I Can’t Be The Only One Who Pretends To Understand These Confusing Gaming Storylines

18 July 2025

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i-can’t-be-the-only-one-who-pretends-to-understand-these-confusing-gaming-storylines — I Can’t Be The Only One Who Pretends To Understand These Confusing Gaming Storylines

Is there anything worse than playing a video game where you never understand what’s going on? As hard as you might try, certain titles either have too many characters, confusing plots, or something else that makes the actual story either hard to follow or impossible to describe to someone else.

There are plenty of highly acclaimed video games with nonsensical narratives that are still praised for their gameplay, visual style, or commitment to their absurd concepts. The biggest fans of these titles would love to sit you down to explain these storylines for hours at a time, but even with the simplest descriptions, you’ll still just smile, nod, and pretend like you understand what they’re about.

10 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim

13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim

Released: September 22, 2020

ESRB: T For Teen due to Fantasy Violence, Language, Partial Nudity
Developer(s): Vanillaware
Publisher(s): Atlus, Sega
Engine: unity
Multiplayer: Online Multiplayer
Platform(s): PS4, Switch
How Long To Beat: 30 Hours
PS Plus Availability: N/A

13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim was created by Vanillaware, a developer who has become infamous for using a unique visual style to bring their worlds and characters to life. This 2019 game is possibly the studio’s most ambitious project to date, as it follows 13 different characters whose stories intersect with each other in a non-linear fashion.

Combining elements from visual novels, adventure games, and real-time strategy battles, 13 Sentinels throws a lot at you during its opening hours, and it allows you to play as almost any character in whatever order you like, so everyone will experience the story in a different sequence. Some of the major threads will tie together toward the end, but there are so many layers to the complex story that you might need to read the in-game glossary for a better understanding.

9 Overwatch

ESRB: T For Teen // Blood, Mild Language, Use of Tobacco, Violence
Developer(s): Blizzard
Publisher(s): Blizzard
Multiplayer: Online Multiplayer
Cross-Platform Play: PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One & Xbox Series X|S
Cross Save: yes
Franchise: Overwatch
Early Access Release: October 4, 2022
PC Release Date: August 10, 2023
Xbox Series X|S Release Date: August 10, 2023
PS5 Release Date: August 10, 2023
Nintendo Switch Release Date: August 10, 2023
Platform(s): PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Switch, Xbox One S, Xbox One X, PC
OpenCritic Rating: Strong
How Long To Beat: 35 hours
Platforms That Support Crossplay: PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One & Xbox Series X|S

The original Overwatch launched in 2016 and helped establish the hero-based shooter that’s continued to grow with games like Marvel Rivals and Valorant. The multiplayer game caught everyone’s attention with its satisfying gameplay, colorful levels, and most importantly, a roster of unique characters with fascinating relationships with each other and interesting backstories.

The only thing about Overwatch and Overwatch 2 is that they are primarily multiplayer games, and the only way to learn more about the characters and their stories is through other media, like animated shorts or comics. Die-hard Overwatch can tell you everything you need to know, but it can be hard for a casual player to keep up with everything.

8 No More Heroes

No More Heroes

Released: January 22, 2008

ESRB: M For Mature 17+ due to Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Strong Language
Developer(s): Grasshopper Manufacture
Publisher(s): Marvelous, Ubisoft, Rising Star Games, XSEED Games
Franchise: No More Heroes
Platform(s): Wii, Switch, Amazon Luna, PC
OpenCritic Rating: Strong

Suda51 and the team at Grasshopper Manufacture are known for creating action games with ridiculous stories, like Lollipop Chainsaw and Killer is Dead. One of the studio’s most popular projects is the No More Heroes series, which began as a controversial Wii-exclusive that grew enough of an audience to justify two sequels, a spin-off, and a mobile game.

Travis holds a beam katana, Travis faces off against FU, Travis prepares to strike

Which No More Heroes game comes out on top?

Though the first game is pretty straightforward until the very shocking ending, the series continues to get more absurd the further it goes along. No More Heroes 2 and No More Heroes 3 both begin to feel like fever-dreams at a certain point, and the decisions to bring back characters from the dead throughout the series only make everything more confusing.

7 Alan Wake 2

Remedy Entertainment is known for creating games that break the fourth wall and fuse elements from other mediums, like film and music, to draw the player into its worlds. Alan Wake 2 is the culmination of the studio’s work, and as incredible as it might be to watch a twenty-minute dance routine, the story itself can leave you stuck in a dark place of your own as you try to put the pieces together.

Unlike the first game, Alan Wake 2 features two protagonists: the titular writer and Saga Anderson, an FBI agent who is investigating Alan’s disappearance. You have the freedom to play as either character whenever you want, and as thrilling as both of their campaigns are, you still might have a hard time understanding what is happening by the time the credits start to roll.

6 Zero Escape

The Nintendo DS was essential in popularizing visual novels outside of Japan due to the success of Ace Attorney and the first entry in the Zero Escape series, Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors. The latter was one of the few M-rated games for the handheld device and followed a group of strangers as they worked with and against each other to survive a deadly game with a mysterious host.

The first game’s cult following allowed the creator, Kotaro Uchikoshi, to make two more games in the beloved series: Virtue’s Last Reward and Zero Time Dilemma. All three titles are known for having multiple endings that require you to play through the story more than once to see them all, and despite having different casts of characters, all three games are connected in ways that are hard to comprehend.

5 Assassin’s Creed

Assassin’s Creed

Released: November 14, 2007

ESRB: M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood, Strong Language, Violence
Developer(s): Ubisoft Montreal
Publisher(s): Ubisoft
Sequel(s): Assassin’s Creed 2
Franchise: Assassin’s Creed
Number of Players: Single Player
Platform(s): PC, PS3, Xbox 360
How Long To Beat: 14.5 Hours
How Long To Beat (Completionist Runs): 32 Hours

The first Assassin’s Creed game launched in 2007, and the series continues to reinvent itself to this day despite a few hiccups along the way. While these titles might seem like basic stealth adventures set over different periods of time, many of them are connected in one way or another through a present-day storyline that involves characters using a device known as the Animus to relive the memories of their ancestors.

Desmond sits in a chair, Bayonetta pulls her glasses down, Dante leans against a wall.

These loading screens keep you busy while you wait for the real game to begin.

Not only does each Assassin’s Creed have a main story told within the world you spend most of your time in, but there is also a larger narrative being told outside that bubble that’s often hard to follow, especially when it happens in the middle of the main journey. The series struggles with trying to juggle too many plots in the air when it should just focus on telling one great story instead.

Metal Gear Solid

Released: October 20, 1998
ESRB: M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Suggestive Themes, Violence

The Metal Gear series was instrumental in developing the stealth genre for nearly thirty years and somehow follows a singular story that includes clones, vampires, and the deadly robots that the franchise is named after. While you can enjoy any Metal Gear game on its own, each mainline title connects to another entry in a non-linear fashion that can often leave you wondering if you’re playing them in the right order.

The first Metal Gear Solid for the PlayStation is ambitious but fairly simple to understand, especially compared to its sequels. Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty has one of the most memorable endings in video games that some people are still trying to unravel, while Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots has so much exposition that it won a Guinness World Record for having the longest cutscene in a game.

3 Death Stranding

Death Stranding

3.0/5

Released: November 8, 2019

ESRB: M for Mature: Blood, Intense Violence, Partial Nudity, Strong Language
Developer(s): Kojima Productions
Publisher(s): Sony, 505 Games
Engine: Decima
Cross-Platform Play: Yes! Players will share the same server as Steam and Epic users
Cross Save: yes
Franchise: Death Stranding
Steam Deck Compatibility: yes
PC Release Date: July 14, 2020
Xbox Series X|S Release Date: November 7, 2024
PS5 Release Date: September 24, 2021
Platform(s): iOS, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
OpenCritic Rating: Strong
How Long To Beat: 40 Hours
PS Plus Availability: Extra & Premium
Release: 2022-03-30 (PC)
Metascore: 85

If you thought Hideo Kojima’s first original project with his own studio would be a more straightforward experience than his previous games, it should only take Death Stranding about an hour or two to leave you more confused than you were at the end of Metal Gear Solid 2. Whether it’s the number of absurdly-named characters or terms like BTs and DOOMs, the fiction of Death Stranding is incredibly dense and difficult to comprehend.

Fortunately, the gameplay in both Death Stranding titles is so satisfying that it makes watching ten-minute cutscenes (where you understand every fifth word) worth it just so you can unlock new gear that makes your deliveries even more fun to complete. Kojima clearly had a vision for the world of Death Stranding, and whether we understand it or not, it’s just cool that someone is creating these types of experiences.

2 Elden Ring

Elden Ring

Released: February 25, 2022

ESRB: M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence
Developer(s): From Software
Publisher(s): Bandai Namco Entertainment, From Software
Multiplayer: Online Co-Op, Online Multiplayer
Cross-Platform Play: PS4 & PS5 and Xbox One & Xbox Series X|S
Steam Deck Compatibility: yes
Platform(s): PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X
OpenCritic Rating: Mighty
How Long To Beat: 58 Hours
X|S Optimized: yes
Metascore: 96
Platforms That Support Crossplay: PS4 & PS5 and Xbox One & Xbox Series X|S

Elden Ring is one of the definitive games of the generation and has sold over 30 million units since it launched in 2022. Despite its vast popularity, the majority of people who have stepped into the Lands Between probably couldn’t tell you a single thing about what the story is or why there is a character named Dung Eater.

FromSoftware is known for its ambiguous storytelling that requires players to read item descriptions to obtain key pieces of the narrative, and Elden Ring continues that trend, but its world seems so much bigger than anything else the studio has created that it’s hard to remember every character’s role. Thankfully, there is a cavalcade of content on YouTube and other platforms that will do their best to try to explain the deep lore of Elden Ring.

1 Kingdom Hearts

Kingdom Hearts

Released: September 17, 2002

ESRB: E for Everyone: Violence
Developer(s): Square Enix
Publisher(s): Square Enix
Cross-Platform Play: android, ios
Cross Save: yes
Franchise: Kingdom Hearts
Steam Deck Compatibility: yes
Platform(s): PS2
How Long To Beat: 29 Hours
PS Plus Availability: Extra & Premium

The premise for Kingdom Hearts is simple: what would happen if the worlds and iconic faces from Disney’s vast catalog clashed with characters from the Final Fantasy series? What could’ve been a fun crossover featuring fan-favorites from both communities quickly became one of the most confusing and convoluted series in the industry, with a series of strange decisions that continue to baffle audiences.

Similar to Death Stranding, the Kingdom Hearts series became so swept up in its world that it started to overcomplicate the story with strange terminology and storylines that still don’t make sense many years later. To make matters worse, Kingdom Hearts has a massive number of spin-offs on various platforms that are all somehow canon to the larger story that began back in 2002.