I recently finished Rise of the Tomb Raider and Final Fantasy XVI, and I’m hesitant what I should play next (PC or PS5).

With FF I enjoyed the game and the story was all I expected from it, and I’m really looking forward to the DLC.

With Tomb Raider… damn that game is all over the place. The story is predictable, and also stupid. “Why did you rush in there? Without weapons? Against an army?”, and other similar thoughts kept running through my head. I don’t feel inclined to play Shadow of the tomb Raider (the sequel).

I have a backlog of too many games, and lately it takes a lot of effort to start because I don’t know if it’s worth the time investment. I love games with good stories, and playing a game that puts the lore and story in the background feels like a waste of time.

Sure, I could get started on Baldurs Gate 3, I’ve heard great things. But is the story great? Will I be able to say “oh that chapter/fight/act is awesome!” To other people looking for game experiences?

Experiences like Escaping from the ship in Super Metroid, helping that king in Witcher 3, fighting Psycho Mantis in MGS, fighting Titan in FFXVI, killing the first colossus, escaping from darth Vader, that first Mario odyssey stage, beating the first boss in Bloodborne, playing “Brothers” for the first time and getting to the ending… all great experiences with awesome stories to tell

TL;DR: what am I missing?

EDIT: Holy crap I didn’t expect these many replies. Thank you! There are many recommendations I’ve already played, and many others I will definitely play. Thanks!

If anyone is interested in the result:

Recommended, bought:

  • Bioshock 2
  • Black mesa
  • Cyberpunk 2077
  • Death stranding
  • Deaths door
  • Detroit become human (PS5)
  • Disco elysium
  • Dragon Age
  • Elden ring
  • Fallout 3
  • Fallout 4
  • Fallout new Vegas
  • Ghost of Tsushima
  • Hades
  • Half life alyx
  • Hellblade senuas sacrifice
  • Homeworld
  • Horizon zero dawn
  • Inscryption
  • Just cause 3
  • Life is Strange
  • Mass effect 3
  • Metro series
  • Ori and the blind forest, and sequel
  • Oxenfree
  • Persona 5
  • Planescape: torment
  • Shadowrun dragonfall
  • Shadowrun Hong Kong
  • Soma
  • Spider-Man
  • Subnautica
  • Tyranny
  • Wolfenstein series

Recommended, to buy:

  • 13 sentinels (PS4)
  • Age of decadence
  • Cruelty squad
  • Dead space
  • Ghost recon wildlands
  • God of war ragnarok
  • Grandia
  • Kingdom Come Deliverance
  • Octopath Traveler 1 & 2
  • Outer wilds
  • Pathologic 2
  • Red dead redemption 2
  • Song of horror
  • Star Wars: The Old Republic MMORPG
  • The hex
  • the last of us part 2
  • The upturned
  • Torment: tides of numenera
  • Withering rooms
  • Yakuza

Already Played, and yeah, these are awesome:

  • Alpha centauri
  • Bioshock 1
  • Bioshock infinite
  • Borderlands series
  • Control
  • Dark souls series
  • Deus ex human revolution
  • Deus ex mankind divided
  • FFXIV
  • Ghost trick
  • God of war 2018
  • Guardians of the Galaxy
  • Hollow knight
  • Hotel Dusk
  • Mass effect
  • Mass effect 2
  • Nier: automata
  • Nier: replicant
  • Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney
  • Portal
  • Portal 2
  • Psychonauts 1 & 2
  • Spec ops: the line
  • Stray
  • the last of us part 1
  • The Stanley parable
  • Titanfall 2
  • Undertale
  • What remains of Edith finch
  • Witcher 3
  • SCB@lemmy.worldEnglish
    18·
    1 year ago

    I definitely recommend Control, since a lot of games you like have big epic set pieces as well as an engaging story. That game is insanely rewarding if you’re willing to put the time and effort into looking for “collectibles” and piecing the game together. Very cool atmosphere and fun to play as well. You really get out of this one what you put into it.

    Bioshock Infinite got shit on by both racists and leftists who completely missed the point of the game, but the ending is the best of the Bioshock series IMO and stuck with me longer than most anything else I’ve played. Lots of big cinematic moments, too.

    Guardians of the Galaxy is slept on imo and has some amazing moments, and while the story is a retread of things the GotG comic has done, if you’re not a big comic reader, you won’t know, and if you are, you’ll be jazzed about how things are represented.

    BG3 is incredible and the hype is well-deserved. The replayability is genuinely off the charts. Ive begun 4 playthroughs and beat it once and have not played the same game twice. Main story is the same but the variability in motivation, drive, and interactions is simply incredible. It is THE CRPG, and this is coming from someone for whom BG2 is my favorite game of all time.

    New Vegas is New Vegas. It’s a shining example of what gaming can be for a reason. Needs no explanation (other than “don’t go north at the start”).

    • MaverickWolf@lemmy.worldEnglish
      4·
      1 year ago

      I came here to say Guardians of the Galaxy. The gameplay is fine, but the story and music in the game are awesome! I keep trying to get people to play it.

  • Rhynoplaz@lemmy.worldEnglish
    171·
    1 year ago

    This one doesn’t usually get mentioned when people talk about good story: Borderlands 2. (1 is dry, 3 is stupid)

    It’s light-hearted so I think people don’t take it seriously, but if you look past the fart jokes, and really pay attention. You get one of the BEST villains ever, and some real emotional moments.

    • bionicjoey@lemmy.caEnglish
      72·
      1 year ago

      Outer Worlds is good too. Not as good as Outer Wilds, but still good. Sorta like New Vegas in space

  • platysalty@kbin.social
    151·
    1 year ago

    The only problem with starting Baldur’s Gate 3 now is that it’s gonna be a crazy high bar for everything that comes after.

    But if you want a great story that’s affected by your decisions and character, it’s a great place to go.

  • EarMaster@lemmy.worldEnglish
    12·
    1 year ago

    I was really surprised by Titanfall 2. Looks like an ordinary mech shooter (okay there is nothing ordinary about that these days), but the story was solid and the level design amazing.

    • thelongshot93@lemmy.worldEnglish
      4·
      1 year ago

      My only complaint is that it’s way too short of a campaign. It’s very easy to beat over a few hours, but it’s fun the whole way through and I just want more.

  • idunnololz@lemmy.worldEnglish
    131·
    1 year ago

    Undertale

    Ghost trick (it’s on steam now woohoo)

    BioShock trilogy

    The original Ace Attorney trilogy

    Also +1 to outer wilds. It’s been mentioned a dozen times here already. It’s my game of the decade.

    Shouldn’t need to be mentioned but play all of these games blind because story is a huge part of them.

  • Madbrad200@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    11·
    1 year ago

    Baldur’s Gate story is great, yes.

    Dragon Age (fantasy magick adventure) and Mass Effect (space opera) are also great.

    • bionicjoey@lemmy.caEnglish
      3·
      1 year ago

      Describing Mass Effect as a soap opera makes me irrationally angry. I think you meant “Space Opera”, although even that isn’t accurate. It’s far more like Star Trek than Star Wars.

    • rustyricottaEnglish
      2·
      1 year ago

      Cannot say Outer Wilds enough. Wonderful experience. Exploration and lore is everything in this game. But it’s not too much. Some games have exploration and lore just for the sake of having it. Whereas everything in Outer Wilds is purposeful and motivating to do.

  • AEsheron@lemmy.worldEnglish
    9·
    1 year ago

    I’ve heard nothing but praises for Yakuza’s story thus far. And I’m only a short way into my first game in the franchise, Yakuza: Like a Dragon, and godamn does it live up to the hype. The characters, plot, world, they all are lovingly crafted and fit together so well. After this I’ll be going back to do all the Kiryu games.

    • TevrenEnglish
      1·
      1 year ago

      I highly highly recommend the entire Yakuza series if you want something story focused, with some caveats.

      You’ll hear a lot about all the mini games in Yakuza but the games’ main focus is really the story. The games can take a while until they have introduced everything and you’re completely free to explore the city. Cutscenes and dialogs can be pretty long but they are all really well animated. It can sometimes be like watching a show.

      Where I initially ran into issues is that I didn’t expect it to be this story heavy and just wanted to play. I highly recommend playing the whole series on Steamdeck. Since cutscenes can be long, the steamdeck’s pause and resume is really helpful.

      Also, play the 2 Judgment games when you’re done with the Yakuxa series. I haven’t made it through 2 yet, but 1 was great.

  • rmstyle@feddit.deEnglish
    8·
    1 year ago

    Since you seem to enjoy JRPGs I can’t recommend Persona 5 enough! Story is at times predictable, but the characters make it worth your time.

    • PrinceHabib72@feddit.nlEnglish
      2·
      1 year ago

      Seconded, though particularly the Royal version. The extra semester (and related content) and quality of life upgrades are completely worth it, and the best way to experience the game.

  • Commiunism@lemmy.wtfEnglish
    8·
    1 year ago

    Disco Elysium definitely, as it’s probably one of if not the best written games available right now.

    If you want something with more gameplay, you should definitely take a look at Pathologic 2. New content will be released relatively soon for it too (as in a different playable character and story), so it’s probably a good time to give it a shot.