I'm looking for games with intelligently-written, truly mature story once again

[Samtemdo8_v1legacy]

BioShock have good writing too.

Eeeeeeeh...

Having played both Bioshock 1 and 2, I see holes and silly logic in the story and world building.

Not enough sharks? Or too many?

Well there was only 1 shark in Bioshock 2...

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

BioShock have good writing too.

Eeeeeeeh...

Having played both Bioshock 1 and 2, I see holes and silly logic in the story and world building.

Yeah, Bioshock's assassination plot is probably the most nonsensical assassination plot I've ever experienced and that's saying something considering many action movies have crappy assassination plots. Just about every game that gets acclaimed for having some amazing plot is usually only about as good as the average TV show.

I said 'good writing', not 'amazing'. But speaking of amazing, there's plenty of that with plot holes. I don't think they constitute a death sentence for quality. Infinite does go a bit off rails towards the end around the point that ghost nonsense starts but I think the overall message of the games and the themes they deal with are mature enough.

 

[Phoenixmgs_v1legacy]

And a lot of the lore feels "Video game-y" like lets just say its nearly impossible to adapt everything about Bioshock 1 in TV/Movie format.

Outside the video game themes about player character/choice, I don't see why Bioshock wouldn't work just fine in another medium. Not that I was saying to adapt it but an average TV show is better written than Bioshock.

Also, MGS2 literally predicted what the Internet was going to do to humanity and each day the story only becomes more relevant. What other game's plot can you say actually becomes more relevant over time?

It also had the president of the United States grabbing someone by the crotch. Good God, the relevancy.

MGS has flashes of brilliance interspersed between its extreme camp and cheese moments.

 

[Casual Shinji]

Also, MGS2 literally predicted what the Internet was going to do to humanity and each day the story only becomes more relevant. What other game's plot can you say actually becomes more relevant over time?

It also had the president of the United States grabbing someone by the crotch. Good God, the relevancy.

MGS has flashes of brilliance interspersed between its extreme camp and cheese moments.

I wouldn't call that specific moment one of brilliance though, just one of those Kojima moments we choose to ignore, like being able to see through Paz's clothes in Peace Walker.

 

[Phoenixmgs_v1legacy]

I said 'good writing', not 'amazing'. But speaking of amazing, there's plenty of that with plot holes. I don't think they constitute a death sentence for quality. Infinite does go a bit off rails towards the end around the point that ghost nonsense starts but I think the overall message of the games and the themes they deal with are mature enough.

I feel Infinite had the stronger moments, that entire end sequence had so much attention to detail to how everything went down. Though the whole middle act is so poor and horribly thought-out, there definitely had to be rewrites or development issues.

 

[Phoenixmgs_v1legacy]

Also, MGS2 literally predicted what the Internet was going to do to humanity and each day the story only becomes more relevant. What other game's plot can you say actually becomes more relevant over time?

It also had the president of the United States grabbing someone by the crotch. Good God, the relevancy.

MGS has flashes of brilliance interspersed between its extreme camp and cheese moments.

I wouldn't call that specific moment one of brilliance though, just one of those Kojima moments we choose to ignore, like being able to see through Paz's clothes in Peace Walker.

I wasn't trying imply the president's crotch-grab was a flash of brilliance but the codec conversation towards the end that I initially mentioned.

 

[MrCalavera_v1legacy]

Well, better keep looking. Ayy... But, on a more serious note, i can think maybe of two picks that can meet your standards.

One is already mentioned in this thread Spec Ops: The Line, the other is Frictional Games' SOMA.

The first one is basicly another retelling of "Heart of Darkness" by Conrad. So, you had a book about XIXc. colonialism, a movie about Vietnam war, and now a video game about heroic US Marines trying to bring a drop of stability to somewhere Middle East.
I think "The Line" does a graceful job, with its modern take on this, though I have more qualms about the game than your average reviewer, and don't particularly think meta stuff works that well. But, it's still a better (loose)adaptation than i'd expect from this medium.

SOMA on the other hand a horror/walking sim, that might be most crushingly dark take on transhumanist hopes and dreams i've seen in videogames(and does it in a non-standard way too).

Other than those, i can think of few titles that, while i don't think meet your requirements, could still be worth checking out.
"Grim Fandango" is a very rare example of a mature, while cartoony, game, that isn't overtly dark or (ha)grim, and also, what's that, has a plenty of humor to it??? And it got a remaster some time ago.
"Planescape: Torment", if that somehow slipped your mind. "Witcher 2" is basicly a fantasy political thriller.
You probably already played them, but OG Silent Hills(from Team Silent) are also good, though cult nonsense brings writing down at times.

 

[stroopwafel]

Also, MGS2 literally predicted what the Internet was going to do to humanity and each day the story only becomes more relevant. What other game's plot can you say actually becomes more relevant over time?

Yeah, the game predicted how people would live inside their own information bubble long before social media was a thing and how everyone will start to believe convenient half-truths that are neither right nor wrong(fake news) all under the auspice of mass surveillance programs(prism). The only thing left for MGS2 to have prophesied the entire early 21st century information age is for data to have accumulated at such a rate that the internet era has effectively become a digital trash heap. And basically with news media having become ideological ammunition for online flame wars and objectivity out the window that moment doesn't seem that far off.

Anyways MGS2 shows how even postmodernism could have a place in videogames, even if MGS2 is the only title. Not surprisingly the similar avant-garde Silent Hill 2 is from the same year. So yeah, games with really intriguing stories can be made but such projects obviously rarely get the green light. I guess it also takes the particular rare momentum of having both the creative vision and those in charge having affinity for the medium and similar aspirations. Can be sure we won't have to expect neither anymore from konami.

 

[stroopwafel]

SOMA on the other hand a horror/walking sim, that might be most crushingly dark take on transhumanist hopes and dreams i've seen in videogames(and does it in a non-standard way too).

Agree yeah, soma is heavy on the existential dread. Really great philosophical story in that one.

 

[Specter Von Baren]

I recommend Labyrinth of Refrain. It doesn't shy away from having very controversial or extreme things in the story but it also doesn't hit you over the face with them and doesn't let it devolve into melodrama. Unfortunately almost anything I could say to explain why I enjoyed it so much would be a spoiler.

SOMA on the other hand a horror/walking sim, that might be most crushingly dark take on transhumanist hopes and dreams i've seen in videogames(and does it in a non-standard way too).

Agree yeah, soma is heavy on the existential dread. Really great philosophical story in that one.

Meh. SOMA went in a direction I found rather dull. The start of it was super creepy and interesting but then it just lost everything once you meet up with Catherine and stopped being a horror story and had to make up a lot of excuses to keep characters going or make them do things the plot required of them.

I was very disappointed with it, it could have been a great horror game but it gave that up to talk about science.

 

[Specter Von Baren]

SNIP

 

[Specter Von Baren]

SNIP

 

[BrawlMan]

There's a chance you'll end up thinking of it as an "awkwardly written, pretentious cringefest" as well but Killer 7 might be my favourite story in video games. Period. I'd also recommend Pathologic, though the gameplay is a bit of a bothersome affair, and the Dark Souls/Bloodborne games. Those have famously minimal exposition but they convey a lot of interesting themes and backstory through other ways.

Agree on Killer 7. Speaking of Suda, the No More Heroes games have great stories. I haven't played Travis Strikes Again, but I heard the story was well done, despite the gameplay being repetitive and lackluster. I will wait on a sale for that game.

My list and my opinion. I am a guy that prefers better gameplay over story, but if the game does good in both areas, then I have no complaints.


Mad World
God of War 4
Resident Evil 2 (original and remake)
Yakuza series
Asura's Wrath
Devil May Cry 3
Crysis 2
Wolfenstein: New Order, Old Blood, and New Colossus
F.E.A.R
Hotline Miami

I still don't get why people come to games for story/narrative/characters as their main reason for playing because the writing talent that is currently in the medium is really really bad. You might get one really well-written game each generation if you're lucky.

Also, MGS2 literally predicted what the Internet was going to do to humanity and each day the story only becomes more relevant. What other game's plot can you say actually becomes more relevant over time?

As said, truth is stranger than fiction.

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

To the Moon and Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons might do the trick.

 

[gyrobot_v1legacy]

To the Moon and Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons might do the trick.

Adding to that, Actual Sunlight and Little red Lie is a good one even if they are walking sims

 

[Marik2]

Saya no Uta?

 

[dscross]

I think what constitutes 'intelligently' written is open to debate. I thought the story of Red Dead 2 was pretty intelligent, but I like David Cage and The Last of Us so what do I know. Have you thought about trying an old game like the Blade Runner one? That story really stuck with me.

 

[BrawlMan]

I think what constitutes 'intelligently' written is open to debate. I thought the story of Red Dead 2 was pretty intelligent, but I like David Cage and The Last of Us so what do I know. Have you thought about trying an old game like the Blade Runner one? That story really stuck with me.

Snatcher is what you're thinking. Binary Domain is another good one, and is seen as spiritual successor to it.

 

[Trunkage]

To the Moon and Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons might do the trick.

Adding to that, Actual Sunlight and Little red Lie is a good one even if they are walking sims

First three good. Never played Little Red lie.

If we are going there, and I think these have been missed, Papa and Yoyo, Always Sometimes Monsters, Tacoma and Life is Strange.

Also, I think Alan Wake was missed but their music lisence ran out so I think they had to patch them out of the game

Edit: I forgot Alpha Protocol. An Obisidan game that's actually well written. Gameplay is absolute trash

 

[Trunkage]

I think what constitutes 'intelligently' written is open to debate. I thought the story of Red Dead 2 was pretty intelligent, but I like David Cage and The Last of Us so what do I know. Have you thought about trying an old game like the Blade Runner one? That story really stuck with me.

Snatcher is what you're thinking. Binary Domain is another good one, and is seen as spiritual successor to it.

dcross, was it the shower scene that stuck with you? Come on, don't lie.