Highlights
- Open-world games require careful writing to create engaging narratives that allow players to explore freely and start quests at any point. Some games, like Horizon Zero Dawn, pull off this feat impressively.
- Games like Ghost of Tsushima and Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain showcase excellent writing by crafting emotional and thought-provoking narratives that explore themes like war and revenge.
- The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Grand Theft Auto V demonstrate that the fantasy and open-world genres often feature some of the best writing in video games. These games excel in world-building and creating immersive experiences through detailed lore and well-crafted dialogue.
Open-world video games often approach writing in a different light than other genres due to their designs being structured in a more non-linear way. The player has complete freedom to explore giant maps and interact with NPCs how and when they please, meaning they can start specific quests or side missions at any point. The writing has to take this into account and carefully weave a narrative together in a manner that flows and makes sense.
Therefore, it's impressive when games manage to pull off deep and engaging narratives whilst giving the player complete freedom to explore and adventure in their own time. The open-world genre is highly saturated at this point, and a handful of the games that have come out in recent years feature some of the best writing in the entire industry. They will forever be highly regarded for their intricately detailed writing and design.
10 Horizon Zero Dawn
Metacritic Rating: 89
It's never easy to start a new IP in the current era of oversaturated franchises and the industry's obsession with games as a service. However, when Guerrilla Games released Horizon Zero Dawn, it was met with critical acclaim. This came in large part due to the unique premise of robot dinosaurs (which are insanely cool), and some strong writing which established the world and the now iconic character of Aloy.
The writing in Horizon Zero Dawn often takes inspiration from cultures around the world, from tribal themes and references to writings and reflections on modern society. Guerilla Games told a powerful story of legacy and hope and successfully established the IP as one of the best new additions to the medium in recent years.
9 Ghost Of Tsushima
Metacritic Rating: 83
Speaking of new IP's, Sucker Punch managed to pull off a similar success story with the launch of Ghost of Tsushima. This is a beautiful open-world samurai game that introduces the character of Jin Sakai, who becomes the Ghost of Tsushima on his quest for revenge. It's an excellent exploration of the capabilities of video games, taking clear inspiration from the filmography of Akira Kurosawa, and carefully crafts a great samurai narrative.
10 Survival Games With The Best Narratives
The survival genre is one of the most popular genres right now, one reason being that they produce some of the greatest narratives.
The writing follows an emotional and compelling narrative of Jin's struggle with the harsh realities of war, and his desire to protect his country and family. It's a thoughtful exploration of the traditional samurai code and blends this with the all-too-familiar brutality of war in a masterful manner.
8 Middle-Earth: Shadow Of Mordor
Metacritic Rating: 84
Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor is a game set in the world of The Lord of the Rings and takes place between the events of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings films. It's highly respectful of the source material and players can immediately feel the passion that the developers put into this game through their excellent storytelling.
Shadow of Mordor also introduced the ground-breaking Nemesis System, a unique mechanic where the enemies remember the player and make snarky remarks on their next encounters, which allowed for rivalries between the player and NPCs to naturally come about through gameplay. It features some excellent writing and further immerses the player in the world through the establishment of these parasocial relationships with their enemies.
7 Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
Metacritic Rating: 93
The Metal Gear Solid franchise features some of the most complex writing and storytelling in the video game industry. Hideo Kojima, the creator of the franchise, is now a household name and is well-regarded for his unique approach to narrative design. The Phantom Pain is the franchise's most recent entry and features an immersive, if slightly confusing, narrative of political intrigue, espionage, and revenge.
Metal Gear Solid: Every Mainline Game Ranked From Worst To Best (According to Metacritic)
Metal Gear Solid is one of the most famous and celebrated game franchises ever. We ranked the mainline games based on their Metacritic scores!
It's a thought-provoking story achieved through masterful writing where each character has a fully developed backstory and the player understands their motivations. Venom Snake is the game's protagonist, and he alone goes on a wild journey of twists and turns, undergoing serious personal challenges. It's all presented in the classic Kojima style of writing, and it's truly excellent.
6 The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Metacritic Rating: 96
It seems like the fantasy genre and excellent writing often go hand in hand, and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is no different. The Elder Scrolls as a franchise features some of the most detailed lore in the whole medium, and players can easily get lost in various texts and books found in the game, unraveling the backstories of the world and its characters.
The game's voice acting sometimes lets the writing down, but putting that to the side, Skyrim features some of the best writing in terms of world-building in any video game. It's so highly detailed and never falls short of explaining histories, battles, and fantastical creatures and beings. It's the writing here that truly enables the player to feel so immersed.
5 Batman: Arkham City
Metacritic Rating: 94
Batman Arkham City
- Released
- October 18, 2011
- Developer(s)
- Rocksteady Studios
- Genre(s)
- Action , Adventure
Whilst Batman: Arkham Asylum established the world of Rocksteady's excellent franchise, it's Batman: Arkham City that threw players into an open-world Gotham City. The characters are excellent, and the atmosphere perfectly recreates Gotham in a brooding, unforgiving light.
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Some games go the extra mile and create a unique art style reminiscent of a comic book, truly bringing the pages and panels of artists to life.
The developers pay homage to the source material, and playing Arkham City does feel like playing a graphic novel in video game format. The writing helps to establish Batman's motivations in a dark and compelling narrative that unravels a sinister plot with high stakes for both sides of Bruce wayne's life. It's superhero writing at its finest.
4 Death Stranding
Metacritic Rating: 85
Another game developed by Hideo Kojima, Death Stranding features one of the weirdest yet most intriguing narratives ever. It's a testament to Kojima's writing that Death Stranding manages to be such a great game, but that should be expected coming from the creator of Metal Gear Solid.
This is a narrative that weaves themes of science fiction, terrorism, existentialism, and environmentalism all into a video game that follows the story of Sam Bridges. Death Stranding is all about connecting. It's about living and dying, and it's about having hope and giving up. It's highly philosophical and extremely poignant.
3 Grand Theft Auto V
Metacritic Rating: 97
Grand Theft Auto 5
- Platform(s)
- PS5 , PS4 , PS3 , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S , Xbox One , Xbox 360 , PC
- Released
- September 17, 2013
- Developer(s)
- Rockstar North
- Genre(s)
- Open-World , Action
Widely considered one of the best games ever made, Grand Theft Auto V also features some of the best writing in any video game. It follows the stories of three separate characters who all interact as their stories overlap. It's highly entertaining and often humorous, but it's also tragic at points.
The dialogue draws similarities to what's found in Quentin Tarantino's movies with its sharp, natural, and highly satirical tone. It's not often that video games pull off satire effectively, but Grand Theft Auto V is one of the rare examples. This is a highly precise example of video game writing, and it's a large part of why the game became one of the most popular releases in the world.
2 The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Metacritic Rating: 92
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
- Platform(s)
- PS4 , PS5 , Xbox One , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S , Switch , PC
- Released
- May 19, 2015
- Developer(s)
- CD Projekt Red
Games that are based on books might have a slight advantage when it comes to writing. In the case of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, CD Projekt Red managed to respectfully adapt the contents of Andrzej Sapkowski's books while further expanding on the world and characters within.
The Witcher 3's narrative is rich and mature. The world is dark and brutal, and the game is violent and filled with malicious characters, but that doesn't stop the writing from crafting a complex story about Geralt's search for his adopted daughter, Ciri. Of course, he must try to find Ciri whilst handling delicate political tensions, conspiracy plots, and complex characters with morally gray choices.
1 Red Dead Redemption 2
Metacritic Rating: 97
Red Dead Redemption 2 tells the story of Arthur Morgan, a member of the Van der Linde gang. It explores the gang and their exploits and dives into each character's motivations and lifestyles. The writing depicts the decline of the Wild West as government forces attempt to bring order to the frontier, presenting a conflict between the gang members and the government agents on their tail.
It's a carefully crafted meditation on trust, friendship, and betrayal. Arthur is one of the most compelling characters in gaming, and it's a testament to the writing that players become so invested in the climax of his story, and the fallout that comes after.
