As the gaming industry becomes more narrative-focused, players flock to story-heavy AAA games like The Last of Us. These games are enriching and immersive, with captivating characters, plot points, and themes. For players who want to further bridge the gap between literature and gaming, interactive narrative games like the Life Is Strange series offer a unique way to experience meaningful and mind-bending stories.
These interactive narratives comprise walking simulators, first-person perspective exploration games, playable interactive narrative experiences (PINEs), and even story-based co-op games. No theme is off limits, and the diverse art styles and approaches to narrative games result in truly memorable experiences.
1 What Remains of Edith Finch
This short, first-person perspective exploration game is synonymous with the narrative game niche. What Remains of Edith Finch is, as often expected from the genre, mechanically simple. Players follow a teenage girl through her old family home as she navigates loss and generational history. Players interact with objects scattered around the environment to view self-contained vignettes that unveil the mystery of the girl's relatives.
The environment in What Remains of Edith Finch is eerie, and the mystically macabre themes are brought to life through the general art style and gut-wrenching "flashbacks." Every vignette that players encounter has a different visual style that encapsulates the relevant family member's life and death. These perspective and artistic shifts help alleviate the game's thematic heaviness, leaving players to appreciate the intricacies of the experience.
2 The Stanley Parable
The Stanley Parable is a masterpiece in experimentalism. The illusion of narrative freedom in narrative games and broader branching fiction is an inescapable factor that can undermine player immersion. The meta-narrative contained in The Stanley Parable asserts the limits of language and satirizes the illusion of "endless" choices by encouraging players to disregard the game's intended course.
The surreal exploration in The Stanley Parable is anchored through an omniscient narrator with a snarky disposition. The playable character, Stanley, can heed the narrator's instructions as he navigates his empty office block or forge his own path. The player's decisions have unintended consequences that range from utterly bizarre to comically jarring. Ultimately, The Stanley Parable is about choices, but it has more to say about the lack of such choices.
3 Life is Strange
The Life Is Strange series consists of multiple episodic graphic adventure games, including mainline games and spin-offs. The franchise's popularity lies in its choose-your-own-adventure style that requires players to make decisions that impact the narrative, as made clear from the start. The first Life Is Strange game was released in 2015 and follows the story of Max Caulfield, who discovers she can rewind time.
While the Life is Strange games have been criticized for occasionally slang-riddled dialogue and low-quality lip-syncing, they have an emotional resonance and an intriguing story. Melding mundane but thematically heavy situations with the supernatural, Life Is Strange is well-loved for its portrayal of taboo topics and relatable relationships.
4 Telltale's The Walking Dead
Another popular graphic adventure series is Telltale's The Walking Dead games. Based on the wildly popular comics by Robert Kirkman and the resulting TV series, the Telltale series has five episodic additions and a DLC. Somewhat reminiscent of The Last of Us, these narrative games begin with the character Lee Everett during the onset of the zombie apocalypse. Lee becomes the guardian of a young girl, Clementine, and the player follows their story.
The Walking Dead game series prioritizes character interaction and strong storytelling over complicated exploration and puzzles. Robert Kirkman fans will adore the layered story and the appearances of some characters from the comics.
5 A Way Out
From the same studio that produced the renowned co-op game It Takes Two, Hazelight's story-centric A Way Out is a phenomenal way to spend a day with a significant other or friend. The narrative co-op is approachable with some challenges and doesn't require a massive time commitment.
From the jump, the story in A Way Out is intriguing, and the characters are complex but believable. The main characters in question are Vincent and Leo, two prisoners with vastly different demeanors and motivations. Players must cooperate to navigate a prison escape and the resulting personal and situational upheaval. With flashbacks, mini-games, and hard-hitting themes of revenge and trust, this multiplayer narrative game is fast-paced and intense.
6 Night in the Woods
Veiled behind Night in the Woods designer Scott Benson's distinct cartoon style and colorful characters with even more colorful dialogue is a tale about the ungraceful and uncertain ascent into adulthood, mental illness, and economic stagnation and uncertainty. The story-based exploration game is set in small-town Possum Springs when the well-meaning Mae returns home after dropping out of college.
Night in the Woods' compelling characters are quirky and well-fleshed out, driving the story forward with surprising multidimensionality. The game's vibrant art style, mini-games, and many comedic asides help balance out the painful yet relatable angst and larger social commentary. The coming-of-age Night in the Woods epitomizes the medium's ability to craft nuanced and relatable stories even in out-of-the-box settings.
7 Firewatch
Firewatch is a visually captivating first-person walking simulator within the mystery genre. Players jump straight into Henry's story and watch his relationship with his supervisor Delilah unfold throughout the course of the narrative. The pair speak through walkie-talkies, and Henry's dialogue choices impact the story's progression.
The Campo Santo indie game's scenery is beautiful, with vibrant but often monochromatic colors and unique landmarks. As Henry completes his tasks as a forest fire lookout, navigating the surroundings can feel clunky at times. However, Firewatch's distinct art style and the underlying tension that moves the plot forward create a memorable experience.
8 The Vanishing of Ethan Carter
At around five hours of gameplay, The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is definitely worth a play-through for any narrative game enthusiast. Right from the start, the game announces that it is a "narrative experience that does not hold [the player's] hand." This assertion places the story's trajectory in the player's hands.
The eerie rural Wisconsin setting comes to life as the player follows a detective uncovering the mystery of the missing Ethan Carter. The open setting enhances the fragmented mystery. With plenty of hidden stories, twists, puzzles, and even paranormal abilities, The Vanishing of Ethan Carter lingers long after it's finished.
9 Before I Forget
Depictions of dementia and memory loss within literature often fail due to dehumanizing narrative tropes. As a more interactive medium, video games can subvert these tropes through active participation and greater immersion in the story. The indie game Before I Forget by 3-Fold Games expertly disrupts harmful tropes as the playable character's identity is paramount throughout the narrative experience.
In the BAFTA-nominated Before I Forget, players navigate Sunita's London home. The house is unrecognizable to the accomplished cosmologist, and players must interact with objects around the ever-shifting environment to discover more about Sunita's story. Through these interactions and the resulting backstories, players are thrust between moments of jarring confusion and clarity.
10 Florence
Florence is a short narrative experience with simplicity at its core. If players expect a fleshed-out game with experimental storytelling, they'll be disappointed. Instead, Florence is an audiovisual story that evokes the melancholy and beauty that accompanies relationships. The quaint, 2D style is complemented by bold coloring that fluctuates with the story's tone.
During the succinct, less-than-an-hour play-through, Florence's musical additions help convey the contrasting sad and hopeful tones. Playing with headphones is recommended so players can hear the intricacies of the various instruments. A game in the most simple sense, this is a fantastic alternative to lengthy walking simulators.