There’s nothing quite like a good story to immerse you in a video game world and keep you hooked from start to end. However, there are some occasions where you get more bang for your buck than you might have expected at first glance.
Occasionally, games make the ambitious decision to provide multiple concurrent or separate storylines, often having them converge in a very satisfying way as the game comes to a close.
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Sometimes, it’s through multiple characters, and sometimes, one character gets to explore multiple paths depending on the player’s choices. There is plenty to choose from, so let’s check out some of the best games with multiple storylines.
10The Witcher 2: Assassin’s of Kings
Such a Small Choice, Enormous Consequences
The Witcher 2: Assassin’s of Kingsis perhaps the game that served as the ultimate foreshadowing of the immense success the series would enjoy later down the line, as it’s a quality RPG in its own right.
It did this by providing a sprawling story with great writing, combat, and quests along the way.
One unique thingThe Witcher 2did is give you two entirely different main quests to follow, depending on what you choose to do at a pivotal point in the story.
You have the option to throw your companion Roche his sword or not during a fight with the main villain, Letho, and depending on what you choose to do, you follow a path allied with Roche or a completely different one with another character, Iorveth.
What plays out is completely different and warrants multiple playthroughs, which nobody is complaining about as the game is fantastic, whichever route you decide to take.
9Octopath Traveler 2
Which Path Will You Take?
Octopath Traveler 2
Octopath Traveler 2is one of the games that has led to theresurrection of the JRPG in recent years. Whether you’re a fan of old school JRPGs, or if you prefer the more interactive approach the new games in the genre have taken, you’ll find everything you want and more in this package.
The best part aboutOctopath Traveler 2is, of course, the multiple paths you can take through the game. Each character has their own storyline that eventually converges with the others.
The result is a beautiful, winding path through an epic story that gives you multiple storylines to play through with a variety of characters that all bring a unique moveset, storyline, and characters to interact with throughout.
8Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Three Stories, Three Characters, One Great Game
Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Fire Emblem: Three Housesis among the best entries in the series and is regarded today asthe must-play in the franchise.
Here, you get three unique storylines as you choose between which of the three houses and characters you choose to follow.
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Depending on whether you choose Edelgard, Dimitri, or Claude, you’ll get three unique storylines as you follow each army throughout the war.
The cast of characters, your point of view, and your allies all change depending on what path you take, making multiple playthroughs a must, so you can see what each army is going through during the plot.
7Grand Theft Auto V
A Three-Man Job
Grand Theft Auto 5
Grand Theft Auto Vstands alone in many respects in the legendary series, but the one aspect that sticks out the most is its approach to the main story.
Throughout the game, you get to play as not one but three different protagonists, each with a different storyline.
They all go on simultaneously, and you can switch characters on a whim, and one moment, you’ll be dealing with gang life in the hood with Franklin, while in the next, you’ll be blowing up meth labs with the unhinged Trevor.
Getting to see each character’s life and how wildly different they are from each other is a joy, and it’s all brought to life by fantastic voice acting and writing that stillkeeps the game relevant over a decade later.
6Detroit: Become Human
An Android Odyssey
Detroit: Become Human
Detroit: Become Humanis an amazing experience that lets you play through the lives of three androids in a futuristic version of Detroit.
It’s a narrative-driven game, but thereare plenty of interactive segments as well. The choices you make during the conversations cause the game to break off into anincredible numberof different paths.
You experience the lives of Connor, an android assigned to hunt down other androids as a cop, Marcus, a painter’s assistant, and Kara, a nanny.
You will switch to each one throughout the story, each experiencing their own story until, inevitably, the three become engulfed in one gripping storyline.
It’s got incredible acting, gorgeous graphics, and genuinely one of the best stories in gaming. It deserves a look for anyone looking for a game with multiple storylines.
5The Last of Us: Part II
A Tale of Two
The Last of Us Part 2
As polarizing as it was,The Last of Us: Part IIis one of the best examples of a game with multiple storylines.
Everyone thought we’d be treated to the next part of Joel and Ellie’s journey through the apocalypse, but in reality, what we got was a tale of two women.
Throughout the game, you will be shifting your perspective back and forth from Ellie and Abby as we see different timelines for both and how one’s actions affect the story in the other.
If not for a particular early-game incident that stunned the gaming world, this approach would be hailed today as brilliant game design and a one-of-a-kind experience.
Four years after its release, it’s still one of the best uses of multiple storylines in gaming, and no matter how you feel about the story, it deserves praise just for the structure of the game itself.
413 Sentinels: Aegis Rim
A Time Twister From Multiple Perspectives
13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim
Possibly the most unique game on this list,13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim,should be played byanyone who is a fan of sci-fi, games with multiple storylines, or anime.
It’s a brilliant, weaving web of a plot that has you switching between thirteen characters throughout various points in time, on the verge of an invasion.
It constantly gives you threads to follow, only to completely warp your view of what just happened when you view it through the eyes of another character.
While everyone is involved in the same general plot, each character’s experience is completely unique, and following the story to its thrilling conclusion is a gaming experience that you absolutely should not miss out on.
3Suikoden 3
Pick Three, Leave Two Behind
Suikoden III
Suikoden 3is an iconic series, and the third entry may very well be its best. In this epic game, you get to play as three characters who travel unique paths, but the key is that you can only choose one to be the main character at a certain point of the story.
This works great, because instead of forcing you to pick a main character at the start without any context, you get to spend a good amount of time with each character to get to know them and see who you vibe with.
Once you make your choice, you won’t be able to play as the other two characters. This makes it vital to play through the story with each character to see how things change and get the full story, as each character will intersect with the others at some point.
Suikoden 3isdefinitely a forgotten gem, so if you’ve got a PS2 handy, it’s definitely worth a trip back in time to witness this amazing weaving tale.
2Weird West
The Weirdest of the Wild West
Weird West
Weird Westis a breath of fresh air in the gaming world and one of the best games with multiple stories you’re able to play.
You take control of one of five different characters that each have their own stories to experience.
The characters range from normal, like a retired bounty hunter, to weird, such as a man whose human brain was put into the body of a stitched-up pig, and finishing each one’s story will lead you to the next character’s quest.
To add to the craziness of the game, there is a permadeath mode that makes every decision you make final, and that applies to companion characters and main characters alike.
It’s a twin-stick shooter at its core, but the variety between the different characters makes this an easy one to push through to the end with, and the amazingly weird events that happen throughout each tale are something you don’t often find in the gaming world.
1Alan Wake 2
It’s Not a Lake, It’s an Ocean
Alan Wake 2
Alan Wake 2was the horror darling of 2023 and with good reason. This fascinating and weird tale stars the title character in a wild journey, but this time, he’s not alone.
Alan tag teams this supernatural nightmare adventure with Saga Andersen, an FBI agent traversing the real world while Alan tries to make his way back to reality.
Both stories play out alongside each other, involving completely different objectives and styles of gameplay.
The result is a tight, focused thriller that combines two different storylines into one amazing package.
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