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.
"A gallery of broken heroes, a deranged tyrant and an opera that became legend: the adventure dares a choral tale of rare scope, to the end of the world and beyond. The writing fuses despair and hope with a maturity striking for its time. Often cited among the genre's finest stories, it has not aged."
"As humanity teeters on the brink of extinction, a handful of soldiers wage the final battle for its survival. The conclusion of a macho trilogy, the tale this time embraces losses, mourning and sacrifices with assured gravity. Its poignant farewells deliver an ending worthy of its weather-beaten heroes."
"Woken after years in a coma, a broken soldier hunts those who annihilated his unit, haunted by a phantom pain. The tale takes on revenge, language as a weapon and the loss of self with a chilling ambiguity. Its final twist, which questions the hero's very identity, extends the series' boldest reflection."
"Haunted by an obsession inherited from his mentor, Nathan Drake hunts a lost city in the Arabian desert against a secret society. This time the tale digs into the hero's past and his filial bond with his old partner. Between breathless chases and more intimate emotion, this flamboyant entry extends Drake's legend with panache."
"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."
"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."
"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."
"Haunted by an obsession inherited from his mentor, Nathan Drake hunts a lost city in the Arabian desert against a secret society. This time the tale digs into the hero's past and his filial bond with his old partner. Between breathless chases and more intimate emotion, this flamboyant entry extends Drake's legend with panache."
"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."
"Descending into an undersea city built on absolute selfishness means facing a dystopia where every audio log narrates a downfall. Objectivist philosophy turns into tangible horror, and a famous twist forever questions the player's own free will."
"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."
"In a small town drowned in fog, a string of murders pushes a group of high schoolers to hunt for the truth inside a televised world. Beneath the investigation hides a luminous point about self-acceptance and the courage to face one's shadows. Warm and clever, this tale of friendship remains one of the most beloved of the genre."
"On a planet doomed to fall, an elite squad wages a battle lost before it begins to buy humanity a reprieve. A prequel whose ending is known in advance, the tale draws its strength from the inevitable and from anonymous sacrifice. This heroic tragedy, with no false hope, is one of the series' emotional peaks."
"An amnesiac detective, a city gnawed by politics and an inner dialogue where your very skills argue inside your skull. This sprawling investigation trades combat for mountains of text of staggering literary richness, where every line sculpts who you become."
"Trapped in an asylum the Joker has seized control of, the Dark Knight faces his entire rogues' gallery in a single night. The tale distils a remarkable psychological tension, down to nightmarish plunges into the hero's own mind. This mature writing, faithful to the myth, at last gave the vigilante a great game worthy of him."
"Rebuilt against his will after an attack, an augmented security agent investigates a conspiracy entwining biotech and power. An ambitious prequel, the tale questions transhumanism, identity and control, leaving the player to decide. Its mature reflection and open choices make it a striking speculative thriller."
"Infiltrating an isolated nuclear base becomes the pretext for a breathless espionage thriller, where betrayal lurks behind every codec call. Cloning, deterrence and the burden of heredity feed a surprisingly grave reflection. Cinematic staging and finely honed dialogue made it a monument of video games."
"Trapped in an asylum the Joker has seized control of, the Dark Knight faces his entire rogues' gallery in a single night. The tale distils a remarkable psychological tension, down to nightmarish plunges into the hero's own mind. This mature writing, faithful to the myth, at last gave the vigilante a great game worthy of him."
"Infiltrating an isolated nuclear base becomes the pretext for a breathless espionage thriller, where betrayal lurks behind every codec call. Cloning, deterrence and the burden of heredity feed a surprisingly grave reflection. Cinematic staging and finely honed dialogue made it a monument of video games."
"Betrayed and left for dead, a silent criminal climbs the ladder of crime in a metropolis riddled with corruption. A pioneer of the narrative open world, the tale distils revenge and mob ascent with unheard-of bite. The founder of a whole genre, it redefined the way stories are told in video games."
