Most games present a general predicament that the protagonist finds themselves in, but some games focus their entire narrative on the life story of the protagonist and their development throughout the game.
Whether or not theprotagonistgets a happy ending, these games always leave a lasting impact on the players, asit is never easy to say goodbye to a character you spent the last few weeks or days with.
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Game with enough rich writing and world-building details to make them feel like an ever-lasting novel.
If you are looking for games with a compelling story and writing, I will list the best games whose narrative focuses on the protagonist’s life story and character development.
This list contains some initial story spoilers for certain games, but nothing major.
10What Remains Of Edith Finch
Dark, Twisted, And Depressive
What Remains of Edith Finch
Let’s start small with the shortest game on this list—What Remains Of Edith Finch. This is a 2-hour game that places you in the shoes of Edith Finch, returning to her old family house, filled with nothing but memories and memorials.
Here, you will discover the past of each of your family members and relive their final moments before they died. Instead of living through one person’s life story,you will be reliving the final moments of your entire family tree, all the while you learn about the life of Edith Finch.
It is adepressiveyet jaw-dropping experience that I would very much recommend playing whenever you have 2 hours to spare.
9The Witcher 3
Life Is All About Hunting Monsters
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Fextralife Wiki
For a Witcher, there is really not much of a life to live except hunting monsters for coin, but Geralt’s story opens up to be much more than that. The Witcher 3 story consists of Geralt looking for his lost love, Yennefer, through the war-torn lands. The story quickly shifts into him looking for his adoptive daughter instead.
While I can’t reveal much about the story without spoiling, Geralt’s journey through the lands quickly becomes a personal one, as he has to ensure to be a good father figure for Ciri and overall grow as a character.
The expansions also play a pivotal role in Geralt’s developmentas he is forced to make decisions that go against his moral principles.
8Kingdom Come: Deliverance
From The Son Of A Blacksmith To A Knight
Kingdom Come: Deliverance
Henry’s story begins as the son of a blacksmith, living a pretty ordinary life in medieval times. However, his life quickly takes a downturn ashis village is attacked by King Sigismund’s Cuman mercenaries.
Being one of the few survivors, he is taken under the wing of Sir Radzig Kobyla and decides to train under Robard to become a knight so he can get revenge on the people who destroyed his old home and murdered his parents.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance’shyper-realisticgameplay will have you feel like you are actually living in medieval times, with the developers taking into account even the most minor details.This is an RPG where you are literally living every day as Henry and writing his life story.
From KCD1 to KCD2, Henry’s story is still ongoing, and I honestly can’t wait for Kingdom Come: Deliverance 3 to come out.
7Final Fantasy 16
Come To Me, Ifrit!
Final Fantasy 16
Clive’s life story is a tragic one: forced to see his Kingdom occupied by a foreign army, the death of his comrades at Phoenix Gate, being kidnapped by the foreign army, and being branded at a very young age.
Although he is able to reunite with some of his old friends after more than a decade of hardship, his life story doesn’t get any easier from there. InFinal Fantasy 16, you willexperience Clive’s journey of destroying all the mother crystals so the Bearers can live and die on their own terms.
While the game suffers from bare-bonessidequests, Clive’s brutal journey will have you on the edge of your seat most of the time due to its pure spectacle of boss fights with otherEikon Dominants. You are bound to have a great time with it.
6The Walking Dead
Lee’s Journey Through A Zombie Apocalypse
The Walking Dead
Lee’s journey begins after surviving a car crash while he was on his way to jail in the back of a police car. After meeting Clementine, he makes it his objective to keep her safe and survive through the apocalypse.
Living through Lee’s life story as a father figure for Clementine and doing his best to protect her, while surviving in a zombie apocalypse, will quickly make you fall in love with this character.
Without spoiling much, Lee’s growth as a character and all the suffering he goes through to protect Clementine easily make his story one of the most memorable stories that you will experience in a long time.
5The Last Of Us Part 1
When Lost In Darkness, Look For The Light
The Last of Us Part I
After a heartbreaking intro to Joel’s story and character with the death of his daughter, Joel turns into a smuggler, doing what he has to do to survive under martial law (and a zombie apocalypse).
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After getting the job of smuggling a teenage girl, Ellie, to the Fireflies, they end up forming a father-daughter relationship.Their dynamic evolves, and as you learn more about their life story and trauma, it quickly turns into one of the best storytelling experiences in gaming history.
The Last of Us is a must-play for anyone wanting a story with emotional depth and complex characters, where it is no longer clear whether you are the good guy or the bad guy.
4The Yakuza Series
Breaking The World
The Yakuza (or Like A Dragon) series consists of the life story of the protagonist, Kiryu Kazuma, and the ordeals he has to face to protect his friends and family.
Each game features a different part of Kiryu’s story, and honestly, if you start now from Yakuza 0, you will be immediately addicted, thanks to the game’s fantastic combat system and a story that’ll keep you on the edge of your seat.
All the way fromYakuza 0 to Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth, you willsee Kiryu going from a young man in his mid-twenties to a tired old man in his late fifties, trying to retire once and for all and find his peace.
3Assassin’s Creed: The Ezio Collection
Requiescat In Pace
Assassin’s Creed The Ezio Collection
The Ezio collection is considered the prime time of Ubisoft and thebest of the Assassin’s Creedfranchise. Ezio himself is a beloved character and considered the best assassin.
His story begins in Assassin’s Creed 2 as a baby, growing up to be a charismatic young man doing shenanigans with his gang in the streets of Italy. Believing that things will always stay good, his life takes a downturn, with him losing his brothers and father due to a conspiracy.
Ezio is thrown into a different life, and later on decides to follow in his father’s legacy and become an assassin.Ezio’s life story spans across Assassin’s Creed 2, Brotherhood, and Revelations, and is considered one of the best trilogies in video game history.
2God Of War
But I Am Your Monster No Longer
While you’re able to also consider the entireGod Of War franchiseas Kratos’s life story, about his journey from becoming a ruthless God Of War consumed by revenge to a father who wants peace for his son.
Kratos’s life story and journey up until this point are portrayed best in God of War, as you see him mourning the death of his wife, and you are introduced to his son, Atreus, for his first time.
Seeing Kratos’s character evolve from the ruthless God of War to a dad trying to connect with his son, protecting him, all the while being haunted by his past and the lengths he has gone through to bury it. It is one of my personal favorite narratives of all time.
“Cruel Cruel World, Must I Go On?”
Red Dead Redemption 2
When it comes to portraying a life story in a single game, there is really no game better thanRed Dead Redemption 2.
While we get to know Arthur in his mid-thirties, the waythe game reveals bits about Arthur’s past and his character development throughoutreally makes him one of thebest-written charactersin video games.
Seeing Arthur show remorse about his past and disappointment for all the missed opportunities, as he sees the end of the road for the outlaw life in an ever-changing world is the pinnacle of storytelling.
After experiencing how Arthur’s life is shaping up with each passing day, and get to see him evolve as a character. There is no doubt that Red Dead Redemption 2 deserves the number one spot on this list.
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