Story-rich games: characters, choices and endings that stay with you

Authored stories and branching stories

Story-rich games split into two camps. Authored stories, such as God of War Ragnarök, Red Dead Redemption 2 and What Remains of Edith Finch, tell one story the way the writers intended. Your choices affect how you play, not what happens.

Branching stories, such as Baldur's Gate 3 and Disco Elysium, let your decisions change scenes, relationships and endings. They reward replaying, and they make your own run feel personal.

Neither is better. If you like the feeling of a well-paced film or novel, start with an authored story. If you like debating decisions with friends afterwards ("you did what?"), start with a branching one. Some games sit in between: The Witcher 3 has a fixed hero but choices that change the fates of characters and places.

How long story games really take, and how to plan around it

Story games vary hugely in length. What Remains of Edith Finch is short enough for an evening or two. Hades tells its story across many short runs. Baldur's Gate 3, The Witcher 3 and Red Dead Redemption 2 are commitments of many weeks for most players.

Long stories are easier to finish if you play regularly rather than in rare marathons, because you keep the plot and characters fresh. If you can only play occasionally, try a shorter game first or one with a good quest log, and keep a note of what you were doing. Our backlog guide has more ways to keep a long game moving.

Completion-time figures you see online are rough averages from other players. Your pace depends on how much you explore, read and replay.

Age ratings and mature themes in story games

Story-led games often deal with heavier subjects than action games, and their PEGI ratings reflect that. Eight of the ten picks here are rated PEGI 16 or 18. PEGI's content descriptors, such as Violence, Bad language, Sex and Drugs, tell you why.

If you are choosing for a younger player who loves stories, look at Outer Wilds (PEGI 7) or Hades (PEGI 12), or at adventure games in our big adventures list with lower ratings, such as Pokémon Legends: Z-A. PEGI's website lists the rating and consumer advice for each version of a game, which can differ between platforms and editions.

Ratings describe content, not difficulty or quality. A PEGI 18 game is not "more grown-up" in its storytelling than a PEGI 7 one; Outer Wilds shows how much a low-rated game can say.

Reading, subtitles and accessibility in narrative games

Many story games have a lot of text. Disco Elysium is famously wordy, even with full voice acting in the Final Cut; Baldur's Gate 3 and The Witcher 3 mix voiced dialogue with menus and journals. If reading is tiring for you, check the accessibility or options menu for subtitle size, background opacity and speaker names.

Shorter, more visual stories such as What Remains of Edith Finch and Outer Wilds rely more on what you see and hear than on long dialogue. They can be a better fit for players who prefer to take in a story through exploration.

Most major games now list accessibility features on their store pages or publisher sites. It is worth a quick look before you commit to a long role-playing game.

If you already loved one of these

Story preferences tend to follow a pattern. If Baldur's Gate 3 grabbed you, the reason may be the companions, the freedom of choice or the tactical fights, and each points to different next games. Our games like Baldur's Gate 3 page breaks that down trait by trait.

If The Witcher 3 is your favourite, try games like The Witcher 3. If Hades's run-by-run storytelling hooked you, see games like Hades. And if you want something short to fit between bigger games, filter the finder by story-rich and short sessions together.

Stories you can finish in a weekend

Not every great story needs a hundred hours. If you want a complete tale with a beginning, middle and end in a weekend, shorter narrative games are worth seeking out.

What Remains of Edith Finch is the clearest example on this list: a series of family stories, each told in a different way, finishable in an evening or two. Outer Wilds takes longer, but its story is entirely about discovery, and it is complete once you understand what happened. Celeste, from our short-session picks, tells a personal story about anxiety through a climbing platformer.

Shorter stories are also a good way to test whether you enjoy a particular style before committing to a long role-playing game. If you like a game's writing in a short dose, its longer cousins are a safer bet. And because these are complete experiences, they fit neatly between longer games without leaving you with yet another half-finished save file.