10 Best Stories That ONLY Work As Video Games

Gone Home is a game that became the foundation of the "walking simulator" genre. But, of course, a description like that misses the point entirely. Yes, this is a game where you have very little to do regarding mechanics, but that leaves a perfect amount of space for narrative.

This future classic follows a young woman (Katie) who returns to her family home and explores the empty house. She picks up environmental clues and learns what happened in her absence, unveiling a long narrative about her sister coming out as gay and her parents responding poorly, leading to her sister running away from the household.

Naturally, the core plot of a girl coming out is hardly unique to video games. However, this specific story works entirely because of its video game holding device.

Looking through the eyes of Katie and learning everything in isolation through exploration highlights the loneliness of the house and the hole she left when she moved abroad. Through this lens, the central story of her sister's struggle becomes so much more intimate and effective, in a way that a conventional movie or book couldn't deliver.

Couple this with genre subversion - you're initially led to believe this will be a haunted house tale - and you've got a story that excels in video game form.