10 Best Games That Don’t Spoon-Feed Narrative

Seeing as we are living through the TikTok era, where thirty-second clips are about as much as many of us can consume without losing focus.

It’s fair to say that games have had to adapt to their audience, and many games have opted to dumb down their storytelling by signposting just about every detail, and explaining every nuance just in case players didn’t quite grasp them.

While it’s understandable that developers want to ensure players get what’s going on to ensure player retention, it’s still pretty damn patronizing at times. Which is something that braver developers understand, as they try to allow players to draw their own conclusions and put pieces of the puzzle together for themselves.

It does require very strong game design, but these games prove that you can still tell a deeply affecting and engaging story without spoon-feeding every last detail to players.

10

Outer Wilds

A Universe of Possibilities

Outer Wilds is a grand time loop puzzle at its core, but under the surface, it’s an enigmatic tale of a lost civilization and the technological wonders they left behind.

However, if you want to uncover the secrets of the Nomai, you need to explore thoroughly, make sense of each surreal planet’s gimmicks, and learn from your mistakes as you inevitably die over and over again.

Aside from the grand goal of breaking the time loop, you are never told where to go, what to do, or given a single quest marker. Progression is up to you, and the driving force is the insatiable hunger for knowledge you will feel as you explore.

All you retain upon each death or loop is the things you learn along the way. But these discoveries are what come together to make up the surprisingly deep and nuanced story of Outer Wilds. You’ll need to work for it, but if you take to the stars with earnestness, you’ll uncover one hell of a tale.

9

Return of the Obra Dinn

Nautical, Nuanced Narrative

Return of the Obra Dinn is a game that shrouds its story in a veil of mystery, and only through using your deductive brilliance will you be able to make sense of the big picture and understand what happened to everyone aboard the ill-fated ship.

You could easily discover the fate of some members of the crew, and call it a day on your report. But that would be a disservice to what Lucas Pope has cooked up in this grand 1-Bit detective hit.

Those who dig deeper, find the links and clues to decipher the identities of each crew, and establish the meaning behind each tableau presented will uncover a supernatural undercurrent to this naval disaster.

Then couple that with the warm, fuzzy feeling that comes with an eureka moment, and you have a recipe for a detective game experience like no other.

8

INSIDE

Mind Control Mayhem

When playing your way through a dark and dingy dystopian title, you naturally expect a little bit of smoke and mirrors. In these worlds, everything is so alien and unlike our own, but usually, there are cutscenes, lines of dialogue, or helpful NPCs to help bridge the gap ever slightly.

Well, INSIDE does nothing like that, instead presenting a side-scrolling platformer devoid of any dialogue that forces you to make sense of the sinister setting for yourself through the surrounding environment.

You’ll encounter bleak locations, hostile entities that would rather you were dead, and surreal sci-fi oddities that hint at evil on a grand scale. It’s a tale of oppression, and potentially revolution if you can avoid detection in this horrific dystopia.

7

Dark Souls

Read Those Descriptions!

In truth, we could include just about any Soulsborne game here, as each of them uses the same framework when it comes to storytelling, but I include the original Dark Souls as this is the game that set the tone for those that would come after.

This title employs traditional narrative devices, such as cut-scenes and NPCs, but uses them sparingly, often to deliver cryptic scenes and lines that raise more questions than provide answers.

Plus, the game opts to pack a lot of lore into the game’s environment, and the in-game item descriptions, asking players to join the dots and extrapolate the story beats from the small fragments the game provides. It’s a bold design choice, but one that Souls fans adore, and one other games would benefit from adopting.

6

Hollow Knight

As Deep As Deepnest

Speaking of Souls titles, we have a 2D offering that combines Souls staples with the classic Metroidvania blueprint. Hollow Knight is a title where you can absolutely follow the standard path of progression, beat the bosses as they come, and get the bad ending before calling it a day.

But if you do, you miss out on a wealth of detail that expands on the lore of Hollownest and its inhabitants, past and present.

If you want to fully understand the lore of this world, you need to engage with the side content of DLC. This means conquering the White Palace, enduring the challenges of Godhome, engaging with all the NPCs, deciphering their cryptic backgrounds, and perhaps then you will gain the full picture when it comes to the wonders and the misery of Hallownest.

To play this one as a simple hack-and-slash platformer is a big mistake. So, take some time to explore every nook and cranny of this expansive map, and seek out those additional endings, as they are incredibly rewarding.

5

Control

Under New Management

It’s always nice to see a game that caters to both casual action fans and players who like to delve deeper to uncover the meaning behind it all. Control is one such game that allows you to either play it as an all-out action affair or something that’s a little more nuanced and involved.

You still get to enjoy a brilliant New Weird tale if you just mainline the story with no regard for the world around you. However, to gain a comprehensive understanding of the FBC and its finer details, you will need to engage with the extensive notes, TV segments, and world-building side content that are available in abundance.

Either way, you can fulfill your role as the Director. But, if you don’t read up on the supernatural oddness happening all around you, you’ll roll credits with more questions than answers, I assure you.

4

NORCO

A Little Southern Charm

There are some games that combine so many themes, pack so much detail in, or lean into the absurd to an extent that it’s hard to keep up with what’s on screen.

In case there was any doubt, NORCO is one that does the latter, offering an absurd story that starts grounded in reality but quickly escalates to incorporate religious cults, digital gods, AI, and much more.

It blurs the lines between what is real, what is symbolic, and what is just pure fantasy. Which means that players have to pay close attention, explore down every narrative alleyway, and draw their own conclusions, which might differ wildly from another player. But that’s the beauty of the abstract surrealism of NORCO.

The game never holds your hand as themes ramp up in complexity and scale, and instead expects you to do the heavy lifting for better or worse. However, in my humble opinion, it’s an approach that makes this game one of the finest point-and-click games of all time.

3

Gone Home

Home Alone

If you’ve ever played a walking sim, you’ll know that you tend to get out what you put in, as narrative and exploration is at the heart of the experience. However, I would argue that few have rewarded thorough exploration quite like Gone Home.

Through natural play, you’ll uncover enough info to make sense of what happened to your sister and uncover family drama at the Greenbriar estate. However, if you don’t dig deep and check out every loose item lying around, you’ll miss a metric ton of detail.

It’s a title that drops you into proceedings with absolutely no info, and forces you to deduce everything with nothing but what remains in your family home. It’s a short game, but one that offers as much detail and intrigue as you are willing to seek out.

2

Shadow of the Colossus

A Colossal Plot Twist

Sometimes games don’t choose to be enigmatic, but instead have to evoke a sense of mystery and intrigue to make sure the big plot twist lands. This is very much the case in Shadow of the Colossus, because, aside from the grand goal of killing the various Colossi of the land to revive your lost love, there is little narrative to speak of here.

This leads to periods where you’ll be killing these grand beasts, filling in the blanks as you go, and wondering why you’re even killing these majestic creatures at all. Then, when the deed is done, the big reveal knocks you on your ass.

The game doesn’t spoon-feed you narrative, as there is an intentional absence of narrative for the most part. Allowing you to question your role as a player, and lament each decision to kill each Colossi on the way to the next. It’s a timeless classic and one you need to play if you somehow missed the original and the lovingly crafted remake.

1

Clair Obscur Expedition 33

Tomorrow Comes

In our review, we referred to Clair Obscur as a game that shows but doesn’t tell, which makes the sublime narrative of this new JRPG masterpiece all the more interesting and gripping.

Never are you beaten over the head by the intentions of each party member, or the details that make up the moving parts of the fractured continent. Instead, you’re given just enough to answer a question while posing about three new ones.

The flawless visuals, score, and voice acting help make this possible, but it’s not just the presentation that allows for this cryptic approach. It’s the superb worldbuilding, the sense of scale and scope of the world, the depth of each character, and the rewarding exploration on offer that reveals more pieces of the puzzle.

It’s this narrative restraint that keeps you hooked right to the end credits, and I only wish that more games of this nature would trust their players.

At every turn of the expedition, there is a hunger for knowledge, as if you’re frantically turning the page of a good book to find out what happens next. Which, to be, is the sign of an iconic and well-paced narrative.