I have a confession: I rarely replay narrative games. Sure, there are gaming experiences I’m always returning to: the blocky comfort blanket that is Minecraft, the psychedelic space exploration sim No Man’s Sky, the compelling card game Slay the Spire. But I find it hard to go back to a game based around a single story.
Plenty of role-playing narrative adventure games are built precisely to invite multiple playthroughs. Every time you set foot in Mass Effect, Persona or most recently Baldur’s Gate 3, there are a wealth of narrative T-junctions waiting, all leading to very different experiences. Although the overarching plot may be consistent, subtle changes will occur depending on which characters you date, dismiss or destroy (now there’s a gamified reality TV concept for you). But with very linear narrative adventures, I often think: Why go back – I’ve seen everything, haven’t I?
I’m replaying The Last of Us Part II Remastered, and this has led me to see how utterly wrong I was. The first time I played Naughty Dog’s brilliant post-apocalyptic sequel, it was such a raw, breathless experience I barely gave myself the time to think about the world or the character motivations. I charged through it, engulfed in the physical, visceral dread and violence of the action. The dramatic set pieces certainly had an emotional effect, but I felt bludgeoned by them, like someone telling you their life story while challenging you to 12 rounds of mixed martial arts combat.
Now I’m playing again, the refinements are coming through. Released from the narrative uncertainties, I’ve been able to slow down. I’m reading all the letters left lying bloodstained on hotel floors. I’m studying the shop fronts, the skeletons of dead cars, the sunlight over grassy wastelands, and I’m listening to the characters. My appreciation of the specific traumas that drive lead character Ellie are deeper and more complicated; the tiny, very specific moments that signal antagonist Abby’s redemption cry out to me now from the darkness. The pacing feels orchestral rather than industrial. I’ve even smiled a couple of times.
Replaying a linear narrative game is like rereading a favourite novel: nothing changes apart from you. The way you feel, the age you are, the experiences you’ve had – these all contribute to your new experiences with the text. Vladimir Nabokov once said, “One cannot read a book; one can only reread it. A good reader, a major reader, an active and creative reader is a rereader.” Perhaps we should think about linear narrative games in the same way.
Now that I’ve opened this experiential door, I will definitely keep it ajar. I guess movies and short novels are easier to re-experience thanks to their comparative brevity, but if we look at story games as an escape, a vacation from the new, they’re always worth revisiting. And they have things to tell us about ourselves. I wonder what I’ll feel now about the narrative games I think of as my old favourites – Portal 2, Bulletstorm, Enslaved: Odyssey to the West. How different am I, a decade after I played them?
I’m not ruling out playing The Last of Us Part II a third time. The remastered edition comes with director’s commentaries and other extras. And I can always increase the skill level, which itself forces a very different experience. What I do know is that there are things I missed about the characters when I played during the long winter of lockdown in 2020. It’s a realisation you have as you get older: there is too much world and too much to love for just one time around.
What to play
As a fan of folktales and folk horror, I had to recommend Howl, a new turn-based strategy adventure from Viennese studio Mi’pu’mi Games. You’re a hearing-impaired hero who finds herself alone amidst an acoustic plague – everyone who hears the deadly supernatural howl becomes a monster. It’s a tight puzzle-like experience, similar to titles such as Xcom and Into the Breach where you set number of moves each turn in which you can move, hide or attack. The picturesque woodland locations have the aspect of a storybook, adding a genuine folkloric feel to the action.
Available on: PC, PS5, Xbox
Estimated playtime: 10+ hours
What to read
Sony has revealed the most downloaded PlayStation games of 2023. In the US, Hogwarts Legacy led the pack, and in Europe it was EA Sports FC 24. There are a lot of sports sims and many longstanding franchises on the list, but new original titles? Only Cyberpunk 2077 (above) and Hogwarts in the PS5 list, while PS4 added Gang Beasts, A Way Out and The Forest – a much more interesting collection, showing perhaps how that market has matured (or that people who buy big triple A titles tend to move on to new machines).
Game designer Sam Barlow has two new projects. According to reports, the creator of innovative narrative games Immortality and Telling Lies, is working on a sci-fi adventure in the style of Immortality, and a horror game harking back to the Silent Hill era.
TechRadar has an excellent article about Game’s decision to end the sale of used software. The high-street chain has long allowed players to trade in their old titles and buy new(ish) ones at a reduced price, making them more accessible to players on lower incomes. While there are still places to trade old games (CeX for example), there was something legitimising about seeing pre-owned games in a traditional retail environment.
What to click
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth review – happy yakuza holiday
Pokémon with guns: why Palworld could become 2024’s biggest game
‘I dreamed of blocky pixels’: the strange, sweaty, sociable early days of gaming
Question Block
This week, in an exciting reversal, I decided to ask rather than answer the question. So going back to the theme of my article above, I went on to X with the following query:
“What narrative game would you recommend for its replay value?”
I had lots of responses, from Heavy Rain to Firewatch to Bioshock, all of which I can endorse (OK, Heavy Rain is a weird mess of a game, but interesting and definitely replayable). James Ainsworth recommended the Dishonored series: “Linear levels, but so many different ways to approach objectives and explore the areas”. Liam McGuigan suggested one of my favourite action games, Titanfall 2: “It’s satisfying to play, each level feels different yet cohesive, and it’s a short enough playthrough so it never outstays its welcome. You’re done in less than ten hours, but you can play it ten times and it’ll be fun every time.” Alistair Hatch chose Super Mario World. “I have replayed it every year since its release,” he wrote. “It’s not the story, but the joy from the game play that makes it so much fun each time.” Lastly, referring to Return of the Obra Dinn, Stephen Best tweeted, “Nothing will beat the first time and discovering the story twists […] but there’s still joy in spotting something new each time.”
