Something that many game designers seem to forget is that the whole appeal of a game is that you get to PLAY it. However, as graphics and processors have gotten more advanced, we have had more and more instances of prolonged cutscenes.
Yes, they can be very impressive and entertaining, but if they take up too much of the game part in a video game, then they might be missing the point. That being said, some titles have been built around the entire idea of being cinematic or conveying a cinematic feel. These are the games that make you want to watch how things play out.
8Heavy Rain
Everyone loves a good murder mystery except for THAT guy and that’s whatHeavy Rainpresents. It follows the story of a criminal known as the Origami Killer who targets the son of a severely depressed, but still determined father.
As he sets off on the road to save his son, other characters, including a journalist, a detective, and a government agent get pulled into the investigation in one way or another. It’s truly a narrative-based experience with some very impressive cinematic moments that call on the player at just the right time to pull them into the most intense moments.
7The Supermassive Games Collection
We all like to watch horror movies and think to ourselves, “I could survive that!” Well, you’ve got the titles bySupermassive Gamesto test that out. This team has a love for slow and intense horror that keeps you on edge until it’s over or until everyone’s dead… sometimes both.
With titles like Until Dawn,The Quarry, and The Devil In Me, the lives of multiple people hang in the balance as they find themselves trapped and isolated in a terrifying situation we would never wish on anyone. Every character will make choices at your whim that will either spell doom or salvation by the end of these cinematic horror stories.
6Fahrenheit (Indigo Prophecy)
Before TellTale Games appeared on the scene with a series of narrative games, we had the experimental Fahrenheit (AKA Indigo Prophecy). The game was all over the place with elements of thriller, horror, mystery, conspiracy, and the supernatural.
It takes time to play out scenes showing the life of an average guy, Lucas Kane, as he awakens from a trance to see that he has murdered someone. From there, it’s like you’re directing a film following his run from the cops and unraveling the shadowy web at the center of which he finds himself. It’s got action, adventure, drama, andanime fightscenes (for real).
5Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
The Metal Gear Solid series slowed its pacing significantly with the release of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, as more effort was put into writing complex plot lines and more fleshed-out characters with cinematic cutscenes to show them off. It was inMetal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eaterthat we finally realized we were watching the non-game parts with such attention and wondering what would happen next.
It tells the story of Naked Snake as he infiltrates a jungle region to take out his former mentor and her veteran group of professional killers. It focuses a lot on Snake as a character, his relationship with people, and the nature of conflict in general. Also, there’s a guy who fights with hornets which is awesome and horrifying.
First, there were the comics, then there was the TV series, and then we got the masterpiece, that isThe Walking Deadnarrative game series. This is arguablyTelltale Games’scrowning achievement and there’s good reason for that.
Each entry follows a different story, but centers around the character Clementine: A young girl left alone during the zombie outbreak who is raised by the other survivors who take her in. You’ll watch as she’s transformed by their actions and then acts like them, against them, or for herself. It’s an emotional story about humans fighting each other and the undead as they try to find or build some form of regular life.
3Final Fantasy 10
The Final Fantasy series shows no sign of stopping, butFinal Fantasy 10seems to have sparked mixed feelings among lovers of the series. If you’ve played it, chances are you like it or never hope to see it again. It has a lot of the drama one might see in an over-the-top anime series, but there’s nothing wrong with that.
It took a lot of time to introduce myself to an expansive and beautiful world with a lot of amazing set pieces, strange creatures, machines, and some very memorable characters. The character intro cinematics alone deserves praise for making you want to unleash them in battle.
2The Deliver Us Series
We’ve explored tons of stories of what it would be like to go to other planets or celestial bodies with the Deliver Us games doing a solid job of that. It starts with Deliver Us The Moon before following up withDeliver Us Mars. It sets the stage for an Earth very much like our own dealing with very real problems that we wish weren’t real.
Funding is put into space programs with the Moon mission to try and save humanity and the Mars mission to recover some vitally important tech from a mysterious entity. Much of the effort is placed into depicting the look and feel of space as you try to survive an environment humanity was never built to discover. Mix this in with some dark intrigue and you don’t know what could be waiting in the darkness of space.
1Shadow Of The Colossus
Okay, hear me out: Cinematic set pieces, but they move.Shadow Of The Colossusis one of the senior members of this list and deserves to be here. Despite not having a huge cast of characters and providing very little information, you’ll take in every detail you come across.
This is a world of mystery and a breathtaking one at that. Even the giant lumbering beats you’ve been tasked with slaying have a somber beauty to them. The further you progress, the more the beauty fades as more of the land is drained, and more secrets are revealed. By the end, you’ll have conflicted feelings about what you’re doing and if it was worth all the struggle.
