The first walking dead game from telltale was good, but if you've played anything they've done its largely the same.
Papers please can get emotional, but it's mostly intense pressure.
this post was submitted on 07 Mar 2024
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I haven't played it myself, but I've seen playthroughs of The Last of Us. Even though there's a sequel, I've heard the first one is better. Anyway, if engaging story is what you're after, I'd check that out.
I've also never played this one, but I've heard SpecOps: The Line is also a gutpunch.
It's a bit of a commitment, but I always found the Halo series to be kinda emotional to me, but then I also grew up with it and got invested in the characters. Your mileage may vary with Halo.
Final recommendation would be Ori and the Blind Forest if you're into platformers.
Already played through Spec ops the line and loved it, but not as muxh as those other games.
I never played TLOU, might try it out
And yeah Halo wasn't for me at all
Ori has been also recommended a lot to me but isn't it hard to get attached to characters with the presentation the game is going for?
Yeah, Ori is emotional but there isn't much to attach you to the characters if that's what you're looking for.
Might I recommend Witcher 3? I didn't play the other ones, but I found myself getting attached to the characters by the end all the same.
Edit: just saw you didn't care for Witcher 3 much.
Life is Strange made me cry. It has a good soundtrack too.
I thought Ori and the blind Forest was rife with emotion
Ori and the Blind Forest made me shed a few tears. It was a beautiful game that was full of emotion while telling an amazing story.
Ori and the Will of the Wisps made me bawl like a baby for days.
I'm not super familiar with the examples you gave but I'm gonna say anything from Supergiant Games: Bastion, Transistor, Pyre, Hades. Fantastic music always, I would say the storytelling is done best in Transistor and Hades.
Since you’re ok with horror, I highly recommend both Detention and Devotion by Red Candle Games. Both of them start out as horror, then gut punch you as you realize what’s going on. Devotion is an amazing example of domestic horror (the horror that can happen inside the home), and Detention is the horror that people do when they don’t realize the consequences of their actions. Devotion has stuck with me, and to this day the last line makes me want to cry.
I would wholeheartedly recommend the A Plague Tale duology (Innocence and Requiem). They both had a lasting impact on me (especially Requiem) and the overall presentation is really great IMO.
Final Fantasy X still holds my personal ugly-cry record. To this day, I can't hear some of the music from it without tearing up. It's one of those games that has emotional react videos on YouTube.
Shadow of the Colossus manages to be emotional with very little explicit story. A lot of it has to do with its use of dynamic music in an orchestral soundtrack.
Persona 3 just had a remake, and that's part of a series that can really gets its hooks into you. A big part of it is the parasocial gameplay, but even if you're not the type to get into that, the story is still very moving. Persona series composer Shoji Meguro recently said the ending theme in this game was his magnum opus.
Haven't seen Spiritfarer mentioned, worth checking out.
Seconded. Very emotional, and many kinds of emotions.
Maybe What Remains of Edith Finch? Also, maybe it was just a weird time in my life, but I think I bawled hardest at the end of FFVII: Crisis Core back in the PSP days. Braid is an emotionally weird one as well.
This War of Mine
Mass effect and dragon age series from bioware are excellent, they're a little involved but the story telling is incredible in both. While it has aged and may be depending on a love for star wars, their knights of the old republic series was also excellent.
They're really damn good at making a story that's worth being part of, often one of my first recommendations aside from the last of us, outer wilds, and a couple of others I've seen here already.
The Witcher 3 has some really emotional scenes, and an immersive soundtrack.
I'm trying to get into it, played 15 hours already but I struggle to get attached to the world or characters.
Cyberpunk 2077 and edgerunners had way more of an impact on me, with The Witcher's strong points
The game takes a while to warm up the plot. It picks up with the Baron quests, and the big emotional parts come out full steam towards the last third of the story.
If you manage to finish it, replay it with different choices. Some of the character reactions can be really endearing, others can be terribly heartbreaking.
Both expansions also have excellent stories, one with a Faustian plot, the other with dark stories in a fairy tale veneer.
I would suggest you try to make it as far as the botchling quest. If you still don't care for it after that then I'll concede that it's not your style of game.
Immortal Defense.
If you're okay with "walking sims", Dear Esther is the only game that ever brought a tear to my eye. I played it shortly after someone close to me died and the ending really hit me.
It's basically 100% "emotional writing" so it might be up your alley.
I immediately thought of Arise: A Simple Story.
There's no dialogue, but the imagery and soundtrack are very powerful.
I found "Journey" to be very emotional at the end. Also, although it's real slow and not everyone's cup of tea, "Everybody's Gone To The Rapture"
If it's emotional you want, you can't beat To the Moon and its sequel, Finding Paradise. They're walking sims, but they've got great stories that'll make you ugly cry
Before Your Eyes
That one fucking broke me once I realized what was happening. Absolutely beautiful game. With the eye tracking I found myself desperately trying to stay in the moment only to inevitably blink and have time move forward.
Borderlands 2, then the expansion Tiny Tina's assault on dragon keep.
I'll give a recommendation for something that hasn't been posted yet. Danganronpa: trigger happy havoc is a very emotional game and has a well written story that takes you on a journey.
Brothers: A tale of two sons.
Only game that ever made me cry alone.
I'd recommend "in stars and time". It is a turn-based RPG with loveable characters. I think it is best played blind so I'm hesitant to tell you more, but if you like games like undertale then I think you would like it.
THAT WAS IT!!!!!!!!!! it was WONDERFUL, THANK YOU VERY MUCH! if anyone reads this and recognizes themselves in the games i enjoyed, I would tell them to play this first if they haven't!
Haha. Glad you enjoyed it. Really great game that I think deserves more attention.
Bastion has a good story and great OST. There's a pretty heavy moment toward the end of the game.
🎵I'm coming home, sweet home🎵
Transistor too, from the same studio.
I am into emotional storytelling as well, I think what gets you involved most are well drawn characters.
I would recommend planescape torment for an epic adventure full of stories, characters and heartbreak.
Really good stories/characters are few and far between in computer games but "The longest journey" comes to mind and even the first Witcher game.
Unavowed comes to mind as well as a rather affecting story.
And a couple of dozen books, but that's not what you asked for...
Could you recommend books either way? It might interest me
I always loved the Song of Ice and Fire books by George Martin, be aware that the series is not finished, though. I am a big fan of Stephen King as well, he writes great characters. It, Shawshank Redemption, The Dark Tower... Thuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom is very emotional, I could not even finish it. Deadhouse Gates by Stephen Erikson. The Liveship Traders by Robin Hobb just to name a few...