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Essays 20 April 2023, 14:57

15 Indie Games With Best Storylines

We play games for many reasons, and one of them is the desire to learn fascinating stories. We've prepared a list of the most interesting indie games that bring the most original plots, deepest meta-critique of society and extraordinary narratives.

Table of Contents

Firewatch

  1. Year of release: 2016
  2. Creators: Campo Santo
  3. Story in a nutshell: a long-distance relationship of two firewatchers

In Firewatch, a game set in the 1980s, we follow the story of a man who looks for solitude after the death of his wife and gets a job in fire lookout. The first day of his work is marked by strange events – his supervisor Delilah also experiences them, and the two communicate via radio throughout the rest of the game. An additional layer of mystery is the fact that the events seem linked to a conspiracy theory surrounding the 1988 Yellowstone fire.

A central element of Firewatch are conversations with Delilah through quite a unique dialogue system. We thus shape the relationship between the two, which in itself may not be anything extraordinary, but the delivery in the game left critics and players alike in awe. It's just a well-presented story with interesting characters, all done with sensitivity and a unique visual style.

Sebastian Kasparek

Sebastian Kasparek

Feels most comfortable in the editorials section at GRYOnline, and sometimes he also writes reviews. A fan of all kinds of culture, who reaches for works from both the top and the bottom shelf. He likes to immerse himself in niche games and productions that are hard to define unequivocally. Appreciates an analytical and critical approach when dealing with cultural works. Prefers unique, strange, visually crazy games that boldly tackle more interesting narrative issues. Addicted to high-octane productions, fighting games, big robots and arcade. Huge fan of Grasshopper Manufacture studio. He likes to catch up on forgotten "hidden gems" from years ago, especially from Japan. Interested in games and the people behind them. Strongly addicted to cinema. A huge fan of Mads Mikkelsen and Takeshi Kitano. He also loves Inio Asano's manga and Tsutomu Nihei's aesthetics.

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