Best Narrative of 2023

by
Taneli Palola
, posted 1 day ago / 1,753 Views

This year’s best video game narratives once again showcased the possibilities of the medium in creating captivating stories in a variety of different ways, but did so under very familiar names or styles. Alan Wake II, Baldur’s Gate III, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, and Final Fantasy XVI are all part of established franchises. The lone exception, Sea of Stars, is very much cut from the classic 16-bit JRPG cloth, and wears those influences on its sleeve. Yet, just because the names and styles might be familiar, that by no means stops them from weaving some extraordinary and memorable tales for people to lose themselves in.

The Shortlist:

Alan Wake II

Baldur’s Gate III

Sea of Stars

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Final Fantasy XVI

The Runner-Up:
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

The runner-up for the Best Narrative of 2023 is The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Bringing us back to the same setting we already explored aplenty in Breath of the Wild naturally created some challenges for the sequel with regards to how to keep the game feeling fresh. The solution was to not only add literal new layers to the world map, but also push the narrative into darker depths. Narrative has often been a secondary concern in The Legend of Zelda games, by design of course, but in Tears of the Kingdom it was given much greater emphasis and thought than in most past entries in the series, and the result is one of the franchise’s most gripping tales to-date.

The Winner:
Alan Wake II

In the end, the best narrative of the year is also one of the darkest and strangest, courtesy of Remedy Entertainment and Alan Wake II. The long-anticipated sequel picked up from where the first game left off, with Alan Wake still trapped in the Dark Place, looking for a way out, but in addition we were introduced to a new protagonist in Saga Anderson, and this switching dual perspective was at the core of the story.

Alan Wake II did an excellent job creating two distinct yet complementary storylines for its protagonists, finding ways to make each feel unique and rewarding, while at the same time balancing numerous narrative threads stemming all the way back from the first game (and even making reference to Remedy’s other recent success, Control, at the same time). All of that and more was enough to give Alan Wake II the award for Best Narrative of 2023.