Discussion: what game has the best story?

Most of us play games for the gameplay, but that doesn’t mean the story doesn’t matter. Which game had the story that most captivated you?

Iain: It took me a while to decide on this, but in the end it had to go with Telltale Studio’s The Walking Dead. This game is an absolute marvel in storytelling and whether you are comforting distraught survivors of a zombie apocalypse, facing down cannibals, or shooting children in the face, you can’t help but remain engaged and involved with the ever-evolving story.

The Walking Dead tracks all the decisions you make throughout the game, so everything you do has a direct impact on your progression. If your a dick people won’t like you, but if you’re a pushover, people will push you around. The Walking Dead features a host of great characters and features a genuinely compelling plot that puts the TV show to shame. If you love some zombie action, murder, intrigue and horror then you have to give this a try. The Walking Dead is available for both iOS and PC, and is a must for any story-hungry gamer.

Charlie: It would be easy for me to say Bioshock, and Bioshock probably deserves to be on this list somewhere. But to be honest, while Bioshock’s story is fantastic, it’s so heavy that I don’t want to play through it very often. The same is true of most other serious games for me.

So instead I’m going with Timesplitters: Future Perfect. Yes, the game’s story is completely ridiculous. It’s also probably full of plot holes (I haven’t checked, but most time-travel stories are). But it makes up for all of that by being hilarious, and by having surprisingly memorable characters. Obviously, there are other games with more compelling stories, but I’m picking Timesplitters because it’s the kind of story you can play through again and again and still enjoy. It may not be as “pure” a narrative as the more serious games out there, but I think there’s something to be said for that. Not every game can be a Ken Levine mindfuck, and Timesplitters‘ story may be silly, but it’s the kind of silly you can enjoy again and again.

Xairylle: My initial answer was Final Fantasy VII, but thinking about it now, the reason why I think it has an awesome story is because of how it became a series on its own with sequels and prequels. As a series, Final Fantasy VII would have my vote for best game story hands down, but for a single game title, I’m saying it’s Chrono Trigger.

For a protagonist that doesn’t talk, I became quite attached to Chrono because of how the game allowed me to somewhat create my own story without straying far away from the original plot. Chrono Trigger didn’t have mind-blowing revelations like Final Fantasy VII, but it was so engaging and well-told.

Also, games with time-traveling and parallel worlds tend to have confusing storylines and plot twists, and while I am a sucker for such things, I enjoyed how Chrono Trigger presented its story light-heartedly, but with enough darkness and drama when needed. I cared about the characters enough to be affected when I learned about the connection of Magus and Janus and the events surrounding that and when Chrono died, a little bit of the fangirl in me died with him (temporarily).

Oh, and before I forget: 13 multiple endings, ladies and gentlemen. Which ending did you get?