12. Final Fantasy X
Some vehemently hate this game for introducing voice acting to the franchise but the overall writing and themes surrounding religion and war easily outshone it. It may not have the most fearful traditional villain in Seymour but the chaotic monstrosity of Sin is more than enough to strike fear in everyone living in this fantasy world. Theres also one of the few and better love stories in gaming centered on Tidus and Yuna, which greatly intensifies with the revelation that no matter what, saving the world requires Yuna to sacrifice herself at the end of the pilgrimage. It's a startling and depressing revelation once Tidus learns of Yuna's sacrifice to destroy Sin, but more importantly one that allows us to feel every ounce of Tidus' anguish and pain.
11. To The Moon
More Indie game love and if you havent played this one you absolutely have to. To The Moon is a Point and Click Adventure game set in the future where scientists can implant memories that dont exist into peoples brains, almost similar to Inception. In this game, you are tasked with placing a memory of visiting the Moon into an elderly man as his dying wish, but as you venture through his entire life you come to understand a very tough life full of lost love, death, a serious exploration of Asperger's, and more. I actually don't want to spoil this one because its twists and ending are poetically beautifully in ways that you have to see to believe.
10. The Witcher Franchise
If there were ever a line of games that earned their Mature rating by actually demanding gamers to pay nonstop attention to ridiculously well written dialogue, and not have their hands held when making narrative shifting decisions ( color coded Bioware choices) it's this ongoing franchise. Aside from admittedly indulging in violence and sexual content (There are multiple scenes containing full frontal nudity, a first in gaming to my knowledge) The Witcher aims unwaveringly to tell a dramatic story about medieval politics. Thats exactly the selling point in this medieval fantasy epic; you fight politics and monsters. The Witcher is essentially the Game of Thrones of gaming. Most importantly, it contains the most elegant writing in this entire list.