There was a time when video game storytelling felt like an afterthought—thin plots strung together by gameplay loops, barely trying to compete with film or literature.
But over the years, developers and writers have worked hard to prove that games can deliver narratives just as compelling as those from prestige media, and for the most part, they certainly have.
Yet, over the years, I’ve sometimes found myself finishing a game and wondering whether what I experienced was as profound as everyone says, or if I simply got swept up in the hype and marketing fluff surrounding it.
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Maybe it’s simply a case of style over substance, butwhen you strip away the spectacle and whatever makes the piece of media a video game, some stories just don’t hold up half as well as people claim.
Keeping that in mind, I want to talk about a few such video games that, for all their ambition, didn’t quite earn the narrative praise they received.
10The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
A Groundbreaking Game With a Basic Story
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
I’ll be honest, it feels almost sacrilegious to start this list with such a monumental title in gaming history.
But while its gameplay innovations were groundbreaking for its time, I’d argue thatThe Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Timeis justa simple hero’s journey that’s often praised beyond what’s warranted.
Sure, the time-skip mechanic adds a bit of depth into the mix, featuring two different worldviews from the point of view of child and adult Link.
But when you compare the narrative here to the latter Zelda titles—especially its direct sequel—its storytelling feels held up more by nostalgia than by its actual strengths.
9God of War III
Insane Spectacle With a Messy Story
God of War III
The originalGod of WarTrilogy boasts one spectacle after another, featuring a tale of brutality, betrayal, and revenge.
But I’m going to be real here: the story’s a bloody mess if I’ve ever seen one, and there’s no better way to talk about this than to narrow the focus down to our raging ball of anger, Kratos.
After the first game, it feels like the writers didn’t know what to do with the Ghost of Sparta, reducing him to little more than an “angry man who kills everything”.
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So, by the timeGod of War IIIrolled around, Kratos seemed more like a full-fledged villain of the story than the anti-hero he was presented as originally.
I can’t shake the feeling that it’s only because of the Norse saga—its quieter, more introspective Kratos—and a generous dose of nostalgia that people have started giving the Greek saga’s story more credit than it deserves.
8Detroit: Become Human
Big Ideas, Clumsy Execution
Detroit: Become Human
The biggest gripe I have with David Cage and his games is that they are overly confident in their profundity while simultaneously being about as subtle as a sledgehammer.Detroit: Become Humanis the quintessential David Cage game in that regard.
It’s got a captivating premise, one of Cage’s best characters in Connor, and its themes of AI oppression and civil rights are fascinating.
But the execution ends up being somewhat disappointing, with clunky writing, forced moral choices,somewhat predictable plot twists, andideas that are ripped straight from history without nuance.
The story doesn’t leave a bad taste in your mouth per se, but it plays out in such a clichéd way that it ends up feeling more hollow than something truly thought-provoking.
7Horizon Zero Dawn
A Safe and Risk-Adverse Story
Horizon Zero Dawn
This one’s inclusion is perhaps the easiest to explain on this list. You see, there isn’t anything wrong withHorizon Zero Dawn’sstory—it’s just not as groundbreaking as people claim it to be.
The sci-fi mystery surrounding the old world’s downfall and the survival of the machines provides an intriguing premise, but in the end, it doesn’t play out any different than a standardpost-apocalyptic video game, complete with info-dumps that also slow the pacing.
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Now, there are certainly some big highs within the plot, especially in its second half, but the game is also a little too focused on Aloy, leaving the supporting cast severely underdeveloped.
It’s a safe story that plays it completely by the books, but in doing so, prohibits the basic premise and world from shining as bright as it potentially could.
6The Last of Us Part II
A Revenge Tale That Trips Over Itself
The Last of Us Part 2
Some praiseThe Last of Us Part IIas a bold and subversive tale that fits right into the world Naughty Dog built with the first game, while others see it as manipulative, unfocused, and gratuitously bleak in places.
I don’t have a horse in this particular race, and in many ways, I think Neil Druckmann achieved exactly what he set out to do.
But I will say one thing. The narrative choice offorcing you to play from the perspective of a character you’re supposed to hate simply doesn’t landas Naughty Dog may have intended.
Instead of sparking a nuanced discussion on revenge and violence, the story mostly leaves you feeling frustrated, conflicted and relieved that it’s over. For that reason, it’s well-deserving of a spot here.
An Excellent Western With Poor Pacing
Red Dead Redemption
I’ll be the first to admit thatRed Dead Redemptionis a gripping Western, with John Marston as the perfect protagonist and an ending that ranks among gaming’s best.
But there’s a simple reason it belongs on this list. Much of the story feels like an extended series of errands, bogged down by repetitive missions thanks to Rockstar’s now-infamous game design formula, which becomes painfully apparent in the second act when the pacing slows down to a crawl.
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For me, though, the biggest heartbreaker is how the story underutilizes its strongest asset—its characters.
Despite a cast full of memorable figures, only a handful, like Bonnie and Dutch, get the development they deserve. Many call it a storytelling masterpiece, but in truth, its character work outshines its actual plot.
4Grand Theft Auto V
Sharply Written Satire With a Disjointed Narrative
Grand Theft Auto 5
Continuing the trend of bashing Rockstar,Grand Theft Auto Vis next on the chopping block. While the game wasa masterclass in open-world design, its story was all over the place, and our perfectly chaotic trio of protagonists never had their arcs fully come together into a cohesive narrative.
The thing I feel the most strongly about Rockstar games is that the journey and the player’s own experiences in the game matter more than what the story entails.
GTA V nails its satire of capitalism and the American Dream, but its overarching narrative is a disjointed mess.
It’s a fun time, sure, but its story doesn’t deserve the same praise as its game and world design.
3Kingdom Hearts III
A Plot Lost a Long Time Ago
Kingdom Hearts III
While most of the video game stories on this list make some sense,Kingdom Heartsoverarching narrative simply does not.
What started as a mostly cohesive Disney-meets-Final Fantasy adventure has since spiraled into a convoluted mess of clones, time travel, and increasingly ridiculous lore dumps.
For this one, I’ll go as far as to say thatKingdom Hearts III’sstory is one of, if not, the most incompetently writtenJRPGsin recent history. It has gotten to the point that I’m actively afraid ofwhat they might be cooking up with the next gamein this series.
I know that many try to defend it as complex, but guys, complexity doesn’t equal good storytelling—especially when it’s so chaotic and full of retcons that you need to destroy your mind map of the series every single time.
2Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
An Incoherent Grand Finale
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
Hideo Kojima is a visionary, butMetal Gear Solid 4is where his self-indulgence overtook his storytelling.
The game is more cutscene than gameplay, andwhile its emotional moments hit hard, they’re buried under hours of exposition, convoluted plot twists, and excessive fan service.
To this day, I have a hard time believing who The Patriots turned out to be, along with all the borderline-insane plot twists I experienced in the final two acts of the game.
It’s an emotional gut punch, knowing that is the last time we’ll hang out with Solid Snake, but God is it bloated and unbelievably incomprehensible.
1BioShock Infinite
Mind-Bending, Also Mind-Numbing
BioShock Infinite
Few game narratives have been hyped as much asBioShock Infinite, and yet, few crumble under scrutiny as hard.
At first, it seems likea thought-provoking take on American exceptionalism and quantum mechanics, but the more you analyze it, the more shallow it becomes.
The racism commentary is underdeveloped, the story contradicts itself, the parallel timeline idea is half-cooked, and the final hour of the game is so nonsensical it makes my brain hurt.
It’s a game that tries to be deep, but in reality, it’s just a collection of half-baked ideas tied together with cool aesthetics.
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