I bought my PS4 with GTA V and The Last of Us. I just finished both games and I’m looking for suggestions on what to buy next.
I’m not looking for sports or multiplayer games, but mainly games with good storytelling. Any suggestions?
Witcher 3 is available on PS4 and got Game of the Year from everyone last year for its storytelling and characters. The “complete” edition with all the (excellent) DLC missions is out in a week too, which is handy.
It was on sale today for $25, but I guess I’ll wait a week for the complete edition.
Is Uncharted 4 any good? It’s from the same people that made The Last of US and it seems to have really good reviews.
Bioshock: The collection is coming out real soon, for story telling and ambience they are pretty amazing. Also Deus Ex: Mankind Divided has got some glowing reviews.
I played it and enjoyed it quite a bit. In fact, I bought the package with 4 and the remastered versions of 1, 2 and 3 and spent a month playing nothing but Uncharted. I recommend it. The whole story arc is fun.
Are you open to indie games? GTAV and TLOU are both AAA and TLOU has probably the best characterisation and storytelling of any video game ever made. You’ve set your expectations pretty high playing those first.
Metal Gear Solid V and Fallout 4 have also got great reviews and might be of interest to you.
I’ll second the Witcher 3. tons of great gameplay in there. Also Batman Arkham Knight is decent third person action game with emphasis on hand to hand combat and slick world traversal. Given the previous titles you played, Uncharted is likely up your alley too. There’s a remastered collection of the first games too…
Hyperbole detector is off the scales! She can take no more captain! Though I guess it’s a sad statement on gaming writing overall that the equivalent of a straight to DVD movie is so highly praised by so many people.
Pretty much. No hit against TLOU from me but the bar for video game writing is a lot lower than that of cinema.
On top of which: “best storytelling in a video game ever made” is just… well, it’s a statement that could only come form someone who hasn’t played many video games. TLOU does great things in terms of storytelling through level design, and it’s story-line is certainly a cut (or two) above your typical AAA action adventure game, but common.
After GTA V I played (am still playing) Fallout 4 on PS4 and dig the hell out of it! They keep dragging me back in with new download add ons.
Out of curiosity, what game do you think has the best storytelling?
Hmmm, that’s tough. Lots have excelled in things like storytelling through level design (Bioshock, thief, system shock, Batman Arkham Assylum), some have amazingly well written, interesting characters that develop in satisfying ways as the story unfolds (Baldur’s Gate, KOTOR I-II, Vampire the Masquarade Bloodlines, Mass Effect 2, Planescape torment, Dragon Age Origins). Some just have a singular (or maybe two) character that are brought to life so well, it sells everything else (Portal 2, Half Life 2, Grim Fandango, Assasin’s Creed 2, GTA V, Bioshock Infinite, Uncharted, TLOU, Witcher series) Some have interesting stories that keep you invested (The Longest Journey, Red Dead Redemption, Fallout 2, the Walking Dead, Deus Ex), my favorites being those that give you a lot of agency (Mostly RPG’s like Baldur’s Gate 2, Planescape Torment, Pillars of Eternity, Wasteland 2, Fallout New Vegas, etc) - something not easy to pull off. A linear narrative, the kind you see in AAA games, basically a movie with interactive bits, is a much easier proposition.
There are also games that do side quests like nobody’s business, complex, full or rich lore that is present it in an organic way, instead of an info dump. Multi-faceted, with moral and practical quandaries that make you stop and think about the world and it’s characters in new ways.
I guess I’m not going to be very original here and say Planescape Torment is probably one of the top if not the best overall story for me. Lots of good stories out there though, lots of memorable characters, lots of amazing adventures. The last of Us definitely figures in there, but I don’t think it’s top 10 material.
I said storytelling AND characterisation. All the games you list might have an interesting story, but the level of humanity we see in the characters, and the acting quality of the motion capture in TLOU is what makes it stand above.
And yeah I’ve played quite a few games including most on your list plus a very long list going back to the Amiga / C64 days and every console generation. TLOU is one of the top 3 of all times in terms of storytelling and characterisation (in my opinion).
Never finished the game (I redbozed it) so I can’t speak to the best storytelling game ever conversation…
…but TLOU does have the best opening sequence I’ve ever seen in a video game.