📖 The Best Story-Rich Games

Published · list data as of

Sometimes you do not want a challenge, you want a story — characters worth arguing about, an ending that sits with you for a week. These are the highest-rated story-driven games, from quiet character studies to twenty-hour epics.

How selective is this list?

15 of 128 games meet the criteria

Release span
1993–2026
Median year
2020
from 2015 or later
77%
Median rating
80/100

Counted live in the IGDB games database on this page’s last build.

  1. 1Cover of Half-Life: Alyx

    Half-Life: Alyx2020

    93 / 100ShooterPuzzleAdventure
  2. 2Cover of Hades

    Hades2020

    91 / 100Role-playing (RPG)Hack and slash/Beat 'em upAdventure
  3. 3Cover of Undertale

    Undertale2015

    91 / 100PuzzleRole-playing (RPG)Adventure
  4. 4Cover of Disco Elysium

    Disco Elysium2019

    91 / 100Role-playing (RPG)AdventureIndie
  5. 5Cover of Hades II

    Hades II2025

    91 / 100Role-playing (RPG)Hack and slash/Beat 'em upAdventure
  6. 6Cover of Alan Wake II

    Alan Wake II2023

    90 / 100ShooterAdventure
  7. 7Cover of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

    Clair Obscur: Expedition 332025

    89 / 100Role-playing (RPG)Turn-based strategy (TBS)Adventure
  8. 8Cover of Celeste

    Celeste2018

    89 / 100PlatformAdventureIndie
  9. 9Cover of Xenogears

    Xenogears1998

    89 / 100Role-playing (RPG)
  10. 10Cover of Blue Prince

    Blue Prince2025

    89 / 100PuzzleStrategyAdventure
  11. 11Cover of The Talos Principle II

    The Talos Principle II2023

    89 / 100PuzzleAdventureIndie
  12. 12Cover of Horizon Forbidden West

    Horizon Forbidden West2022

    89 / 100Role-playing (RPG)Adventure
  13. 13Cover of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle

    Indiana Jones and the Great Circle2024

    89 / 100PuzzleRole-playing (RPG)Adventure
  14. 14Cover of Dead Space 2

    Dead Space 22011

    88 / 100ShooterAdventure
  15. 15Cover of Xenoblade Chronicles 3

    Xenoblade Chronicles 32022

    88 / 100Role-playing (RPG)Adventure

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