Welcome to my newest insane project!
One of my favorite projects is the “BigNerdGaming Awards.” It’s a yearly project where I take ten different categories and rank my top 10 from the year in each one. It’s mildly unhinged and showcases my true devotion to ranking things.
After a friend of mine asked me what my favorite video game soundtracks of the 2020s were, I suddenly had a revelation. What if I did the BigNerdGaming Awards on another level? And thus, here we are. This is part one of ten for the BigNerdGaming Awards for the decade. I intend to do all of my BigNerdGaming Awards as individual lists, and update them throughout the rest of the 2020s as new games make their way on.
Today, we start off with a big one. These are my ten favorite narratives of the 2020s so far.
What I love about storytelling in video games is how the medium allows stories to be told in such different ways. While it’s not on the list, Elden Ring was nominated for “Best Narrative” at The Game Awards despite much of its storytelling being within various item descriptions. Some stories here can go in vastly different directions depending on your choices. Some games have optional stories that are as good as the main story. And with all of gaming, it’s significantly easier for a story to be told with context clues rather than directly giving you every detail. Admittedly, I’m not sure if gaming always lives up to its storytelling potential. In the end, gameplay will always take precedence for most of us, but I’m excited to see where this art form continues to go in this decade and beyond.
With that, here are my top ten narratives of this decade so far. Check back in once in a while, as I will continue to update this as the decade goes on. Also, I am going to keep this spoiler-free.
10. The Case of the Golden Idol
I know that this one will be an odd choice compared to many great stories that didn’t make it onto this list. I like Baldur’s Gate 3, God of War: Ragnarok, Banishers, and many more. But when I make lists, I have to be real with myself and not worry about perception. And Case of the Golden Idol has a story that I just cannot get out of my head.
A lot of my praise for this story comes down to how well it is told and how they manage to tell it in a very video game way. Golden Idol is a point-and-click detective game that does not directly tell you its story in any way. You are tasked with solving a series of murders, but it turns out that they are all connected in certain ways that you will slowly uncover as you go.
Eventually, the scale of the story evolves in ways that I never expected. It gets pretty damn dark and twisted, and it never stopped surprising me. Entering each new case and trying to figure out what the hell happened, and then slowly realizing how it ties in with everything else never got old. I think this is easily one of the most underrated stories of the decade so far.
9. Hades
Hades delivers one of the better endings in gaming history. The last boss fight before the true ending has a very shocking moment, and it leads perfectly into a fascinating ending that wraps everything up perfectly.
But the real power of the storytelling in Hades is how it manages to make the roguelike genre work to its advantage. This genre traditionally has next to no story because of the repetition, but Hades actually makes that work to its advantage. It’s exciting to head back to the House of Hades every time and see what events are going to happen next. Interacting with people that you also happen to be fighting with in a slightly more polite manner is always interesting as well. But then, when the main story does progress, there are too many good moments to count. Hades deserves to be here for its story, but also for breaking boundaries and truly moving a genre forward.
8. Silent Hill 2
I never played the original Silent Hill 2, and I had next to no interest in its remake.
Simply, I didn’t know ball. I don’t generally enjoy survival horror games from that era, but I had no idea any of them had a story on this level.
The game starts about how you’d expect, but when you meet Maria for the first time in particular, you quickly start to realize that this game is going to dive a lot deeper than most in this particular genre. Every character is fascinating, everything means more than you initially think, and the last few hours are absolutely nuts. There is one big moment after another, and the “leave” ending continues to stick with me. But I’ve also talked to friends who got other endings, and they can’t imagine it going any other way. This was one hell of a story that I didn’t see coming at all.
7. The Last of Us Part II
This is one of several games on this list where I wasn’t always fully invested in the story. The Last of Us Part II has an early moment that was completely stunning, especially before spoilers became rampant. After that, it turns into a pure revenge story that I just didn’t feel fully engaged with.
But then, the story gets turned on its head. A big twist happens that I did not feel good about in the slightest at first (which is by design), and then, I slowly came to accept it for the brilliance that it provides. I’m not saying that there can’t be valid criticisms of this twist, but I also think a lot of people out there didn’t ever even allow themselves to accept it.
There are many stories out there about the downsides of getting revenge, but The Last of Us 2 is definitely one of the most effective I’ve ever seen at showcasing that.
6. Paranormasight: The Mermaid’s Curse
This game genuinely has one of my favorite video game plot twists ever. It comes when the game has already blown you away in multiple ways and has an “ending” that would at least be passable in most cases. But after that, a twist hits that literally changed how I perceived everything that happened before it. It’s crazy good.
Also, I love that this series utilizes the video game medium so well. It lets you make some choices as to what order you experience the story in, and it’s meta in some very cool ways. The Mermaid’s Curse, and the original Paranormasight are both stories that would not hit close to as hard in any other medium, and I love them both for that, but especially The Mermaid’s Curse.
5. Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
It’s kind of crazy that this game made the list and ended up this high, because I was actually a bit disappointed with it in multiple ways. I think it drags a bit at times, and I disagree with several big choices it makes regarding its villain.
But there are still a few moments in there that blow your mind in that usual Kojima way. And then the last two hours come and justify every single second you spent on it. Death Stranding 2 has one of the craziest endings I have ever seen in gaming, both in quantity and quality. I can’t say much more out of fear of spoiling it, but man, am I glad that I kept some measure of faith in Kojima throughout my entire time playing it.
4. Metaphor: ReFantazio
In so many RPGs, you kick things off with what I’d say is the “recruitment phase.” This is essentially where you meet all of your party members, and each one has a mini-arc of sorts. In many cases, these arcs aren’t super connected to whatever the main plot is.
Metaphor flips that on its head. It always has urgency, even when you are meeting each of your new crew members, and each party member has a fantastic backstory in their own right. The plot starts off strong and never lets go through 70+ hours.
Also, one moment in this game is so good that I went ahead and rewatched it as I was doing this write-up, and it gave me chills in the same way it did when I first experienced it all over again. This game is just masterful with its storytelling, and I can’t wait to see more from this world in the future.
3. Cyberpunk 2077
Cyberpunk 2077 has a story that can play out in many different ways. I think that always makes it tricky when doing these ranks, but this game stands out either way. If you have a more positive relationship with Johnny, I truly love the journey that the game takes you on with him. It’s complicated, infuriating, heartwarming, and beautiful all at the same time. That dynamic is easily the star of the show for me.
But there are plenty of great moments outside of that. Honestly, I’d say Cyberpunk is ranked this high mostly because of its side quests as well. It has what I would call the best side quests in video game history. So, as much as I enjoyed the main story, having dozens of elite stories surround that main story is a big help in ranking this so high. Side quests are an interesting element to the formula when making this list, but Cyberpunk is so good that I felt like I had no choice but to include them in my thought process.
2. Chained Echoes
A good chunk of the games on this list are huge, cinematic games with epic orchestral scores, realistic graphics, and top-tier voice acting.
All of these things can absolutely enhance an experience, but in the end, the power of a great narrative and strong writing will always transcend everything else. The way that people feel the first time they play Chrono Trigger or Final Fantasy VI even today proves that, and in a more modern sense, Chained Echoes helped me learn that all over again a few years ago.
This is a start to finish narrative masterpiece. It’s an amazing exploration of guilt, among other themes. It has big-time politics and stakes, and it has an ending that I will never forget. From the first big moment of the game, I was locked in, and it never let go. If you are one of the many who haven’t played Chained Echoes yet, you really need to get on it. This is a special experience narratively.
1. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Expedition 33 isn’t just my favorite video game narrative of the 2020s. It is my favorite video game narrative of all time.
Everything about this world and its characters is so incredibly captivating. It has several of the best plot surprises in gaming history, and even the “optional” stories carry some of the heaviest emotional weight that I’ve ever seen in a game.
Sometimes, when a game has an incredible narrative, you begin to question whether it will be able to sustain it for the entire experience. We’ve all likely been burned a few too many times, and if something is that good, I almost can’t help but shield myself a bit to avoid disappointment. But Expedition 33 never lets up. It carries its momentum through the entire experience. To top it off, it delivers two of the best endings in gaming history, depending on what you choose. As much as I love all of the stories below this one, this was not even close to a debate for me. This is the pinnacle of video game storytelling to me.
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