I was recently thinking about how some PC games don’t ease you in, they grab you from the first second and don’t let go. Meanwhile, others can take an hour or so to build before unleashing a powerful cinematic and then dropping the title screen while your mouth hangs open.
I’ve personally seen how both methods can be engaging. So, I decided to round up seven of the most compelling intros I’ve ever played.
See if your favorite made the list.
SPOILER WARNING: This page lightly details events that happen within the first two-ish hours of a game, including some initial spoilers.
Final Fantasy XVI
Few games have hooked me before the title screen like Final Fantasy XVI did. This RPG opens somewhat slowly, laying out the political conflicts and personal relationships within its world, then erupts into one of the most emotionally charged and visually stunning intros I’ve ever seen.
In the first hour, you learn about the complex relationship between two brothers, a frail younger brother who has the ability to morph into a god-like Phoenix and his protective older brother, who is looked down on for not having inherited this same power.
There’s a surprising betrayal, violence, and combat that all build to a fiery, emotion-filled crescendo that leaves the protagonist wrapped in guilt and the need for revenge. If you haven’t played the game or haven’t at least watched this opening, I highly recommend you do.
Fallout 4
I could write about every game in the Fallout series thanks to the masterful juxtaposition between 1950s idealism and a bleak nuclear wasteland, but Fallout 4 has a particularly engaging introduction.
Just minutes before nuclear bombs hit, you and your spouse take your baby and flee to a vault shelter. It might seem like you’re safe, but while you’re stuck in your vault pod, you watch as someone shows up, kills your spouse, and takes your child.
Eventually, you get out of the pod and stumble out of the vault, eager to find out what happened to your son while trying to survive a nuclear wasteland. It’s a strong start that gives you a clear and powerful need to explore.
Marvel’s Spider-Man series
The Marvel’s Spider-Man games from Insomniac were designed for a generation that already knows Spidey’s origins and wants to jump into the swinging action from the get-go.
I could easily talk about all three games, but I’ll just illustrate the first game’s opening to get my point across. Without hardly any preamble, Peter dons his suit and jumps out of his window.
Within the first 20 minutes, you fight Fisk and his goons, and see first-hand Peter’s complicated work-life-vigilante balance. While punching baddies, he entertains phone calls from NYPD Captain Watanabe about the dangerous enemies downtown, gets reminded by his boss that he’s late for work, and makes plans with Aunt May.
It’s the perfect example of a game that doesn’t mess around and just lets you jump in and enjoy it.
While Skyrim offers many mechanics and aspects that led to its explosive popularity, it also has a powerful opening to draw players in.
Within minutes, you learn that you are being taken to your execution and get a feel for the political conflict that the world is embroiled in. Before your head can be cut off, a dragon lands on a nearby tower and rains fire down.
You’re immediately thrust into the action and must find a way to escape the town, while acquiring gear and fighting enemies.
This opening feels organic, introducing you to mechanics, creatures, and decision-making in a very natural way, and then lets you run loose with that information.
God of War (2018)
The fourth installment in the God of War franchise changed the tone of the entire series, and that started with the perfect opening that mixed sorrow, mystery, and brutality in the first 40 minutes.
Just after Kratos and his son, Atreus, create a funeral pyre for his late wife, an unknown Norse god appears at their door, issuing threats.
What follows is a frenetic fist-fight, showcasing the destructive might of two violent gods as they smash through buildings, hit each other with tree trunks, and violently break the Earth open with their blows.
After a very close encounter, Kratos defeats the stranger, reunites with Atreus, and decides this location is no longer safe. It’s a start that gets your blood pumping and makes you feel wary of the world you set out to explore.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
I’ve previously written about how Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has one of the most beautifully wistful game intros I’ve ever seen.
In a relatively short amount of time, you learn that every year, a massive figure across the sea known as the Paintress reduces the number on her monolith by one, and then people of a certain age disappear into smoke.
Through a gorgeous cinematic, you watch as the protagonist says goodbye as their friend gets erased. Then filled with sadness and hope, the protagonist heads off on an expedition to stop this annual event from happening.
Grotesque creatures, an extremely powerful foe, and the mystery surrounding the Paintress, all work to pull you further into this world.
BioShock
BioShock masterfully starts as if in the haze of a dream and quickly introduces a mysterious and dangerous world that players want to learn more about.
You find yourself struggling to swim through the fiery wreckage of a plane crash, only to see a mysterious tower rising up above the ocean.
After making your way into the building, you find yourself entering a submarine that takes you miles below into the underwater city of Rapture, described by an in-vessel movie as a utopia for creative individuals.
However, the first thing you witness after entering an underwater building is someone getting viciously mutilated by a gruesome figure.
It’s a nerve-wracking start that fills you with the desire to explore and escape this supposed “utopia.”
Honorable mentions
Here are some other titles that narrowly didn’t make the list.
- Final Fantasy X
- Cyberpunk 2077
- Half-Life, Half-Life 2
- Dragon Age: Origins
- The Last of Us Part 1
A strong start makes a game hard to set down
There you have it, seven games with such extremely powerful introductions that you’ll have a hard time putting them down.
BioShock is particularly iconic thanks to the amount of mystery and curiosity it creates in a matter of minutes. Meanwhile, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 offers one of the most melancholy and artistic intros to suck you in.
If I didn’t mention a game that you think deserves to be on this list, tell us about it in the comments!
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