Best Narrative of 2020 - Article
by Taneli Palola , posted on 16 January 2021 / 1,847 Views
Many of this year's best narratives have found success in taking something familiar to the player - whether that's a story they already know, or common genre conventions - and twisting and changing them in an unexpected way. It could be the way Hades used the repeated deaths common to roguelikes to enhance its narrative, or how Final Fantasy VII Remake took the original story and catapulted it in an unexpected direction. Naturally, there were a multitude of great narratives to experience in video games in 2020, but the following five games were at the top of that list.
The Shortlist:
Hades
Ghost of Tsushima
Ori and the Will of the Wisps
The Last of Us Part II
Final Fantasy VII Remake
The Winner:
Ori and the Will of the Wisps
Runner-up: The Last of Us Part II
It's clear that the story in Ori and the Will of the Wisps, and by extension its predecessor, has resonated with people to a degree that is matched by only a select few other video game narratives. At its core it's a relatively simple tale of finding a way to repair and heal a world and the creatures that inhabit it; of fixing things that are broken. But sometimes the simplest stories are the ones that have the greatest impact on us when they're well executed. Ori and the Will of the Wisps winning this year's award for Best Narrative is proof positive of exactly that.
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Really surprised by Ori getting nominated, never mind actually winning it. It's such a great story, often overlooked for its simplicity, which is a shame.
@ryuu96 is stacking the deck. Well deserved though
Are you kidding?
LOL!!!
That The Lat of Us 2 picture with Ellie and the T-Rex was one of my favorite section of the game. I haven't played Will of the Wisp, but I didn't particularly care about the first Ori game when I played a few hours a few years back.
Last of us 2 somewhat copied beyond two souls past present future format that kinda wrecks the story 'somewhat' but all in all I'm not complaining haha runner up is fine on this site!
