Unforgettable characters, plot twists and endings that linger long afterwards: some games tell stories worthy of the greatest novels. This Top 100 gathers the retro games with the most memorable storylines, based on RomWize's reassessed scores. For each one: its current score, its versions, their rarity and their collector value.
"Set loose in a neon-soaked 1980s Miami, an ambitious crook builds his empire through betrayals and bold strokes. An unabashed homage to gangster cinema, the tale overflows with colourful characters and cult lines. Its retro flair and biting irony have lost none of their flavour."
"Following three criminals who could not be more different, the adventure interweaves their fates through spectacular heists and a biting satire of America. The tale juggles cynical humour, tension and family drama with unprecedented scope. This criminal triptych, brilliant and ferocious, became a generational phenomenon."
"Beneath its school-year rhythm hides a biting critique of society and its everyday tyrants. Each Confidant paints a tender portrait, and the fight to reclaim one's heart lingers long after. Writing that balances humor, revolt and melancholy with rare precision."
"A sunlit city in the clouds, steeped in zealotry, soon reveals the rot beneath its flags. Between racism, worker revolt and parallel worlds, the story climbs toward a dizzying finale whose images keep haunting and questioning you long after the credits."
"Brought back from the dead for a mission deemed suicidal, Shepard assembles a crew of outcasts with painful pasts. Darker and more intimate, the tale makes each one's loyalty the true stake, up to a finale where no one is safe. This character writing, of rare finesse, made it a peak of the Western RPG."
"Awakened aboard a mysterious ringworld, a super-soldier and his AI face an alien alliance and a threat far worse still. Blending space opera and archaeological mystery, the tale lays the foundations of an ambitious science-fiction mythology. Its emblematic duo and its universe gave birth to a legendary saga."
"Locked inside an open-air prison given over to chaos, Batman unravels a plot where his worst enemies intersect. Vaster and darker, the tale pushes the vigilante to his moral limits, up to a striking finale. Its assumed darkness and carefully drawn characters make it a peak of the superhero game."
"Locked inside an open-air prison given over to chaos, Batman unravels a plot where his worst enemies intersect. Vaster and darker, the tale pushes the vigilante to his moral limits, up to a striking finale. Its assumed darkness and carefully drawn characters make it a peak of the superhero game."
"Under the guise of a new infiltration mission, the tale tips into a postmodern vertigo about information, manipulation and the construction of reality. Bold to the point of provocation, it traps the player as much as its hero. Long misunderstood, this visionary script is today hailed as prophetic."
"A deliberate return to medieval-fantasy roots, the adventure of a big-hearted thief hides a bittersweet meditation on mortality and the meaning of existence. Warm characters and baroque pageantry serve an emotion of rare sincerity. Long underrated, this tender tale is now reclaimed as a high point."
"Forced by the government to hunt his former accomplices, a repentant outlaw tries to win back his family at the twilight of the Wild West. A Western of rare melancholy, the tale meditates on redemption, advancing civilisation and the weight of the past. Its devastating ending made it a peak of the narrative game."
"Continuing its geopolitical escalation, this entry pushes military spectacle as far as betrayal and total war. Between shocking missions and murky morality, the tale embraces a darkness rare for a blockbuster. Its infamous controversial mission and its reversals made it one of the most striking FPS of its generation."
"Woken in an abandoned laboratory, a mute test subject must outwit the traps of artificial intelligences as funny as they are cruel. Beneath the spatial puzzle hides a black comedy of sparkling writing, carried by cult dialogue. A rare puzzle game that makes you laugh as much as it makes you think, it became a benchmark."
"On the trail of a mythical Himalayan city, Nathan Drake finds himself betrayed and then caught in a race against a warlord. A peak of the video-game blockbuster, the tale strings together set pieces, betrayals and romance with cinematic mastery. Its perfect balance of spectacle and emotion made it a benchmark."
"Twenty years after the collapse of civilisation, a broken man escorts a teenage girl who carries a hope across a devastated America. The tale turns a survival journey into a shattering story of paternal love and indefensible choices. An absolute peak of video-game writing, its finale haunts you long after."
"Alternating between the Cold War and the near future, this entry introduces choices that genuinely bend the fate of its characters. Carried by a charismatic antagonist and unexpected dilemmas, the tale gains in depth and consequence. This narrative boldness stands clearly apart from the routine of the warfare blockbuster."
"Hunting for a lost child across a war-scarred world becomes a frame for hundreds of human stories, with no clean heroes or villains. Geralt moves through it as a weary mercenary forced into grey choices, where a side quest can weigh as much as the main road."
"Torn from his childhood to cross seven years in an instant, a young boy becomes the hero of a founding legend. A rite-of-passage journey, friendship and the struggle against darkness unfold with an almost mythic self-evidence. A model of timeless adventure, this tale shaped the imagination of an entire generation."
"An immigrant come to chase the American dream in Liberty City, a former soldier collides with violence and the ghosts of his past. Darker and more adult than its forebears, the tale paints disillusion and revenge with unexpected gravity. Carried by a tormented hero, this bitter portrait of a city still fascinates."
"Marked by destiny as the Dragonborn, a traveller faces the return of creatures thought long gone. More than a plot, it is a whole world that opens up, peopled with tales the player writes for themselves through their choices. This near-infinite narrative freedom turned the adventure into a lasting cultural phenomenon."
