My huge list of Game/Visual Novel recommendations part I — the 8/10 tier
In this series of articles, I will list some of the best games/visual novels that I think you should play if you care about gaming as a narrative art form. “Gaming” is a very generic word that can point to anything from casual time-killers like Candy Crush to nail-biting intense esport games like League of Legends to cinematic driven games like Metal Gear Solid to gameplay-focused minimalistic story games like Mario. People play games for different reasons and different purposes. After years of being a gamer, which is a loaded term as I’m no more a gamer than a movie watcher or a music listener, I realized that:
- Multiplayer esport games are just the best for pure entertainment value, bar none. The social elements, the strategy-and-skill-based gameplay, the relatively short playtime (if you just play for a few matches at once), all combined into one fun package. If you play games for those reasons and you don’t play any multiplayer games, you are missing out. This should be a very common-sense argument similar to how real-life multiplayer competitive sports are always more fun to play and watch. If I just want to satisfy my mechanical prowess and trolling skills, nothing works better than a round of League of Legends!
- For singleplayer games, what I want most is a narrative experience. This doesn’t mean that gameplay is not important, just that I subordinate gameplay under the holistic narrative experience, how it serves to immerse and affect players’ experience in the story. This does mean that even a game with the best gameplay but too thin and/or bad story won’t be able to hold my attention. I have multiplayer games for an intense and pure fun gameplay experience! On the contrary, I can tolerate a lot of gameplay and graphics shortcomings, especially for older games, if it still delivers a compelling narrative.
The list will be divided into 3 articles corresponding to the 3 different tiers of recommendations:
- This article is for the games that I think are great, but might not be at the level to be called “amazing”. Think of them as 8/10 games. They are recommended especially if you are interested in the genre/setting.
- The second article shows games that I think are truly amazing but still lack a bit of a final punch to push them into the “masterpiece” tier. Think of them as 9/10 games. They are highly, highly recommended to everyone.
- The final article illustrates my absolute favorite singleplayer games of all time. These are the games that have made the deepest impression on me, games that I don’t hesitate to title them masterpieces, games that I will put into the canon of gaming to teach in school alongside classics of other mediums! They are my 10/10 games. To me, they are must-play for anyone who cares about gaming as a narrative art form.
Most of the games in the same tier are not ranked with the exception of the final tier. For that final tier, “the best of the best” deserves special mention so I will rank the games of that tier based on my personal preferences even if the margins between the games are considerably tiny.
So without further ado, here is the list of 8/10 games that I recommend, in no particular order:
- Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Trilogy.
The first trilogy of the Prince of Persia series has a special place in my heart as the first games that really turned me into a more serious gamer! While I’d had some gaming experience before, including the ancient 1989 Prince of Persia, playing this trilogy especially the first game the Sand of Time was a really monumental experience. It’s just a damn good action-adventure game with a unique time-travel mechanic and fun Abrian-inspired story. Sadly the series dove into a huge cliff after this trilogy, and the action-adventure genre itself later became bloated with RPG mechanics, open-world like design, etc. that I simply couldn’t get into anymore.
2. Bioshock.
A rare example of a “shooter with a good story”. While the actual shooting gameplay is nothing special, exploring the dark underwater world of Bioshock is a joy. Although I am not really impressed with its infamous twist and moral choices, it’s still a worthwhile experience that even a shooter-allergic gamer like me can appreciate.
3. Journey.
Playing alone, this game is a pretty good but not particularly great minimalistic game. But if you can play this online and experience its multiplayer mode, it will be one of the most transiently moving experiences you can find in gaming. The game is also short enough so its one-dimensional gameplay won’t become a bore by the time you finish it.
4. SOMA.
While the Amnesiac games from the same creators are scary as hell and good horror games, SOMA exceeds those games by featuring a pretty thought-provoking sci-fi story. I am not thrilled with its gameplay, but the tense exploration and the story make it worthwhile overall.
5. Little Nightmares.
A creepy platformer horror game that will make you feel like a scaredy-kid exploring the dark corners of your house again. A satisfying short and linear experience in the world of fast-food bloated games!
6. Symphonic Rain.
While quite slow in the beginning, this visual novel surprised me with its emotional story of romance and music. Its soundtrack is absolutely stellar and it also has a pretty cool musical gameplay mechanic. Recommended for romance and music lovers.
7. The wolf among us.
Telltale games at its finest. A good noir thriller game with plenty of actions, a mysterious atmosphere, and moral ambiguity choices.
8. Ib.
A very well-crafted RPGMaker horror game. Its puzzles are clever and its atmosphere is surprisingly creepy for a top-down pixel-art game. Its final story is both twisted and sweet at the same time. Try this game if you can stand horror stories!
9. That dragon, cancer.
If you can look past its very limited gameplay, one of the most heart-wrenching experiences in gaming awaits you!
10. Silent hill.
The first game in the legendary horror series definitely still holds up even today. In fact, I would say that its outdated murky visual adds more to its unnerving and haunted atmosphere! Many indie horror games and horror movies understand this. While the core story might be a bit simplistic, all of the trademarks of the series are here since the beginning: terrifying atmosphere, twisted puzzles, stellar music, and intriguing symbolism. A true classic of horror gaming.
11. The walking dead Season 1.
Definitely the best game coming out from Telltales and also much better than the TV series! As a zombie-allergic person, I was pleasantly surprised by this game’s emotional story, especially the father-daughter bond between the 2 main characters. Might be the best zombie-related story in gaming (the last of us has nothing to do with this!).
12. Chrono Trigger.
For many JRPG lovers, the inclusion of this game here might raise a heavy eyebrow! How dare I put this game only at the 8/10 tier? I absolutely love its amazing music, its Dragonball-like art style, and the perfectly designed gameplay. But its story and characters are a bit too standard and traditional for my taste, especially the duo main protagonist/main villain are both quite boring. Still a classic JRPG for sure.
13. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy.
Another trilogy of games that is very dear to my heart, these visual novel/adventure games, and another trilogy below are the only great examples of pure deduction detective games that I can think of. Quirky characters, complicated murder cases, mind-bending twists, and innovative gameplay that really makes you feel like a detective or, in this case, a lawyer. This series is also very good at mixing supernatural elements into a scientific-deduction story. If you are disappointed by the sad state of detective games like me, you have to try these games out!
14. Danganronpa trilogy.
Danganronpa takes the foundation of Ace Attorney and amplifies the quirkiness to tenfold! The third game in particular is very controversial with its first case and its ending, but I think both of them are brilliant. With even crazier story and characters, and an absolutely stellar soundtrack, this trilogy is another must-have for any detective wannabes out there!
15. Salt and Sanctuary
One of the best Souls-like games that I’ve played so far where the Souls-like mechanics are mixed seamlessly with a Metroidvania gameplay frame. Not only that its story and atmosphere stay true to the spirit of the Souls games too! An incredible game for both Souls and Metroidvania fans.
16. Portal duology
Both portal games are great pure puzzle games, a genre that I’m not particularly fond of. Its puzzles are awesomely creative, its controls feel tight and smooth, and its writing is genuinely funny. While the actual story is too simple for my taste, it’s not enough to stop this duology from becoming classics.
17. Inside
I’ve not played Limbo from the same creators, but Inside is for sure one of the best indie platformers out there. A very atmospheric and thought-provoking experience, this is one of those indie games that just turn people away from mainstream triple-A games to a more artistic orientation.
18. Braid
Braid is not to be missed when we are talking about artistic indie games! Definitely a milestone in the development of the indie scene in the West, its innovative and extremely difficult puzzels and its final plot twist are all very worth the hype!
19. Rule of rose
A very underplayed horror game with a mindfuck story rivals even that of the silent hill series. What’s holding this game back is its controversial subject matters (violence and sexual themes on underage cast) and its atrocious combat. While combat is never a focus and arguably shouldn’t be fun in horror games, you’d be forgiven for not wanting to play this game. I actually would recommend “playing” the game on Youtube instead!
20. 999: 9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors
I’ve not beaten the next 2 games in the trilogy to put all of them here, but the first game is another great example of a visual novel with gameplay. Its escape-the-room puzzles are fun, its story full of twists, and the plot takes full advantage of the multiple route structure of the visual novel medium to deliver a great sci-fi story. Its final twist, while quite similar to an older visual novel from the same writer Uchikoshi, is still mindblowing enough for me to not be bothered by it! A very good choice for beginners of the visual novel genre.
21. Drakengard
The first game in the weird series coming from the mind of the weirdo Yoko Taro. This is another game that I’d rather you play it on Youtube because the actual gameplay is horrendous! The experience is worth it for one reason: the story is absolutely one of the best and most insane stories in gaming, arguably the strangest one that Yoko Taro has penned, and this says a lot if you know anything about Yoko Taro and his games!
22. G-senjou no Maou
The Death Note of visual novel, need I say more? Like what I said in this article, a great first visual novel for unfamiliar people.
23. Hollow Knight
Another great Metroidvania game with a clear influence from Dark Souls. This indie game is even better than Salt and Sanctuary and deserves all the praises it gets.
24. To the Moon
This is another example of those games where I just wish it was a visual novel instead, aka the gameplay is not very good and gets into the flow of the story. Nevertheless, its quiet love story at the core makes for an emotional journey with one of the most beautiful endings in the world of gaming.
25. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
This game is a huge mess. While it has to trip over so many annoying little things that mostly come from an excessive desire for fan-servicing, Hideo Kojima still delivers a satisfying conclusion to the legendary series.
26. Drakengard 3
The newest game in the Drakengard series and possibly my favorite in the series, this game unfortunately still has the horrible gameplay/great story combination of the other games. And again, the unique story completely makes the day! Where else can you play as a woman on a rampage to kill her sisters and turn their men into her sex slaves? And Yoko Taro somehow turns this insane premise into a deeply meaningful and emotional story by the end…
27. Life Is Strange
A great game that combines turning-back-time mechanics with the choice-based system and somehow makes this contradictory mixture work! While I find the main story lackluster especially the final episode, it’s all of the little moments and choices throughout the game that make up to it for me.
28. Undertale
Well, this game is possibly the most popular and successful indie game of all time, mostly for good reason: it’s a great game, and a towering achievement being made mostly alone by Toby Fox. The game is also a rare Kickstarter success story too! The not good reason is when more casual/younger gamers who haven’t played much JRPG games in their life play Undertale and think this is the most innovative game ever, without realizing that a lot of what makes Undertale ticks are inspirations from/homages to the classic JRPG games of Japan (to me, sometimes borderline rip-off). Metafiction, non-violent gameplay, multiple-route structure, incorporation of other genre’s mechanic into the turn-based “combat system”, these tropes were all done before Undertale. It’s quite sad to me that many players don’t know that the Spare system and the whole Pacifist/Neutral/Genocide route structure are inspired by the Megami Tensei series, or this opera scene is a reference to this iconic scene in Final Fantasy VI, and that is just some icing on the cake. Still, the game is good enough on its own that I still highly recommend it.
29. Xenogears
This game was actually planned at some point to become Final Fantasy VII, but Square decided that Xenogears’s story was too dark and complex for the “mainstream” Final Fantasy series. While the narrative of Final Fantasy VII is nowhere near simple, in fact, it might be the first convoluted story that still resonated widely with gamers that launched the JRPG genre to the world, its convoluted-ness pales in comparison to Xenogears! Possibly the most complicated story in the entire gaming world, to the point that I actually feel like it becomes detrimental for the experience. Still, it can’t be denied that this is one of the most ambitious plots with heavy philosophical/psychological implications that you rarely witness not only in gaming but in other mediums like books and movies. The second disc is basically a visual novel, and honestly, I didn’t have any problem with it! A great old game that is badly in need of a proper remake that will turn what is now a very rough gem into an out-right diamond!
30. YU-NO: A Girl Who Chants Love at the Bound of this World
THE classic visual novel that probably turned the eroge world into a more ambitious direction. Time-manipulation gameplay, epic storyline that spans multiple timelines and dimensions, great characters, great fan-service (which was toned down in the remake…), great art and music (I prefer the old-school art of the original), if you like visual novels and adventure games, this is like the definition of a not to be missed classic!
31. Narcissu
Another classic visual novel, this one much shorter and smaller in scale. Like in my previous article, it’s one of the best short visual novels and perfect as an introduction to the genre.
32. Mass effect 2
Considered to be the best of the Mass Effect series and the last great game coming out of Bioware, this here is an excellent game in the WRPG genre. I will have to play the first and third games in the future to judge the trilogy as a whole, though this game stands really well on its own that I would still recommend it.
33. Detention
A Taiwanese horror game, this game is a rare example of a Taiwanese/Chinese inspired game available in English. As someone coming from a pretty similar culture, this was a very resonant and enchanting experience for me. And like with horror movies, this game reminds me why Asian horror media is just much scarier than the Western counterpart. A short and bitter horror game for anyone who likes a dose of Eastern horror!
34. What Remains of Edith Finch
Probably the best walking simulator game if that is actually a genre. This game does have some gameplay mechanics and some light form of puzzle, not just walking around. A short and sweet game with a very moving story at its core.
35. Shin Megami Tensei: Devil survivor
I’m not really a big fan of the Strategy RPG genre because they are usually too slow and complicated for my taste. This game is the exception as it features a super fast-paced combat and the usual press-turn trademarks of the Megami Tensei series. Like other games in the series, collecting and fusing demons are super addicting, and this game also features one of the best stories in the series too!
36. Jade Empire
A very underplayed game from Bioware and a very rare wuxia based game! Wuxia is the name of a Chinese literary genre for fantasy martial art stories. It could be translated as “martial heroes”, depicting adventures of martial artists in ancient Chinese society, where they use superhuman martial art skills to follow the chivalry code and fight for righteousness, honor, justice, etc. And yes, the game was made by a Western team and I always appreciate such effort in exploring the culture that is not your own! While the binary moral system is still here, it is a little bit more interesting with how they are framed as more like individual will power vs collective harmony instead of good vs evil, a trademark in Chinese philosophy. It has a surprisingly good wuxia story and one of the most effective twists I’ve seen in a RPG game. Highly, highly underplayed game that is badly in need of a sequel!
37. Warcraft III
Another classic game that is very close to my heart. An awesome real-time strategy game with amazing gameplay and also a pretty good fantasy story. This game led me to Dota, and the rest is history!
38. Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly
My vote for the scariest game ever! It belongs to a series of Japanese-inspired horror games that possess a unique gameplay mechanic: saying cheese to ghosts. That’s right, the only way to fight the malicious ghosts in this game is that you have to be right in front of them, stare directly into their horrifying faces and take a picture of them with an exorcism camera. Truly not for the faint-hearted! The second game is considered to be the best of the series and features a twisted tale of human sacrifice with some heart-warming sisterly moments in the mix. The sweetness amid the cruelty, the beauty in the middle of revulsion, those are the things that I seek in my horror stories!
39. ICO
The first game of Team Ico, and an early exemplar example of their “subtracting design” games. At first, I thought the controls were quite clunky, but its amazingly haunting atmosphere and the unique “holding hand” gameplay really made for a poignant experience. This was THE game that awoken Hidetaka Miyazaki to the artistic potential of videogames, inspired him to quit his corporate job and pursue game development. The rest is history!
40. Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
Ahh, probably the most controversial title in the legendary series but also one of its greatest! All of the trolling trademarks from Hideo Kojima are here, and if you think recent games are great at meta-fiction, you gotta play this, one of the earliest and best post-modern games. Frighteningly correct predictions of the internet, fake news, social media, virtual reality, AI were all already here in this old ass weird game! Definitely a milestone in gaming that pushes the medium forward that is not to be missed.
41. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
This game probably has the best sword fighting gameplay in the entire gaming world. While everything about it is just beautiful, there are two important aspects of the game that I feel like are a step down from the Dark Souls/Bloodborne games. The story, while clearer and more direct this time, is not as deep and philosophical, especially in its exploration of the Ninja code and the Shinto/Buddhist themes, where they just don’t feel as in-depth as I’d have wanted. And the music is just… good enough, which is a far cry from the amazing soundtracks of their previous games! Still another great achievement from FromSoft that surpasses 99% of the modern games.
42. Disco Elysium
A game promised to be a spiritual successor of Planescape Torment we didn’t know we need. While sentence-by-sentence wise, its prose is probably the best in gaming since Planescape, I’m not a big fan of the main detective story. The game is very political heavy, but the way the political ideologies is integrated into the gameplay and story is not ideal, because your character can just spurt out supports for all of them without any contradictions or any real consequences in the story (by the end of the game I got the achievements for being both a communist and a centrist, also my in-game partner judged me as an arrogant sexist/racist fascist who also apologizes too much…). Despite all of these flaws (and some others, like the annoying random skill check gating or the lackluster music), the game was still a very good experience overall. The innovative design that combines CRPG and point & click is very fun, the art style is great, and in the end, it does manage to say something about the contemporary political landscape. Still worth a playthrough even if it failed my expectation to be the next Planescape Torment!