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.
"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."
"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."
"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."
"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."
"Back home after his mother's death, a young man finds himself swept up in gang wars and police corruption. A vast fresco on family, loyalty and social ascent, the tale embraces a whole era with unprecedented scope. Funny, brutal and surprisingly sincere, it has stayed cult."
"To end a galactic war, a super-soldier wages the final confrontation against a fanatical alliance and a devouring scourge. The epic conclusion of the first trilogy, the tale combines grand spectacle with the bond between a hero and his AI. Its breadth and its farewells sealed the legendary status of the saga."
"Twenty-two minutes, a dying solar system and curiosity as your only compass. No weapons, no imposed goal: only knowledge that accrues until it changes everything. This archaeological ode to discovery delivers one of the most moving endings the medium has produced."
"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."
"On the emperor's death, an anonymous prisoner finds himself charged with closing the gates of a demonic invasion. A legendary sandbox, the main tale rubs shoulders with a myriad of quests that tell a world more than a plot. Its freedom and the depth of its universe marked a generation of players."
"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."
"Unjustly cast out, a high schooler joins a band of phantom thieves who strike at the corrupt hearts of adults. Beneath its flamboyant style, the tale mounts a sharp critique of society and the abuse of power. Carried by magnetic characters, this cry of youthful revolt became a phenomenon."
"A ghost ship, sixty vanished souls and a single tool: a watch that replays the moment of each death. Piecing this maritime tragedy together by pure deduction is a rare intellectual thrill, where every name you place drags a chilling truth to the surface."
"Choosing a house means choosing friends the coming war may turn into enemies. Beneath the polish of school life simmer politics, faith and betrayal, and each route reveals another face of a continent on the verge of catching fire."
"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."
