Another Top 10 Video Games With Great Stories

A noble quest in a fantasy realm – it's familiar yet expertly done here. As the third installment of BioWare's ongoing “Dragon Age” series, this game presents quite the ominous situation: a massive rift opens unleashing demons upon the continent of Thedas, right in the midst of two ongoing civil wars. Your character, the appointed Inquisitor, is sent to investigate the reason for the rift's opening while also attempting to resolve all kinds of problems in Thedas. What keeps the game structured is the Inquisitor's presence and active participation in events, helping to shape the fate of the world.

Destiny's got nothing on us. At least, that's the core theme of “Xenoblade Chronicles”, a game all about the endless conflict between two races: the machine-esque Mechon and the human-like Homs. Caught in the middle is a Hom boy named Shulk, who takes up the legendary Monado sword and embarks on a quest to avenge his fallen friend. Shulk's desire for closure would be compelling enough, but the game also throws in budding relationships and the idea of subverting expectations. The result is a bittersweet yet inspiring tale that we can all get behind.

For as often as it's used in storytelling, amnesia can be a magnificent tool when properly implemented. Such is the case with this 1999 role-playing game based on Dungeons and Dragons, in which players take control of a man known only as The Nameless One. Our memory-challenged hero ventures out into the multiverse of Planescape, befriending odd people and recovering his past piece-by-piece. Through its main conceit, “Planescape: Torment” manages to balance a constantly moving plot and a need to make the main character compelling – and there's still room for player choice.

The winds die, the seas rage, the earth decays... and this is the epitome of an epic. Picture this: it's a world where magic and technology have merged, but the resulting Magitek is in the hands of the evil Gestahlian Empire, with only a small resistance group to prevent world domination. It's quite the premise, but what seals the deal is the game's willingness to slow down and build to awe-inspiring turmoil. Whether it's an opera sequence or the literal end of the world, grand and emotionally-charged moments are the draw here.

Dark fantasy just got a bit more complex. Set in the medieval realm from author Andrzej Sapkowski's book series of the same name, “The Witcher” follows the continuing adventures of Geralt, a monster hunter drawn into larger military and political conflicts. The intrigue raised by each game's main conflict – ranging from hunting kingslayers to halting invasion forces – is matched by Geralt's personal quest to regain his lost memories. Plus there's more than a little romance to go around.

Houston, we have a problem: this game made us teary-eyed. “To The Moon” focuses on the Sigmund Corporation, a company pioneering in the field of memory manipulation... which they use to give dying hospital patients their life's wishes. Two of the Corporation's employees, Doctors Eva and Neil, are tasked with granting one such man his final request: to go to the moon. What follows is a introspective tale about the nature of memory and the power of love, as the game moves towards its effecting finale.

Death is no cakewalk, that's for sure. Developed by the famed company LucasArts, this Day of the Dead-themed adventure game distinguishes itself with its quirky narrative. This is the story of Manny Calavera, a travel agent for the Department of Death who gets wind of a plot to steal eternal rewards from the dead. Manny embarks on a years-long quest for answers, bringing him face-to-face with odd characters while steadily evolving into a hero worth rooting for. It's a character-driven piece that is at once odd and endearing.

There's a saying: No good deed goes unpunished. Throughout the surprising downtrodden world of “Red Dead Redemption”, this saying seems to ring true. Our hero is John Marston, a former outlaw in the Old West dragged out of retirement to hunt down his old gang mates – or risk the US government going after his family. Marston's journey to right wrongs and protects his kin is noble yet bittersweet, largely because the story continually shows that good intentions aren't always enough to change the world.

Back to the future... and then the past... and then other time periods for good measure. In Square Enix's 1995 classic, time travel and weirdness abound as the teenager Crono and his friends embark on an epic quest to avert a dystopian future and stop a giant omnipotent termite. The story's use of time hopping allows it to not only explore different eras, but also present a wide cast of characters and engaging situations – to say nothing of the increasing sense of wonder at the game's scope.


Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions:

Malevolence, madness, and machine guns – an amusing summary, but not all there is to this story. A single Delta Force squad lead by Captain Martin Walker enters a storm-ravaged Dubai, intent on gathering information and calling in the cavalry for help. Instead, what follows is a psychological horror story fueled by violence and packed full of tragedy. As the game charges for its devastating finale, its focus shifts back and forth between skewering its main characters' ceaseless crusade... and confronting the player in some of gaming's most piercing moments that you will not be forgetting for a very long.

Do you agree with out list? Are there any great stories we left out? Be sure to check out our first list on this topic, and for more great top 10s published every day, be sure to subscribe to Watchmojo.com.