What makes a good game? Mechanics, graphics and compelling characters are all integral, but it’s the narrative that all of these other elements hang upon, like an apple tree bearing fruit. A convincing, emotional and intriguing narrative will keep players coming back, and will make a game live on in their memory long past they’ve forgotten how pretty a mountain was or what buttons to press. 2024 has seen its fair share of engrossing stories, but one title stood head and shoulders above the others.
Metaphor: Refantazio is built on the legacy of the Persona series, and, if you’re searching for reasons why it’s an incredible piece of storytelling, that tells you everything you need to know. Studio Zero took many of the overarching ideas from the school-based series and transplanted them into a fantasy world that brims with imagination, while staying close enough to our world to ensure that its questions about race, racism, religious fanaticism and democracy hit home every single time.
The grand narrative sees you take the reins following the king’s death, and with his only heir cursed into incapacity, the violent and power-hungry Louis attempts to take control. However, the king foresaw the power vacuum that he’d leave. Instead, he paved the way for a magically-infused election, where the most popular person in the kingdom would become king. You’re thrust into the midst of this, setting out to right wrongs, challenge preconceptions, and build a following, with both the vibrant and personable characters you help on your way, and the populace at large.
Metaphor: Refantazio is constantly surprising, with many moments that will shock and challenge you, all the while pushing you ever forward towards glory and power that you never asked for. To say too much more would ruin some of the game’s best moments, but rest assured, this is by far the most powerful, emotional and exquisitely-crafted story of the year.
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth – Runner-up
We all know that feeling where something incredible comes to an end, and you see the next act take to the stage. “Oh god,” you think.”How are they going to follow that?” Cast your mind back a few years and you’ll remember thinking the same after FF7 Remake came to a close. Little did we know that when Rebirth took the stage it would knock our expectations out of the park.
FF7 Rebirth follows Cloud and friends as they escape to the country, desperately seeking to defy the winds of fate and prevent what we all know is coming. There is a lot of ground that we know it has to cover, and a lot of expectations that the devs know they have to meet. The devs, too, must have wondered how they were going to follow that.
If they did, it never shows. We’re been gifted a beautifully paced game, with an expanded (and heavily tweaked) version of the story we all know and love. The narrative additions all add a welcome dimension and depth to the characters we grew up admiring. Though it is effectively a new story, it remains faithful in all the ways that matter.
Cast any fears for Icarus aside: Rebirth is a genuine delight.
– Nic B
Threshold – Runner-up
Some games impress with their epic narratives spanning dozens of hours and a myriad of locations and characters. Others convey their story through casting fantastic voice actors to lend gravitas to emotional and exciting dialogue. Threshold, on the other hand, takes us back to basics, taking place as it does in a single small environment and with the minimal amount of characters. What it does offer, however, is a focused and psychologically fascinating narrative that unpacks itself through a series of unanswered questions and mysteries.
You find yourself manning a remote outpost with the responsibility of blowing a whistle to ensure that a huge train runs on time. Where are you? Why are you there? What is the train carrying? Where is it going? All of these questions and more occupy your mind as you carry out the basic duties of your job but things are not as simple as they seem. You have to bite into glass canisters of oxygen to survive as the air is so thin so the longer you go the more bloody the onscreen lips indicator gets. You find mysterious notes from a former worker hidden around the station. And as the game progresses some of the answers to your questions are revealed but in a way that only leads to more questions.
While a relatively short and focused experience, the questions raised and the narrative buildup in Threshold will stay with me for a long time as it’s a game that uses the interactivity of the form to tell a unique story.
– Steve C
Honourable mentions (in alphabetical order)
What game narratives stood out for you through 2024? Let us know in the comments.
