Video games are not the most respected of the art forms. Their writing often faces criticism or is seen as lesser than other media, and there is even healthy debate as to whether they are an art form at all.
There are plenty of well-written games, but there are also many with lacking dialogue, cartoonish plots, or that are simply lacking in meaning or subtlety. Confusing the debate further are those games that seem like they are fodder for poor writing, often with weird design or outlandish and shlocky premises, that go down in history as phenomenally written games.
11 God Of War (2018) Injects The Series With A Massive Dose Of Maturity
The God of War games have always been well-received, but typically for their strong gameplay and iconic protagonist in Kratos. Their plots prior to 2018's God of War were often much more simple and melodramatic, and the games were full of cheesy moments and sexual objectification designed to appeal to a young male audience.
The distant sequel released for the PS4 takes a vastly different tack with its writing, going for a much slower, sensitive story. Gone are the cartoonishly villainous moments or the sexual objectification. Instead, they are replaced with a mature look at parenthood, self-improvement, and toxic masculinity in a game often praised as the best in the series and a shocking reversal for its dated writing.
10 Life Is Strange Overcomes Its Own Clunkiness
Life is Strange is one of the most well-known story-based game series around, with the first game released to some acclaim in 2015. Upon its release, many were quick to note some of the game's clumsy writing, particularly in the case of especially clunky dialogue and some characters and plot points that bordered on cliche.
Nonetheless, underneath some external woodenness — particularly in the game's later chapters — there is an emotionally-affecting story about friendship, responsibility, and consequences. With a gripping murder mystery plot blending with the game's supernatural power exploration and friendship turned potential love story, there is a vast amount to keep almost any player engaged with the writing.
9 Metal Gear Solid 4 Battles Through Its Difficulties
The Metal Gear franchise is widely-acknowledged as one of the most influential series in gaming, particularly with its effect on game writing. Its stories have always been well-regarded, despite being self-admittedly B-movie fodder written around the very particular tastes of game director Hideo Kojima.
However, one especially well-regarded entry had to overcome a fairly self-inflicted problem. Wishing to be done with the story of Solid Snake, Kojima had deliberately written Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty to be impossible to write a sequel for. When the time came to do just that in Guns of the Patriots, Kojima managed to untangle his own convoluted plot and create a coherent ending with genuine emotional pathos and a fitting farewell to one of gaming's most iconic characters.
8 Dishonored Shines In Its Worldbuilding
Dishonored is a popular stealth immersive sim game from Arkane Studios and could have well-rested on its laurels there. With a deep stealth system, incredibly flexible and versatile powers, and immense replayability, many would have forgiven the game for focusing on its gameplay at the expense of story.
Contrary to this, Dishonored also tells a compelling tale. Although its plot is hardly the most complex, it goes into great depth with its worldbuilding and characterization, fleshing out the incredibly distinctive setting of the Empire of the Isles, with all of its corruption, occult dealings, and everyday difficulties. Putting its gameplay into context in a real-feeling world, Dishonored uses its storytelling well.
7 Halo: Reach Adds Pathos To A Winning Story Formula
The Halo series has always leaned hard into its stories. First released in 2001, the original Halo told a surprisingly deep story through the medium of a first-person shooter, which later games continued. Although widely beloved and iconic, the stories always have the feel of a B-movie to them, with over-the-top moments and hilarious one-liners abounding.
As Bungie's swansong on the series, however, Halo: Reach takes a darker and more mature look at the world. It is far from completely serious, with plenty of moments played for humor or cool factor, but the writing and the direction combine to tell an emotionally-affecting story that makes the player care for a doomed planet and doomed protagonists, despite knowing all along how things end.
6 Bioshock Elevates Itself With Its Shocking Plot Twist
For much of its playtime, Bioshock appears to be a fairly conventional video game story, albeit one in a particularly unique setting. The only hints of greater depth to its story come in the exploration and satire of an Objectivist society that the player sees as they battle through the decaying Rapture.
Although enjoyable, much of the story is put to shame by the game's infamous plot twist. With the simple phrase 'would you kindly?', the game turns into an elaborate deconstruction of the nature of video games and the political implications therein.
5 Horizon Zero Dawn Makes Art From A Seemingly Low-Brow Premise
Robotic dinosaurs aren't commonly associated with deep and meaningful stories. They're the fodder of intentionally-cheesy comic books or Saturday morning cartoons. Despite this, one of the most praised games in recent years has 'robotic dinosaurs' as one of its central concepts and part of its core gameplay.
Horizon Zero Dawn is beloved by audiences for its compelling and deep story — particularly the journey of its protagonist Aloy — and its evocative and tragically beautiful setting. Weaving the undeniably cool robotic dinosaurs into its compelling narrative, the game has been praised in every area.
4 Portal 2 Improves On Everything In Portal
The first Portal received acclaim for its intuitive but challenging puzzle mechanics, unique design, and simple but amusing story. Portal 2 could have been beloved for being more the same, but it instead poured passion into its storytelling while refining the gameplay.
Taking a relatively short and straightforward story, Portal 2 manages to add more characterization, genuine stakes, plot twists, and an absurd amount of dark comedy with relatively simple additions. Elevating the game even more than its puzzles, Portal 2's writing is commonly held up as a high for the entire industry.
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2 Undertale's Art Belies Its Depth
Undertale initially appears to be little more than a cheesy throwback RPG, a perception aided by its simplistic pixel art style. Only a little bit further in, the player gets to experience the game's memorable characters, simple-yet-effective main plotline, and intriguing setting.
Towards the end of the game, Undertale begins to demonstrate just how deep it is. As it goes on, the game becomes an expert deconstruction of gaming in general and RPGs in particular, and the notion of saving, grinding, completionism, and far more. The game's writing has left it iconic for a number of reasons.
1 The Last Of Us Makes The Zombie Apocalypse So Very Human
The Last of Us was released in 2013, potentially at the height of the zombie craze in fiction, but also when some were beginning to see many zombie games as derivative, cliche, and schlocky. Despite this, The Last of Us is held up as one of the best video games of all time, and one of the best cases for games as an art form.
Using the apocalypse to explore human society and nature, The Last of Us tells an undeniably gripping tale of parenthood, morality, and love, with players gripped by its story and the slowly-developing father-daughter relationship of Joel and Ellie. An instant classic, the game is considered to be true art emerging from an overplayed genre.
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