Most Well Written Game You've Ever Played?

[Obscura]

What games have you played where the writing just completely blew your mind?

For me, that game is Planescape Torment. That game is my "Holy Grail" in terms of writing. I don't think I've played a game since (it was released in 1999) that matched the quality of its writing.

What are yours?

[nyaatrap]

Kuon no kizuna by Fog
It was one of the best VN competed with Ever 17 in Japan. Sadly, The company got some misfortunes and lost it popularity.
Ever 17 is the 2nd btw.

[sciencewarrior]

Ever 17 *blew* *my* *mind* even though I managed to spoil myself going to the Wikipedia page.

The dark humor in Fallout 1 and 2 makes the series my Western favorite.

[Obscura]

These J games sound interesting and I'd love to play them! Unfortunately I'm in that corner of the world known as "the wee continent of Mac games." (I used to have bootcamp installed, but unfortunately no longer...)

Fallout 1 is definitely on my top 10 list. (I don't remember 2 that well, unfortunately.)

[Androol]

Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura.
The steampunk world was very different from what was common in video game at the time and it was very free to play and finish it a lot of time and always found somthing new.




Just to dont say fallout ^^.

[sapiboonggames]

For me, it's Ace Attorney series. It's got humor, mystery, romance, and some fan-services. It's not that complicated but it can make one get absorbed in the mystery. It's the best one in my opinion

Ever17 is great too, but I haven't played the true end yet (just finished the AI girl's path), so I can't claim it to be the best 'yet'.

[SusanTheCat]

For best writing:

Portal, an interactive novel from 1986
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal_%28 ... e_novel%29

It isn't a branching story, more of an all-text Kinetic novel. (Similar to Digital: A Love Story) It blew me away when I was a teenager.

I tried to get my son to play it and the interface threw him completely off the game. (Awesome CGA graphics!)

I recently got the html version of the game and re-read it on my ebook. The story was still fun to read and interesting to see what predictions have come true.

Susan

[Nuxill]

I don't know if it counts because it's a platformer... but Psychonauts has some of the best dialouge in any video game I've ever played. Every character and level is packed with personality and the writing has made me laugh time and time again.

Another game I like the writing of was Deadly Premonition. The story was fun (if not a little ...weird near the end) but the characters are definitely the main selling point of the game and more than make up for the mediocre shooting sections in my opinion.

Also as mentioned above me Ace Attorney is another great series. It's probably the first (if only) big name VN I've ever played through completely.

For me as long as the characterizations are solid and the writing has a sense of humor about it it doesn't matter what's going on in the game, I'll probably enjoy it.

[Zylinder]

The best game that I've played in terms of writing was probably Dragon Age Origins. The immersion was there, especially with the way it had 6 different origins that helped suck you right into the game. It had just enough lore to not choke you to bits, and all the characters IMO were some of the best I've seen in the games I've played, especially Alistair. (Though maybe that doesn't say much, since I usually play JRPGs orz) There wasn't a single character that I disliked, the story flowed from end to end without problems, and some of the interaction between your party members were hilarious.

[Mink]

Well, I'm not home and can't look at my stack of games, but two immediately come to mind: Dead Space 2 and Beyond Good and Evil.

Beyond Good and Evil:
-Has a deep, well-written story, and as far as I can remember doesn't rely on video game cliches/stereotypes. Characters that are meant to be likable are actually likable, and villains do come off as threatening. Having protagonists I actually want to succeed*, and when something bad happens, like

Pey'j getting attacked and kidnapped while Jade went to look around by herself

is actually a sad moment, because I actually cared for that character.

...This game is so underrated. 8| Reading an interview with the devs made me sad, especially since they knew the game wouldn't sell well (but did get good reviews), but didn't compromise or just start pandering. For that, I salute them.

Dead Space 2:
-This is mainly listed here because the writing actually SURPRISED me, and improved from the first game. To avoid TL;DR, I'm just going to say for a game who's marketing I found completely immature and asinine**, it's actually pretty good. And I lol'd when Ellie called Isaac a nerd after he tells her he's an engineer.

*Unlike Gears of War, in which I've come to the conclusion both sides should lose, humans AND locusts. That's a rant for another day, though

**Also a rant for another day. Extra Credits says it more eloquently than I could, because I'd be tempted to just write, "Go to hell, EA" 500 times.

[LateWhiteRabbit]

Silent Hill: Shattered Memories. The story is so nuanced and well-layered, and the way it manipulates player expectation and personality is masterful. Nothing is without significance, and the entirety of the narrative moves around in circles like the well-oiled mechanics of a clock.

[Nuxill]

I remember wanting to buy Beyond Good and Evil when I was younger. Too bad I didn't have a Playstation 2 at the time. Maybe I'll pick it up on amazon if it's still available.
A while back I heard somewhere that they might be making a Beyond Good and Evil 2, but I don't remember how long ago that was and if it was just fan speculation or the devs saying they wished they could make a sequel.

[ludeshka]

Aaaaah, Planescape Torment.
Seriously, the writing is poetry there.
In the "completely inspired way to put phrases together", yes, it has to win because it's just so pretty.
In the "a story that stays with you forever" I have to vote SaGa Frontier 2.
The game is hated by many, but I'd never played anything like it, before, or since. EPIC.

[Mink]

I remember wanting to buy Beyond Good and Evil when I was younger. Too bad I didn't have a Playstation 2 at the time. Maybe I'll pick it up on amazon if it's still available.
A while back I heard somewhere that they might be making a Beyond Good and Evil 2, but I don't remember how long ago that was and if it was just fan speculation or the devs saying they wished they could make a sequel.

You can get it on GOG; that's where I got it after I lost my PS2 copy...somehow.

And there is/was supposed to be a sequel, but last I heard it was stuck in development hell. I also saw the words, "make it more accessible/for a general audience", and all I could do was sigh.

[Nuxill]

I remember wanting to buy Beyond Good and Evil when I was younger. Too bad I didn't have a Playstation 2 at the time. Maybe I'll pick it up on amazon if it's still available.
A while back I heard somewhere that they might be making a Beyond Good and Evil 2, but I don't remember how long ago that was and if it was just fan speculation or the devs saying they wished they could make a sequel.

You can get it on GOG; that's where I got it after I lost my PS2 copy...somehow.

And there is/was supposed to be a sequel, but last I heard it was stuck in development hell. I also saw the words, "make it more accessible/for a general audience", and all I could do was sigh.

Wow! I never heard of that site before; it looks awesome. I'm going to keep it in mind if I ever get a PC.

It's a shame it's stuck in development hell, though there's always hope. I mean, if Duke Nukem forever can come out (even though that game is an absolute turd) then I'm sure one day it could happen. Perhaps with the success of Double Fine's Adventure Game Kickstarter more middle sized game companies will look into alternative methods of money raising to make the games they want.

Has anyone found any good, short flash games with good writing? Is that even possible?