Best Interactive Movie Games

These are the games that are narrative driven, that tell tales of adventurous and dramatic experiences presented in a cinematic fashion with minimal, but in the best cases, impactful player interactions. This is a genre that is often criticized and deemed too uninvolved to be considered “real games”. Here is a list of the top five interactive movie games according to me:

  1. Beyond Two Souls

Beyond Two SoulsBeyond Two Souls is the most recent game from the developer known for its contributions to the interactive movie video game genre, Quantic Dream. This game features a story told anachronistically in a sort of collection of anthology stories surrounding the character of Jodie and her ethereal tether, Aiden. Some found it to be a confusing way to organize a story that has an inconsistent tone, but it does a great job of building the character of Jodie and the connection her development with her past experiences. Although it was enjoyable it had a significant downside by making the outcomes of your decisions practically irrelevant.

  1. Fahrenheit

Fahrenheit is a crime thriller that focuses on a paranormal conspiracy that has caused the deaths and possession of ordinary people all over New York City. YouFahrenheit get to play from the perspective of both sides of the conspiracy in a compelling, unique, and well executed concept. It does however show its age with some bad action moments and the occasional odd character choices – even after the recent remastered version of the game was released.

  1. Telltale’s The Walking Dead

Walking DeadThe Walking Dead is Telltale’s interpretation and part retelling of the popular comic book series of the same name. The game features a strong emotional story that is built by introducing you to characters and giving you time to understand them before they hit you with a major decision about their fate. Telltale’s The Walking Dead game received wide critical and player acclaim for giving you a continuous narrative that adapted to all of your important choices – making you feel a part of its world instead of just a spectator.

  1. Heavy Rain

Heavy Rain is yet another interactive film from Quantic Dream that builds on what was done before and even surpasses what the developer has done since. It is aheavy rain noir crime thriller that unravels the mystery of the Origami Killer by moving you between four distinct characters: a detective, a grieving father, a private eye, and an insomniac photojournalist. There is a combination of intense fight and chase scenes, and quieter investigative moments and interrogations. Beyond the compelling story, the major draw was having multiple endings and decisions that mattered.

  1. Until Dawn

Until DawnUntil Dawn is the pinnacle of interactive movie games that learned from all the games before it and made sure to not only separate itself from the others games in the genre, but be upfront about how the game should be viewed by players. Until Dawn focuses on the choices you make and ensures that you know that anything you do could have a consequence that alters the path of our story.

This is one of the few games that actually feels like you’re in a movie making the decisions as the characters. It tells a story like a great b-movie slasher horror flick that has both laughs and scares. How many times have you been watching a horror movie and whispered under your breath in a sort of mantra: “don’t go in there, don’t go in there.” This is your opportunity to take charge and slide into these characters’ shoes as they are hunted by a crazed psycho.

This takes everything that is great about the genre and expands upon it to bring you the best of its kind in a beautifully executed and fun experience.

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