If there are witnesses, there will be severe consequences, forcing players to play cautiously and rather slowly build reputation as the storyline progresses.
Besides the main-story line, the open-world landscape of Red Dead Redemption 2 is filled with side activities like hunting and gambling that are sure to keep you engaged for long. So, if you want to immerse yourself in the world of cowboys, give Red Dead Redemption 2 a shot.
3) Mafia: Definitive Edition
Mafia games are known for their noir aspect of storytelling, wherein the open-world building takes place in a linear fashion as you progress deeper into the storyline. Mafia: Definitive Edition is the faithful recreation of the original title released in 2002 in full 4K quality graphics, and remains one of the best in the series when it comes to plot development and world design.
The title lets you take control of a character named Tommy and explore parts of Lost Heaven (loosely based on New York and Chicago during the 1930s). The title features some of the jazziest soundtracks you’ll come across in a video game.
The world design stands out and truly encapsulates the architectural structures and buildings prevalent during the era. Alongside that, the addictive plot will make you play one mission after the other.
4) The Last of Us
The Last of Us series offers some of the most compelling and depressing storytelling in video game history, and Part 1 will surely take you for a ride.
In this game, you’ll get to traverse across a plague-ravaged post-apocalyptic setting of America with the main protagonist Joel, a hardened survivor, and his daughter Sarah Miller, who is somehow immune to the plague. What follows is an extremely dramatic and touching journey, wherein the duo head due west for survival.
Joel and Sarah brave the treacherous plague-ravaged terrain together, and along the way, they meet friends as well as adversaries. This is a lovely tale not just about survival but also about the love and resilience of the human spirit in the face of adversity. The Last of Us Part 1 stands out as a testament to the power of storytelling through video games.
5) The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D
Finally, we have one of the greatest RPGs of all time, set in a superb 3D environment with an expansive environment: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D. Released in 2016 for various handheld Nintendo consoles during a time when games were getting bigger and sharper with graphically detailed open worlds, this title’s character development, gameplay, and level designs still hold up.
The gameplay is highly interactive, with many plot twists and character development aspects. The central theme of this narrative-driven game follows the ascension of the Gerudo King and the malevolent sorcerer Ganondorf to power. The story primarily follows the heroics of Princess Zelda in the journey undertaken to vanquish the new threat and restore order back to Hyrule.
While it's important to consider the lifespan of gaming consoles and avoid recommending games that are no longer supported, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time can still be enjoyed on various other platforms by way of emulation, and a title of such stature deserves mention on the list of the greatest narrative-driven games ever created.
This concludes our list of the best narrative-driven games you can try out in 2024, though they're not recently released titles. Here are a few honorable mentions:
- Horizon: Forbidden West
- Fallout: New Vegas
- Disco Elysium
- Assassin’s Creed Odyssey
- God of War: Ragnarok
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