As someone who recently finished Spiritfarer, I vote for this. It was interesting to piece each information as you send a spirit off or bring them aboard, talk to them and watch as their dialogue changes (when they open up to you). It’s not as story driven as LIS but I think it falls under the same genre of story driven!

To the Moon and Finding Paradise! Incredibly cathartic if you're in the mood for a game that makes you cry.

Special mention to Rakuen, which was made by the composer who wrote 'Everythings Alright' and 'Wish My Life Away', both songs featured in those aforementioned games. Beautiful soundtracks for all of them.

Beacon pines hits the spot immensely but I felt the ending was so...lacklustre? Didn't stop me from loving the overall game though

Oxenfree ❤️

Detroit: Become Human, hands down.

Honourable mention to the lore in Hollow Knight

Last of us closely followed by red dead 1.

Mass Effect! :)

Red Dead Redemption 2 definitely! Very powerful stuff.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (got the Next-Gen update and new free content recently too)

Blood and wine 🍷

What remains of Edith Finch is a masterpiece when it comes to story telling. Its pretty short too. Two hours tops

Red Dead Redemption (1 & 2)

Far Cry 3

The Witcher Series

Baldurs Gate 3

Kingdom Come : Deliverance (1 & 2, tbf haven't finished 2)

Cyberpunk 2077

Knights of the Old Republic

Telltale games/The Quarry/Until Dawn

Ghost of Tsushima was one of the better story mode games I’ve played in a long while. The liberation RPG style they use is a little recycled, but the combat is awesome and I felt like I was watching a damn good movie following the story. There’s a sequel coming out this year too if you end up liking the first.

Yup, it’s not the kind of blockbuster narrative that you get from those Sony first party titles, but this is a game that literally changed how I think about life and death and our place in the universe, and it has some of the most beautiful music ever. It’s worth the effort to figure out the puzzles and solve the riddles and I wish I could wipe my memory and play it again.

The Mass Effect trilogy. Its like playing a character in a movie series, except you are directing it too.

I would not say it is the story that is that good, it is the steps to uncovering it and how much mystery it is shrouded in. If it was just read out to you it wouldn't sound that stellar on paper. Fantastic game though, in my top 10.

I think Zero Dawn story was too good. Once you piece together the mystery, there's no way to match the intrigue imo. I thought Forbidden West was fine and the improvements to the gameplay made it well worth playing.

I would also chuck SOMA onto that list too. That game had me needing a minute to myself to digest what the hell I just played

Zero Dawn’s story was a little fluffy but the sci fi twists and mystery of the apocalypse of it were well done.

Forbidden West’s writing felt like toothless childish garbage, the writers were playing it really really safe imo. The characters and story feel so corporate and uninteresting.

Horizon: Zero Dawn has one of the best stories in any video game I’ve ever played. Forbidden West, the sequel, continues the story and is also good but Zero Dawn was just jaw-dropping good.

The Xenosaga trilogy. Outstanding story if you stick through it all.

Man, I gotta disagree with this recommendation. The wrap up with Xenosaga 3 is incredible but the second game switches directors and lacks the narrative confidence of the other two. Also, while 3 miraculously wraps up the story of the saga, this was planned as a six part series so you’re playing a truncated version. Finally, these games were never ported and are locked to the PS2.

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is the makers of Xenosaga at the height of their powers and tells a complete story. I’d go with that

Trails in the Sky Trilogy,  Final Fantasy IX and Nier Automata are must-plays IMO.

I agree...that was my pick for best JRPG story I've played

I think it's one thing to just be told a story. But definitely another thing to experience it for yourself. You'll go on an adventure with the characters, bond with them, experience their struggles and help overcome them. You'll be given a whole lot more context to things whoch may make you feel deeper emotions to certain plot points. You'll actually hear their voices, know their story. And my god, the music. The music will make you truly dive deep into the story in a way that your friend just telling you the plot could never.

Not to mention, studies have proven that people most remember the beginning and ending to stories. So i' going to bet that whatever your friend explained, they gave you a lot of detail about the start of the games and end of them, but missed a lot of details of the mid game.

I second 13 Sentinels Aegis Rim! The story is really unique and AWESOME!

I was bawling my eyes out at final scene of Xenoblade 3, definitely worth to play it.

I know what you mean, but I think the mark of a great story is when you can experience it many times, and the impact of the story stays the same (or even better, improves). I think FFX is one of those stories. If a story’s being good just depends on surprising twists or things that can be spoiled, then I would argue it’s not a very good story. Just my two cents!

I second this! Especially Xenoblade 1 and 3. For X1, I was constantly thrown off by the plot twists which were paced well. X3 has a pretty unique story where kids are gaslit all throughout their lives.

Best written will always be Final Fantasy Tactics and Xenogears in my eyes.

Good story and even good game doesn't necessarily mean good writing. I love the story and gameplay of most of the Final Fantasy games but I wouldn't say they are well written, most of them are very clunky and contrived writing wise.

Expedition 33.

What a phenomenal game in every single regard, including writing.

It has game of the DECADE potential.

Nope.

But people will also tell you that Dark Souls is not a JRPG and that Nier Automata is.

Fire Emblem Path of Radiance

Growlanser IV

Devil Survivor

Yeah, that statement is a bit wild (still had to upvote because it was the 33rd vote). I do think it does have what a lot of jrpg's lack, good writing (or good localization).

Nier Replicant and Automata. No other games come close to their type of storytelling, and it's definitely unique.

Final Fantasy X is what you want bro

I actually prefer DS2 but general consensus is that DS1 is better.

DS1 has the better story, but I just liked the characters in DS2 more.

They're both fantastic and you can't go wrong with either. I recommend both.

Not sure what your system is, but some recent suggestions are:

• Witcher 3 (open world but very story driven)
• Final Fantasy X (Linear, but very story heavy)
• Persona 5 (Can easily drop 100+ hours into this one, plus story, atmosphere, and music are top-notch)
• Nier Automata (Story is gradually revealed by playing through the game a few times with different characters revealing other sides of the story. Very emotional)
• Pillars of Eternity (I found myself really invested in the story. Isometric RPG)
• Quantic Dream games like Heavy Rain, Beyond Two Souls, Detroit: Become Human, and Indigo Prophecy (all are basically interactive cinema. All have great stories as their focus)

Hope this helps a bit!

The Witcher 3 despite being an open world game is heavily story driven, and even minor side-quests have excellent writing and great pacing. The game can last well past 100 hours and has tons of excellent tales within it.

If you like dark fantasy then it's not to be missed.

Bioshock Infinite, one of those stories that is so good it'll leave you feeling empty after you finish it. You also don't have to play the first Bioshock to enjoy it (although that in itself is also a fantastic game).

Life is Strange! One of the all time best Story games imo.

Any game by telltale (especially the walking dead, game of thrones, batman )

I remember playing Mass Effect 1 and during one of the earliest scenes I realized it felt like playing my own space drama.  Definitely need to play through the trilogy at least once if you haven't!

Let’s see (to not repeat others’ suggestions): „What Remains of Edith Fintch” - sad story about a family - but there’s some funny bits too (tragicomedy of life…); „Night in the Woods” - cozy story, funny, but also with topics of mental illness, relationships, poverty & other bad situations etc; „Goodbye Volcano High” - warm & clever emotional story about friendship and changes (also impending doom); „Disco Elysium” - a lot of reading - but modern classic! Highly recommended!; „Spiritfarer” - about death & relations with people - but it also has a lot of gameplay stuff to do (resources to collect and process & items and food to manufacture etc); IDK if „Mafia Definitive Edition” counts - it’s not very emotional really- but it’s considered best video game mob plot.; „Horizon” series does have good plot - but it get less emotional because of doing side content dilutes it (I like it very much - but you know… for pure emotions I wouldn’t choose it).

Disco Elysium. Don't read anything about it. Just play it. Trust me.

Absolutely. By the time you reach the third game you genuinely feel like you crafted your own story from the decisions you made in the first two games. Absolutely phenomenal

Emily is Away

Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice

Gris

It's a really good story. Often I don't care too much but that game always had me wanting more

He's asking for well written and developed characters, that make you feel something, which this story did more than any other game for me, OP would certainly enjoy it

The Last of Us

Ghost of Tsushima

Horizon Zero Dawn

Horizon Forbidden West

Ori

Metal Gear Solid

Metal Gear Solid 3

Metal Gear Solid 4

Silent Hill 2

Shadow Hearts

Shadow Hearts Covenant

Nier Replicant

Nier Automata

The Legend of Dragoon

Suikoden 2

Undertales

Alan Wake

Alan Wake 2

Control

Quantum Break

Heavy Rain

Beyond Two Souls

Detroit Become Human

Bioshock

Red Dead Redemption

Mass Effect

Mass Effect 2

Okami

Firewatch

Persona 5

Final Fantasy X

The Witcher 3

Soma

Final Fantasy 7

Final Fantasy 6

Final Fantasy 9

Chrono Trigger

Breath of Fire 3

Breath of Fire 4

Life is Strange

Uncharted 4

A Wolf Among Us

Telltales The Walking Dead

What Remains of Edith Finch

Gone Home

Spec Ops The Line

God of War 2018

As Dusk Falls

Final Fantasy 16

Her Story

A Plague Tale Innocence

Deux Ex

Prey

Disco Elysium

Assassins Creed Black Flag

The Vanishing of Ethan Carter

Everybody's Gone To Rapture

Dragon Age

Days Gone

Stray

Wild Arms 3

Lunar Silver Star

Lunar Eternal Blue

Death Stranding

Infamous

Infamous 2

Xenogear

Xenosaga

Ori and The Blind Forest

Yakuza

Sleeping Dogs

Outer Wilds

Tacoma

To The Moon

Metro

System Shock 2

Dark Cloud

Red dead redemption 2, The last of us, cyberpunk 2077, horizon zero dawn and forbidden west, god of war 2016 and ragnorok.

this is the definition of rdr2

Sounds like you're looking for Disco Elysium

Baldur’s Gate 3, it’s got everything you need done to perfection.

Undertale/Deltarune

Night in the Woods

Lisa the Painful

Firewatch

Nier Automata

Dishonored. The first in the series is my favorite, as well as its DLC

Just finished INDIANA JONES AND THE GREAT CIRCLE a couple months ago and it was fantastic. I enjoyed every minute of it. And the story was great; it literally felt like I was living an Indiana Jones movie. Could have just as easily been a movie script. Also; great gameplay, extremely fun sneaking up on Nazis and killing them with all different things, good puzzles, beautiful world, etc. Just an overall great game. As you can obviously tell, I highly recommend it..

I will never not recommend Disco Elysium. The devs have encouraged pirating it, seeing as it was pretty much stolen from underneath them.

If you liked Telltale's The Walking Dead, I'd highly recommend Detroit Become Human, Until Dawn, and Scarlet Hollow.

My personal story-driven favorites:

Before Your Eyes

To The Moon

The Cat Lady

What Remains of Edith Finch

OMORI