It’s an exciting time for gamers, as the Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch are all hitting their stride and have phenomenal titles coming this year. And while PUBG, Fortnite, and other battle royale games seem to be popular right now, God of War has proven that single-player games with a captivating story can still be great. So, that poses the question: what are the best video game campaigns of all-time?
10. Injustice 2
Released a year ago from this Friday, Injustice 2 is an extremely fun game to play against friends, other users, or the AI—but the story mode was the best part. Picking up where Injustice left off, the sequel sees Batman and Superman continue their feud as supervillain Brainiac looks to add Earth to his collection of worlds, and Supergirl is in the middle of it all after not appearing in the first game. In the end, the two sides team up to stop Brainiac, but the Dark Knight and Man of Steel still have different ideas about killing, so you have a choice to make for one of two possible final chapters.
9. Assassin’s Creed
The Assassin’s Creed universe has blown up since the first game was released in 2007, but the original remains the standard for the series. The biggest criticism is that the gameplay was too repetitive with assassination after assassination being the mission objective, but what else did people expect? I would argue the simplicity is what made Assassin’s Creed great, as the story got a little ridiculous in future games with too much action taking place in the present day. Plus, going back to 1191 in the Holy Land was an awesome setting for Altair’s story.
8. Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
There have been plenty of amazing Mario games over the years, but perhaps none had a better campaign mode than Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door because of its combination of a deep story with top-notch gameplay. I loved that each of the eight chapters (plus a prologue and intermissions) had a unique setting and the traditional charm expected from a Mario game, and the battle system was intricate but easy to understand.
7. Grand Theft Auto V
Well, this is basically the opposite of Paper Mario in terms of charm, but Grand Theft Auto V reached new heights for Rockstar Games’ hit franchise. The ability to switch between Michael, Franklin, and Trevor all throughout the story gave gamers freedom to shape things their own way, and the ending gives you a huge—and violent—choice that you can’t turn back from. Before that, though, it was fun to plan different heists and operations however you see fit based on all the circumstances presented.
6. God of War
I don’t want to get too far into God of War’s story because it’s still new and many have yet to play it, but it has a ton of heart and even more violence. I’m not emotional so can’t attest, but apparently the tale of the father (Kratos) and son (Atreus) has literally brought people to tears and made them reflect on their own real-life relationships. Overall, there’s no denying Sony hit a home run with this one.
5. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Man, they really don’t make Star Wars games like they used to. Knights of the Old Republic was ahead of its time as a story, and the sequel could be on this list, too. I mean, who doesn’t want to be able to have their own force-wielding character that can either be a Jedi or Sith Lord based on the choices—big and small—they make throughout the story? Fortunately for those on Xbox One, Microsoft has made KotOR backwards compatible, so gamers are welcomed to journey back nearly 4,000 years before the events of A New Hope to play the incredible RPG.
4. Halo: Combat Evolved
On the other side of the time spectrum compared to Star Wars, Halo: Combat Evolved is set in the 26th century and was the start of Microsoft’s groundbreaking video game series. Not only is the sci-fi shooter’s campaign great in terms of story, but it also allowed gamers to play with a friend to get through it. To this day, Master Chief remains an iconic character, and anyone that wants to begin his story is able to do so on Xbox One with updated graphics.
3. Pokemon Yellow
Pokemon Red & Blue should also be mentioned in the same breath as Pokemon Yellow, but having Pikachu by your side in the enhanced version of the original game puts the Nintendo Gameboy classic over the top. Your story progresses through text instead of voice actors like the other games on this list, but that doesn’t hold Pokemon back. From Pikachu’s unwillingness to evolve to battling Mewtwo and everything in between, Yellow is simply timeless.
2. Red Dead Redemption
Everyone loves a good Western, and John Marston’s story is basically the video-game version of Clint Eastwood’s Best Picture winner, Unforgiven. The dead-eye gunslinger has a nefarious past that he’s trying to escape from by working for the government to make things right, and while you have to “stick to the script” for the main story, gamers are given the freedom to act with or without honor to affect how they are viewed by the rest of the world, including law enforcement. And the ending is superb. Luckily for us, Red Dead Redemption 2 comes out this October.
1. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Like many others, I am not a fan of current Call of Duty games, but COD 4 clearly stands above the rest for both campaign and multiplayer. The single-player story begins with our introduction to “Soap”, Price, and Gaz as three unforgettable characters, and it quickly escalates elsewhere—to terrorist Khalad Al-Asad executing the President of some Middle Eastern country. After that, the action really begins with a rescue mission on a ship, but the best part of the campaign has to be the flashback as Price where you attempt to assassinate Imran Zakhaev, but you just snipe his arm off, and then chaos ensues trying to escape. That greatness is almost reached in the ending, too, which is dark and realistic rather than being a feel-good, happy conclusion.
COD 4!!
Red Dead is my favorite.
Great list. I wanna play COD 4 now.
RDR2 is going to be epic.