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Life Is Strangewas developed by Dontnod Entertainment and tells one of modern gaming’s most well-constructed stories, earning it the Best Use of Narrative accolade from the Develop Industry Excellence Awards. Thankfully for Life Is Strange fans who are looking for something else to play, there are numerous other games that offer similarly impressive and encapsulating stories, such as the ones on this list.
Updated April 22, 2022, by Jack Pursey: The Life is Strange series is back in the public eye once again, as Life is Strange: True Colors was recently added to Microsoft’s value-for-money Game Pass service. The game’s inclusion in Game Pass will undoubtedly bring new eyes to the game and the Life is Strange franchise in general. Many new people will inevitably be looking for more games like Life is Strange after playing True Colors on Game Pass, so we’ve updated this list once again to add some more great story-driven games.
20 Oxenfree
Oxenfree is a graphic adventure game that was developed by Night School Studio. It was first released on PC and Xbox One in January 2016 before arriving on PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and mobile devices in the months and years that followed.
The game puts players in the shoes of a teenager named Alex, who accidentally lets a paranormal force loose on an island and must find a way to stop it. Oxenfree turned heads upon release with its unique visuals, which earned the game the Excellence in Visual Art award at the Independent Games Festival Awards 2016.
19 Broken Age
The first episode of Broken Age was one of 2014’s most highly-anticipated releases, as the game was the first point-and-click adventure to be worked on by Tim Schafer since Grim Fandango. The hype for Broken Age was reflected in the game’s crowdfunding performance, as it became the highest-funded video game on Kickstarter at the time, with an eye-watering $3,336,371 raised from 87,142 Backers.
The game didn’t reach the heights of the classic Grim Fandango, but it’s still a tremendous modern point-and-click game that is well worth playing for anyone interested in the genre.
18 Night in the Woods
Night in the Woods was released in February 2017 and follows a young woman who has recently returned home after dropping out of college to find unexpected changes and strange occurrences taking place.
The game was a hit with critics, exemplified by its 88 Metascore on PC and multiple award wins that included the prestigious Seumas McNally Grand Prize from the Independent Games Festival Competition Awards and the Writing in a Comedy award from the National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers Awards.
17 Tell Me Why
Tell Me Why was developed by Dontnod Entertainment, the same studio that made Life is Strange, making it an easy game to recommend to fans of the series.
Tell Me Why is an episodic adventure separated into three chapters that follow a pair of twins with the supernatural ability to communicate telepathically. The game is notable for being the first AAA release to feature a transgender main character.
16 The Wolf Among Us
The Wolf Among Us was developed by graphic adventure and storytelling specialists Telltale Games. It was released episodically between October 2013 and July 2014, with the retail version hitting stores a few months later in November.
The Wolf Among Us puts players in the shoes of Bigby Wolf — who was formerly the Big Bad Wolf from fairytales and folklore — and tasks them with investigating various murders. The game was well-received, with the PlayStation 4 retail version receiving an 83 critic score and 8.5 user score on review aggregator Metacritic.
15 Firewatch
Firewatch was developed by Campo Santo and first released on PC and PlayStation 4 in February 2016, before releasing on Xbox One and Nintendo Switch later down the line.
The game kicks off with a somber text adventure that explains why the protagonist decides to escape his normal life and take a job as a forest fire lookout. Firewatchinitially appears to be a casual exploration game but soon delves into an intriguing and, at times, intense mystery adventure.
14 Beyond: Two Souls
Beyond: Two Souls is an interactive drama starring Elliot Page and Willem Dafoe. The game was developed by Quantic Dream, the same team that made Heavy Rain and Detroit: Become Human.
Like Heavy Rain and Detroit: Become Human, the game received somewhat of a “love it or hate it” reception of both its gameplay and storytelling. Beyond: Two Souls’ Metascores ranged from a lackluster 70 on PlayStation 3 to 76 on PC, but it did pick up a handful of awards, including Best Original Adventure from the 2013 NAVGTR awards.
13 What Remains Of Edith Finch
What Remains of Edith Finch was first released in April 2017 and tasked players with returning to the protagonist’s family home as they investigate numerous premature deaths that have occurred in the family and are said to be the result of a curse.
What Remains of Edith Finchimpressed fans and critics with its story and the great variety of gameplay mechanics that players use as they experience retellings of each family member’s death.
12 Quantum Break
Quantum Break had a large weight of expectations on its shoulders leading up to release, as the game was the first action-adventure title from Remedy Entertainment since the highly-regarded Alan Wake.
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Like Life Is Strange, 2016’s Quantum Break puts players in control of a protagonist who has the ability to manipulate time. Despite this unique mechanic, the game’s most interesting aspect is that it features an integrated live-action television show, where the actors perform the player’s in-game choices.
11 Until Dawn
Until Dawn was developed by Supermassive Games and released exclusively on the PlayStation 4 in August 2015. The interactive drama has similar gameplay to titles like Heavy Rain and Detroit: Become Human, with quick-time events being central to the game’s action sequences and decision-making.
However, Until Dawndifferentiates itself from the aforementioned interactive dramas with its emphasis on horror, which helps ramp up the intensity of the decision-making.
10 Heavy Rain
The highly influential Heavy Rain tends to get a bit of a bad rap today, though the fact of the matter is: not many of this list’s entries would exist without it. Quantic Dream’s Heavy Rain begins with a father tragically losing his son before his life spirals out of control shortly after. The game puts players in multiple other characters’ shoes, which was a unique feature for its time.
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Heavy Rain may not have the polish that Life Is Strange and other recent games possess, but it still tells an interesting, powerful story that will have most players gripped from beginning to end.
9 The Walking Dead
Although it seems like a distant memory now, it was only a decade ago when films, books, and video games were being inundated with stories featuring zombies, undead, or infected villains.
It’s clear how overdone the form of media was becoming when playing The Walking Dead today, as even the characters don’t seem surprised that a zombie apocalypse is taking place and many of them just accept what’s happening straight away. This particular element may have aged badly, though the rest of the first season still holds up, as it tells a fantastic story that isn’t afraid to pull on the heartstrings. The subsequent seasons weren’t as well-received as the first, but they’re still worth checking for those that found season one enjoyable.
8 The Awesome Adventures Of Captain Spirit
2018’s The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit is an obvious choice for this list as it was developed by Dontnod Entertainment and published by Square Enix, the same teams that worked on Life Is Strange.
The game wasn’t as critically acclaimed as its predecessor, exemplified by its Metascore ranging between 75 and 79. However, the game is still worth checking out for anyone who loved Dontnod Entertainment’s gameplay style in the Life Is Stange series. Moreover, the games are set in the same universe, so it will certainly be interesting to anyone wanting to know more about the game-world.
7 The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt certainly differentiates itself from Life Is Strange with its gameplay that supplements frequent combat sections with common RPG elements. However, The Witcher 3 earns a spot on this list through the similarities in decision-based storytelling.
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CD Projekt Red’s adventure sees the protagonist Geralt finding himself in numerous complex situations where he needs to use his judgment rather than his sword to find a solution. Along with the main story, the game has many memorable side quests, particularly the Bloody Baron and Ghosts Of The Past questlines.
6 Alan Wake
Alan Wake puts players in the shoes of an author, as he and his wife travel to a town named Bright Falls in hopes of helping his writer’s block. Things soon turn sinister as Alan’s wife goes missing, and strange, unexplainable events start to occur.
The game utilizes Resident Evil 4-like combat as players tackle numerous enemies throughout their journey to save their wife and resolve the horrifying mystery inspired by the work of American author Stephen King.
5 Detroit: Become Human
Detroit: Become Human is the second game on this list developed by Quantic Dream, the first being Heavy Rain. The gameplay and storytelling style of Detroit: Become Human have many similarities to Heavy Rain, most notably the way that leading characters can die throughout the game depending on the player’s decisions.
Beyond: Two Souls is another game from worth Quantic Dream that is worth checking out, though having three entries from one game studio on this list seemed like overkill. Beyond: Two Souls has an impressive cast that includes Willem Dafoe and Elliot Page.
4 The Last Of Us
Naughty Dog set a new standard for storytelling in 2013 with their morbid post-apocalyptic adventure, The Last of Us. Although it seems silly now, many people were dismissive of the game before it released, as they believed it would just be an Uncharted clone looking to cash in on the previously mentioned zombie-hype; a criticism that quickly subsided when the game was released.
The storytelling of The Last of Us was particularly innovative in how much of it is told outside of cutscenes, through more natural interactions during gameplay and notes from survivors. Moreover, the game’s heavy story showed that mainstream gaming audiences were ready for more emotional storylines that focused on difficult subjects.
3 Yakuza 0
The Yakuza series is perfect for anyone that wants to experience a story-driven adventure but doesn’t want it to be too serious. Although the Yakuza franchise touches upon numerous tough subjects regarding the Yakuza crime organization, it ensures to switch up the pace by littering the small open-world with weird and wonderful side quests and activities.
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Although the side quests are often utterly bizarre, they still tend to tell interesting stories that will keep players invested and interested in how they’re going to end, despite how nonsensical they can often be.
2 Chrono Trigger
Although this list is primarily focusing on more modern titles, it would seem unfair to ignore the retro market completely. Chrono Trigger certainly isn’t just a token entry on this list, however, as the game tells a fantastic story with an impressive number of endings.
Chrono Triggeris considered to be one of the greatest JRPGs of all time, which will likely fall short of surprising for anyone who knows that the design team consisted of people like Yuji Horii and Hironobu Sakaguchi, who were the creators of Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy respectively.
1 Mass Effect 2
When it comes to decision-based storytelling, the Mass Effect series is the first franchise that springs to mind for many people. Not only do the games require players to make difficult decisions that often have devastating consequences, but they also build a detailed sci-fi universe with Codex entries that provide intricate lore and locations that can tell a story without a single word being said.
Although Mass Effect 2is widely considered to be the best entry in the series, it’s worth playing through the first game before delving into Mass Effect 2to understand the game’s meticulously crafted world in full.
Life is Strange is out now for Android, iOS, PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.
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