I was going to say. I love Outer Worlds but I’d never been more engrossed in a games narrative and side stories than when I played Witcher 3.

The entirety of the Bloody Baron & the Botchling. chefs kiss

I don't know why, but I just cannot get into that game. I actually got further into the Witcher 2 than 3, despite 3 seeming to be the universal favorite. It's weird too, because I have absolutely zero specific complaints about the game. I just don't get immersed in it like everyone else seems to. Which is a shame, because I know it's an objectively good game and I want to experience it, but it just won't click with me. I feel like I'm missing out on something.

Any recommendations for getting into it? Like does the story have a point where it "picks up" so to speak? I really want to play it and I'm willing to try again, it took me watching the first episode of Game of Thrones four times in 2018 to finally get into that show, so I'm convinced it's never too late to back and enjoy something. I just haven't yet personally seen what it is about the Witcher 3 that makes everyone love it so much.

yeah i have, got close to the end. definitely gonna have to try more obsidian games now !

In all fairness, this is the "Fallout type of game" that everyone was asking for but never got prior. I definitely think this game shouldn't be compared to Fallout because it is so different in many ways. If you're expecting that big open world with endless replayability, you'll be left disappointed. However, this is an extremely well-made little game and the immersion is top notch. This game had the luxury of riding on that "Fallout name" and I think it delivered in a lot of ways. Again, if you're expecting "Fallout, but in space," you'll be left wanting.

NV does just about everything better other than the gunplay, and the gunplay of TOW is not much to brag about. Bigger, better open world. Deeper, more intricate relationships with your companions. Better factions, with actual morally gray choices (the OP lost me when he said he had trouble deciding between the mustache twirling evil board, and Phineas). The game isn't afraid to reward or punish you for decisions you make or how you build your character, unlike TOW where every quest or companion is accessible one way or another. NV also has far more replayability. Besides the multiple ways certain quests can be completed, it also can net you at least 4 major playthroughs depending on which faction you choose (Independent, House, NCR, and Legion) where with OW, I don't see myself returning other than the DLC and even if you loved the game theres really only 2 playthroughs to be gotten from it.

It's just a far more intricate RPG under the hood then OW. Comparisons to NV are absolutely valid. It's quite obvious the TOW was a spiritual successor to NV, I mean the ending slides are ripped straight from FO3/NV, the Tartarus bit at the end is shallow imitation of the Battle of Hoover Dam. The skills and perk systems are taken from FO3/NV as well.

NV has better story, better characters and open world to explore. All these points make NV far better game. New Vegas is very underrated when it comes to critic scores. Most of NV criticism came from bad engine and bugs. Without those issues it would have review score of 90 or even above.

Outer Worlds has nothing on New Vegas. Characters are bland and I can't remember single one of them. Outer Worlds makes it seem like it has huge worlds to explore and not tiny maps instead. Weapons and armor are boring, there is no unique armor or weapons.

I know that OW is not an AAA title, but NV was made in about 18 months, so that kinda evens it up.

you should. It’s order of magnitude more immersive and story driven

Meh, I don't think the game holds a candle to games like Mask of the Betrayer, Witcher 3, Fallout New Vegas, Kotor, Dragon Age or even more recent games like Original Sin 1 & 2.

"Most immersive story driven RPG I've ever played" either means you REALLY love The Outer Worlds, or you've missed quite a few stellar RPGs over the years.

Don't get me wrong, I love TOW and played through the game three times, but "most immersive"? Idk man, Witcher 2 and 3, Mass Effect 1, Kotor 1 and 2, Planescape: Torment, and Baldur's Gate II are all more immersive, in my opinion.

I will say though, TOW's controls, UI, and mechanics were all extremely understandable, so I was able to dedicate all of my attention to the story, worldbuilding, and atmosphere of the game. That's a huge bonus when it comes to immersion.

Life is Strange sounds like something you'd like

That's an interesting distinction to make. In Firewatch, which is often called a 'walking simulator,' I'd argue that a central theme of the game is the tension that can exist between your actions and what your "story" is. The overwhelming majority of the game's story is character-based, and subtle changes in dialogue choice and timing do change what story happens in your playthrough.

Disco Elysium. It's one of the best story games to come out... ever.

I would look at Bioware games

Jade empire

Knights of the old republic

Mass effect trilogy

Dragon age series

And Alpha protocol

Firewatch is a pretty good story driven game!

Dude, if you're looking for a story that'll blow your mind, play clair obscura expedition 33. I didn't get the feels most people got, but you might, and the combat is fun.

Baldurs gate 3

Cyberpunk 2077

Expedition 33

Final Fantasy VII. Remake/Rebirth (preferably), or OG. Just don’t get spoiled ahead of time.

Disco Elysium - Best story driven game I’ve ever played. Graphics may not be up your alley though.

Firewatch is the definition of a story driven game

Maybe this is most obvious and mainstream answer for this but: The Witcher 3.

Also Detroit Become Human has an amazing story in which your decisions have a really heavy impact. There's A LOT o ramifications for the story and if you choose wrong you could get one (or all) of the main characters killed. However, the gameplay is mainly based on quick time events so keep that in mind.

Heavy Rain

Beyond: Two Souls

Detroit: Become Human

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order

Alien: Isolation

Tomb Raider reboot series

A Plague's Tale

Alan Wake

Uncharted series

The Last of Us series

Days Gone

Infamous series

God of War series

Splinter Cell: Conviction

Death Stranding

Metal Gear Solid series

Spider-Man PS4

Telltale Games (TWD, Batman, Wolf Among Us, ect)

Gears of War series

Horizon: Zero Dawn

Max Payne series

Until Dawn

The Dark Pictures Anthology

Sleeping Dogs

Mad Max

Ghost of Tsushima

Mass Effect series

The Evil Within 1 & 2

I could go on...

Narrative is literally my favorite thing on earth. I love good stories, in all forms of media.

Lots of Playstation in there, sure. But those are all games I think you'd be interested in.

Try Horizon Zero Dawn, although there are quite a lot of side quests if you go out of your way to find them. The world is a beautiful place so it's worth the traversal.

Go in with time. Take your time too. Explore! Such a great game

Mass Effect trilogy

Cyberpunk2077. Same studio as the Witcher, same great writing and characters, and the game is damn good at this point.

mass effect trilogy

expedition 33

bg3

I just started this today and I’m already totally sucked in. It’s 2am and I’m just thinking damn maybe one more hour lol

Outer Wilds is a story that will stick with me for the rest of my life, highly recommend

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

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

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.

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

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.

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!

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.

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.

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

I’ve seriously seen people recommended it to people looking for linear games.

I would note that while the story is great, the gameplay is drastically different than the games OP mentioned. Just wanted to throw it out there because diving into Disco after a recommendation based on The Last of Us made for a negative experience for me personally (at least initially).

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).

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!

Emily is Away

Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice

Gris

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

• What Remains of Edith Finch - ~2 hours long and very simple gameplay, but I was blown away by the story it told throughout the various sequences.
• Firewatch - 4 hour length, more of a puzzles/exploring based gameplay, and the voice acting between the two main characters really immersed me.
• SOMA - a longer game at maybe 10-15 hours and the most substantial gameplay of this list. Has some horror elements with a very mind-bending and philosophical story line that left me thinking about it for weeks.

dragon age series

Sounds like you enjoy the PS4 exclusives. You must must must play God of War if you haven’t.

Yakuza series

I absolutely love story-based games, so I'm going to recommend some of my favourites. Apart from most of the games that others have already listed, here are some that I would highly recommend:

• Bioshock 1 and Bioshock Infinite: The original Bioshock had the most defining jaw-dropping moment of its generation. The gameplay may not hold up to modern shooters, but the story is outstanding, and so is the voice acting. I didn't play Bioshock 2, but I jumped directly into Infinite, and I didn't feel like I missed anything story-wise. Infinite, again, is outstanding. It's going to suck you in and leave you hollow when you finish it.
• The Wolf Among Us (Telltale): You listed Telltale's TWD, which of course is outstanding. But right up there with TWD is this gem, of which we are unlikely to see any sequel, unfortunately. In my opinion, TWAU has arguably better voice acting than even TWD. Similarly, you can play Telltale's Batman Series (Batman, and Batman: The Enemy Within).
• Red Dead Redemption / Red Dead Redemption 2: Yes, I know it's the biggest game right now, but not without reason. RDR had a pretty good story. RDR2 has arguably an even better story, but more importantly, its world is going to suck you in.
• Mass Effect: The original trilogy will take you anywhere between 90 hours to 120 hours depending on how quick you play and how many side missions you do (serious suggestion: do them all, including all the DLCs). No other game I have ever played has had such a big impact and absorbed me so entirely as Mass Effect did. The OT (Original Trilogy) spawned a sequel called Andromeda which greatly improved gameplay, but struggled a little to provide a satisfying story, so you can give it a miss.
• Sleeping Dogs: Imagine GTA but with more focus on hand-to-hand combat, and set in a gorgeous depiction of Hong Kong. The world of this game is beautifully rendered and feels authentic as you hear crowd chatter in a mix of English and Chinese. The story is kind of standard, but well written and consistent, and it will keep you invested. It's a standard undercover cop story, but I had a great experience.
• Oxenfree: A short-ish indie game. Not a lot of action other than traversing and choosing dialogue options. Some supernatural elements. Again, not a great "story" per se (going by the games you listed), because it's more about dealing with loss / death. And it's short enough that it won't grate on you.

If I think of more, I'll come back to you.

EDIT:

• Grim Fandango: I recently bought the remastered version off the Playstation store. It's a really difficult puzzle game that I only got through with the help of guides, but I kind of get why it has legendary status. The story is simple, but the voice acting and characterization is outstanding.