The best first person story games

Experiencing a really deep story from a first-person perspective is something special. It really puts you in the shoes of the protagonist and every moment is on your skin, intimate and fully immersive. Of course, you don't have to make a first-person game to tell a good story. Red Dead Redemption 2 is proof that a third-person view is usually more than good.

However, if you enjoy first-person immersion, I have some suggestions and recommendations for your next story-rich gaming experience. Many of them are classics, some of them are underrated, but above all, they all come with the best storytelling ever seen in gaming. We'll loosely rank them based on how compelling the story is and how deep the immersion is.

Portal games

A marriage of complex puzzles and environmental storytelling

Portal Its puzzles have always been its main charm and focus, but it also comes with an absolutely unforgettable story that needs to be experienced to be understood. Many consider Portal games to be a gateway to video games in general, and I tend to agree.

Puzzles and environmental manipulation are the perfect way to stir anyone's mind as you uncover the events that took place inside the Aperture Science Laboratories. You are spoken to by a strange AI (in both games) and the atmosphere is somewhat creepy and unsettling. It's a refreshing mystery full of great environmental stories to help you piece together what happened. I also recommend it in one breath The Talos Principlewhich appeals to players who have fallen in love with the game Portal games.

Spoil

Uncover the lives of the inhabitants of Talos-I

If you want to jump into immersive sims, I recommend starting with a newer game, Spoilbefore trying oldie but gold titles like Deus Ex or even System Shock Remake (or even the original). Spoil is the stunning story of Morgan Yu, who is part of the Talos-I crew aboard a space station that is being ambushed by enemies from Typhon. Through audio recordings, written clues, and even meeting the few remaining survivors, you begin to piece together what happened and what kind of life you led before it all came crashing down.

Your actions actually matter, but it's not explicitly stated, which makes things a little more exciting. The game tracks how you handle certain situations, how you build Morgan's skills, and what quests you complete or ignore. At some point you move somewhat freely through the different areas of Talos-I and it really becomes a story told by your version of Morgan Yu. There are countless emotional moments and characters that you end up caring about even if you never actually meet them.

The Disappearance of Ethan Carter

Creepy mystery walking simulator

Walking simulators are a great place to find great storytelling, and that's why The Disappearance of Ethan Carter is here You are a detective with the supernatural ability to see ghosts and you have arrived in Red Creek Valley to find out what happened to Ethan Carter. You'll piece together clues, solve puzzles, and most of all, enjoy beautiful views of the wilderness while trying to understand the details of a strange murder.

There's a bit of mild suspense and horror mixed in, so those allergic to horror games beware, but it's nothing like a classic survival horror game. It's a great choice if you want your story to be told through exploration and clue-gathering – and if you also happen to be a true crime fan.

What's Left of Edith Finch

Uncover the stories of the Finch family

Edith is the last of her family. To discover why this is and how everyone else came to be, it's your job to go through your family's house and experience each member's final moments. Each member of the family has their own perspective and personality, which adds color and flavor to this tragic but beautiful bouquet of stories.

If you've already played The Vanishing of Ethan Carter or are just a general fan of walking simulators that really focus on delivering deep, emotional storytelling, What's Left of Edith Finch will be right up your alley. Without spoiling too much, the story can get incredibly emotional and sad as you discover how each generation of the Finch family is somehow connected, so make sure you have a box of tissues nearby.

Firewatch

You are not alone in the wilderness

IN Firewatchyou are Henry, a man with a troubled past. You take a job at a fire watchtower in a beautiful wilderness, hoping to start over and clear your mind, but as you talk to a woman named Delilah over the radio and uncover strange happenings in the park, the past stares back at you in unexpected ways.

It's a suspenseful story about something that moves in the wilderness and follows you, but it's also an emotional ride where the characters explore their past and present pains. In this walking simulator, choice matters, so it is absolutely recommended that you come back for more playthroughs.

SOMA

Survive and unravel the terrible fate of Pathos-II

Frictional Games had to be on this list, one way or another, and SOMA is easily their best work, narratively. As Simon, you participate in a brain scan after a traumatic car accident that ends your friend's life. But something is wrong when the scan begins and you wake up in an underwater Pathos-II facility that has been occupied by strange machines.

SOMA is a survival horror game at its best. You have no weapons or other means to protect yourself, only the leadership of one of the survivors speaks. Much of the story is told through audio recordings in the form of logs or interactions with data buffers or even written logs on terminals. Through these scattered clues, you begin to understand what happened and what remains to be done. I can't dive too deep into the specifics of the plot without giving away key details, but let's just say your mind will be blown and you'll be deeply nostalgic and desperate for connection by the end of your adventure.

BioShock

Unravel your memory and Rapture history

I could have expressed it just as easily Systemic shock here but what can i say? I have a bias for the underwater setup of the former BioShock and the mind-bending twist that takes place in the middle of the story. After a plane crash, you end up trapped at a lighthouse that takes you down into the bathysphere heading for Rapture, an underwater city. If you were expecting a warm welcome, you are wrong. Things have gone awry and wrong in Rapture, and as the newest inhabitant of this twisted backwater dystopia, you begin to discover how your fate is intertwined with it far more than you first imagined.

BioShock the story unfolds in a linear fashion, but effectively through voice-overs and people talking to you on the radio. It's one of the best examples of a game using these methods as a primary way to convey its story. That and an abundance of environmental storytelling. Each level has a different theme and shows you what went wrong when Rapture fell apart.

Cyberpunk 2077

An emotional, neon journey to the legend of the afterlife

Despite one of the most disastrous launches in video game history, Cyberpunk 2077 brought it all back with its subsequent updates and the Phantom Liberty DLC. That said, and maybe it's hot, the main story of the game is already great on its own. Maybe it doesn't work in an open world environment where distractions are at every turn, but the soft, depressing tones and narrow glimmers of hope that you cling to tooth and claw will make you really invested in the game and its characters.

A lot of the games here focus on environmental storytelling and at the same time Cyberpunk 2077 that's also where it excels, it's one of the few games where the writing is truly rock-solid, engaging, and the story hits you like a violent blow that leaves you reeling for days. You end up caring about fictional characters, desperate to find a way to keep yourself and everyone alive and happy, but the important lesson here is: the city always wins in the end.

Half-life

A science experiment gone wrong

Gordon Freeman's story is one of the most legendary stories in video game history, so not including it would be utter blasphemy. Half-life it oozes that powerful show-don't-tell that's usually the mark of great storytelling. What happened and what's happening isn't thrown at you in the form of elaborate quest summaries or journal entries.

The story is also fairly simple and trope-like, with a science experiment going sideways that leads to a sudden invasion of alien creatures and the arrival of enemy military forces, but because it delivers these tropes with elegance and efficiency, they never feel contrived or overdone. As with BioShockevery level and area in Half-life it has a distinct atmosphere and feel, and it's a visual message that tells us what's going on without spelling it out for us. A master class in wordless storytelling, it deserves its first place.