Best Online Game Stories

What do gamers expect when launching a multiplayer game? Exciting PvP battles, team raids against bosses, character leveling up, passionate tinkering with hundreds of equipment items, and monotonous monster grinding at spawn points—but certainly not an engaging main storyline. Well-crafted narratives are more commonly associated with single-player projects like the third «Witcher» or The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. However, among MMO hits, exceptions occasionally appear—games where the script isn't just background noise but serves as an equally important part of the project as the combat and role-playing systems, sparking fan debates and even inspiring books based on the virtual world's events. Let's talk about such works.

Hardly anyone would argue that the stories in «Star Wars» are amazing—despite their simplicity. They're full of genuine emotions, displays of heroism, space flights, fights, political intrigue, and unexpected twists—just Darth Vader's revelation in «The Empire Strikes Back» is worth it. Not only are the scripts of the main film cycle well-crafted, but so are those of several series—to see this, just watch the animated «Clone Wars.» The same applies to games. As Ray Muzyka from BioWare, who led the development of SWTOR, once noted, MMORPGs had three key aspects—combat, world exploration, and character development—while The Old Republic added a fourth: the story.

The script was created by BioWare employees in collaboration with colleagues from LucasFilm and Lucas Arts, so this story can confidently be considered part of the established Star Wars canon. Here, evil Sith also oppose good Jedi, but the events take place not in the era of Luke Skywalker and Han Solo but over three thousand years before their meeting. In those ancient times, the galaxy was torn by war between the Republic and the Empire, restored through the efforts of Darth Vitiate. At some point, the dark side adepts broke through to the capital and forced their rivals to sign the Treaty of Coruscant. With this agreement, the Sith managed to temporarily pacify the Jedi. But only temporarily.

Here, both sides of the conflict could have calmed down, but the Sith began supporting separatists in various corners of the galaxy. In turn, the Republic's defenders didn't sit idle—the Jedi trained a new generation of knights and interfered with the Sith's plans whenever possible. During a successful operation, the Jedi, as it seemed to them, managed to kill Vitiate, but this didn't lead to peace. On the contrary, Darth Malgus, responsible for the devastation of Coruscant, decided to seize power—to the point where both the Empire and the Republic turned against him. The Hutts took advantage of this chaos and almost gained the upper hand. However, we won't spoil the fun—it's better to learn about the game's events yourself by completing quests.

The writers at BioWare managed to compose an entire epic with more characters than in Leo Tolstoy's «War and Peace.» And for those who want more, there are specially written books for SWTOR fans—«Fatal Alliance,» «Deceived,» «Revan,» and «Annihilation.»

The vast majority of MMORPGs today are fantasy-based. And imagining the fantasy genre without J.R.R. Tolkien's «The Lord of the Rings» is like imagining physics without the works of Isaac Newton. Based on the English storyteller's books, there have been films, plays, operas with symphonies, and, of course, games. Among them, the 2007 The Lord of the Rings Online, or LOTRO as fans call it, holds an honorable place. The project was developed by Turbine, where everyone understood the stakes: they had to offer Tolkien's universe fans something interesting while not failing in terms of story or setting. That's why the authors didn't reinvent the wheel—they simply based the game on the story told in «The Lord of the Rings.»

As we've already noted, they had to offer gamers a new experience while distancing themselves from Peter Jackson's adaptation (Turbine only had rights to the book and nothing else). So, the developers set LOTRO's story in the same direction as the book but presented events from a broader perspective. In other words, the game's events unfold parallel to Frodo and Sam's adventures, but players have a much wider choice of locations to visit, races for their characters, interesting encounters with the saga's heroes, and interactive events in general. For clarity: nothing stops you from participating in the fight against the Witch-king in Angmar rather than at the walls of Minas Tirith or tracking Grima's agents in the plains of Rohan. Plus, it's nice that, unlike most MMOs, you can complete the main story solo.

Despite the rich assortment of plans, the single-player campaign's events form a cohesive narrative leading to the well-known conclusion. Notably, the game's authors expanded the story not only horizontally but also vertically, adding flashbacks about Middle-earth's past. The beauty of good books is that after reading them, everyone wants some kind of continuation. And The Lord of the Rings Online provides that opportunity—game users learn more about the beloved world while meeting characters from the books, including Tom Bombadil, Aragorn, Frodo, and Sam.

By the time work began on this MMORPG, the Japanese company Square Enix already had over twenty years of experience developing the world of Final Fantasy, its biomes, cultures, and conflicts. Additionally, the studio had already released online games in the same universe—just recall the eleventh installment. In short, the authors had serious creative support. But this also meant they had to, figuratively speaking, jump higher than ever to surpass everything they'd done before. Thus, the game with the number XIV appeared, which since 2010 has been considered one of the best MMORPGs—largely thanks to its story and presentation.

The game's events unfold on the fictional planet Hydaelyn. One of its continents, Eorzea, became an arena for political intrigue and conquests. The main hornet's nest was the Garlean Empire, whose leaders used artifacts from a vanished civilization to combine magic and technology. As a result, they assembled the most formidable army and began their expansion, moving from north to south. The free peoples of Eorzea gathered their last forces to fight the aggressor, but in the midst of the war, the planet's lesser moon fell, causing a terrible cataclysm. Interestingly, FFXIV handled this uniquely: designer Naoki Yoshida, known for Dragon Quest, decided to gradually increase the size of the moon Dalamud every day. Players sensed something was wrong, rumors spread, and then—bam! Disaster.

Thanks to the heroes' ability to see not only the present but also Hydaelyn's past, gamers immerse themselves in a multi-layered narrative. They repel the empire's onslaught, avert the threat of primals—monsters feeding on astral energy—and seek common ground with the beastmen, who could play a key role in the fantasy world's fate. The heroes discover that the moon's fall isn't accidental but due to a relay in Castrum Novus, and it's not a moon at all but a prison for the most powerful primal—the dragon Bahamut, who, after long imprisonment, is ready to destroy the entire continent. Which he does, so Eorzea's defenders must return to the past to restart saving the world.

The story's presentation deserves special attention. It's not just collecting notes or a line at the bottom of the screen that most users would skip. Here, you'll find cutscenes, voice acting, and detailed exploration of all characters' motives, including antagonists. They're not just evil—they have their reasons for doing what they do.

In a discussion of the best online game stories, we couldn't overlook the Russian MMORPG Allods Online. The game's story unfolds in a world called Sarnaut. Once a whole planet, it shattered into fragments floating in the astral—allods—after the Great Cataclysm. Although communication between allods is maintained magically, this fragmentation led to a conflict between the League and the Empire. So Sarnaut lives: either the free peoples quarrel, or demons emerge from the astral, and without magic, many threats can't be overcome. The game's story consists of different race arcs—there are quests for orcs, Xadaganians, and Zem (Empire), as well as elves, Kanians, and Gibberlings (League). Though you must start on one side, all storylines eventually merge into one.

By completing quests, players learn why the Eye of the World features monuments to Nezeb, who once ruled the Xadaganians, what makes the mage Yasker famous, the difference between orc mages and shamans, and how the wizard Tep of the Zem race doomed an entire civilization. The game provides answers gradually, dedicating each chapter to a location. Imagine a play where each act has unique, distinct sets.
The developers at Astrum Entertainment not only handled the multi-layered narrative but also adapted it, in their words, for the Russian-speaking audience. So, in «Allods Online,» you'll find familiar terms, references to Slavic folklore, and more. It's amusing, you know, to see a military district instead of a region and a research institute instead of a magic school on the map.

Thanks to its scale, this MMORPG's story is often compared to Final Fantasy XIV's. The events take place on the planet Tyria, where magic is complemented by steampunk technology—airships and firearms already exist, for example. Players go through a series of campaigns, each tied not just to a location but to an entire continent. The starting map is even named after the planet—Tyria. The human race, which arrived from another world, split into guilds that began feuding not only among themselves but also with other races. Sometimes this belligerence was justified—as with the kingdom of Ascalon, which long defended itself against the Charr, but the cat-like creatures eventually devastated the entire country.

The player begins their adventure when Tyria faces the threat of Elder Dragons. It's so severe that it forces once-warring peoples to unite against the ancient monsters' minions—these hostile groups are the world's main villains in Guild Wars 2. Defeating them requires PvE missions united by the «Personal Story»—the main campaign, which takes over a hundred hours to complete. The story is variable—it depends on the player's chosen race, character biography, and which of the three Orders they assist. But ultimately, it all leads to battling Tyria's main enemies, traveling to the ruins of the kingdom of Orr, and confronting the dragon Zhaitan.

The scriptwriters of this MMORPG faced a tough task. On one hand, they had to satisfy fans of the «Star Trek» universe, who remember events from multiple TV series, books, and films. On the other—they had to make the story in this meticulously crafted world understandable to newcomers barely distinguishing Vulcans from Romulans. But «Star Trek» can't exist without a story—it's always been a saga about heroes solving logical and moral dilemmas, not action. Only J.J. Abrams' 2009 film added spectacle to the known setting. Nevertheless, Cryptic Studio's specialists excelled.

Formally, the developers set the game in the early 2410s—the era of «The Next Generation,» featuring Captain Picard, Data, Geordi La Forge, Wesley Crusher, and others from the over-30-year-old series. But Star Trek Online also has a campaign set during the original 1960s series, where Kirk and Spock were played by William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy. Those who understand know how different these works are in style and tone, despite sharing Gene Roddenberry as creator. Fortunately, Cryptic's team maintained the appropriate style in both cases, earning the online game fans' appreciation.

The game's writers also handled multi-layered storytelling well. Regardless of the starting point or hero's race, all players begin the same way—you're given a starship and a send-off akin to «Go where no one has gone before.» But Federation captains must be cautious during missions, as the galaxy is cracking under war with the Klingons and Borg attacks. Since Star Trek Online's main campaign missions are inspired by the series' plots, there are no repetitive MMO scenarios. Every landing promises adventure, every space battle brings rewards, not to mention fan service.

Another gift for sci-fi fans was the game adaptation of Frank Herbert's «Dune». In this MMO's campaign, Funcom—known for Conan Exiles and Secret World Legends—took the known story in a new direction. As we know from the original books, in the «Dune» universe, the Bene Gesserit arrange noble marriages to produce a superhuman who can see past and future. This superman is Paul Atreides, who gains control of the desert planet Arrakis. But in the game, things differ: Lady Jessica bore Duke Leto a daughter, as demanded. Thus—no Fremen uprising, no emperor's overthrow, no prophet's rule over Dune.

This means control over the planet, where the galaxy's most valuable resource is mined, remains divided between the rival houses Harkonnen and Atreides. The emperor's Sardaukar and locals—Fremen—also roam the sands. No side can defeat another. In this situation, the player takes the role of a former prisoner sent to Arrakis by the Bene Gesserit leader on a secret mission. Amid endless war, Landsraad intrigues, and the desert world's secrets, players get answers to «what if?» questions—like what if Duke Leto hadn't been killed. Such questions likely crossed the minds of Herbert's readers or Denis Villeneuve's film viewers.

Dune: Awakening's story isn't over: developers keep expanding it with new chapters. But they've already created a detailed script alternative to the literary source. That's why this MMO's story will delight those awaiting Villeneuve's third film or just missing good old sci-fi.

What online games with interesting stories do you know?