Unforgettable characters, plot twists and endings that linger long afterwards: some games tell stories worthy of the greatest novels. This Top 100 gathers the retro games with the most memorable storylines, based on RomWize's reassessed scores. For each one: its current score, its versions, their rarity and their collector value.
"Alternating between the Cold War and the near future, this entry introduces choices that genuinely bend the fate of its characters. Carried by a charismatic antagonist and unexpected dilemmas, the tale gains in depth and consequence. This narrative boldness stands clearly apart from the routine of the warfare blockbuster."
"Woken in an abandoned laboratory, a mute test subject must outwit the traps of artificial intelligences as funny as they are cruel. Beneath the spatial puzzle hides a black comedy of sparkling writing, carried by cult dialogue. A rare puzzle game that makes you laugh as much as it makes you think, it became a benchmark."
"Hunting for a lost child across a war-scarred world becomes a frame for hundreds of human stories, with no clean heroes or villains. Geralt moves through it as a weary mercenary forced into grey choices, where a side quest can weigh as much as the main road."
"On the trail of a mythical Himalayan city, Nathan Drake finds himself betrayed and then caught in a race against a warlord. A peak of the video-game blockbuster, the tale strings together set pieces, betrayals and romance with cinematic mastery. Its perfect balance of spectacle and emotion made it a benchmark."
"Under the guise of a new infiltration mission, the tale tips into a postmodern vertigo about information, manipulation and the construction of reality. Bold to the point of provocation, it traps the player as much as its hero. Long misunderstood, this visionary script is today hailed as prophetic."
"Marked by destiny as the Dragonborn, a traveller faces the return of creatures thought long gone. More than a plot, it is a whole world that opens up, peopled with tales the player writes for themselves through their choices. This near-infinite narrative freedom turned the adventure into a lasting cultural phenomenon."
"Under the guise of a new infiltration mission, the tale tips into a postmodern vertigo about information, manipulation and the construction of reality. Bold to the point of provocation, it traps the player as much as its hero. Long misunderstood, this visionary script is today hailed as prophetic."
"Marked by destiny as the Dragonborn, a traveller faces the return of creatures thought long gone. More than a plot, it is a whole world that opens up, peopled with tales the player writes for themselves through their choices. This near-infinite narrative freedom turned the adventure into a lasting cultural phenomenon."
"Washed up in an underwater city given over to the madness of a libertarian dream, a man discovers the underside of a utopia turned nightmare. The tale questions free will and ideology up to a twist that became legendary. A political critique disguised as an FPS, its writing proved that the genre could think as much as it shoots."
"Beneath its warm colors, this odyssey revives the golden age of the J-RPG: a chosen hero, a cursed bloodline and companions you grow to truly love. Humor walks beside tragedy, and the tale dares a finale of a scope few modern games still attempt."
"The first entry to leave the Second World War behind, this military thriller plunges into a modern conflict where bold strikes and betrayals follow one another. Its nervy staging and a shocking twist that became famous upended the codes of the FPS. More than a shooter, it brought genuine narrative tension to the genre."
"Three endless days, a looming moon and a doomed world: seldom has an adventure been so anxious and melancholy. Behind each mask one senses a grief, a regret, a life on borrowed time. Strangely adult for its era, this parable of time and loss keeps haunting those who explore it."
"An elite agent thrown into a geopolitical crisis on the brink of war, Sam Fisher foils a digital conflict with global ramifications. An espionage thriller in the Tom Clancy mould, the tale wins you over with its taut realism and its hushed dilemmas. Its cold, credible tension makes it a peak of narrative stealth."
"Woken after years in a coma, a broken soldier hunts those who annihilated his unit, haunted by a phantom pain. The tale takes on revenge, language as a weapon and the loss of self with a chilling ambiguity. Its final twist, which questions the hero's very identity, extends the series' boldest reflection."
"Back home after his mother's death, a young man finds himself swept up in gang wars and police corruption. A vast fresco on family, loyalty and social ascent, the tale embraces a whole era with unprecedented scope. Funny, brutal and surprisingly sincere, it has stayed cult."
"Against a backdrop of war between empires, a fallen princess leads a resistance where reasons of state, revenge and a quest for legitimacy intertwine. More political and adult than its forebears, the tale embraces a near-geopolitical scope. This narrative ambition, long debated, today wins over with its maturity and coherence."
"Twenty-two minutes, a dying solar system and curiosity as your only compass. No weapons, no imposed goal: only knowledge that accrues until it changes everything. This archaeological ode to discovery delivers one of the most moving endings the medium has produced."
"Haunted by an obsession inherited from his mentor, Nathan Drake hunts a lost city in the Arabian desert against a secret society. This time the tale digs into the hero's past and his filial bond with his old partner. Between breathless chases and more intimate emotion, this flamboyant entry extends Drake's legend with panache."
"To end a galactic war, a super-soldier wages the final confrontation against a fanatical alliance and a devouring scourge. The epic conclusion of the first trilogy, the tale combines grand spectacle with the bond between a hero and his AI. Its breadth and its farewells sealed the legendary status of the saga."
"In a small town drowned in fog, a string of murders pushes a group of high schoolers to hunt for the truth inside a televised world. Beneath the investigation hides a luminous point about self-acceptance and the courage to face one's shadows. Warm and clever, this tale of friendship remains one of the most beloved of the genre."
