The games that use cinema as a reference point are not always the ones that succeed at it. The ones that actually work are the ones that understand what makes the medium specific — that the player is also the protagonist, that the pacing is negotiable, that interactivity changes what a story can do. Here are the games that get it right.
The Last of Us Part I and Part II
The Last of Us Part II is one of the most technically accomplished story-driven games made. The motion capture and performance work are the best in the medium. The narrative makes choices that a film would not make and gets away with them specifically because the player is embodying the protagonist rather than observing them. The relationship between action and consequence is felt rather than watched. Whether you find the story devastating or frustrating, it is not a story you experience passively. Part I is the same game with a rebuilt engine and remains the correct starting point.
God of War (2018) and Ragnarök
The 2018 God of War reboot is the most cited example of a blockbuster action game that takes its story seriously without sacrificing the action. The single continuous camera shot that runs through the entire game — no cuts, no loading screens — is a technical and narrative achievement. The relationship between Kratos and Atreus is the emotional core and it is written and performed with genuine care. Ragnarök continues and concludes the arc with equivalent quality. Both are essential PlayStation experiences.
Red Dead Redemption 2
Red Dead Redemption 2 is the largest and most detailed world Rockstar has built, and the story it tells within it is more considered than anything else in their catalogue. Arthur Morgan’s arc is one of the best-written protagonists in video game history. The game’s deliberate pacing — slower than most open-world games, more focused on atmosphere and character than on mechanical density — is either its greatest strength or its biggest barrier depending on your patience for it. For players who give it what it asks for, it delivers something films rarely manage at this length.
Detroit: Become Human
Quantic Dream’s games are the closest thing to interactive films that exist. Detroit: Become Human is the best of them: three playable characters, a branching narrative with hundreds of decision points, and a story about android civil rights that uses its science fiction frame to engage with questions about personhood and freedom. The gameplay is minimal by most standards — quick-time events and dialogue choices. The narrative range is large. Characters can die permanently based on player choices. The same story has dramatically different endings depending on the path you take through it.
Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty
Cyberpunk 2077 in its 2.0 state — and specifically the Phantom Liberty expansion — is a different game from the 2020 launch. The expansion is a tightly written spy thriller set within the larger open world, with performances from Idris Elba and Keanu Reeves that are among the best in gaming. The choices in Phantom Liberty have genuine weight. The multiple endings produce meaningfully different outcomes. It is the clearest example of a game that used its troubled launch as motivation to become something genuinely excellent.
For narrative games that prioritise writing over cinematic presentation, the narrative games guide covers titles like Disco Elysium and Pentiment that use the medium differently but with equal ambition.
