There is nothing like getting lost and absorbed by a video game’s lore. Worlds with rich stories are the perfect place to get lost and invested in and escape the mundane nature of daily life. Games with rich lore have always done well to attract a dedicated fanbase that attempt to explain the game’s story.
All games with a lot of lore also have fantastic worlds to explore and get lost in. These games all focus on storytelling, and each handles the revealing of the lore differently. Some games hide critical information in books or item descriptions, forcing players to constantly search for information, while other games provide the story through dialogue.
6 Dark Souls
The Dark Souls games are infamous for having convoluted yet rich lore that often leaves players needing clarification for much of their first playthrough. Explaining the lore of Dark Souls is challenging by design, as it relies on the player's creativity to fill in missing parts.
Dark Souls has the best lore to delve into. The world-building is stellar and is an excellent introduction to the Souls series. Players need to play detective to stay on top of the story, by constantly reading item descriptions and analyzing all NPC dialogue. Dark Souls is one of the few video games to create an immersive and lore-friendly explanation for reviving. The game's world is one of the most captivating and lore-rich gaming environments in history leading to the creation of several "soul-like" video games.
5 Bioshock
Bioshock was released in 2007 and is still enjoyable to this day. Bioshock takes place in the once-flourishing underwater city called Rapture. What originally started as a city of freedom without limitations for all quickly spiraled into utter chaos.
Players get to explore the dystopia and find many hidden voice messages. The voice messages provide information on the Rapture before and during its downfall. Learning about what the Rapture was like during its peak and its tragic downfall is an excellent journey. Bioshock is another game that encapsulates the respawn feature into the game design and integrates it into the lore.
4 The Witcher 2
The Witcher 2 is an improvement over its predecessor, with better gameplay, writing, and graphics. The Witcher 3 is superior to The Witcher 2 in every regard except the story. Fans eagerly hope for a remake of The Witcher 2 as the gameplay is a little dated.
The Witcher 3 has many exciting characters but falls short in its main story compared to its predecessor. Many fans praise the writing and story in The Witcher 2 as the main story offers more choices to the player. The choices have noticeable effects and encourage a second playthrough to further the players understanding of the story.
3 Dragon Age Origins
Out of all the Dragon Age sequels, Dragon Age Origins has the deepest lore by far and was an instant success. Dragon Age Origins has a beautiful world and is still worth playing in 2023.
While the game did not have the flashiest graphics on release, BioWare proved that good writing and gameplay will elevate any game to winning Game of the Year in 2009. The lore is full of secrets that will require a gamer with sharp attention to catch onto them. The lore expands from delving into the old gods, the origin of all the races, to learning more about the dragons in the game.
2 Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus
The lore in the Warhammer 40,000 franchise is overflowing, and Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus is a great game to start getting invested in the lore. The turn-based tactical game where players will lead a robot-loving faction called the Adeptus Mechanicus to raid tombs of another species in search of forbidden knowledge.
The Adeptus Mechanicus are among the strongest factions according to the lore in Warhammer 40,000. Fantastic art and sound combined with excellent gameplay lead to a polished game. Players that enjoy a future Sci-fi aesthetic will adore the art style and graphics in Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus.
1 The Elder Scrolls Online
While The Elder Scrolls Online is an MMORPG, it does not cut corners when it comes to the lore. The Elder Scrolls Online is set before some mainline and best The Elder Scrolls titles, such as Skyrim, Morrowind, and Oblivion. The opportunity to create rich lore for the history of The Elder Scrolls game is not lost in The Elder Scrolls Online. After an explosion of arcane energy, the world begins to change and the player is placed in this world.
The Elder Scrolls Online has the most amount of lore out of all The Elder Scrolls games. Many unexplored areas are present in The Elder Scrolls Online and are full of lore to absorb. Side quests have good writing and dialogue and there is a lot of it. NPCs have personalities and depth and are a great fit great in the lore-rich world. The Elder Scrolls Online's gameplay is enjoyable, and it even features one of the best loot systems in MMORPGs.