Environmental storytelling in video games is more than just a fun gimmick to encourage exploration — in many games, it’s an art that builds so much more onto the pre-existing lore. Some games end up perfecting this art, with excellent environmental storytelling that leaves us spoiled in our discoveries.
These games end up not only painting a more detailed picture, but they also add a significant amount of replay value. This is most common in the open world genre, but so many other games in different genres tend to nail this concept as well.
When it comes to which games are best at environmental storytelling, these ones easily come to mind for many players.
10
Outer Wilds
Pay Attention to the World!
Environmental storytelling isn’t just the foundation of Outer Wilds: it hides the very reason for the universe’s survival.
In Outer Wilds, you have to learn everything you can within 22 minutes before the universe ends, and then you’ll be put right back at the start with everything you learned to help you progress. You’ll end up repeating this process until you figure out how to save the planets (and, by extension, yourself).
Failure is what makes this game fun, and as you continue to fail, you continue to improve, and continue to save the galaxy. Yet, your hints and everything you have to figure out is hidden in plain sight, encouraging players to carefully look and explore to look for clues.
And seriously, nothing feels better than finding a new clue that changes everything.
9
Metroid Prime Remastered
So Much to See
If you were to ask any number of gamers which game stood out to them in terms of environmental storytelling, many will point to the first Metroid Prime game as a prime example. Metroid Prime Remastered, obviously, revitalises it for the better.
A good chunk of the environmental storytelling comes from Samus’s Scan Visor, which will give you a bunch of information for whatever you’re focused on. Players have to actively search for these nuances in the world, which makes it all the more rewarding when it’s found.
This way, if a player isn’t the exploring type, they can easily just progress through the game with minimal issue. But for players who want to take in the story and all it has to offer, using the Scan Visor is the most effecient way to do that in this game.
Or, if you just need a bit of help on how to defeat an enemy, the Scan Visor has got you covered on that front as well.
8
The Last of Us
So Many Subplots
When playing through survival horror games, it’s important to look around for any missing loot or documents that could reveal additional lore, and The Last of Us is no exception to that.
With the various collectables (such as Firefly pendants, documents, etc.) in the game, you’re able to track multiple side stories that don’t get featured anywhere else in the main story. Plus, while you’re out and about in the world, there’s plenty of environmental storytelling within each level.
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With this, you’re either able to waltz into the aftermath of a tragedy, find something unintentionally hilarious, or figure out secrets that foreshadow the ending. Specifically, documents that talk about previously infected individuals who were also immune to the cordyceps.
If you find all parts, you’ll notice how the Fireflies had already attempted surgery on others to extract a cure, but it was a failure every single time. Suddenly, you realize this doesn’t even guarantee a cure if Ellie dies under the knife, and it makes Joel’s decision all the more relatable.
7
Baldur’s Gate 3
Layered Storytelling at its Finest
So much is happening at once in Baldur’s Gate 3, that you’d genuinely have to replay the game a few times to understand the full scope of the story. You’ve got multiple points of view, multiple NPCs with their own individual agendas trying to influence you, and your own choices that lead to other outcomes.
And, of course, there is excellent environmental storytelling in this game. Not only are there various happenings in each area that you’re able to uncover (such as finding evidence of the Iron Throne on a sahuagin during a random encounter), but there are also bouts of humor tucked away in the details.
You will find so much foreshadowing and hidden details in the world, just look around, and you’ll unlock entirely new pathways you never previously considered.
It’s a true D&D experience in every sense of the word, and I can’t help but want to incorporate many of the environmental storytelling methods into my own tabletop game that I run for my friends every weekend.
6
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
A World of Scars
Sure, this may be biased, but The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild remains the best Zelda game, hands down, and it has a lot to do with this version of Hyrule and how you’re able to explore it and soak it in.
This version of Link has amnesia, and it’s up to you to help uncover his memories (which help you unlock the proper ending), as well as figure out what happened to the land of Hyrule in your absence. Instead, you find ruins in your wake.
Yet, these ruins tell a story – a story you were directly involved in. It’s like visiting ancient ruins in the real world (and as someone who has been to Athens and seen so many, the vibes are immaculate). A war was fought, a war was lost, and you see it in a land full of scars.
It’s not often that you see so much destruction take such a noticeable toll on a world, but Breath of the Wild managed to show the carnage elegantly and beautifully.
5
Bloodborne
Souls Games are Known for Environmental Storytelling
Souls games are known for their environmental storytelling, so it’s really hard to pick a single game that stands out among the others. For this list, I am choosing Bloodborne due to just how rich the lore is to back it up, since other Souls games can be a bit more obtuse.
There is a lot of details that you can miss if you aren’t looking thoroughly, even in areas that you’ve been in before (my mind keeps returning to the little girl’s shoe you can find by the pig monster, after warning her not to look for her parents).
There is a lot to digest with Bloodborne and other Souls games like it, and players who don’t mind overly difficult gameplay will have a blast with what’s presented in these worlds here.
Either way, if you pick up a Souls game, just get ready to scan through the environment for additional storytelling, since it’s basically guaranteed to be found.
4
Red Dead Redemption 2
Players Are STILL Finding New Details
People are still finding new details and easter eggs in Red Dead Redemption 2, it’s honestly equal parts impressive and a little scary. If there’s this much detail after all these years, how much more hasn’t been discovered by players?
Red Dead Redemption 2 has perhaps one of the richest, most detailed worlds that you could walk through in gaming, and it’s no surprise that you’ll keep discovering new details that just add to your adventure. Yet, it seems there’s still more.
In this game, the environmental storytelling is incredibly subtle, pulling complete historical accuracy while maintaining a solid foundation of lore. There are so many unmarked areas on your map that end up adding to the areas that are marked – look at the Braithwaites, and Gertude hidden in an outhouse.
You don’t think that historical fiction would be able to nail environmental storytelling in such a way, but Rockstar managed that while making it look easy.
3
Cyberpunk 2077
A Poor City in a Rich World
In a digital world and digital age, our digital footprint has become a discussion point when it would have been inconceivable even a decade ago. But, how would that look in the future? Cyberpunk 2077 shows us with texts, emails, websites, and countless other subtle details in digital spaces.
The environmental storytelling is still present, but there’s a new layer in a post-technology world. For example, while working on a gig, you could find email correspondence on a computer between characters that you have to deal with or protect, as well as find hidden details on the desk the computer is sitting on.
Even when you’re netrunning and flipping through cameras, you’re able to eavesdrop on enemies and zoom in on details you wouldn’t be able to access in restricted sections. You just have to keep your wits about you if you want to survive Night City, or else it will end up eating you alive.
2
BioShock
The Devil is in the Details
While Bioshock isn’t entirely sure what genre it wants to be, it definitely knows how to tell a good story with a satisfying twist.
The thing is, this twist is effortlessly foreshadowed in the game’s environment and readables. If you’re too caught up in the action to pay attention and actually investigate the areas, there’s a lot that you’ll miss.
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Plus, the environmental storytelling tells you exactly what happened here at Rapture, and how even the greatest places in the world aren’t immune to collapse. Many players will find themselves hooked to scouring the environment for more details, since there’s that much.
Let’s just hope that wherever the series goes, it keeps the A+ environmental storytelling.
1
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
The Best Environmental Storytelling in Gaming
When it comes to games with excellent environmental storytelling, none take the cake as well as The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim does. I cannot think of any other game that comes close that isn’t another Bethesda title like Fallout.
Not only is the world incredibly rich and well-lived-in, but all the details that you can come across within said world make it all the more alive. Seriously, no other game comes close to how wonderful it is to just simply be in Skyrim, much less explore it.
And when you do explore, you’re bound to find countless hidden secrets about certain areas, NPCs, and to the plot as a whole. Like in all these other games, the surface of information is just that: the surface; and there’s far more to see underneath.
There’s so, so much to this world that you’ll easily get lost for hours, wandering and wandering without a care in the world because there’s just that much to uncover.
