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What are the best choose your own adventure games on Steam?

6

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Considered

8

User
Recs.

Jun 10, 2023

Last
Updated

Also referred to as Interactive Story games.

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6 Games Considered

Best choose your own adventure games on Steam	Price	Genre	Release Date
-- Life is Strange	Free / $19.99	Adventure, Narrative	Jan 29 2015
-- King of Dragon Pass	11,99$	-	-
-- Tales from the Borderlands	$24.99	Adventure, Story Rich	-
-- Life is Strange: Before the Storm	$16.99	Adventure, Narrative	-
-- The Walking Dead A New Frontier	$24.99	Story Rich, Adventure	-

Life is Strange

Top Pro

Great plot and great drama

The story is really engaging, along with the drama which is the most prominent aspect of the game (but don't let that turn you off if you think that drama isn't your thing, because this is so well done). See More

Top Con

Choices feel a little lacking

While there are many choices in Life is Strange, most of them have no long term impact on the story. The only noticeable changes are the dialogue lines and what scenes you get. While this adds some nuances to your journey, the destination is ultimately the same. See More

RickZeeland's Experience

Complete Season (Episodes 1-5) now on offer for only 3,99€ See More

Specs

Genre:Adventure, Narrative

Top Pro

Attention to detail

Life Is Strange has quite a bit of attention to detail compared to some other games of the same genre. It has a lot of details that the player can interact with (interact meaning examine or talk to, not anything physics-based), things which frequently trigger audible dialogue narrated by the protagonist. It adds to the atmosphere of the game. See More

Top Con

There is no tree-like progress with regards to plot

The main plot is entirely linear, and the choices you make only affect side things, details, and things like that. This is almost a spoiler, but it is important for people to not get false expectations. Regardless, the game does a very great job at making it SEEM as though decisions change the story, which is perhaps misleading, but probably immerses the player more. There is more than one ending, but only in a very limited sense. See More

Top Pro

Free chapter available

The first 20% (roughly) of the game is free to try to see if you like it or how well it runs on your machine. Steam will give refunds for games that you didn't like it or had trouble with anyway (as long as you played less than 2 hours of it), but this saves the hassle of refunding, as well as the annoying 2 hour mental timer in your head that you'd be weary of. See More

Top Con

Some poor writing and unbelievable characters

Many of the characters use dialog and behave unlike how a teenager would making for poor believable characters and story. See More

Top Pro

Choice based gameplay

The choices the player makes in game effect the story of the game later on making for consequences one might now be aware of until later. This gives a realistic feel to the game being that choices have outcomes that effect the game world. See More

Top Pro

Amazing overall atmosphere

Between the good voice acting, lighting and object/level design, extensive number of things and people that can be examined or talked to, and music, it really makes one feel as if they're there experiencing the story. See More

Top Pro

Time rewind mechanic

Players can choose to undo a choice they made in game after already experiencing the outcome, which gives a great way to experience every choice in the game as well as gives a individualistic feel to the gameplay. See More

King of Dragon Pass

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Top Pro

Beautiful hand painted art

While King of Dragon Pass does forgo animations, the hand painted art that is featured in game is outright gorgeous. See More

Top Con

Touch controls are not implemented well (mobile version)

While scrolling through text the play can easily accidentally click on text that performs an action. This can result in the player making game advancement choices they did not mean to. See More

RickZeeland's Experience

Create your own mythic saga in this text based strategy game, now on offer on Steam for only 3,59€ See More

Top Pro

Plenty of depth

There is so much attention payed to the details of the game that gives the player a large sense of depth to the story. See More

Top Con

Crash prone (mobile version)

King of Dragon Pass is buggy and is prone to crashing often. See More

Tales from the Borderlands

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Top Pro

Impactful character introductions

Rather than just "showing up" on screen, characters are introduced into the story with flashy introductions. Their name will appear big and bold on the screen along with their picture and a humorous observation about them. This goes a long way towards making each and every character memorable, and making each character introduction into the plot feel like a grand entrance of sorts. See More

Top Con

A couple "gross out" moments

There are few scenes with some rather gross subject matter that some people may find disturbing or disgusting. Thankfully, they are few and far between. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Genre:Adventure, Story Rich

Top Pro

Standalone adventure makes it easily accessible for all

While there are some crossover characters and references to the other Borderlands games, you can still understand this game just fine without any prior knowledge. Whenever a character or location is introduced, the story itself does a great job of letting you know why and how it's important without a lot of fluff. This is great for people who haven't played Borderlands, and allows it to be enjoyed by all. See More

Top Con

Graphical glitches

Sometimes characters disappear for a split second before returning to the screen in a slightly new position a few pixels away. This usually occurs during dialogue choices, and it's as if the game needs to queue up the animation for the specific chosen line of dialogue. Overall, it's not too jarring, but it tends to happen quite often. See More

Top Pro

Keeps you highly invested in the story thanks to interesting choices

Each of the five episodes features many different choices you can make which changes the course of the story and the fate of various characters. These might be minor details such as a dialogue choice or which location you want to visit. At the end of each episode, it presents you with a major choice that will greatly influence the way things unfold. Pondering each one and then wondering if you made the "right" choice keeps you highly invested in the plot and characters, knowing it was your choices that are shaping the story. See More

Top Con

Starts off fairly slow

The first couple of hours are rather slow while certain key characters are being introduced, and there's quite a bit of weaving through side stories before the main plot gets rolling. Thankfully, the game does pick up after the first episode. See More

Top Pro

Hilarious and awesome action sequences

While most action is handled through basic quicktime events, the accompanying onscreen theatrics are intense and filled with explosions, fighting, bandits, armored vehicles, robots, weird animals, and crazy futuristic weapons around every turn. One particular demolition derby scene very early in the game is especially well done. As you race around a track with armored vehicles and fight off heavily-armed bandits, a crybaby bandit king with a malfunctioning megaphone helmet is fighting against a teleporting bounty hunter on the platform above the race. To top off the strange scene, a very large monster being kept captive by the bandits somehow escapes its cage and joins in the fun. Chaos is everywhere, and you're right in the middle of it. The action throughout the game is all just so fantasically bizarre and utterly hilarious, that you can't help but really get into it. See More

Top Con

Long quicktime events

Some of the quicktime sequences are rather long, and if you mess up, you have to do the entire scene over. While they're fun to watch, it can be overly punishing having to replay things in a story-based game where the plot should keep moving at a steady pace. See More

Top Pro

Entertaining and likeable characters

Each character is charming in their own way, with their own personalities, hopes, and special talents. For example, Rhys is corporate guy who dreams of striking it rich, and has a cybernetic eye that lets him scan and hack almost anything electronic. Fiona is a conwoman with a sarcastic attitude and quick to draw her gun, whose biggest goal in life is protecting her daredevil younger sister Sasha, another member of the team who is constantly taking risks. Their differences help compliment both the story and humor, as they are constantly debating how to best handle the predicaments they find themselves in. You can't help but laugh along and cheer them on during some of their oddball schemes as they work together. All in all, there are over a dozen recurring characters, both protagonists and antagonists, all with their own refined quirks and plot lines. The character writing is consistent and excellent, helping to make each and every one endearing as they learn and grow over the course of their adventures. See More

Top Pro

Very funny

The banter among the various characters is very humorous, often featuring strong levels of sarcasm and silly dialogue options even when they find themselves in dangerous situations. Additionally, most of the story is told as a flashback, with the two main characters (Rhys and Fiona) retelling events of the story with plenty of funny embellishments. They will also try their best to make the other character look bad. For example, when Rhys is telling how he used his smarts and wits to make a deal with a smuggler, Fiona will remind him that he actually broke down and cried, begging the smuggler to accept his offer. Rhys and Fiona have a lot of back and forth like this throughout the game which really brings the humor to a new level, and gives the story a lighthearted comedy vibe. See More

Top Pro

Thrilling and engaging storyline

The story is about a ragtag group of misfits who team up to find a treasure vault on Pandora (a rather dangerous planet infested by deadly wildlife and bandits) that is guaranteed to make them incredibly rich. This unlikely crew comes together through a series of unfortunate events chronicled in episode 1, and is led by corporate middleman Rhys, an employee of the Hyperion corporation with cybernetic enhanced parts, and conwoman Fiona, a young streetsmart woman who makes her living swindling. Between them and their treasure are murderous bandits, explosions, a greedy corporation, betrayals, bounty hunters, revenge, secret identities, and plenty of shocking plot twists. See More

Top Pro

Characters you enjoy spending time with

Life is Strange: Before the Storm

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Top Pro

Chloe is more likable this time

In the first Life is Strange, many players complained that Chloe was insufferable and selfish as Max's best friend, complaining in order to have more of her time when she might not have deserved it. This time around, watching the events of Before the Storm unfold from Chloe's eyes is enjoyable, largely thanks to how easygoing she is with Rachel--for the most part--and how far she's willing to go to sacrifice for her throughout the plot. Chloe makes dorky jokes that don't always land and back-talks school staff at Blackwell Academy with harmless ease, making her a much warmer, sillier character compared to her prickly, temperamental self in Max's adventure. See More

Top Con

Limited exploration

With much of the focus on the storytelling, it's still unfortunate that Chloe can't leave the designated story areas without turning around and repeating the same line about how she's supposed to focus on her objective. The limited areas to walk around in are understandable, yet disappointing, with missed opportunities for Chloe to walk down the street from her home and see what her neighbors are up to, or for her and Rachel to hang out in more places around Arcadia Bay together. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Genre:Adventure, Narrative

Top Pro

Great soundtrack

Daughter, the indie folk band from England, worked on the tracks for Before the Storm, pulling together many of the game's great moments with thoughtful acoustic tunes and moody piano tracks. The more upbeat, hopeful tracks fit in incredibly well with Chloe's adventurous scenes with Rachel, giving a sense of wonder as the two explore Arcadia Bay together. One song in particular, 'All I Wanted', is a memorable, catchy folk track that captures the feeling of Chloe and Rachel supporting one another through their struggles, which is what Life is Strange: Before the Storm is all about. See More

Top Con

Third episode falls flat in some areas

Life is Strange: Before the Storm is an all-around stand-out title, with the first and second episodes building up to an impactful third installment that feels lacking in certain aspects. Without getting into spoilers, there are a few plot holes that aren't wrapped up by the end, and much of the tension in the episode falls flat because of these glaring holes that none of the characters bother to address. See More

Top Pro

Improved writing over the first game

The original Life is Strange suffered from some instances of awkward lines that sounded like a middle-aged adult trying to emulate how teenagers speak; thankfully, Before the Storm has a much clearer, down-to-earth script that helps the characters sound more authentic and real. Rachel's use of "hella" is more amusing this time around, as it gives context as to why Chloe picked up on it and used it frequently in the first game. Overall, each of the characters in the game are more well-rounded across the three episodes thanks to the smooth writing. See More

Top Pro

Choices have consequences

Much like in the first game, Before the Storm features several choices throughout the game that have an impact on future plot points across the three episodes. How these choices end up impacting the ending are debatable, but there are still a myriad of choices that change the outcome of a single playthrough, such as Chloe's decision to handle certain sums of money, or whether or not she's willing to accept her mother's unlikable new boyfriend. Chloe and Rachel's interactions can also be limited to friendship or expanded into a romantic relationship through player choice. See More

The Walking Dead A New Frontier

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Top Pro

Main character Javi is very likeable

Main protagonist Javi is a bit of screw-up and the black sheep of his family when the story starts. However, as the world starts to fall apart, he quickly grows into his own and becomes a very likeable character. He is forced into many tough situations where he is always putting his family's safety above his own, and as a result, we get to watch him grow as a person. Overall, he is very easy to relate to and it's fun to cheer him along on his journey from goofball to hero. Javi is a great new addition to the series. See More

Top Con

Too many quicktime events

QTEs are used during action sequences, which is fine, but sometimes they are used in places where they are not needed, such as pushing a dumpster to block a doorway or connecting some wires. These unnecessary QTEs disrupt the pace of the story at best, and at worst, completely ruin immersion by having to repeat the same frustrating sequence over and over when you mess up. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Genre:Story Rich, Adventure

Top Pro

Great story

TWD: A New Frontier features a brand new story in The Walking Dead universe with an all new cast of characters. This time around, you play as Javi, an ex-baseball player with a gambling problem who is trying to protect his family during the zombie apocalypse. Javi is somewhat of the black sheep of the family, but as the world devolves in chaos, he is forced to step up and protect his sister-in-law, nephew, and niece after his brother disappears. The four of them hit the road together to salvage for supplies and search for a new safe place to call home. During the course of the story, you'll be fighting for survival in this messed up world, meeting interesting characters, running into plenty of problems, and making really tough choices to save yourself and your loved ones along the way. See More

Top Con

Very short

For a $25 game, only having seven to eight hours of playtime among five episodes is pretty poor. Each episode is only 60-90 minutes long, whereas episodes in the other two games in the series were around three hours apiece. While the story itself is great, it is overall much, much shorter than season one and two, which may be a great disappointment to some. See More

Top Pro

Voice acting is incredible

Voice actors deliver their lines with a lot of emotion, never feeling forced or fake. This excellent acting really helps draw you into the story and its characters. There's a lot of great chemistry between the various voice actors as well, resulting in conversations that flow well and sound very natural. See More

Top Con

Some choices will be biased towards Clementine

The whole reason season one and two existed was to tell the story of Clementine. She has grown into the beloved character of the franchise. This third installment in the series, however, has us playing as a new character named Javi. Clementine is still heavily involved the storyline, and this is where the issue arises. Sometimes we are asked to make choices as Javi that involve Clementine. However, since we've built up a strong liking for Clementine over the past two games, it's way too easy to swing all choices in her favor - even if Javi wouldn't actually make those choices himself. This can be bit a immersion breaking and make for some rather biased decisions that make little to no sense in the actual context of the story. See More

Top Pro

Loads of difficult and impactful choices

At the heart of this story-driven game are the wide array of interesting choices you get to make. What you say and do will have an impact on how the story plays out, so it's kind of fun to ponder each one. Characters will remember your past actions and conversations, which means all your decisions and dialogue choices carry a lot of meaningful weight. How you choose to interact with various characters will influence how they treat you down the line. Each episode contains many different dialogue paths, as well as 3-4 major heart-wrenching, tough, and super impactful decisions that literally determine the fate of each character and how the story unfolds. See More

Top Pro

The game is cross-platform

You can play it on PC, Mac, PS4, Xbox One, iOS, Kindle Fire HDX, and Android. See More

Top Pro

Huge amount of replayability

Resembling an interactive novel, TWD: A New Frontier plays out as a series of dialogue choices or decisions that result in specific actions. It's pretty interesting to replay the game many times and choose all the different ways of handling situations just to see how they play out. See More

Top Pro

Maintains a sense of familiarity while offering a new perspective

Even though we take on the role of the new character Javi this time around, an old fan favorite, Clementine, makes an appearance and becomes heavily involved in the story as well. The inclusion of Clementine in the story and the newfound relationship between Javi and Clem really adds a wonderful touch of familiarity to the series, while still giving us an all new story to play through. We get to see the world through Javi's eyes, instead of Clem's, which is an interesting perspective shift. See More

The Walking Dead: Season 2

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Top Pro

Choice of protagonist increases emotional impact

Viewing the story through the eyes of Clementine, a young child from the first season, is an interesting choice and makes some of the decisions you have to make even more heartbreaking. Not only is she growing up, she is growing up in the midst of a brutal zombie apocalypse where survival is rough, and life or death choices have to be made on the fly. Experiencing some of the game's situations from the viewpoint a young girl make them even more disturbing and troubling, increasing their emotional impact. See More

Top Con

May distress some people

There is a lot of violence, gore, and very disturbing situations. Some people may not react well to some of the scenes. Despite the fact that the main character in this game is a young girl, this is a game for adults. See More

Specs

Genre:Adventure, Narrative, Survival Horror

Top Pro

Gripping and emotional story

TWD: Season 2 continues the story about the struggle to survive during a brutal zombie apocalypse. You play as Clementine, a young girl from the first season, who is growing up in a cruel world. Food and resources are scarce, and people will do whatever they feel they must do to survive. Not only are the hordes of zombies a constant threat, but people are also dangerous with hidden motives. The story does a really good job showcasing the lengths people will go to to survive, and constantly offers up interesting and tough decisions for you to make. It hits on every emotional level. There are moments of horror, sadness, tragedy, and even a little humor thrown in. Through meaningful dialogue and character interactions, the game is able to flawlessly switch gears between them creating a very gripping and emotional story. See More

Top Con

Some obnoxious quicktime events

While this game is almost fully story based, there are still some fairly long and annoying quicktime events during action sequences. There are a few in particular that feel like they drag on a bit too long, and if you hit the wrong key/button at any point, you'll have to restart the event. See More

Top Pro

A huge amount of replayability

Resembling an interactive novel, TWD: S2 plays out as a series of dialogue choices or decisions that result in specific actions. It's pretty interesting to replay the game many times and choose all the different ways of handling situations just to see how they play out. See More

Top Pro

Stellar voice acting brings the characters to life

Voice actors deliver their lines with a lot of emotion, never feeling forced or fake. This excellent acting really helps draw you into the story and its characters. There's a lot of great chemistry between the various voice actors as well, resulting in conversations that flow well and sound very natural. See More

Top Pro

Standlone story makes it accessible for all

Even if you don't read the comic or watch the TV show, you can still play and enjoy this game. It's a completely standalone story. While there are some mild easter eggs for fans of the show/comic, you can still understand the game just fine without any prior knowledge of The Walking Dead. See More

Top Pro

Dynamic and impactful decisions

Surviving in the midst of a zombie apocalypse is hard, and oftentimes decisions will require you to make heart-wrenching choices to progress the story. In most cases, there are no easy or pleasant solutions to most of the scenarios the story places you in. However every choice you make, be it through dialogue or an action, will influence the story playing out in a new way. Characters will also remember your past interactions with them, which results in the story playing out in dynamic ways. For example, at times you can choose whether or not to help other characters. If you do, they may remember your kindness later in the game. If you don't, they may not trust you in the long run. Characters also remember your dialogue choices, and it will always influence later events. See More

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