Best Story Rich Games on Steam
Games with substantial narrative, characters, dialogue, worldbuilding, and emotional arcs.
Browse all Story Rich →
1Black Myth: Wukong - Black Myth: Wukong is an action RPG rooted in Chinese mythology. You shall set out as the Destined One to venture into the challenges and marvels ahead, to uncover the obscured truth beneath the veil of a glorious legend from the past.
Aug 19, 2024
In this game, you can…
- turn into bosses you've defeated and use their forms in fights.
- play as Sun Wukong in the prologue.
- beat a chapter's main boss, then watch a stylized animated epilogue that turns your actions into a narrated painting.
- build energy by dodging and basic hits, then spend it on heavier attacks instead of blocking.
- chain perfect dodges to power up your next big hit.
- respec for free and switch your whole build at any rest point.
- stumble into secret zones, hidden bosses, and optional questlines by exploring and backtracking.
- fill a journal where every enemy kill can unlock a folklore story entry.
2Red Dead Redemption 2 - Arthur Morgan and the Van der Linde Gang are outlaws on the run. With federal agents and bounty hunters massing on their heels, the gang must rob, steal, and fight their way across the rugged heartland in order to survive.
Dec 5, 2019
In this game, you can…
- get remembered as a thief months later, with people recalling what you stole and treating you differently.
- tie someone up, feed them to an alligator, then come back later to see scavengers pick over what's left.
- kill someone in the wilderness, then return days later to find the same body still there, rotting as birds gather.
- lose at poker, then pull a revolver, shoot the table, and loot your money back.
- watch eagles grab rabbits, fish jump for bugs, and predators hunt while the world keeps going without you.
- ride into a town, chat with strangers, and have individual people remember how you acted toward them.
- rob a train, get into a high-stakes shootout, and watch the world snap from quiet travel to explosive violence in seconds.
3The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - You are Geralt of Rivia, mercenary monster slayer. Before you stands a war-torn, monster-infested continent you can explore at will. Your current contract? Tracking down Ciri — the Child of Prophecy, a living weapon that can alter the shape of the world.
May 18, 2015
In this game, you can…
- miss a unique card from an NPC, then later find that same card lying under a tree of hanged civilians if you never won it.
- pay out of your own pocket to take care of an orphan, finishing the quest with less money than you started.
- ignore the main quest and travel the continent just to find one specific card and beat one specific merchant at Gwent.
- turn a simple contract into a whole mini-drama, like mediating a divorce and then stumbling into a curse and a missing-person hunt.
- build fights around prep: read a monster entry, choose the right oil, brew a potion, pack bombs, then walk in ready.
- switch from swordplay to a full spell-and-alchemy style: parry, dodge, shield up, cast, then escalate to oils and bombs for bosses.
- walk into a huge city without a loading screen, then watch people change routines from day to night and react to rain.
- make small choices that ripple forward and change outcomes much later, leaving you stuck with the consequences.
4Baldur's Gate 3 - Baldur’s Gate 3 is a story-rich, party-based RPG set in the universe of Dungeons & Dragons, where your choices shape a tale of fellowship and betrayal, survival and sacrifice, and the lure of absolute power.
Aug 3, 2023
In this game, you can…
- possess a guard, make them open a gate that releases giant spiders, then watch the chaos from the rafters.
- stack a bunch of boxes into a tower, then climb it to reach places you couldn't otherwise.
- romance wildly different beings, including vampires, ogres, lizards, and even a tentacled god.
- surround a boss with explosive barrels before the fight, then blow them up instead of fighting fair.
- turn a flooded room into an electric trap, then have the enemy freeze it into ice so everyone slips while you hold the door.
- pick up a locked chest and carry it back to camp to open later instead of unlocking it on the spot.
- earn a dog's trust step by step, pet them, play fetch, and eventually have them become your familiar.
- talk your way through conflicts, befriend enemies, or side with or kill basically any faction and watch regions treat you differently afterward.
5Hollow Knight - Forge your own path in Hollow Knight! An epic action adventure through a vast ruined kingdom of insects and heroes. Explore twisting caverns, battle tainted creatures and befriend bizarre bugs, all in a classic, hand-drawn 2D style.
Feb 24, 2017
In this game, you can…
- jump into the minds of characters and enemies to hear their thoughts and dig up secrets that aren't told in normal dialogue
- learn boss fights with no health bar, reading their patterns until you can tell you're winning just from how they move
- take on a near-mythic platforming gauntlet of saws and spikes that can take hours, then reach a hidden payoff at the end
- get dropped into a kingdom with no map, then slowly piece together where to go by exploring, backtracking, and unlocking routes
- customize your build with charms that can completely change how you fight and move, then swap setups to make the same boss feel different
- chain movement upgrades into fluid traversal: wall jump, double jump, dash, then dash through danger and bounce off enemies to keep flying forward
- realize you've charted a massive interconnected world when the full map finally clicks into place and you can see how everything connects
6Dying Light - First-person action survival game set in a post-apocalyptic open world overrun by flesh-hungry zombies. Roam a city devastated by a mysterious virus epidemic. Scavenge for supplies, craft weapons, and face hordes of the infected.
Jan 26, 2015
In this game, you can…
- swing across the skyline with a grappling hook that opens up entirely new routes.
- outrun night hunters, flash an ultraviolet light to buy seconds, then hide in a pipe until the chase ends.
- dropkick enemies off rooftops so they ragdoll down six-story drops.
- chain parkour into kills by vaulting a zombie and instantly drop-attacking for a finisher.
- turn the city into a weapon by luring zombies into spikes, fires, and exploding barrels.
- risk going out at night for bigger rewards, then sprint safehouse-to-safehouse when the world flips into hunt mode.
- craft melee weapons with elemental effects that set zombies on fire or shock them on hit.
- join a friend in co-op and race rooftops together, turning escapes into shared, chaotic near-misses.
7Portal 2 - The "Perpetual Testing Initiative" has been expanded to allow you to design co-op puzzles for you and your friends!
Apr 18, 2011
In this game, you can…
- hit a chapter title that literally says "this is the part where he kills you" as the game turns it into a set-piece
- bounce across chambers with repulsion gel, build insane speed with propulsion gel, then paint walls to make new portal surfaces
- play co-op where each robot has its own portal gun, and your solution can break the bridge your partner is standing on
- wake up from long-term stasis, get guided by a friendly AI, and then have the main villain come back online
- use portals to redirect lasers, light bridges, and tractor beams through moving machinery to power your way forward
- chain portals to fling yourself over pits, launch cubes onto buttons, and keep extending the same trick into bigger gaps
- replay co-op stages for least time and least portals, racing friends as they knock you off the leaderboard
- drop into community-made test chambers and keep getting brand-new puzzles long after the story ends
8DARK SOULS™ III - Dark Souls continues to push the boundaries with the latest, ambitious chapter in the critically-acclaimed and genre-defining series. Prepare yourself and Embrace The Darkness!
Apr 11, 2016
In this game, you can…
- unlock a door or elevator and realize the level loops back over itself to where you started.
- hit a chest that turns out to be a monster and fights back.
- get invaded by a hostile player in your world and fight them off mid-journey.
- find secret rooms by striking walls that look solid.
- use special weapon skills that change your moves and spend a magic-like meter.
- summon strangers to co-op, then beat the same bosses in both of your worlds together.
- do a full boss fight that's a puzzle, like breaking a giant's bracelets instead of dueling normally.
- gesture at the Fire Keeper and get a unique gesture response back.
9The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition - Winner of more than 200 Game of the Year Awards, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition brings the epic fantasy to life in stunning detail. The Special Edition includes the critically acclaimed game and add-ons with all-new features.
Oct 27, 2016
In this game, you can…
- turn into a werewolf or vampire lord, feed on enemies, blot out the sun, then summon a skeleton horse and a zombie dragon.
- join a crime syndicate, sell your soul to an evil god, kill the boss, then enlist in a hitman cult.
- join one side of a civil war, change your mind midstream, switch sides, and help wipe out your old allies.
- start on an execution block, then escape when a dragon attacks.
- marry someone, adopt kids, build a house, then head out to fight dragons again.
- go to a magic college, find a dangerous artifact, stop a power grab, and end up running the place.
- shout with dragon power to blast enemies apart and even ride dragons.
10Hogwarts Legacy - Hogwarts Legacy is an immersive, open-world action RPG. Now you can take control of the action and be at the center of your own adventure in the wizarding world.
Feb 10, 2023
In this game, you can…
- turn an enemy into an explosive barrel, then throw them into their friends.
- stuff rescued magical beasts into an enchanted suitcase, then take them back to your secret room.
- build up a personal Room of Requirement base to brew potions, grow plants, decorate, and care for beasts.
- sneak around Hogwarts at night and pick locks to loot houses and cabinets.
- learn the Unforgivable Curses and cast Crucio or Avada Kedavra in fights.
- fly a broom or Hippogriff across the countryside and skim low over the ground from Hogwarts to the Highlands.
- chain spells to float enemies, burn them, and slam them into the ground in rapid duels.
- learn new spells in class, then immediately use them to unlock paths and solve castle secrets.
