What videogames are you playing in 2026?

[jian]

The first Final Fantasy Tactics is one of the best written stories in the entire Final Fantasy series and one of the best ever in a video game, period. Its recent remaster, The Ivalice Chronicles, is also the best way to play that game.

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance is a different game with a very different story, but I also think it’s one of the best storylines in any JRPG I’ve played. It did a fine job with isekai when that was a relatively new genre, with classic FF stylings.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

I’m not a big fan of the Dragon Age games - or at least I bounced of Origins hard and that’s apparently the best of the bunch.

I’m not really a console gamer and the few jRPGs I’ve played were really not my thing. I do like me some tactical turn-based combat so I’ve wondered if some of the “Tactics” titles might suit better. But then I’ll probably complain about the thin plot and art style.

Appreciate the suggestions nonetheless.

Dragon Age 2 has a better story than Origins, though I'm sure I will get screeched at for saying so.

Many of the best RPGs out there are on consoles, so I would imagine your not being a console gamer might contribute to the perception that RPGs don't tend to have great stories.

But most gamers, I think, would agree with me that RPG video games are right up there with novels for being a source of really excellent stories.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

Dragon Age 2 has a better story than Origins, though I'm sure I will get screeched at for saying so.

But yes really it did. DA2 is fascinating because it's a good example of how constraints can make for both a stronger product and piece of art, and how they can also do the opposite!

Like, DA2's story is stronger because they had to cut out some decisions and possibilities, almost all of which would have made the story "softer" for most people's play-throughs (easiest example - you could stop the serial killer before they got [certain NPC relevant to Hawke]), and because they had to limit where it was set, and who you could be, the storytelling could be much stronger as a result. On top of this, it's a lot shorter than DAO, and much, much more focused as a result, as well as, imho, feeling more interestingly different on repeat playthroughs.

Further still, because they only had so many companions, they couldn't have them easily leave, so they could become friends or rivals, which made for more interesting interactions, and more replayability. And also meant you could make story/RP choices relating to companions more freely without having to think "But the game will suck if I don't have character X in the party". The writing of the companions had to be better too, frankly. I'm really bored of games where you just have to suck up to companions to unlock stuff, I feel like "companion likes you" bars kind of need to DIAF or at least do the friend to rival thing like DA2.

But the game suffered in a lot of other ways, particularly repetitive maps, and some decisions that got cut definitely hurt the game or made it seem a bit silly - c.f. a certain mage who might be friendly the entire game but is unavoidable boss fight for very dubious reasons, or a certain other mage who you cannot call on his very obvious nonsense.

But most gamers, I think, would agree with me that RPG video games are right up there with novels for being a source of really excellent stories.

Mostly they're not, but the best certainly tell better and often far more thoughtful stories than a lot of best-selling SF/F genre novels - though in some cases it feels like TV series or movies might be a better comparison. ME1-3 particularly feels like a multi-season TV series epic to me, right down to the classic somewhat fumbled ending (I will name no names lest we get distracted!).

 

[Artamo]

I finished up Baldur’s Gate 3 (my birthday present) over Christmas and rolled right into Clair Obscur (my Christmas present!) Currently somewhere in Act 2.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Mostly they're not, but the best certainly tell better and often far more thoughtful stories than a lot of best-selling SF/F genre novels

That just makes them exactly as i say, right up there with novels, most of which suck.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

That just makes them exactly as i say, right up there with novels, most of which suck.

I mean, I guess that's true isn't it?

I feel like the odds of getting a good story in a novel are higher, but the complicating factor is that most RPGs are essentially story + game kind of superglued together, and thus you can end up with quite disparate levels of quality, so you're more likely to end up with a good game with a weak story or occasionally vice-versa. Complicating the issue is stuff like BG3 where the overarching story is maybe only okay, but the wonderful characters (not just the companions, loads of NPCs and villains and so on) more than make up for it.

Whereas with a novel all you have is the story (including characters etc.) so you just avoid novels with bad stories mostly, which means it's less likely you bump into a bad story there.

 

[jian]

I mean, I guess that's true isn't it?

I feel like the odds of getting a good story in a novel are higher, but the complicating factor is that most RPGs are essentially story + game kind of superglued together, and thus you can end up with quite disparate levels of quality, so you're more likely to end up with a good game with a weak story or occasionally vice-versa. Complicating the issue is stuff like BG3 where the overarching story is maybe only okay, but the wonderful characters (not just the companions, loads of NPCs and villains and so on) more than make up for it.

Whereas with a novel all you have is the story (including characters etc.) so you just avoid novels with bad stories mostly, which means it's less likely you bump into a bad story there.

Yes, exactly. A good story in a game can feel fantastic because it can be more immersive than a novel or film, but a bad game system can totally destroy that (where bad doesn’t mean “generally badly implemented” but can simply mean “not something I’m enjoying right now”) and that’s basically another point of failure. It’s like the writing style in a novel - the story can be great but poor writing can throw you right out of a book.

I think games also suffer from taking quite a long time to deliver their story compared to books (and certainly films) so you can have to endure quite a few hours of whatever is irking you about the game to get to a good bit.

 

[Parmandur]

I mean, I guess that's true isn't it?

I feel like the odds of getting a good story in a novel are higher, but the complicating factor is that most RPGs are essentially story + game kind of superglued together, and thus you can end up with quite disparate levels of quality, so you're more likely to end up with a good game with a weak story or occasionally vice-versa. Complicating the issue is stuff like BG3 where the overarching story is maybe only okay, but the wonderful characters (not just the companions, loads of NPCs and villains and so on) more than make up for it.

Whereas with a novel all you have is the story (including characters etc.) so you just avoid novels with bad stories mostly, which means it's less likely you bump into a bad story there.

You can have an amazing game with basically no story or even a bad story, but you cannot have a novel without a story.

Certainly, video games can and have had great stories, but it is orthogonal to their medium as such.

 

[Artamo]

You can have an amazing game with basically no story or even a bad story, but you cannot have a novel without a story.

Certainly, video games can and have had great stories, but it is orthogonal to their medium as such.

For me, this was my Elden Ring experience. I found the story so inscrutable that in order to really get more than just the surface level info, I had to take to YouTube for some really long explainer videos. Ultimately, I’m not sure I really cared because beating that game felt epic enough, and I played it about two more times - the story was very much secondary to the gameplay.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

I mean, I guess that's true isn't it?

I feel like the odds of getting a good story in a novel are higher, but the complicating factor is that most RPGs are essentially story + game kind of superglued together, and thus you can end up with quite disparate levels of quality, so you're more likely to end up with a good game with a weak story or occasionally vice-versa. Complicating the issue is stuff like BG3 where the overarching story is maybe only okay, but the wonderful characters (not just the companions, loads of NPCs and villains and so on) more than make up for it.

Whereas with a novel all you have is the story (including characters etc.) so you just avoid novels with bad stories mostly, which means it's less likely you bump into a bad story there.

Eh i disagree, but it is hardly worth picking apart