Video games have the power to express their stories through music, text, dialogue, and visuals, but not all games prioritize traditional narratives. Those that use environmental storytelling rely more heavily on their visuals, leaving parts of the game to players’ interpretations.
Since environmental storytelling rewards players for their investment in the world by sharing small details and plot points they might otherwise miss, games that use it often have fantastic replay value. Environmental storytelling may not be as direct as dialogue or text, but many renowned games with complex and emotional lore use it to convey their depth to players.
10 Fallout
Set in post-apocalyptic America, the Fallout series explores the political factions and obstacles born from the ashes of the old world. Each game follows a new protagonist that shapes the world around them without necessarily earning recognition or respect from others. As they travel across the remnants of America, they come across settlements, nuclear war vaults, and historic locations representing how the world has changed.
Although Fallout often relies on terminal notes and dialogue to explain its storylines and locations in detail, each area has its own defining characteristics. Perhaps the best example in the series is the nuclear war vaults that served as social experiments as much as shelter. Each vault’s eerie tone, inhabitants, and items, or lack thereof, allows players to begin theorizing about what took place there.
9 Gone Home
After spending a year backpacking in Europe, Kaitlin returns home to an empty home and a note from her sister, Sam, warning her not to investigate her disappearance. Despite the message, Kaitlin enters her home, observing each room to find clues about the concerns and relationships that worsened while she was away.
As Kaitlin explores in Gone Home, she realizes Sam left because their parents didn’t support her partner or identity. Sam’s story takes precedence throughout the game, but the books, photos, and packed boxes around the house equally inform players about her parents and the town. Considering the depth of the story, Gone Home’s attention to detail creates a complex and rich environment.
8 Metroid Prime
The Metroid Prime series follows a bounty hunter named Samus Aran, who responds to a distress signal from a group of space pirates she has encountered in the past. Finding the ship abandoned and filled with the dead pirates’ bodies, she explores, fighting the mutilated lifeforms on the pirate’s ship and a planet known as Tallon IV.
As Samus explores both environments, her suit attracts attention to the world around her, revealing the true ambitions of the pirates and how they met their fate. While Samus accepts the world around her as she gathers information, watching the Metroid Prime series unfold in detail takes observation.
7 Inside
Inside begins with a boy in red hiding from adults and spotlights that are determined to watch his every move and prevent his escape from an unknown end. On his journey, the boy must solve his way through haunting maze-like factories and farms, among other locations, that encourage him to continue his efforts without words.
Inside’s story features two endings, but no matter which ending a player earns, the game’s visuals reveal the boy’s fate and the world he must experience first-hand alongside the hope there might be a better life elsewhere.
6 Soma
In Soma, Simon Jarrett agrees to an experimental brain scan after a car accident damaged his brain. However, he blacks out during the scan and awakens to life in an underwater research facility nearly 100 years after the procedure. Exploring the facility, Simon realizes the robots aboard believe they are human and want to prevent digital versions of human consciousness from being sent into space.
Given the world’s technological advancements, history, and disorganized state, every detail of the facility and its residents has the ability to inform Simon’s understanding of life’s value and its definition. Soma tackles complex concepts, but its equally stunning and intricate designs help explain them at the player’s pace.
5 Bloodborne
Bloodborne and the other Soulsborne games are notorious for their difficulty and immersive yet elusive worlds. In Bloodborne, players control a hunter who wants to find the cause of a plague that turns people into monstrous creatures.
While the game’s opening and the hunter’s ambitions may not be clear immediately, exploring the gothic town and becoming accustomed to its challenges allows players to begin experiencing its full potential. Each location in Bloodborne contributes to a well-developed world with a long and fascinating history, should players decide to piece it together.
4 Journey
Drawn to the light atop a distant mountain, the traveler from Journey leaves a ruin-filled desert behind. Their trip is long, but it is by no means lonely. As they travel, they gain confidence in their skills, appreciate more of the world’s wonder, and feel a sense of connection to the past.
Alongside Journey’s emotional soundtrack, its simple yet elegant level designs compel the player and traveler forward. Players can experience the game with companions or alone. Either way, it tells a touching story about enjoying life to the fullest and pursuing dreams.
3 What Remains Of Edith Finch
What Remains of Edith Finch follows a 17-year-old named Edith who returns to her childhood home after she received it in a will. As Edith explores the house to collect the stories of her relatives, she explains her family seems to be cursed to die unfortunate and untimely deaths.
Each relative’s death is told through a series of vignettes inspired by their rooms. Since the vignettes often simulate her family members’ final thoughts, the truth behind each loss can seem out of reach at times. However, the emotional impact of watching Edith reconnect with the family she no longer has makes What Remains of Edith Finch a telling story about how home carries more memories than others often realize.
2 Hollow Knight
After entering an insect kingdom called Hollownest, a nameless knight fights violent and infected bugs to protect the kingdom’s peaceful citizens. While exploring the towns, they learn about the kingdom’s history, rulers, and descent into ruin. Perhaps most importantly, the knight determines their place in the world.
Hollow Knight has multiple endings and allows players to explore the map however they choose. Players don’t have to discover every area to complete the game or appreciate its complex lore. However, Hollow Knight’s expansive world and detailed backgrounds invite players to revisit the game to enjoy more of its charming features.
1 BioShock
The first BioShock game takes place in an underwater city known as Rapture. There, a man from the surface fights his way fights against the city’s inhabitants, seeking a way to return home. Realizing the small, mutated girls called Little Sisters are the key to his mission, the man approaches them by force or in peace.
BioShock’s monologues and conversations feature an impressive story on their own. However, the structures in Rapture make the world more immersive as they elaborate on the city’s politics, belief systems, economy, history, and more. BioShock is renowned for its dedication to balancing traditional and environmental storytelling, making it a compelling game that players don’t have to piece together right away.