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.
"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."
"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."
"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."
"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."
"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."
"Sent to retrieve a young woman in a flying city given over to fanaticism, a fallen detective is caught in a vertigo of parallel worlds. The tale takes on racism, redemption and determinism with striking conceptual boldness. Its overturning finale and unforgettable duo made it an object of passionate debate."
"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."
"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."
"Few games turn a player's expectations inside out like this. Every monster you meet has a voice and a reason, and the simple choice to spare or strike rewrites the whole journey. Tender, funny and suddenly devastating, it folds its very mechanics into an unforgettable moral."
"The first entry to leave the Second World War behind, this military thriller plunges into a modern conflict where bold strikes and betrayals follow one another. Its nervy staging and a shocking twist that became famous upended the codes of the FPS. More than a shooter, it brought genuine narrative tension to the genre."
"Beneath its warm colors, this odyssey revives the golden age of the J-RPG: a chosen hero, a cursed bloodline and companions you grow to truly love. Humor walks beside tragedy, and the tale dares a finale of a scope few modern games still attempt."
"Washed up in an underwater city given over to the madness of a libertarian dream, a man discovers the underside of a utopia turned nightmare. The tale questions free will and ideology up to a twist that became legendary. A political critique disguised as an FPS, its writing proved that the genre could think as much as it shoots."
"Against a backdrop of war between empires, a fallen princess leads a resistance where reasons of state, revenge and a quest for legitimacy intertwine. More political and adult than its forebears, the tale embraces a near-geopolitical scope. This narrative ambition, long debated, today wins over with its maturity and coherence."
"Transformed into a wolf and swept into a world of shadows, a young man must free Hyrule from a spreading twilight. Darker and more adult than previous entries, the tale combines melancholy, metamorphosis and an unforgettable companionship. This grave tone, carried by Midna, makes it one of the most striking Zeldas."
"Across two millennia and a dozen protagonists, the writing weaves a fresco of cosmic horror in which each era illuminates the next. Fates interlock around a cursed tome, and madness gnaws at the tale as much as at its characters. This narrative ambition, long unmatched, lingers with the player for good."
"By giving voice to a fallen enemy as much as to its hero, this entry complicates its galactic conflict with a real look at faith and betrayal. More ambitious and nuanced, the tale pushes its mythology toward a tragedy in two voices. Its abrupt finale, long debated, only stoked the passion of players."
"Emerging from a vault to find his vanished father, a young man discovers the irradiated ruins of old America. Between retrofuturist nostalgia and stark moral choices, the tale turns exploration into a succession of striking human stories. Its freedom and disenchanted tone revived a cult saga."
"Bringing together several Valve gems, this collection gathers some of the most striking writing in the shooter. From resistance against an alien regime to the caustic humour of a booby-trapped lab, each tale innovates in its own way. A concentrate of narrative inventions that lastingly influenced the medium."
"Emerging from a vault to find his vanished father, a young man discovers the irradiated ruins of old America. Between retrofuturist nostalgia and stark moral choices, the tale turns exploration into a succession of striking human stories. Its freedom and disenchanted tone revived a cult saga."
"Back among the undead of space, an engineer eaten away by dementia faces his hallucinations as much as the monsters. The tale blends science-fiction horror, madness and a fanatical cult with oppressive intensity. Its hero, at last given a voice and a broken psyche, lends the nightmare a genuine depth."
