How to Get the Best Experience Out of Storytelling Games

In recent years, one of the biggest gaming trends has been the cinematic, decision-making, storytelling game. Companies like Bioware had become famous for their perfect balance of action and character choices. You could play as Commander Shepard and spend your entire playthrough shooting Geth and exploring planets, while still making fun decisions on who to romance and how
renegade you wanted to be. But other companies like Telltale Games have decided to solely focus on the storytelling experience, allowing for a more intensive view on the writing, art design, and character development, and less so on the combat and mechanics. Although it’s not the most popular genre, if you’re new to this type of game or willing to experiment, take a look at the tips below to see how to get the best experience out of your playthroughs!

1. Get your reflexes ready!

If there’s one thing these storytelling games do well on, it’s the surprise button-mashing sequences. I can’t even tell you how many times I sat back, grabbed a bag of chips, and relaxed listening to the story, thinking I just had to click through the dialogue options. Next thing I know, there’s a big green E in the middle of my screen and my head is getting bitten off by a zombie. Despite there not being constant movement in these games, there can be pretty intense fight sequences or puzzles that require quick thinking and responses.

Clementine, fighting off a walker in The Walking Dead Season 2

2. Make the opposite of what you think would be a good decision. 

This could lead to some super funny and entertaining outcomes. It could lead to the 
death of your favorite character. It could also lead to their salvation. The important thing is that you consider all of your options. A choice that may seem ridiculous could lead to the most fulfilling outcome. For an example of chosing the unpopular and bad options, check out Undiscovered Gaming's Worst Decisions Playthrough of The Wolf Among Us.

3. Click. On. Everything. 

These games are famous for all of the different easter eggs hidden throughout the environments. Exploring the full map of the games during peaceful moments really give backstory to the characters, and could even influence the future decisions you make regarding them. It’s very easy to miss extra features and conversations in the background, and skip to the next main story point, so explore every perimeter and try to talk to every character. Even if it’s something minor and seemingly unimportant right now, you never know how important that character, or item, could be in the future.

Office space from The Stanley Parable. Is it just a boring desk or is it a treasure trove?

4. Be prepared for the emotion.

Bring your tissues. One of the main reasons why these games have been so popular, is because of the emotions they produce for the players. They can range from joyful and making you feel great about life, to terrible and questioning your existence as a human being. They help us examine societal norms and society's leaders, and help us become inspired by the amazing feats and heroism of the characters. The detail in the writing and background of these games is always fantastic, and they offer rare insight into characters and story that may be overlooked in other kinds of games.

The details in Gone Home add to the emotional pull.

5. Don’t Be Afraid to Start Over

If you’re seriously unhappy with your decisions in the game, take the time to reload that save. Play a second playthrough to fix choices, or make the completely opposite decisions. The makers of these games have prepared for the players to take many different paths throughout their series, and one of the fun rewards is seeing how many of these endings and outcomes you can achieve.

Max Caulfield, rewinding time in Life is Strange

Regardless of the paths you choose, the point is always to have fun. If you appreciate the stories in video games, then take some time to explore the type of storytelling game that is best for you. Hopefully, this list gave some ideas for what to play within this awesome genre. Happy gaming!

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