RPGs With Absolutely Perfect Stories

In the past 20 years, video games have gone from a relatively disrespected medium to a genre of entertainment that has had some of the most celebrated actors joining games left and right because of the potential of the stories being told now.

We have had so many amazing stories in gaming, and the RPG genre in particular has some absolutely incredible tales to tell. The stories that are for the ages span many decades, and whether they’re adorned with gorgeous modern graphics or visuals that can barely help you identify the characters as people, the stories stand strong regardless.

We’re going to check out some of the best RPG stories ever told, the ones that achieved absolute perfection and stayed with us for years to come.

10

Cyberpunk 2077

A Race Against Time

Cyberpunk 2077 is one of the most engaging stories out there, and it does something unique in the process. You play as V, a mercenary looking to become a legend in the world of Night City. After a job goes wrong, you end up with a chip in your head that contains Johnny Silverhand, a Cyberghost of sorts that now shares your body and, in a matter of time, will take over your body completely.

The rush that follows is a wild and compelling story that involves shady businesses, terrifying entities, and tragic revelations. It can all be taken in various directions depending on your choices, and one person might see a completely different ending and area than another. When you add in the Phantom Liberty DLC, this story as a whole is just brilliant. It’s dark and contemplative and makes you debate the merits of living when you can’t live the life you loved.

It’s got some amazing characters to steer the ship to, and the various side quests play into the bigger story as well, making for a plot that is amazing to experience and one that will stick with you long after you play it. That’s not hyperbole either; if you end up with that V ending on the ship in space, the panic in their voice is something that chills me to this day. The sequel has a hell of a task following this story.

9

Enderal: Forgotten Stories

A Haunting Journey

Enderal: Forgotten Stories is a total conversion mod for Skyrim, but other than the visual similarities, the game is much different. The biggest difference is the story. The tale told in Enderal is simply one of the most haunting and affecting stories I’ve seen in a game. It takes heavy inspiration from Mass Effect, but it still does a ton of unique things on its own.

You play as a character tasked with discovering the source of a plague called the Red Madness and figuring out how to stop an apocalyptic event known as the cleansing. The story will take you to some incredibly chilling locations, making disturbing discoveries left and right and rethinking the very nature of the world you’re inhabiting. The story goes to places that you truly would not expect, and character motivations hide in plain sight, allowing for everything to come together in a wild and unforgettably horrifying finale to it all.

It’s a game story that outdoes its gameplay by a significant margin, but it’s fine because the game could have you fighting off pieces of cheese with a 2×4, and you’d swing away just to get to that next story beat. I played the whole thing in VR too, so I felt like I was really experiencing everything as it happened, and that was one of the most terrifying and engaging experiences I’ve had playing a game. It’s a testament to the writing and plot as a whole that the story remains incredibly thoughtful and engaging from moment one until the beyond harrowing ending.

8

God of War

The Reflection of a Violent God

God of War in 2018 brought us a different side of Kratos, who was quieter, more measured, but just as powerful. The story that surrounds him is the best part of the package, though. He’s simply a grieving husband and newly single father trying to help his son find his place in the world. Of course, nothing is ever as simple as that. Right off the bat, he’s visited by the god Baldur, and we’re pulled into a massive conflict between the giants, the gods, and Kratos’s violent past.

It’s a story that has a slow build, and at its core, it’s just a husband trying to fulfill his wife’s final wishes. The true nature behind those wishes slowly reveals itself over time, and the way the story slowly coils around both Kratos and the player as things play out is brilliant, slowly raising the stakes more and more until the finale, where it’s clear you can no longer just be a bystander in this story anymore.

The way the truth about Atreus, the foreshadowing of events to come in Norse mythology and the implementation of that mythology in general all come together is just perfection, and while the payoffs in the sequel were less than satisfying, the way it’s all set up in the first game make for some of the most compelling turns in a saga that is known for amazing stories.

7

NieR: Automata

Existential Robot Dolls

NieR: Automata is one of the more affecting stories of all time. It starts simple enough, playing as an android sent to attack an alien force, but from there, the world and the history of this conflict are revealed to you in truly profound ways.

From the mind-blowing sequences with the alien race birthing their own humans to the shocking revelations involving the purpose of humanity in this war and the ever-stunning endings, the game has to discover, it’s easily one of the best pure stories out there.

It’s carried by two great characters most of the way, with 2B and 9S making for one of the most iconic video game duos ever made, and where their journey takes them has to be experienced to be believed. This game was turned into a full anime, and the fact that it worked so well is a testament to how amazing its story was in the first place.

6

Bloodborne

A Deep Tale Drenched in Blood

Bloodborne is known most for its intense action and incredibly tough bosses, but the story itself is really one of the most unique and fascinating ones out there. It’s tough to figure out for sure, but as you play, the pieces slowly fall into place to tell one of the more chilling and interesting stories in any RPG.

You play as a nameless person who is searching for a cure to an affliction, and along the way, you’re pulled into something called the hunt, where hunters come from all over to fight monsters in an effort to end a horrible plague caused by tainted blood being given. You’re forced into the hunt through a contract that you’re forced to sign if you want a cure for your unnamed illness.

From there, you discover an incredibly disturbing world, creepy characters, wild revelations about how the hunt and the world itself came to be, and the discovery of the old gods who have been moving pieces behind the scenes. It plays like a mystery that feeds you bread crumbs along the way, and while much of the story is up to interpretation, the beats it hits are unlike anything you’ve ever seen. Lovecraft is a clear inspiration, but even those stories pale in comparison to what Yarhnam has in store for you.

5

Disco Elysium

A Wicked Hangover

Disco Elysium is a game that puts you in the shoes of a detective recovering from a night that seems to have wiped his memory. That’s all you know. You don’t know a thing about the world, and both you and the character have to piece together just what is happening.

You’re investigating a murder, but along the way, there are stunning revelations about the investigation, your supposed allies, and your character himself. The way it all unfolds is amazingly compelling, and considering there really isn’t anything gameplay-wise other than walking around and talking to people, it’s quite the achievement.

The melancholy tone that begins with your character stretches throughout the game to other characters, and learning the history of the world, as well as the different groups at play, makes things all the more interesting to explore.

Disco Elysium manages to make you both a spectator and participant in the story. There is no handholding, no markers telling you where to go, just you and your investigation into a world that feels just a little bit off, no matter where you look. The story goes to some dark places, but it’s also exciting, despite the lack of action. It’s the video game equivalent of something like Blade Runner. A quiet, contemplative journey full of mysterious characters and shrouded motivations that pays off in a way you might not expect.

4

The Witcher 3

A Heartfelt Journey Through a Wartorn World

The Witcher 3 is a story about Geralt searching to find his ward, Ciri, but it’s not the basic plot that’s so amazing to experience here; it’s the journey. The way this tale unfolds is remarkable, taking you to sprawling vistas, depressed and downtrodden villages, and gorgeous Scandinavian-style settlements along the way.

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The way the plot pulls you along is brilliant. Having Geralt make new relationships with powerful figures and reunite with old friends along the way feels like you’re really following along a video game version of Game of Thrones. In fact, that was my selling point when recommending the game at first, and I don’t even think I was exaggerating.

The character writing, the dialogue, and the sense of place all measure up accordingly there, and while the combat is only decent at best, the reason that people like me keep playing this game year after year is because of how thoroughly engrossing the story is.

These days, if you’re buying The Witcher 3, the DLC is generally included, and that adds 2 completely new stories on top of it, adding some more incredibly told stories to what is already a tale for the ages.

3

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

The Best Star Wars Story

You’ve likely seen the legions of fans pining for a remake of this game by now, and the reason is that they want to experience this incredible story of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic once again. For the uninitiated, you play as a custom character that is attacked by a Sith Lord in the opening moments, and from there, you team with the capable Han Solo fill-in Carth, and off you go on a galactic adventure for the ages.

To say too much about this story would be a spoiler, but you’ll explore everything from the nature of the light and dark side of the force to experience some of the best character writing any game has seen. There are, of course, twists throughout the story, but the penultimate one is a plot move that has echoed through the ages and simply hasn’t been topped.

It manages to make perfect sense and restructure the entire story until that point, and it’s a stroke of writing mastery that honestly is hard to find in modern gaming. You can take either the dark or light side throughout the game, too, so the story adapts to whatever you’re feeling. It’s one of those stories you can experience over and over and stands amongst gaming’s finest narrative achievements.

2

Dragon Age: Origins

The Darkest Fantasy

Dragon Age: Origins basically attempts to create The Lord of the Rings in video game form while removing all family-friendly aspects, and it works perfectly. It’s a story about you becoming a member of the Grey Wardens, who are the only ones capable of stopping the Darkspawn, who emerge from the underground every few years to wreak havoc on the world.

The journey to taking down the Darkspawn, though, is a fantastic one, with great villains, interesting allies, and one of the best video game parties to ever exist. As you journey to forge new alliances to help defeat the Darkspawn when the time comes, the world reveals itself to you in fascinating and truly dark ways. Demons, possessions, trips into literal nightmares, and the nature of the Darkspawn themselves are drip-fed to you until you fully understand the type of world this is.

The way you can change the story is also amazing, allowing you to kill off certain characters, make sacrifices for the greater good, or just overall do whatever it takes to get the job done. The world reaction to the story you want to tell is amazing, and, no matter what your choices are, the tale unfolds in a way that is cohesive and, most importantly, gripping. It’s also got a fantastic add-on chapter in Dragon Age: Awakening, which generally comes with the total package these days and gives a haunting twist on the Darkspawn lore that I wish the rest of the series picked up and ran with.

1

Mass Effect

The Birth of the Threat

Mass Effect 1 has something truly special in comparison to other games in the series. The reason is that Mass Effect 2 and 3 deal with the how and the why when it comes to The Reapers, but Mass Effect deals with something far more terrifying, the what.

The mystery you unravel in Mass Effect 1 is among the best storylines in any game I’ve played. From the initial discovery of the Prothean Beacon with its wild-looking visions to the chase for Saren and the virtual meeting between Sovereign and Shepard, Mass Effect is full of iconic gaming moments.

Starting as a SPECTRE agent on a mission to hunt down a rogue member of your specialized militant group and slowly discovering something that is a threat to the universe as a whole was an amazing escalation that’s made all the better by fantastic villains in Sovereign and Saren. Of course, there are great characters on your side as well, and discovering the story of the Mass Effect universe and experiencing it alongside characters that feel as real as any you’d find in a TV show or movie is a huge reason the series is so celebrated to this day.

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