List of games that have really good story lines.

Other than skyrim, I would like a list of games with good storylines.

Skyrim ?

Well if Skyrim is your standard then I gues any game with a story will make the list. ;)

the original CoD. Prince of persia trio. These are the one that stuck with me

Skyrim ???? what are you on about with that game great storyline, since when?

But a great storyline is games like Mass effect, GTA IV, LA Noire,

If you want a game with a great storyline what about Bioshock. I have played every game, every dlc and I still don't completely understand the storyline. I have never seen a storyline discussed so much by so many people.

Mega Man Legends.

Mass effect trilogy, Fallout 3 + Brotherhood of steel dlc, Dragon age origins, Deadly premonition, Beyond two souls, The Last of us

planescape: torment
grim fandango

LOL Skyrim

Mass Effect Triolgy

GTA 4 and 5

Portal 2

Skyrim? Really?

This tells me you haven't experience that many games or taken an interest in their stories. Try BioShock, Mass Effect Trilogy, Yakuza Series, Onimusha, Silent Hill etc.

Mother 3 and Spec Ops: The Line put a lot of video game stories to shame.

Alot of movie stories put mother 3 and Spec Ops stories to shame.

Thanks guys, sorry about the skyrim part, I wasn't thinking when I posted this :]

The Walking Dead. The Wolf Among Us. Speaking strictly of story, of course.

Man the writing was terrible in To the Moon.

Legacy of Kain
Spec Ops: The Line
Marathon trilogy
Planescape: Torment

The dialogue was chalk full of memes and internet humour. I thought the overall plot as alright, but the two scientists were a terrible.

The Last of Us. The zombie apocalypse thing has been done to death (lol pun), but it's the interactions between the characters on their journeys that's the real draw of the game. It's an original take on an over-done concept, and the story that forms around the bonds of Joel, Ellie, and all the people they meet along the way that are the real meat of the game.

If you have a PS2, Digital Devil Saga 1/2 is phenomenal. If not, there's a possibility it might get put on the Playsation Store at some point.

@ Firosen

Only original in video games. And even then only in plot... Not in Narrative. I thought it was so boring. Left Behind was miles better but again the Narrative just wasn't good enough.

@Lulu_Lulu: I dunno. I thought the narrative was creative in TLoU. I felt like the narrative conveyed the story very well and helped build up a believable father-daughter relationship between Joel and Ellie. More so than the relationship between my character and his wife in Skyrim (you've been gone for months - here's lunch and 1500 gold).

Very hard to go past Bioshock & Bioshock Infinite... also the Mass Effect series.

@ Firosen

thats all good..... For non-interactive medium like books and movies where you're suppose surrender and submit control.

But in video game. At the very least it they could relay the story in a way that doesn't take control away (Like Valve Games) it shouldn't briefly cease to be game just for the "feels" and at the very most it should let you play the plot points (Beyond 2 Souls) instead of making you watch it unfold.

Ghost trick for the DS had a unique story, The walking dead game by telltale is a good shout also.

@fully87: Yeah Telltales walking dead's story was amazing.

Also agree with all the standard ones ie. Mass effect, Dragon age and gone home.

However best story ever in a game for me is from the Witcher series. Most captivating games I have ever played!

Mass effect (Bar the ending :)), Planescape torment, Baldur's gate, Metro 2033, Dragon age Origins, Err pretty much anything from Bioware / Obsidian and Black Isle. Final fantasy 7 and 8? Chrono trigger, Fallout 3 was alright..

How could I forget the Witcher? Awesome stuff.

Bioshock is generic, dystopian shit and Mass Effect barely deviates from the Space Opera template. Though I doubt this will sway OP who is impressed by derivative Fantasy at it's most basic, and on that note I suggest Dragon Age: Origins. Also, The Witcher 2 may be worth a look if you're feeling adventurous for some much better, yet still derivative, fantasy.

For future internet-goers skimming forum opinions through the warm house of 'Google search', if you disregard the overblown dialogue, early Silent Hill games are great in story and worth your time.

If you enjoyed Skyrim's story TC don't let anybody else sway that descision, especially not when they list a franchise like ME which never lived up to the foundation layed by the first game in the series. I would personally choose Vagrant Story and the Witcher series, although I do enjoy to elder scrolls games story. Oh and as few have said Silent Hill, particularly the second game.

Mass Effect trilogy

The Witcher 1 & 2 (and 3 when it comes out)

The Book of Unwritten Tales

Broken Sword (all of them have great storylines)

Assassin's Creed (1 , 2 and Revelations . Brotherhood is OK as well)

Amnesia games are also pretty good at story

Freelancer

Alan Wake

Max Payne 1 and 2

Planescape Torment etc .

I love these games.

I felt Enslaved had great pacing, narrative, and intruging premise. Worth a look for sure.

The Metal Gear Solid Series and The Last of Us.

My two favorite videogame storylines so far are Nier and 9 hours 9 persons 9 doors

Nier is has a very dark and twisted story, but it's not so apparent at first. The story is subtle but very well put together once everything makes sense. Voice acting is great for a JRPG, and the characters are all likeable, some more than others. Like I said, the story is subtle, and if you pay attention to detail and to the dialogue, you will pick up some moments both funny and heartbreaking. The ending section of the game isn't subtle though, and has some pretty epic moments.

999: A great mystery/thriller story. The reason it has such a great story is it falls mainly under the visual novel genre, and is written by the same author of some other visual novels. This was the only one released in the west though, along with the sequel virtues last reward. Both are great games, but I just liked the writing in 999 more. Play them both though, if you are looking for a great story and don't mind lots of reading.

I disagree with Mass Effect having a great story, only because Bioware recycles the same basic story over and over. Their games are far too predictable.

As far as Skyrim not having a great story? I disagree somewhat. The story offered by Bethesda is not very good, but it's really easy to create your own story and that's where Bethesda strives. it's why people buy their games because people are only limited by their imaginations. I like Skyrim. Spent over 200 hours in that world. I don't think I even got half through the main quest because I was too busy exploring and making my own quests.

Shadowrun Returns is interesting. I like The Swapper, Bastion, and Gone Home. The Longest Journey is a classic. The Metro games are pretty entertaining. If the game has voice actors, as long as they make the story believable it'll get a pass. If the voice acting is cheesy, no matter how good the story should be it'll fall flat.

And games like Uncharted have great voice acting. At least the main roles are believable so the game world feels believable that's why it gets far more praise than it may deserve.

Id have to go with a few of my fav stories

MGS1

MGS3

Tlou

Mass Effect 1

Persona 4 Golden

Kotor

FF6

FF12

Hotline Miami

.

From experience, Halo is defiantly number 1. It has maybe 17 books and making more, and an encyclopedia! Bioshock is number 2. Dead Space is 3. Mass Effect is 4. and LA Noire is 5.

Last of us

Tomb Raider

Uncharted Series

Those are my opinions

Well there are tons of great story driven games available, but I guess the first few that I can think of are The Last Of Us, any Metal Gear game, Mass Effect, and some of the earlier Assassin's Creeds

Planescape Torment

Grim Fandango

Gone Home

Spec Ops The Line

Dat necro thread

The best-written interactive stories in gaming usually come from the Visual Novel (VN) genre. For example:

YU-NO

Ever 17 & Remember 11

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney trilogy

Clannad

Fate/Stay Night

Muv-Luv & Muv-Luv Alternative

Chaos Head

Steins Gate

999 & Zero Escape

Danganronpa 1 & 2

Let's be honest here, most games' narratives are a simple variation of the classic "good vs evil" theme, mixing in elements of the 'hero's journey". Some games do this better than others, obviously, and since gaming itself is a relatively new medium, in terms of storytelling, it makes sense that we aren't up to Shakespearean levels quite yet.

As someone who has done a lot of gaming over the years, I find myself appreciating the unique narratives in games much more than cookie cutter "good vs evil" stuff, especially as I get older. I'm not saying that "Good vs Evil" narratives are bad, I'm just saying that once you find yourself saturated by a market that almost relies exclusively on one marketable theme, or handful of commonly used themes, anything that stands out amongst the masses is going to be a welcome treat.

In regards to specific games, I think someone mentioned "Gone Home", along those lines, I would also add, "The Stanley Parable". A lot of people praised the original "Bioshock" for its narrative. I quite enjoyed "Heavy Rain". Along the same line, I found "Beyond: Two Souls", interesting as well.

In today's market, an exceptional game is one that makes you think and one that stays with you, in terms of narrative, and it may be a very polarizing game, but I loved "Journey". It is the hero's journey, in gaming form, and I think its a game everyone should experience, at least once.

Final Fantasy X, Bioshock Infinite, The Last of Us, The Longest Journey and its sequels, Mass Effect, Final Fantasy IX, Final Fantasy XII, Chrono Trigger

From what I hear Final Fantasy VI is really good

As a warning TC, Witcher games are mediocre and Gone Home is utter shit

@Grieverr: Should these even count though??

Final Fantasy IV and VI, Knights in the Nightmare, Radiant Historia, Silent Hill 2 and Shattered Memories, Chrono Trigger, Dragon Quest V and VI, The Darkness 1 and 2, Vampire the Masquerade Bloodlines, Zelda OoT, Majora's Mask, Wind Waker, Twilight Princess, Skyward Sword, Theresia: Dear Emile and Dear Martel, Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine doors and Virtue's Last Reward, Xenoblade Saga, The Last Story, No More Heroes 1 and 2, Okami and Okamiden, Solatorobo, Tales of the Abyss, every Mario and Luigi game (Superstar Saga, Partners in Time, Bowser's Inside Story, Dream Team), Paper Mario and Paper Mario Thousand Year Door, KOTOR 1 and 2, Thief 1 2 and 3, Max Payne 3 (more for the writing than actual story), Walking Dead games. Those should all keep you busy for a very long time.