Ranking PS4 Games Based Purely on Their Narrative

Perhaps one of the biggest advancements in the development of video games is how we can tell stories using animated characters, a killer script and the right combination of buttons on the controller. Storytelling in video games has accelerated to a whole new level (no pun intended) in the past twenty years, some encouraging us to play the game all over again (like we would our favourite film), and others making us sob our eyes out.

It's no questioning that video games can be misjudged as just addictive and violent, and whilst these things aren't untrue, gaming is still a great platform – if not one of the best – to tell stories. We need to start thinking of gaming as something which isn't dissimilar to a comic books, or a novel – but with characters that we can control.

As I discussed in my blog post about immersive forms of storytelling, there is nothing more gripping than experiencing a series of events as the main characters. Their choices are your choices, and that makes thing a whole lot more exciting...

While my experience with story-driven games originates on consoles like the Nintendo Wii –  playing out Pixar-tie in classics, such as Ratatouille and Wall-E – next Gen consoles have taken advantage of innovative technology, voice acting, sound and music design, and visual art to deliver all kinds of interesting narratives. Some offer a shorter experience, pulling at our heart strings in the process; whereas others are fully packed Triple-A experiences bought to us by big publishers with an even bigger budget.

So what a better way to explore the role of storytelling in video games than to rank my top ten favourite PS4 games purely based on their narrative...*

*Note: this is a subjective list – so yours might be different.

I've ranked each entry based on the following areas:

1) Plot

2) Setting

3) Characters

4) Originality

5) Structure/Pacing

6) Ending/Resolution

7) Dialogue

8) Emotional Impact

No 10 – Shadow of the Colossus Remake (2018)

Originally released in 2005, Shadow of the Colossus follows the journey of Wander as he sets out on a quest to hunt down and slay sixteen Colossi (giant stone creatures), who's souls he needs to recover the unconscious girl he travels with.

This game is undoubtedly the strangest entry on this list – firstly, because the character says nothing throughout the entire game, and secondly because we know very little about him. So why did I include him at all? Surely good stories include deep characters and with a rich background? But that's the thing – we may know nothing about Wander, who he is and where he came from; but his actions speak volumes. He wants to achieve nothing but save the girl he's travelling with – be it his sister or lover, we don't know. And to make things more interesting, each time he kills a Collosi, a little part of his own soul is damaged, reminding us that the lengths we go to to help others can undeniably take a toll on us, especially when the path ahead is rough and scattered with threats.

But Shadow of the Collosus teaches us to keep going. It's a story essentially about pushing ourselves to the limit for those we love and the many consequences that come with it. And, of course, how far we can bend our own morals before they snap entirely...

No 9 – Bendy and The Ink Machine (2017)

Bendy and The Ink Machine is a brilliantly terrifying experience. The story unfolds like this: You are a cartoonist working for a Disney-esque animation studio. You visit said animation studio but nobody is there. You suddenly find yourself in an underground 'workshop' where the characters of your imagination have been brought to life – and they're all part of this cult that worships Bendy, the studio's front-of-house mascot (a haunting rip-off of Mickey Mouse) And if Bendy finds you? Well... you'll have to play the game to find out...

This inky masterpiece of storytelling poses a fantastic question: What if all of our favourite cartoons were evil and out to get us? Horror games can certainly be too-much at times – they can throw us into the deep end and try and jump-scare us silly until we've had X amount of heart attacks. Such approaches – including in books and films – eventually wears off, and we become immune to these little slices of scary. Bendy isn't always present in the game – the developers structure the experience so that you're gradually hinted at his presence, until the big reveal. Like Shadow of The Colossus, the experience is limited when it comes to narration and character dialogue, but the visual storytelling is sublime. It's all fun and games, until it's not. Both unpredictably whacky and cartoonishly chilling, this one's a hit.

No 8 – Spiderman (2018)

Even as a child, I only watched a small sprinkling of superhero films, and I find myself even less engaged now as an adult. There's something about being a superhero-fan which takes a lot of commitment, and I'm certainly not in the mood to dress up as Batman anytime soon! Nonetheless, we find new and exciting ways to engage with these simple yet profoundly compelling stories we read in comics when we were kids. Spiderman on the PS4 doesn't just draw you into Peter Parker's story, but makes you feel like the spider himself – and what better way than to immerse yourself into the genre than by swinging from skyscraper to skyscraper.

No doubt I have some little bug-bears about superhero stories – such as how many of them are orphaned, or that the villains tend to be big-shot billionaires or mad scientists – but all in all, Spiderman on the PS4 delivers a fast-paced experience that is both exhilarating to play and fun to navigate – no matter your age or knowledge of superheroes!

No 7 – Ghost of Tsushima (2020)

I have never taken an interest in samurai games before I delved into the story of Ghost of Tsushima. The game takes place in feudal Japan during the Mongol Empire's invasion of the island of Tsushima; you play as Jin Sakai, a samurai warrior who will need to bend what he knows about honour to defend his home.

I am a big visual storyteller, and I love visual elements in stories themselves. Ghost of Tsushima – luckily – is a work of art, with glistering forests of gold and never-ending fields of red and pink and blue – and so on. Such a beautiful backdrop contrasts massively with the gritty narrative at the game's centre, something which takes it's lead protagonist on a journey of 'no return'.

This is a game which truly makes you question what it means to have the moral upper-hand, and when it is time to change your beliefs to save those we love. Sappiness aside, the game's story exceeds in luring us in using not only character dialogue and authentic Japanese settings, but an environment that narrates our entire experience: wind guides us to our goals, foxes show us hidden secrets, golden birds lead us to places people have forgotten amidst the conflict.

For a game so wrapped in war and bloodshed, the outlook is painted in a rainbow of hues, the story dense with emotion.

No 6 – Red Dead Redemption 2 (2018)

Never did I think i'd enjoy this wild western cocktail of a game – for one, I've never watched a Western film, nor taken any previous interest in the genre. But it turns out, like previous games on this list, the story doesn't require you to be a gunslinging enthusiast to enjoy the experience. In the game, you play as Arthur Morgan, a member of a band of outlaws who are ever so slowly fizzling out of existence in the late 1800s – in a new America, where the law is closing in and things are getting desperate.

Red Dead Redemption 2 lassos the number six spot above Ghost of Tsushima for its rich storytelling. Storytelling that makes these characters, in this gritty, harsh world, so believable and convincing. The connections you make with characters are valuable as you progress, and it just so turns out that the power of good old human choice has a big effect on how certain individuals fair. As the title suggests, the main character is on a path to redemption, and whether or not they are likeable and/or relatable depends entirely on how you make them act – whether they rescue that bride or rob that bank. It's certainly a slower-pace game, but the build towards the final climax is so well-structured that it makes it all the more worth waiting for.

No 5 – Alien Isolation (2014)

Creative Assembly's Alien Isolation is, to date, considered the most accurate recreation of Ridley Scott's original 1979 blockbuster hit. The story is relatively straightforward – you're stranded on a space station with a killer alien – but the true fear is created in the slow build through different sections of the narrative, and the way the developers drip-feed suspense using a variety of lightning effects, steam, sinister sounds mixed in with the silence, and darkness. Lots of darkness. Like Bendy and The Ink Machine, Alien Isolation's approach to horror is subtle until it's petrifying. We enter the game knowing nothing and being completely unfamiliar with our environment; and when we do meet our foe (The indestructible alien), our sharpest senses are put to the test as we navigate a maze-like facility, the creature never too far away.

To add to the suspense, the alien's AI learns from your mistakes as it hunts you, searching in places you've already hidden and listening out for every last squeak of your trainer on the glossy metal floor. To make the experience ten times more terrifying, you can turn on settings linked to your controller which allow the game's AI to listen out for any heavy breathing and other sounds coming from the room you are playing it in, meaning that you can never really escape the threat. But it's the gradual build in tension that captivates here and makes the story so engaging – just not sure if my heart would take it if I tried to play the campaign again...

No 4 – Horizon Zero Dawn (2017)

My real first introduction to the Playstation's storytelling capabilities, Horizon Zero Dawn is a unique gem of a game. Set thousands of years into the future, we follow the journey of Aloy, an outcast archer, who steps outside of her tribe to explore a world crawling with 'machines' to learn about her past, and – most importantly – her purpose. Horizon does something very simple that makes the story all the more enjoyable to experience – it starts you off small, and it builds. Like a 500-page thick fantasy novel, this world is dense with tribes, religions and geographical context, so it would easy to lose the player if the game's pacing wasn't so developmental. The world expands as you delve deeper into its history, and your own past; new machines challenge your combat skills, and secrets buried deep in the Earth trigger a chain of cataclysmic plot points.

Above all that though, Horizon's lead character is captivating to play. Not only is her voice-acting ice-pick sharp, but she's one of those characters that you really do care about. Because, as strange as it sounds, we can all relate to Aloy in some shape or form; some of us are looking for our 'purpose' while others are begging to know where they truly came from.

Like all great stories, Horzon Zero Dawn is jetted forward with a fantastic question. And that question is 'why?'. Why is Aloy so important? Why should we care? And the answers are just as thrilling.

No 3 – God of War (2018)

Norse Mythology has never been more immersive in God of War, a story of fatherhood, legends and sacrifices. For some unknown reason, I'd put myself off playing God of War for a solid six years, and when I played through the story last year (2024) – and its sequel, 'God of War: Ragnarok', I was utterly delighted.

My only criticism of the narrative was that it was too goddamn short – this is a world you want to drink, not just dip your toes into. The characters are brilliantly realised, with close references made to their mythological origins, making it all the more authentic for lovers of legends. But you needn't be a myth-nerd to be absorbed by the story, and I'd encourage pretty much anyone to explore this PS4 classic purely for the fantastic bond the two father and son protagonists have, albeit cold at times, and the more than awesome action sequences. From fast-paced fist-fights to battles amidst lightning and dark magic, the story never lets you pry your eyes away from its brilliance. Perhaps one of the most impressive feats of the gameplay, however, is the one-take style the camera takes, never cutting or jumping forward and backwards or presenting you with a loading screen. You are locked into the narrative, and for all the right reasons. This is a stupendous story.

No 2 – Little Nightmares (2017)

This short but powerful box of horrors will no doubt come as surprise for many as it sneaks into the number 2 spot. Playing as 'Six', you navigate a gloomy ship, which is riddled with all varieties of unsightly creatures. Unlike Bendy and The Ink Machine and Alien Isolation, Little Nightmare's approach to scary is never waiting to pounce out at you. Instead, the gruesome cooks, the nursery attendant with her spindly, too-long arms, are searching for the game's main character – and all the time, somewhere deep inside, you are waiting to learn what will happen if you get caught. The fear of being found has never been so spine-chilling. The lack of music in the game make elements such as sudden screeches and gurgling of pipes all the more nerve-racking...

But the game works magic in other areas as well – for one, the setting looms over the player, packed with shadows and uncomfortable spaces, and is often distorted to add to this overall twisty – and very disturbing – work of art. Once again, we are asking questions throughout the story, including where we are and what's happening in this mysterious place. But I won't spoil it for you. Let's just say that it's called 'Little Nightmares' for a very specific reason.

No 1 – The Last of Us Part 1 (2013) and The Last of Us Part 2 (2020)

No surprise here! The Last of Us series is regarded as one of the most exceptional examples of masterful storytelling in video games. Even if you don't own a console, you can watch the hit TV series – both seasons one and two, which paint a gritty and gut-punching picture of the world on the game discs. To swiftly summarise the story: it's basically The Road by Cormac McCarthy meets I Am Legend, except the zombies are referred to as 'Infected' –  corpses riddled with fungal grossness. Lovely!

The game's narrative, like others on this list, is what makes it so special, and repayable, even if it hits hard in so many places. Acclaimed writer Neil Druckman has created characters that not only feel real, but also tangible and likeable and hate-able and questionable in ways that we've never seen before in video games. But that's the true magic of what makes this classic so enjoyable and entertaining from start to finish: you don't feel like you're playing a game – you feel like you're playing a story. A story so rich with emotion that you don't expect your favourite characters to get killed, and for your least favourite foes to suddenly capture your heart. Any good game developer should look to The Last of Us for a masterclass in creating a hooking narrative – one that makes you bite your nails and shout at the screen.

Did you agree with my list? Feel free to add your own thoughts and feelings on the above in the comment section below!

Thank you for reading! :)