What are some good games with really awesome stories?
(With a Linux version or at least works good with Proton) Edit: just bought disco Elysium, going to post updates in the comments when I try it tomorrow. It's on sale until tomorrow in case anyone is going to purchase it.
def Disco Elysium
heed this warning though: after Disco, there is no going back; most storytelling might seem subpar or just of low quality afterwards
it's also soul crushing, existentialist and doesn't shy away from critiquing/ridiculing society and what it believes in (from a Marxist pov, though Communism itself isn't spaired either in the game, with a harsh critique only communists could write), but it's also one of the most hopeful games I've ever played at the same time
I would rly recommend a blind play through without cheating through quick saves! (aka. save scumming) A lot of decisions in the game succeed based on the probability of your stats accomplishing it. I made the mistake in my first play through and just forced everything I wanted by reloading over and over again -_-
The only things I save scummed were getting Kim to dance and trying to open that bunker door. No regrets.
understandable, have a nice day
I bought this for my switch after watching a playthrough and can’t wait to have time to play it myself. The writing is SO GOOD and so beautiful. Belongs on my bookshelf with all the other books. Just poetry, and all kinds of themes and resonances. Top tier
100% this.
For me I got so immersed in the world and character that it didn't even occur to me to save scum. This RPG is so good that I actually felt like I was living the story. The only game that ever managed to accomplish that.
I've been staring at python for too long. I read your comment like it was a function
this kinda made my morning. Thx ^w^
I've owned this game for years. And I want to love it, but I've never been able to make it past the dude hanging in the tree part. Which is basically the very start of the game 😄
just FYI: you can finish the game without ever as much as looking at the body, there even is an achievement for it!
I couldn't get into it
Thanks for the warning. This has been on my wishlist for a while now, and I very likely would have done exactly that.
My blind playthrough was great, despite or even due to mistakes made. Lost once playing sport so badly it destoyed my self-esteem, but also won a miracle 5% perception roll right at the end (although we scared it away). On my first playthrough I intentionally tried to avoid losing and I played conservatively enough for the game to start bullying me over it, which is great design.
I'm the kind of person who thinks it's hilarious how fragile the player can be where (esp. because of the class I picked). The cursed chair didn't get me but it sure made me laugh.
Just bought it, going to give it a try tomorrow.
Hope you did it on Steam. 75% off so $10
I buy all my games on Steam. It's simply the best, and they support Linux and develop Proton.
Sad story about buying this one, though: https://youtu.be/k7Xu4GvpN9U
Yea, I heard. I tried to pirate it and run it from steam as a non-Steam game, but it didn't work ):
uuu you are in for an adventure with so much replayability
and as some other comment said: even "failed" checks lead to interesting outcomes
I'm especially interested in the fact that the game is from a Marxist perspective.
Sorry to "revive" this old thread, but what do you think of Disco Elysium by now?
oh LOL, I did not know that, thx for telling me!
Edit: also, how did you notice this comment? :0
Pretty sure Portal and Portal 2 are playable in Linux.
They are more than just playable. They have native versions, because Valve wants to push gaming on Linux. Both are awesome games! I have already played them.
I also think the smartest thing Valve ever did was add Proton to their Linux platform. They are going to capture about 90% of gamers migrating from Windows to Linux. It's a lot easier for gamers to use a pre-configured platform than fiddle with Wine settings for each game.
Baldur's Gate 3 is a recent one.
Can second bd:3, I'm just in the second act and it's been fantastic.
Witcher 3 has an amazing story and 2 DLCs that feel like entire games themselves. Runs great for me under Linux Mint (Steam / Proton).
Disco Elysium hands-down. Has a brilliant story with a bunch of branches, it's a great way to kill 20+ hours.
A shorter experience but one still pretty fun is Thank Goodness You're Here which is a comedy with brilliant voice acting and setting. 2.5hrs ish.
I love the fact that even "failed" skill checks lead to interesting stories, and how having some skills "too high" starts leading down dark alleyways too.
My fiance and I both played it, and wound up with radically different stories.
I died in that game from reading a book that was too sad lol
My first death was from an uncomfortable chair.
Just by the name and you mentioning it's a comedy, I suspect it's a nod to the TV show Thank God You're Here (or more likely the British version), where performers such as comedians enter a surprise setting and must improvise.
Horizon Zero Dawn. I played it to completion via proton, ran great.
Came here to say this. Fantastic storyline, and runs great on Linux.
Firewatch, cloudpunk and Cyberpunk 2077 are some I've played recently where I was really immersed.
I have already played Firewatch, it was very awesome indeed. I'll take a look at the other games you mentioned too.
If you enjoyed Firewatch you’d probably like
If you don’t mind horror, I would definitely recommend SOMA. It’s also one of those games where it’s best to go in blind. If you are interested, do yourself a favour and do not look at any spoilers before playing.
Lots to think about.
Borderlands 2 is great! Should work with Proton.
Naming Borderlands 2 when asking for great story is bold though.
It works fine.
Since nobody else has said it, Titanfall2. Not a long story, but it's an absolutely fantastic 6 or 7 hours. Usually it's like 5 bucks during a sale.
Titanfall 2 is really great.
The gameplay is also very varied and each level has a new fun gimmick and it never overstays its welcome.
The original BioShock is a masterpiece
Disco Elysium
Citizen Sleeper
1000xRESIST
Japanese and somewhat fan servicey at times but also recommended:
Nier: Automata
13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim
Nier Automata. Fair warning you won't feel happy after finishing it, but it's something everyone should experience
Slay the Princess
Oh yes, I have played this. Also Scarlet Hollow, by the same studio, is truly awesome and if you liked Slay the Princess you'll love Scarlet Hollow.
I beat that game in like 15 minutes 😎
This looks good but I'm really not into horror at all - how much horror would you say this is?
I hate slay the.princess actually, I found it to be a really bad game and a mediocre story
The Talos Principle. It's my all time favourite game. It has a sequel too that expands on the story.
It's a puzzle game with a story that you discover while solving the puzzles. It's kinda similar to Portal in that sense but instead of a focus on comedy, there's a focus on philosophy. If you don't mind reading some philosophical texts and being asked questions that will literally make you question your own value system, then definitely give it a shot.
I haven't finished it yet but celeste has a good story and works basically perfectly. It is very difficult though
Seconded, great game
AoE2. I played the hell out of singleplayer back in the day, and with Remastered they both added new ones and improved the storytelling in old ones. Art of War campaign also is a good introduction to multiplayer combat.
If you like historic stuff; you'll like it. There also exists lot of community campaigns
Unfortunately last time I checked, aoe2:de does not run on Proton (but aoe2:hd does), maybe things changed
It might be worth trying to make it run directly under Wine, instead. I can play older games like Deus Ex and Giants: Citizen Kabuto without any problems.
aoe2 works fine under wine, but the definitive edition does not. In my opinion proton pretty much almost works better for games than simple wine
I've been gaming on Linux exclusively for 3 years now. So. These are all proton-tested-and-approved. Though a couple (especially the old ones) require a bit of tinkering.
If old games & emulation are on the cards --
I’ve got a mod list sitting about waiting for a New Vegas replay. Just some light stuff to make it feel like it holds up more today. What a good game.
Enderal is fantastic. If you don't speak german I would still recommend it. If you do speak german then you have to play it. Yes, this is a gun. Now sit down and install the game!
Time to shill CrossCode again :)
I think the characters are phenomenally written and the plot is fun and has excellent ups and downs.
I found Spec Ops: The Line to be a good story. Starts off as a typical gears of war third person military shooter. I immediately was skeptical since I don't typically like cod like military arcade shooters. Let's just say the story gets dark. Mainly the character development. I saw the reviews and don't regret grabbing it, well worth the play in my opinion.
the entire King's Quest franchise
If you consider emulating older games a viable option, I would suggest:
Exquisite taste.
Seconding the Zelda rec, Majora's being my favourite as well, with Minish Cap being a close second. (narrative-wise, that is)
That's a fine choice sir/ma'am.
My close second, story wise, would be Link's Awakening. The story was a real mind fuck when I was a kid.
If you're down for a retro RPG via an emulator, Earthbound. The overarching story is about dealing with traumatic events as a child and coming of age while hitting the endearing but quirky note similar to games like Undertale that was a cult classic on the SNES. It came boxed with a full color, complete strategy guide made to look like a travel guide so it's intended not to be too difficult and really experience the story.
If we're breaking out the old school SNES RPGs, there's a list of great ones, with Chrono Trigger being the top 5.
Others (in no particular order):
That's off the top of my head, I'm sure I'll remember more later, but that's easily 100+ right there.
Yeah, Earthbound was definitely the major inspiration for masterpieces such as Undertale and Omori
The games are a bit buggy but pillars of eternity and dead fire have awesome stories and characters. Then classic crpgs like bg2, planescape torment. And the reboot tides of numenera.
Subnautica (Do not use any hint/spoiler sites, just enjoy the evolving story) Last stop Deliver us the Moon/Deliver us Mars and to a lesser extent Quantum Break (play in story mode)
One of my friends is an enthusiast of this game, I'll ask him if we can set up Steam daily sharing.
I love Celeste's simple, effective storytelling. Every aspect of the game ties into its own meaning--the environments, the music, the challenge. Extraordinarily well done.
Surprisingly detailed is the Horizon series. Replaying Zero Dawn and seeing just how much of the story is set up before and during the tutorial is genuinely crazy. Every event feels like an actual part of the narrative, rather than random filler.
Chrono Trigger. Timeless masterpiece. Arguably the greatest JRPG ever made, and yet another one that gets more fun the more you analyse it.
All of these were pretty good on Deck, and should work well on anything. Went for a mix of genres.
100% agree with Celeste!!! Go crack your egg and climb a mountain!! Lol
I found Prey to be fantastic.
Just came here to say this. Played it a while back and daaamn it blew my mind, such an awsme, underrated game.
It's a really old game, but Lucas Arts The Dig was really great and directed by spielsberg
Except for that one bit that everyone gets stuck on.
You have to hold down a pressure plate. The solution is to use a metal rod on the big stone tile. You're welcome.
I REMEMBER THIS PUZZLE!!!!
Holy shit I never played this one. Is it a lot like day of the tentacle and Sam n Max?
Yes! It's totally in that same vein!!!
Beneath a steel sky https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beneath_a_Steel_Sky
I'll add Kingdom Come: Deliverance to the list. Great story, fun (if challenging to learn) gameplay and really amazing environments.
The most ok game ever made. Very whelming.
Fallout 3, but especially New Vegas have great stories and hundreds of hours of gameplay, and work fenomenally on proton (I mean, they are equally buggy as in other versions). Fallout 4 is good as well, but I have never tested it on linux
I can't make the radio stations play in New Vegas, under Proton. And I'm a sucker for Fallout playlists, just can't play without Radio New Vegas. It was a known bug but nobody has a fix.
That's weird, I don't have it
Firewatch, not really sure if it’s on Linux but i played at osx so at least multi playform.
The game is mostly about the story, really something else.
Confirmed running on Linux under proton. I started replaying it just the other week. Struggled to get back into it for a second time, but not because it’s a bad game, I’m just a very different person from the one that got a lot from that story. Would absolutely recommend the game.
I have seen a loot of old games here so I will throw in a game I have played so many times as a teen and picked up and finish again earlier this month because of the great story and gameplay: Dragon age origins.
It never disappoints me. I am thinking about playing da 2 again too (got a lot of hate but I never thought it deserved it because the story is great, origins is better tho)
I added some texture mods to make it look a bit better but don't do anything crazy it can't handle too heavy textures.
It is very tactical (if you play on higher difficulties), I really recommend setting up the skills and conditions (tactics tab for the characters) for your followers. There isn't anything better than when your followers sync their attacks with you like when your mage freeze an enemy who tried to jumped on your main character so your character won't get stunned and can do a follow up attack. Or when you use two spells that increase the damage together. You can make the whole group play as you like which I like a lot.
So both story and gameplay is great and that is why I love the game so much.
Almost all of the side quests are worth your time too. there are a few you can miss out on so don't wait too long with doing them and talk to everyone before it is too late. You can play how ever you like. You can even just play main quest but you will miss out on a lot of story and interactions if you do so. Try to challenge the game like stealing from ppl, you may find stuff out that helps you out by being creative.
This became a book and I had to stop my self. I really recommend dragon age for anyone who likes a good story, likes being creative, strategize and just listen to their followers banters while you run around in the world.
Thank you for coming to my Ted talk I hope you will play the game.
Pillars of Eternity 2 Deadfire is just one of my favorites that I keep coming back to
Wildermyth is a weird game that comes up with really interesting procedurally generated stories as you play through the life of an adventurer.
Alice is missing : Content warning, it's a game about a missing kid, Bullying and sexual harrassment will be at the table, it's also a game with a lot of bleed potential. The game mechanic using text messaging is pretty great, and the sound track is amazing.
I had a really good surprise when discorvering the Forged in the Dark mechanics which are PBTA with a bit more rule. Works quite well, but like many other story first game, it pushes more improv style and less prepare awesome stories
The story in To The Moon absolutely floored me when I played it.
I can’t say as to whether it runs on Linux, but it’s pretty old at this point and was never graphically intense to begin with so should. It’s a pretty short game too, but really is worth the time you’ll spend with it.
I'm sad nobody has mentioned Chrono Trigger...
Just saw you got it already - enjoy Disco Elysium!
Some of the best, most enjoyable, games writing I have ever seen. Every character is a treat.
The Witcher trilogy + awesome books
Ready for the hate but I love Devil May Cry 5's story. Even if sometimes it was cliche
I would recommend Omori, or In stars and Time. They are really good RPGmaker games, especially Omori which is like the best psychological horror story ive ever seen. Their gameplay are pretty basic turn based rpg fighting, but their ambiance, characters and world are just incredible
As a wildcard (my first pick is already here) I put forward Pathologic. I've never played it and playing it seems torturous, but it's absolutely an amazing game with an powerful immersive story. Or perhaps, it's an amazing game which is a powerful immersive story. The game mechanics are a story-telling mechanism, rather than a mere medium to overlay story onto.
Hbomberguy video: Pathologic is Genius, And Here's Why
It is probably been said, but roll with the failures in disco elysium, sometimes the failures bring out a better result. It systems do a great job commenting on your decisions and whether you do your job as a cop or not, it still drives across a very human story
In regards to a game with a good story, I can say OneShot surprised me. It breaks the 4th wall by having you be the character that guides the protagonist through the world as they wake up in another world and go on a journey trying to get back. Simple graphics and one has to read everything, but by the story's end was I left feeling some emotions in regards to its conclusion.
I really liked Bastion.
Howling Dogs: https://xrafstar.monster/games/twine/howlingdogs/
It's a little Twine game that you can enjoy just in your browser (see link above), but it's great.
I'm surprised no one has mentioned Final Fantasy 14
HAVE YOU HEARD OF THE CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED MMORPG FINAL FANTASY XIV WITH AN EXPANDED FREE TRIAL WHICH YOU CAN PLAY THROUGH THE ENTIRETY OF A REALM REBORN AND THE AWARD-WINNING HEAVENSWARD EXPANSION UP TO LEVEL 60 FOR FREE WITH NO RESTRICTIONS ON PLAYTIME
*and the award winning heavensward expansion and also award winning stormblood expansion up to level 70
I'm cancelled
Probably because DT has seriously damaged many people's view on their storytelling ability
ARR->EW is a fucking great ride though
To quote myself from a different thread:
I agree with everything else you said, but not this. I've seen multiple people write out different mild rewrites of areas and bits of the story to make it more interesting, and it wouldn't have been much more work to flesh out the MSQ into more than just "go here talk to person" to the extreme it was. It didn't have to be a slog
Hell, had they just picked between the two completely different stories in this expansion (hi Stormblood critique from 2017) and kept with that for the whole epac they could have produced something far less of a slog at least, and actually really GREAT at best (just look at the content design after all)
Shit my queue just popped I'm off to fight THE BEST BEE GIRL EVERRRRR
CrossCode. Excellent fluid combat, fun puzzles and an interesting concept. But most of all, the story is great and the characters are really good. You just can't help but love the characters the more you play I feel. Give it a shot, it's good.
I’ve been playing the System Shock remake, and it’s been a dream!! It could be a tad more hand holdy, particularly with actually presenting the story, but it’s very true to the style at the time, leaving you to just explore an “abandoned” space ship to figure out what happened. It feels very Bioshock, meets Metroid, meets Marathon, meets Alien Isolation.
Metro 2033, and I’m fairly confident the 2 sequels, has also been running very smoothly. I plan to do a full play through of all 3 games having played the first 2 zones of metro exodus years ago and falling in love with the world building. Something I realized I was missing in a lot of games was full voice acting. If there are captions/words/subtitles on the screen someone is saying them out loud. I guess in world words like posters and such no, obviously not, but even the “loading screen” are these lovely journal/map moments, reminiscent of travel transitions in old films. They come with a fully voice acted paragraph to make it not feel like a loading screen at all, but a transition in the “film” or chapters of the game. This makes sense being based on books. The story is just given to you so well, while also allowing enough freedom to make it feel like you are an active part.