Fans of Silent Hill love the series not just for its horror setting, but the sheer level of worldbuilding from folks at Konami. Unlike Capcom’s Resident Evil, Team Silent’s brainchild focused on psychological horror and suburban mysteries. Essentially, Silent Hill explores the notion of a person’s nightmares coming back to haunt them – literally. Interestingly, Silent Hill‘s success proved that gamers appreciate titles with captivating narratives.
Thankfully, Silent Hill didn’t remain alone after its success. Moreover, more developers have begun creating more story-intensive games while exemplifying their genre’s staple tropes. Essentially, horror or no, Silent Hill helped pave the way for titles with more powerful narratives. However, which games are those?
10 The Last Of Us
As with Silent Hill, The Last of Us plays exactly like a survival horror game with action-adventure twists. In the game’s universe, 2013 marked a horrific Cordyceps fungus outbreak that ravaged the United States. Decades later, this outbreak brought civilization to the brink of destruction. Players need to fight former humans infected with the Cordyceps, now transformed into horrific creatures. In the story, smuggler Joel forms a fatherly bond with young Ellie as they traverse the larger part of the United States.
Unlike other survival horror titles, The Last of Us focuses more on the personal lives of Joel and Ellie instead of the world around them. In turn, its core narrative sparks a deep exploration of the human condition, and how people can retain their humanity in the midst of crises like the Cordyceps outbreak.
9 Outlast
Horror fans will delight in Outlast for its unique take on creating a game out of the found footage genre. Essentially, Outlast takes place from the perspective of a journalist. Moreover, the gameplay focuses on the protagonists using their camcorder to investigate odd events in the areas they visit. The games so far take place in a psychiatric facility and a suburban village, each with its own stories.
However, perhaps where Outlast shines is its take on bringing players deep into the horrors of found footage. In Outlast, players need to unravel the true nature of their settings and the horrific “enemies” they have to run from. Moreover, Outlast grounds these horrors into believable stories, making the series a must-play for Silent Hill fans.
8 Disco Elysium
Horror fans might argue that Silent Hill without the enemies would still make for an impressive game, albeit focusing this time on exploration and horror via the environment. Interestingly, Disco Elysium does exactly that. However, Disco Elysium makes a mark on fans by being an RPG without a combat element. Instead, skills focus on social interactions and observations.
Interestingly, this take on mechanics reflects the nature of Disco Elysium, being a mystery RPG. In the game, players take on the role of an amnesiac detective who will soon rediscover his true identity while solving various cases around town. Players will appreciate Disco Elysium for its lore’s depth, as creator Robert Kurvitz actually created 6,000 years’ worth of backstory to flesh out the setting.
7 Firewatch
Players looking for a story as immersive as Silent Hill without horror might appreciate Firewatch. This adventure game follows Henry, a fire lookout assigned to the Shoshone National Forest just after 1988’s Yellowstone fires. However, Henry embarks on a life-changing adventure of his own when strange events happen between him and Delilah, his supervisor. Eventually, the game resolves a mystery that plagued the National Forest years back.
Unlike other adventure games, Firewatch heavily focuses on dialogue. Henry talks to Delilah via a walkie-talkie, with their various dialogue interactions changing the course of the game. Players also have the ability to walk around the forest, allowing them to discover clues that will uncover Shoshone National Forest’s secrets.
6 Her Story
Fans of Silent Hill‘s gripping narrative might appreciate the unique take of Her Story in terms of gameplay. Created by Sam Barlow, Her Story switches up the mystery genre by being an interactive film instead of a full-fledge video game. Essentially, the game sets players as an investigator working on a missing person’s case involving Simon Smith. However, players can only find Simon by combing through police interviews with Hannah Smith, Simon’s wife.
Essentially, players need to solve Simon’s disappearance by weaving clues depending on what they’ve seen on the footage. Unfortunately, players can only view short clips of interviews, meaning the game forces them to figure out the context of the questions Hannah tries to answer.
5 Until Dawn
Horror fans looking for a more confined experience will appreciate Until Dawn. Seemingly a love letter to slasher films, Until Dawn follows the story of eight young adults as they have to survive being trapped on Blackwood Mountain for an entire night. The game itself features multilinear narratives with various options, allowing players to never have the same playthrough. Moreover, player decisions affect which characters survive until the end of the game.
Interestingly, Until Dawn‘s rather small setting allows it to create quite an immersive story, especially when it comes to the dynamics of every character. Moreover, players will soon realize how these characters relate to a tragic incident that happened among them that they tried to forget.
4 Man Of Medan
Fans of Until Dawn‘s multilinear setting will appreciate Man of Medan. In this interactive drama survival horror game, players need to “complete” the unfinished story of the Curator. Essentially, one player or multiple players can control five characters aboard a ghost ship. Moreover, players slowly uncover the mystery of the ship as they explore it – forming or breaking relationships and making hard decisions along the way.
In terms of story, Man of Medan explores the mystery of an abandoned American warship. Apparently, the ship’s crew mysterious disappeared after stopping in a Chinese port. On the present day, a group of adventurers hoping to find some sort of wreckage in the same site the warship has been in, hoping to find treasure. Unfortunately, they find something horrifying instead.
3 Heavy Rain
Players who want a more narrative take on a horror title will appreciate Heavy Rain. In this action-adventure slash interactive drama, players take on the role of four protagonists as they get involved with the Origami Killer. Essentially, the Origami Killer is a serial killer who uses rainfall to drown its victims. The game’s main protagonist, Ethan Mars, gets wrapped up with the Origami Killer after his son Shaun gets kidnapped by the serial killer, just months after Ethan’s first son Jason had died in a car accident.
Essentially, the game gives a captivating and compelling exploration of the human persona, especially for someone like Ethan who has to face a crisis when he himself has yet to come to terms with a previous traumatic experience.
2 Life Is Strange
Interestingly, fans looking for a more sci-fi adventure might want to try out Life is Strange. This 2015 graphic adventure title essentially plays like a choose-your-own-adventure game. However, this time, protagonist Max Caulfield soon discovers she has the ability to go back in time and redo most of her decisions. As a result, Life is Strange explores the consequences of time travel in a captivating story.
Narrative fans looking for an interesting take on interactive stories will enjoy Life is Strange. Its rewind mechanic is something novel for a 2015 game, and its butterfly effect greatly demonstrate the grave consequences of small actions.
1 Gone Home
Fans of story-focused games might appreciate Gone Home for its down-to-earth and immense focus on narration. However, instead of being an interactive drama title, Gone Home actually presents itself as an FPS exploration title. Essentially, the game takes in 1995 as Katie Greenbriar returns to Oregon to visit her family. Unfortunately, her home is empty, devoid of her entire family.
Interestingly, the game doesn’t feature a lot of interactive elements. Rather, players have to explore the house to determine for themselves what had happened to her family and the rest of the home. As a result, Gone Home plays exactly like a non-linear title.
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