If you’re a fan of reading books and novels, this list of great games for avid readers is for you. I like to consider video games as a form of art, and some games have their own stories and written literature in them, amplifying the quality of the game further. Tens of hours can be spent just reading these brilliant journal entries and in-game books.
The Elder Scrolls franchise
The Elder Scrolls franchise features a lot of books. Specifically, the 3D games – Morrowind, Oblivion, and Skyrim – have books about lore and various folktales about the universe.
RELATED: Best RPGs Released Since 2015, According to Metacritic
Especially Morrowind has a lot of reading to do, and it’s a part of gameplay. All three of these games are more or less essential games to play in this generation, and the works of literature in them have not been disregarded by fans.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Shadow of Chernobyl
While there aren’t books in-game, the dialogue of Shadow of Chernobyl is text, most of the time. And in order to understand the game, you have to carefully read through the dialogue of the characters. And they also have stories to tell about the Zone and the people in it.
The reason why I specifically chose Shadow of Chernobyl for this entry is the fact that it has a diary that gets regularly updated. Reading it helps the player understand the character, sympathize, and relate with him.
Also, the encyclopedia of the game contains useful and intriguing information about the game world and the lore. If you want to read even more, the stash locations on the map have descriptions to them with more information about the lore.
Dragon Age: Origins
Dragon Age: Origins is subjectively the best game of the franchise because of its narrative and outstanding RPG elements. This is a game where you’d have to spend tens of hours to just read the journal entries of the game, which is written in a manner that’s appealing to the player.
Folktales, poems, history books, and more works of literature are present in the game, alongside the encyclopedia containing information on the creatures and characters of the game’s universe.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance
Kingdom Come: Deliverance is a game that teaches you more history than a school. With insightful articles about many things in Bohemia back in the medieval ages, including the food and drinks of peasants and nobles, farming, and other vocations and tales about the world itself, KCD is a treasure trove of reading material. I consider this beautiful game to be one of the best history-accurate games out there.
The Soulsborne games
Almost the entirety of the lore of the Soulsborne games is found in the item descriptions. While these game does not have journals or other in-game books, with enough research, you will uncover a great deal of interesting information about the lore.
For example, my Elden Ring lore articles contain information that is strictly from the item descriptions, sometimes. While these descriptions are short, most of the time, because of the sheer number of items, you will have enough reading material to last the entire game.
