Uncharted 4

when stanely came to a set of two open doors...

 I LOVE that game.

If you or anyone else is actually interested in Dark Souls lore and have the patience to watch a let's play these videos from ENB are awesome.  He goes quite deep into the lore of items and NPC dialogue.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQDWoXFQ-YLpeEFkzeDZF1MmNQS7BDoI4

And here it was! the lounge ...

what a room Stanley thought to himself, what a room! what a room ! what a room !

this is what Stanley thought, what a room! what a room ! what a room ! what a room!

va va voom, what a room

This is a game that never gets old

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Horizon easily.

In that case, going by release years instead of technological level, I think the game from this era (meaning in essence the last four years or so) that had the best story was Gone Home. It's a coming-of-age story that tries something other than one spin or another on the Catcher in the Rye message (i.e. maturation means embracing the future rather than getting too caught up in nostalgia). You can see variations on that theme in several of the great contemporary coming-of-age graphic adventures: Life is Strange, Oxenfree, Night in the Woods. The recent game Night in the Woods I thought had a particularly good spin on that message, suggesting that it applies not only to individuals, but also to whole societies, which I think is very apt at this particular time wherein we want to make America great again and such. But Gone Home instead suggested that one should follow their heart regardless of the cost. The story concludes with [spoiler alert] the story's two major characters giving up their future, or at least putting it on hold for sure, in order to be together. And nobody dies as a result or anything. :P [/spoiler]. I thought that was bolder, and also more emotionally impactful, and that it was made more impactful by the fact that [bonus spoiler] it's a same-sex relationship instead of the usual heterosexual ones, which was especially rare and bold back in 2013, when same-sex marriage was still illegal in most of this country (including my state) [/spoiler 2].

In design terms, I also think Gone Home is among the boldest games ever made. It rejects all conventional gaming challenges, featuring no enemies to fight, no puzzles to solve, no proper collectibles to amass, no platforms to jump, or anything of that nature, and it manages to do so without at all becoming just an antiseptic simulation game with no story, characters, or sense of adventure per se. Instead, the whole game revolves around its emotional story, which is conveyed purely through environmental storytelling. On top of that, the developers at Fullbright opted for a realistic (and for me also nostalgic) setting, believable characters, and rejected any supernatural or science fiction elements, which is extremely rare for adventure video games. It was in all these ways an audacious game that dared to suggest that it's okay for games to be genuinely realistic and genuinely emotional; just genuine in general.

Perhaps the best current-gen competition for Gone Home narratively that I can think of for my taste would be That Dragon, Cancer, which is actually a true story told by the people who lived it. You can't get much more true to life than that! I think we need more games that are truly about real life, and not always in a purely metafictional or antiseptic way. Still though, Gone Home's setting and characters hit a little closer to home for me personally, so that's how I decide between those two.

Ah, yes the 'game' that features walking around and looking at things as means of progression. I don't get how people consider it a game. There is no gameplay which is less 'bold' than just outright stupid. Even the story itself is not interactive; you have no say in what happens and make no decisions. A video game is entirely the wrong medium for that. If you want to tell a story with no gameplay or audience participation then write a book or film a movie.

My best story of the gen would be the Stanley Parable. It also lacks a bit in the gameplay department, but more than makes up for it by the compelling power of choice and desire for exploration it invokes. I played through multiple times, experiemnting with what else the narrator would, trying to find hidden or unexpected paths. And the brillance of the 'outside the building hidden area', where you think you've broken the game only to have the narrator continue speaking was incredible.

I'd also give a shoutout to 'Affordable Space Adventures'. It is more of a tone than a true story, but they really nailed the feeling of being alone and unexperienced in a strange, alien environment using your damaged craft as best you can to survive and hope for a way back home.

Dark Souls 3

I'd consider myself to be the one of the biggest Souls' fans, and certainly have been there since the beginning, but to say that they have the best story I just can't get behind.

Sure, they are jam-packed with lore and they have phenomenal atmosphere, but story...