The 25 Best Interactive Story Games

The Ace Attorney series of visual novel adventure games debuted on the Game Boy Advance in 2001. In the nearly 20 years since, the franchise now includes over 10 game titles, an anime, and a live-action Japanese film. The player takes control of several different defense attorneys to investigate cases, gather evidence, cross examine witnesses, and determine the truth.

Though each game was initially released for a Nintendo handheld device, most of them have been ported to mobile. The original Ace Attorney Trilogy HD is available for iPhone. Spinoff titles Apollo Justice Ace Attorney (iOS and Android), Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies (iOS and Android), Ace Attorney Spirit of Justice (iOS and Android), and Ace Attorney Investigations - Miles Edgeworth (Android) are also on mobile.

The text-based Choice of the Deathless is a "necromantic legal thriller" that requires you to fight your way up the ladder of an elite demonic law firm. The game is available on iOS, Android, and Steam. You can also play for free on the game's website.

The 2018 adventure game Detroit: Become Human centers around three android characters who are each controllable through episodic chapters. Players have the ability to make choices on their behalf that can drastically alter the story, resulting in their success, failure, or even death. Episodes can even be replayed to discover new possibilities from choices that were not made in the previous play-through. Detroit: Become Human is available on PlayStation 4 and PC through the Epic Games Store.

Depression Quest is an interactive fiction game that lets you play as someone living with depression. You must navigate everyday life events while managing your illness, personal relationships, and job. The game can be played on the web or through Steam, and is available through a pay-what-you-want model.

Device 6 is actually a novel that just happens to have some casual gameplay elements. Surrounding the text are pictures, sounds, and even puzzles crucial to making progress and figuring out what is really going on in this thriller. For book lovers craving their first taste of interactive fiction, this is a good place to start. Device 6 is an iOS exclusive, and it ranks among the best iPhone games you can play.

Dreamfall Chapters takes place in a universe with parallel cyberpunk futuristic and magical fantasy worlds. You control several characters as they explore environments, continue the story, and solve puzzles. There are no combat or stealth elements in the game, with Dreamfall instead focusing on the player discovering secrets through exploration and making pivotal choices that will alter parts of the story.

The title serves as the third and final installment of The Longest Journey series. The game is optimized for the PC, but has also been ported to the Xbox One and PS4. You can get the first two games—The Longest Journey and Dreamfall: The Longest Journey—in a bundle on Steam.

Firewatch is a first-person adventure game that puts you in control of a fire lookout named Henry in the Shoshone National Forest. The game takes place in 1989, and follows Henry as he explores the forest and uncovers a conspiracy.

A majority of the game’s story and dialogue comes from Henry’s interactions with his superior over a walkie-talkie. Players decide how the two interact and how their relationship develops over the course of the game. Firewatch is available on all major gaming platforms.

Firewatch is a first-person adventure game that puts you in control of a fire lookout named Henry in the Shoshone National Forest. The game takes place in 1989, and follows Henry as he explores the forest and uncovers a conspiracy.

A majority of the game’s story and dialogue comes from Henry’s interactions with his superior over a walkie-talkie. Players decide how the two interact and how their relationship develops over the course of the game. Firewatch is available for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Switch.

Though The Last of Us features a fair amount of zombie-killing action, its real focus is on tense post-apocalyptic atmosphere and the tender bond between its protagonists. You control Joel through combat and survival scenarios as he escorts Ellie, his teenage surrogate daughter, to safety.

Players experience a decimated America filled with pain, heartache, and zombies on a truly cinematic level. The Last of Us Remastered is available on PlayStation 4; The Last of Us II is currently in development.

Installments of the Life is Strange series present themselves as episodic adventure video games focusing on different characters. You control the main character to affect the environment, obtain items, and interact with the characters around them. Player decisions will directly alter the story of the game.

Life is Strange is available for PS4, Xbox One, iOS, and Android. Episode One is free to play on Steam, and the full season is available as a bundle for $19.99. Life is Strange: Before the Storm is on Steam, PS4, and Xbox One, with a free version for iOS and Android. Life is Strange 2 is available for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

Though The Last of Us features a fair amount of zombie-killing action, its real focus is on tense post-apocalyptic atmosphere and the tender bond between its protagonists. You control Joel through combat and survival scenarios as he escorts Ellie, his teenage surrogate daughter, to safety.

Players experience a decimated America filled with pain, heartache, and zombies on a truly cinematic level. The Last of Us Remastered is available on PlayStation 4; The Last of Us II is currently in development.

The supernatural horror adventure game Oxenfree centers around a group of kids who must uncover the truth about a mysterious island. There are no cutscenes in the game, so all dialogue takes place during gameplay, allowing the player to focus as much or as little on the story as they want.

Oxenfree has multiple endings and no game-over screen, which means the player's decisions directly alter the game's storyline. It's available on PC, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Android.

For years, Telltale Games has been making adventure games based on beloved properties like Batman and Fables. However, The Walking Dead series trumps them all. The series' plots, characters, and writing are arguably better than the show and the original comic on which the game is based.

You can currently buy Season One, Season Two, and Season Three, as well as an enhanced bundle with the first two seasons. The fourth and final season was released just as Telltale Games went out of business, so this is the end of the line.

Like a great Twilight Zone episode, The Stanley Parable quickly goes from mundane to crazy, clever, and almost existential. As you're guided through an office building by a seemingly helpful narrator, you end up exposing just how meaningful (and meaningless) choice really is inside a video game. Narrative and game mechanics come together to form meta-commentary at its finest (and funniest).

For years, Telltale Games made adventure games based on beloved properties like Batman and Fables. However, The Walking Dead series trumps them all. The series' plots, characters, and writing are arguably better than the show and the original comic on which the game is based.

Though the game was released in episodic chapters, you can now own The Walking Dead: The Telltale Definitive Series on PC through the Epic Games Store, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.

As an action role-playing game set in an open world, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is easily the most traditional entry on this list. Though you'll be fighting many enemies, you also have to make important decisions throughout the game as the Witcher Geralt, like who lives and who dies. Some decisions might even seem inconsequential, only for it to change the course of the game later on. Released in 2015, Witcher 3 is now available for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Switch.

Want more? These PC games painstakingly recreate mundane tasks, from driving to farming, for small but dedicated audiences.