A few years ago, people would say video game stories couldn't compare to movies or TV. Games were about gameplay. If you wanted a good story, read a book or watch a movie.

That was always kind of wrong. But it's definitely wrong now.

Some of the best narratives being made right now are in games. Stories that couldn't be told in any other medium.

But also—some game stories are still absolutely terrible. So here's the thing: game narrative is getting better, but the average is still held back by people who don't understand how to write for the medium.

Why Games Were Bad at Story

Early games were limited by technology. You couldn't have much dialogue. You couldn't have cinematic quality cutscenes. So stories were usually minimal.

But there's a deeper issue: most game writers came from technical backgrounds, not storytelling backgrounds. They thought about story as exposition to explain the gameplay, not as something integrated with it.

You'd have a game about a soldier, and the story would be: "Enemies are over there. Go kill them." The story served the mechanics, not the other way around.

How Games Tell Stories Differently

Here's what makes game narratives special: they can give you direct control over how you experience the story.

In a movie, you watch a character make a choice. In a game, you make the choice. Your emotional investment is different.

A game can show character through gameplay. How does the character move? How do they interact with the world? What can they do? This is information a movie can only convey through acting and cinematography.

A game can give you agency in ways other mediums can't. You don't just watch a character struggle with a moral choice. You struggle with it. You feel the weight of it differently.

This is why some game stories hit harder than movie or TV stories. It's a different tool with different capabilities.

The Writing Got Better

Modern games have better writers. People who studied narrative. People who understand how to write for the medium instead of just adapting film/TV techniques.

Games like Disco Elysium proved that game narratives could be genuinely literary. Could have prose quality as good as novels. Could tackle complex themes.

Games like The Last of Us Part II showed that games could do moral ambiguity and emotional complexity as well as prestige TV.

Games like Outer Wilds proved that games could be about mystery and discovery in ways completely unique to the medium.

These aren't anomalies. This is a shift in what's possible when good writers work in games.

Why So Many Game Stories Still Suck

Here's the problem: not everyone writing games understands the medium.

Some writers treat games like interactive movies. They want cinematic cutscenes and minimal gameplay. When you're forced to watch a 10-minute cutscene with no agency, that's not storytelling adapted for games. That's just a movie interrupted by gameplay.

Some writers don't understand that gameplay and story need to be integrated. They create a disconnect. The story is about diplomacy and talking things through. The gameplay is murdering everyone. That's not integrated narrative. That's confused design.

Some writers still treat story as secondary. "Here's our game mechanic. Now let's add a story that justifies it." That backwards approach produces stories that feel tacked on.

The best game narratives have writers and game designers working together from the start. Story informing design. Design enabling story.

The Medium-Specific Tools

Games have narrative tools that other mediums don't:

Environmental storytelling - You can tell a story through the space itself. What's in the room? What's broken? What's been lived in? This creates atmosphere and narrative without dialogue.

Player agency - You can create narrative branches based on player choice. Your actions matter. The story changes based on what you do.

Pacing through gameplay - You can use gameplay to control pacing. A difficult section creates tension. An easy section provides relief. Gameplay rhythm is narrative rhythm.

System-based narrative - You can tell a story through how systems interact. An economy game's story is about how markets work. A squad management game's story is about resource allocation and sacrifice.

Diegetic storytelling - The story is happening in the game world through objects, dialogue, radio broadcasts, found documents. The player discovers the narrative through exploration.

Movies and TV can't do most of these things as effectively.

Why This Matters

As game narratives have gotten better, gaming has become a viable medium for serious artistic expression.

You don't have to choose between story and gameplay anymore. The best games integrate them so seamlessly that the distinction disappears.

This has made games more appealing to different audiences. People who love stories but didn't play games now play games for narrative.

Some Games Are Still Missing This

Many AAA games still have terrible narratives because they're held back by:

• Bloated cutscenes that prioritize graphics over substance
• Stories that exist to justify multiplayer mechanics
• Narratives written by committee (too many voices, no cohesion)
• Cinematic ambitions instead of medium-specific storytelling
• Lack of narrative-gameplay integration

You can see a game trying to be a movie instead of embracing that it's a game. Those games usually feel off.

My Recommendation

If you've dismissed game narratives because of bad experiences, try some newer games. Try games specifically made by writers who understand the medium.

Try Disco Elysium if you want literary-quality prose. Try Outer Wilds if you want mystery and revelation. Try What Remains of Edith Finch if you want emotional intimacy. Try Baldur's Gate 3 if you want emergent narrative from systems.

These aren't anomalies. There are genuinely excellent narratives being made in games.

But also: if you play a game with a bad story, don't assume all game stories are bad. Assume that particular writer didn't understand how to write for the medium.

Game narratives are getting better because the medium is maturing. Writers are learning how to make stories that could only exist in games.

That's exciting. And it's only going to improve.