12 New Upcoming Narrative-Driven Games of 2023

Narrative-driven games add depth to the gaming experience that you just don’t get from button-smashing games. While there may be some confusion on what narrative-driven games entail, in this list we simply mean that the story is important and the main focus of the game. Each of these feels more like visiting a beloved book than logging on for a few hours with some friends. They are opportunities for you to get lost in a fantastic world as you adopt complex mission objectives as your own. Avenge your father, save the world, explore a new world, and more. Out of these 25 upcoming games that will be available in 2023, there’s bound to be a story that resonates with you.

#12 Final Fantasy XVI

Publisher: Square Enix

Developer: Square Enix Creative

Platforms: PlayStation 5

Release: June 22, 2023

Final Fantasy XVI is the latest installment in the popular franchise. The RPG takes place in a fantasy world called Valisthea that has prospered from a horde of Mothercrystals. While six factions control Valisthea, they are all on the verge of conflict because of the spread of the Blight. While the game has various gameplay modes, the main characters will each have their own backstory and fighting style. If you have yet to dive into the latest installment, it’s readily available on the PlayStation 5.

#11 Marvel’s Spider-Man 2

Publisher: PlayStation

Developer: Insomniac Games

Platforms: PlayStation 5

Release: October 20, 2023

In the golden-age of superhero games, the second game in the Spider-Man franchise is out. As a PlayStation 5 exclusive, players will get to dawn the uniform and take to the streets of New York City to take on a new bad guy. Playing as Peter Parker or Miles Morales, this singleplayer adventure game will deliver with the heart of Spider-Man and the combat against several different bad guys, including Venom. Though there won’t be a co-op mode, the ability to swing around and fight crime is still worth checking out in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2.

#10 Star Wars Jedi: Survivor

Publisher: Electronic Arts

Developer: Respawn Entertainment

Platforms: Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, PC

Release: 2023

Five years after Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, Cal must flee the Empire as the only remaining Jedi in the galaxy. Expanding on the characters, worlds, and stories of the space epic franchise, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor aims to bring players the same deep story telling and thrilling combat they’ve come to expect from the games. In order to create the best gaming experience possible, the game is only be available on the current gen hardware.

#9 The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Publisher: Nintendo

Developer: Nintendo EPD

Platforms: Nintendo Switch

Release: May 12, 2023

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is the latest installment of the Zelda franchise and sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Fans of the franchise already have plenty of expectations for this one, which is based off of an overabundance of ideas left over from the previous game’s DLCs. While all the heart and action will be the same, now players will get to explore a series of floating islands above Hyrule. Dive among the clouds, scale cliff sides, and hop from island to island using different landing pads. If you enjoyed the previous installment, then this is a must have sequel.

#8 Like A Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name

Publisher: SEGA

Developer: Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio

Platforms: PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC

Release: November 9, 2023

The Like a Dragon franchise has two games coming out in 2023 and one mainline game coming out in 2024, and all of them will bring the deep storytelling and interesting combat style that fans have come to expect. Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name may have the longest title, but it will be the shortest of the games. It will serve as a bridge between mainline games in the series for the character Kazuma Kiryu, who you will see again in Like a Dragon 8.

Kiryu is hiding out at the Daidoji Temple but rent isn’t free. In return, he completes missions for the temple and lives by a codename. Though the game will only be about the length of 4-6 chapters of a regular game in the series, there are plenty of sidequests and stories in this combat-heavy adventure game. If you’re a frequent player of the series, you have to check this one out.

#7 Like A Dragon: Ishin!

Publisher: SEGA

Developer: Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio

Platforms: PC, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5

Release: February 21, 2023

Like A Dragon: Ishin! was technically released in 2014 but only in Japan. The remake is now finally in western markets, so you’ll get to enjoy this popular samurai action-adventure game! The main storyline follows the legendary Sakamoto Ryoma, a real historical figure credited with playing a major part in ending the era of the samurai. He is played by one of the main characters from the other Like A Dragon franchise though, and the setting is a fictitious 1860s Japanese city called Kyo loosely based on Kyoto.

Ryoma isn’t just slashing his way through samurai for no reason. His world is unfairly ruled by the shogunate, and he has a few personal missions as well. He wants to find the man who killed his father, and he wants to clear his name after being accused of murder. His interactions move the plot along to ultimate victory, but yes, in between, you get to wield your sword or revolver or both to fight a bunch of samurai. It’s an action-packed adventure story to look forward to.

#6 Starfield

Publisher: Bethesda Softworks

Developer: Bethesda Game Studios

Platforms: PC, Xbox Series X|S

Release: September 6, 2023

Starfield is the first original IP from Bethesda in 25 years and you can describe it as “Skyrim in space.” Players get to take on the role of a member of Constellation, an organization of space explorers in a future where humans have settled a huge amount of space. The Settled Systems extend 50 light-years out from our Solar System, so there is plenty to explore. Likewise, the game takes place 20 years after the Colony War, which pitted the United Colonies against the Freestar Collective. From either a first or third-person perspective, you will explore an enormous open world full of surprises.

#5 Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora

Publisher: Ubisoft, 20th Century Games

Developer: Massive Entertainment

Platforms: PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Amazon Luna

Release: December 7, 2023

Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora brings the lush alien world of Pandora to our fingertips with this open-world action-adventure game. Play as one of the Na’vi as you explore the never before seen Western Frontier. While you explore in this standalone story, you’ll be fighting back members of the RDA who wish to destroy your home world. The first-person perspective and attention to detail makes it feel like you’re really there in the world made famous by the movie. The story seems to essentially be the same, except this time, you’re in control.

#4 Horizon: Call of the Mountain

Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment

Developer: Guerilla, Firesprite

Platforms: PlayStation VR2 (PS5)

Release: February 22, 2023

As far as narrative-driven games go, the Horizon series has such a compelling storyline. In the distant future, humanity has stepped back from technology, but mechanical beasts still roam the land. The previous Horizon games follow the story of a woman named Aloy on her journey across the new West Coast. Now, a spinoff game made especially for PlayStation VR2 on the PlayStation 5 is available. Horizon: Call of the Mountain follows a new character named Ryas. Through their eyes, you will explore the beautiful natural world that you’ve come to love while encountering the myths and monsters of the world. It will be a 360-degree adventure where you will need to scale mountains, slide along zip lines, and defend yourself with your trusty bow while you interact with new and recurring characters from the series.

#3 Baldur’s Gate 3

Publisher: Larian Studios

Developer: Larian Studios

Platforms: PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S

Release: August 3, 2023

Magic, adventure, turn-based combat based on Dungeons & Dragons. Say no more! Baldur’s Gate III is the latest RPG from Larian Studios, and it has plenty of room for players to get invested in the story. After 120 years since the events of Baldur’s Gate II: Shadows of Amn, darkness has spread across the land again. This time, the playable character, created by the player, is held captive by the mind-flayers who infect them with a parasite. However, by a stroke of luck, the mind-flayers’ ship is attacked, and it crashes before the parasites can transform the hostages into mind-flayers themselves. Now the player and a crew of other heroes must find a way to get rid of their parasites and save the world from this new invasion.

#2 Hogwarts Legacy

Publisher: Warner Bros. Games

Developer: Avalanche Software

Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch

Release: February 10, 2023

Hogwarts Legacy is the wizarding experience Harry Potter fans have been waiting for. In a completely open world, explore Hogwarts in the 1800s, long before Harry and his friends were even born. Your character is yours to customize, all the way down to your house. The surrounding Hogsmeade and Forbidden Forest are also free to explore, and you’ll take many of those classes you were looking forward to as a kid.

As for the narrative, your character will be customizable, but your destiny will be left to your actions. As a fifth-year, you will explore an ancient evil in the bowels of Hogwarts, and it wouldn’t be a Hogwarts story if you didn’t accidentally put the wizarding world in danger. However, your choices will determine what kind of wizard you are as well as the fate of the world. There will be mysteries to uncover and decisions to make while you explore all of the magic and darkness the world has to offer.

#1 The Expanse: A Telltale Series

Publisher: Telltale Games

Developer: Telltale Games, Deck Nine

Platforms: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S

Release: July 27, 2023

If you couldn’t get enough of the space adventure TV series, you may want to check out the video game! The Expanse: A Telltale Series will take place in as a pre-quel to the Amazon Prime series, The Expanse, and follow the popular and complex character Camina Drummer. In a future where humanity has colonized the Solar System, the politics between Earth, Mars, and the Asteroid Belt is cut-throat and hostile. As a Belter, Drummer has had a tough life, but she’s about to face even more difficult choices that you will help her make. Drummer and her team of scavengers will have to search the wreckage of ships, but one day they come across a gruesome slaughter. From that point on, every decision XO Drummer makes will affect her ship and crew’s future, and they will turn Drummer into the ruthless leader we come to know in the TV series.

Disclaimer: This article was updated on 11/2/23 as we continue to adjust this list with new entries or remove games due to delays or failure to captivate audiences.