Recently, I just completed Heavy Rain on PlayStation 4. I know, I’m late but I wasn’t a huge PlayStation gamer in the past, so Heavy Rain was hidden by a gigantic wall made up of Xbox games I played in the past. Upon completion, I reflected on the long journey I had just partaken while playing this emotionally enticing, story-driven game. Heavy Rain was and is an amazing game, but I had to ask myself, “what made me want to finish it?”
I have a confession to make, I have a problem completing video games sometimes. When hanging out with friends, my failure to complete simple games has become a long-running joke. The thing is, certain games just fail to keep my interest. The simplicity of some games alone is enough to keep me from wanting to finish them. When I think about it, most of my all-time favorite games have a lot in common. To give you an idea, each of them are single-player, they each have amazing stories, and, perhaps the most important, they all have relatable characters.
What Story-Driven Games Am I Talking About?
Games like Last of Us, Red Dead Redemption, The Walking Dead, and God of War, all have interesting characters that almost anyone can relate to. Just like watching a tear-jerking film, taking the reigns of a strong single-player character as they go about their life can produce certain feelings I had no idea were possible for a video game. For example, when playing as Kratos from God of War, I can somewhat relate to what Kratos is trying to do with his son, Atreus, as they travel together.
Although I am not a father, I still know what it is like to show someone who looks up to you the way as you guide them through valuable life lessons. Even more, I know the feeling of resentment that is sent your way when you have to make tough decisions that your protege doesn’t like. It’s just a way of life. Despite the journey, the fights, the anger, and the resentment, in the end, Atreus and Kratos fostered a strong bond as they worked together. This is true for many gamers out there who have to step into a mother/father role in someone’s life. That ability to make connections is that secret sauce needed for a great game.
This is essential to creating an impactful video game. Yeah, there are a lot of video games out there that make their selling point by emphasizing great multiplayer action over strong characters and stories, but most of the time, these games are easily forgotten. The ones that force you to harbor emotions, that force you to draw connections to the experiences of your own life, are the ones that live forever. These games are the ones that people will talk about for years to come. These are the ones that are worthy of the title of, “Game of the Year.” These are the ones that I want to see in the future more often than not.
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