Gorgeous and Captivating Narrative-Driven PC Games

Variety is a beautiful thing, and PC gamers have a vast and ever-growing range of options to explore when it comes to finding interesting new experiences. Gaming’s broadening scope is spawning new genres and reviving favorite oldies all the time.

Classic PC gamer standbys like twitchy shooters and explosive frag-fests are a blast, but some of the best games of late hinge on excellent storytelling, gripping atmosphere, and stunning visuals. Ready for something a little different? Dig into these unique and absolutely gorgeous narrative-driven offerings.

The Vanishing of Ethan Carter

Most detective tales tend to revolve around the physical world, but The Vanishing of Ethan Carter's eerie, unsettling murder mystery extends deep into the spectral realm, too.

As Paul Prospero, an occult detective, you head off to the beautifully haunting Wisconsin wilds to investigate the case of a missing boy. What you discover, however, grows increasingly grim, as the bodies and questions begin to pile up across the lush rural landscape.

Environmental storytelling and narrative snippets offer lots of chilling rewards for your exploration, and the game's puzzles intriguingly have you frequently communing with the dead to piece together what happened and how their untimely demise came about. From there, the game spirals deeper into a Lovecraft inspired tale of dread and occult horror capable of clutching you tight in its grip to the very end.

Firewatch

The fact that Firewatch's most interesting character interactions unfold through snippets of handheld-radio conversation while roaming through a remote patch of Wyoming wilderness speaks to this captivating game's unusual nature.

A summer job, guarding a stretch of forest from fire hazards, takes some unsettling and intense turns off the beaten path in this first-person-adventure outing. Your supervisor Delilah is the only connection you have to the outside world, and interacting with her throughout the game's unfolding missions, thrills, and narrative twists is an absorbing experience.

Far more than just a simple walk in the woods, Firewatch does a great job of making you feel empathy and connection for your partner and your amazing wilderness surroundings. It doesn't skimp on intense moments and surprises, so pack accordingly for this rollercoaster trek.

Event[0]

Speaking of forging relationships far away from the edges of civilization, Event[0] puts a peculiar spin on the concept.

When you're stranded on a derelict spacecraft floating through stars only a mere 628 million kilometers from Earth, you sort of have to take what you can get for buddies. In this case, it's the ship itself, since all the crew have long since perished.

Exploring and puzzling your way through the retro-futuristic sci-fi surroundings is half of the fun, but punching messages and questions for you robo-companion into terminals spread across the ship is where the real magic is in Event[0]. The AI is capable of procedurally generation over 2 million responses, and its often-sassy, strange responses to whatever weirdness you type in is often hilarious. With a distinct touch of 2001: A Space Odyssey flavor to round out its eerie and entertaining tale, Event[0] is a must-play for sci-fi fans.

Everybody's Gone to the Rapture

Here's another brilliant oddity to wrap-up our trio rundown of awesome narrative games. In Everybody's Gone to the Rapture, you start your journey of discovery 37 minutes after the world has ended. Ominous? Absolutely. Every single living soul in the quaint village of Yaughton and beyond – save for you – has suddenly evaporated into complete nothingness. Haunted voices and strange clues left behind offer hints at what happened, and you're tasked with roaming the gorgeous but eerily abandoned landscape to piece together the nature of this grim reckoning. Buckle up and get prepped for a very different kind of post-apocalyptic adventure.

Each of these stunning games pack ultra-polished graphics and require a solid PC and graphics card to fully enjoy at maximum settings. We recommend checking out the ROG Strix GTX 1060 for a beefy graphics card upgrade, or if you need a bigger overhaul, the new ROG G20 should have all the oomph you need (and then some) to clock some killer gaming time well into the future.

 

By Nathan Meunier