Most video games offer over-the-top action rather than contemplative storytelling, but the adventure game genre is a major exception. After all, the first adventure games only used text to convey their world and mechanics, so the stories had to be good. Today’s adventure games look a lot more modern, like prestige TV shows. Still, interactive storytelling is a huge priority. The “action-adventure” genre usually mixes narrative, exploration, puzzle-solving, and combat. But a pure adventure game typically ditches the action-focused combat in favor of puzzles and stories. We’re talking about old-school, point-and-click adventure games and their descendants. From their 1990s heydey to Telltale’s renaissance, the adventure game genre has a rich history, and the titles we highlight here do that legacy proud. Ready to play? Check out the best adventure games you should download right now.
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Batman: The Telltale Series
The point-and-click adventure game genre has seen a resurgence in popularity since Telltale Games began combining its excellent storytelling chops with popular comic book properties. For example, Batman: The Telltale Series shows what the developer can do when it merges an action-focused license with its successful story-driven formula. The game delivers the fisticuffs, gadgetry, and detective work you’d expect from Bruce Wayne’s masked persona, while giving you the option to shape the narrative in both large and subtle ways.
Batman: The Telltale Series (for PC) Review
Bugsnax is an adventure-puzzle game with a premise simple enough to fit inside its catchy theme song. The titular creatures are kind of bugs, kind of snacks, and you find and catch them in your trap. They are also Snaktooth Island’s native lifeforms. Think Jurassic Park or Kong: Skull Island, only the monsters are made out of fruits, burritos, and rotisserie chicken. The 100 different species sport adorably goofy designs reminiscent of past pet monsters from games like Pokemon and Viva Piñata.
Bugsnax (for PC) Review
D4: Dark Dreams Don’t Die
Film student turned video game designer Hidetaka “Swery” Suehiro wears his influences on his sleeve. The video game auteur was the driving force behind the bizarre, Twin Peaks-inspired Deadly Premonition; now his special brand of storytelling insanity graces the PC in the form of another oddball, David Lynch-like murder mystery called D4: Dark Dreams Don’t Die. It tells the story of a widower, Detective David Young, who is obsessed with unearthing the events that led to the death of his wife, Little Peggy. The game—with its supernatural elements, quirky characters, and compelling investigative gameplay—should not be missed.
D4: Dark Dreams Don’t Die (for PC) Review
Love Myst? Then Firmament—a puzzle-adventure game from the creators of Myst and Obduction—should be on your radar. This stylish adventure game tasks you with traversing three worlds using steampunk contraptions. Although not as meaty as Myst and its ilk, and targeted at VR fans, Firmament is an engaging enigma that teases your brain without overstaying its welcome.
Firmament Review
David Cage’s Heavy Rain unravels the dark, fictional story of a serial murderer known as the Origami Killer. The interactive story succeeds in building a gritty aura fitting of the subject matter and in developing a set of believable characters within its world. However, the mechanics often feel tacked on and the game’s presentation is underwhelming in some aspects, such as the voice acting and graphical fidelity. Despite those flaws, Heavy Rain is worth the time and price for its engrossing narrative.
Heavy Rain (for PC) Review
For nearly three decades, atmospheric puzzle game Myst has stood as one of the best, most successful, and most influential PC games of all time. This latest update of the masterpiece enhances the beautiful visuals, adds virtual reality support, and randomizes puzzles to make each playthrough unique.
Myst (for PC) Review
Obsidian Entertainment is one of the most versatile teams under Microsoft’s umbrella, and Pentiment is further proof of the team’s creative chops. Taking place in a gorgeous world rendered in Renaissance-style art, this adventure game challenges you to solve a mystery by making impactful choices.
Pentiment Review
Naturally, the internet loves Stray because it’s a game where you play as a cat. But beneath the viral premise is a genuinely moving adventure game with puzzles to solve and action to undertake, a game full of humanity despite the robotic cyberpunk setting. Plus, you can meow whenever you want.
Stray Review
The Walking Dead is back! After disappearing from digital marketplaces when developer Telltale Games went under, the touching and harrowing title returns to life courtesy of publisher Skybound Games. The choice-based adventure game puts you in the role of Lee, a former professor and convicted criminal who tries to survive a zombie invasion while safeguarding a young girl named Clementine. Keep some tissues close for the ending. Note that we didn’t review the five-part series collection; we reviewed chapter one and chapter two when they were available for individual purchase.
The Walking Dead: Episode 2 – Starved for Help Review
The Wolf Among Us, a game that’s a canonical prequel to Bill Willingham’s popular Fables comic book series, features a well-written story, light puzzle-solving challenges, and reflex-testing Quick Time Event (QTE) sequences. The visually striking title draws inspiration from film noir cinema while keeping the heavy black outlines and bright colors associated with its source material. The murder mystery isn’t particularly challenging, but if you want to spend a few hours in an immersive world filled with interesting characters and top-notch voice acting, The Wolf Among Us should find a home in your gaming library.
The Wolf Among Us (for PC) Review
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