Summary
Players love investing their time in emotional video games that sink their hooks in them courtesy of an amazing story. Some open-world games got the memo, letting players engage with incredible narratives that are emotionally resonant (and sometimes draining).
This is why open-world games with emotional stories can be such a blast to play. As long as players don’t mind bawling their eyes out, they’ll have a blast with these story-driven games that let players explore a massive, beautiful sandbox.
Spoiler Warning: Due to the nature of this list, these entries will contain massive story spoilers for their respective endings and emotional beats. Proceed with caution.
Final Fantasy 15has its issues, but the friendship at the heart of this experience is so palpable that players will be invested despite the game’s missteps. It helps that the open world is beautiful and combat looks cinematic, even if it may feel a bit too rudimentary.
By the end of the tale, Noctis' heroic sacrifice will cause players to weep as he gives up everything to save the world from Ardyn and the Starscourge. The post-credits scene depicting the last time he camps with his friends makes for the final emotional nail in the coffin that cements the brilliance of this title, which overcomes most of its flaws.
Players loved Insomniac’s take on Spider-Man, with the titular web-head finally getting the video game he truly deserved. Swinging across the streets of New York City and stopping robberies or chasing down runaway cars makes for a great time.
However, one ofMarvel Spider-Man’s strongest elements is its mature story that isn’t afraid to deal with devastating moments of loss and despair.Watching Miles and Peter lose their parental figuresand feeling Peter’s helplessness and pain as Doctor Octavius descends into villany are so hard to witness and make for powerful emotional beats in a game that simultaneously embodies the cheerful and humorous tone of many Spider-Man stories.
Fans familiar with the originalFinal Fantasy 7already knew the key moments thatRebirthwould likely cover. This made for the grueling, inevitable finale as Sephiroth lands the mortal blow on Aerith, taking her out for good.
While the game does experiment with this moment a bit too much for many fans' liking,it’s still a powerful story beatthat makes for an emotional climax to the game. It doesn’t help that Cloud is unable to accept his loss, making it clear that the mako poisoning has addled his mind way more than fans expected.
NieR: Automatais one of the best action-packed video games ever made. The open world is small yet riveting to explore, and theunique endingsensure that repeatedly playing this game is more rewarding than anyone could expect.
Some of the conclusions in this tale are incredibly emotional and will cause many fans to shed a tear. It’s easy to see why Yoko Taro’s name was officially on the map after this title blew up in popularity, allowing players to enjoy one of the most unique open-world games around that combines emotional storytelling with addicting hack-and-slash combat, showcasing PlatinumGames at their very best.
At the start ofShadow of the Colossus, most players assume that Wander is on a noble quest to revive his mysterious loved one, Mono. They have no idea of the lengths he’s willing to go to for the same, satisfying the dark wishes of a sealed entity named Dormin.
As Wander takes out each Colossi, it’s clear that some form of corruption is taking hold of him. It turns out that he was willing to sacrifice his own body to save his love, making for a melancholic ending as a revived Mono finds Wander in his childlike state, which adds a tinge of hope to an otherwise bleak conclusion.
Grand Theft Auto 4features what is easily the most mature and darkest tale told in the series. Niko Bellic’s descent into a life of crime helps him earn a pretty penny, but he also exposes himself to dangerous figures who want to take him out.
Depending on Niko’s actions, he will either lose Roman or Kate before the game’s final mission. Even after hunting down the man responsible for their deaths. Niko is left a hollow man after losing one of the most important people in his life.
Thebeauty ofCyberpunk 2077stems from its incredible narrative, which fans could finally fully appreciate after all the game’s bugs were ironed out. V is a fun character to control as players do everything in their power to help them regain control of their body after a botched Arasaka heist.
Johnny Silverhand’s engram is slowly taking over their mind, and V will always be too late to reverse this takeover by the time they reach the end. While thePhantom Libertyexpansion gives V another chance at life, everyone around them assumed they were dead and had already moved on, making them an outsider even after they being cured.
It would be impossible to talk about emotional narratives in open-world games without highlighting Arthur Morgan and his journey of redemption inRed Dead Redemption 2. He starts as a no-good outlaw who eventually starts mending his ways as he tries to do the right thing (at least, this is the intended narrative on a High Honor playthrough, which maximizes the narrative’s emotional poignancy).
Eventually, the tuberculosis he contracts becomes fatalnear the end of his story, and he must come to terms with his mortality while also grappling with the reality that his found family is slowly falling apart. Between Hosea’s death, Micah’s dark whispers, and Dutch’s runaway parania and selfishness, Arthur struggles to leave the world — and those he loves — in a better place before meeting his inevitable fate. Thankfully, he did enough good in life to be granted the gift of watching one final sunrise before drawing his last breath.
