Hi, as it’s in my title. I’m looking for narrative driven games with good story, something I can play on my steam deck. Not something open open world but more of a on rails experience.
Things I’ve played that that should give rough idea what I have in mind:
The last of us
until dawn/the dark pictures anthology series
the quarry
new/remakes of resident evil games
Road 96
Alan Wake remake
I obviously have a horror/mystery preferences and I want the story to be told to me, I don’t like the dark souls approach of “guess or read all of the in game books or w/e to have a chance at glimpsing a hint of a story”
Heavy Rain looks for sure outdated, but the story is really nice. If you accept that the control are a bit tricky and think it more like a movie it can be quite enjoyable
I'm not quite sure about Steamdeck compatibility, so I apologize if some are not. Horror isn't exactly my genre, but I'll throw some other great story-driven games out there.
The Rusty Lake/Cube Paradox series are absolutely incredible if you like puzzles/escape rooms. The collection is probably 10-15+ hours of entertainment with a single playthrough. Will also throw Gorogoa out there, but that's only about 2-3 hours.
Outlast series
What Remains of Edith Finch
Life is Strange is absolutely fantastic and mostly about time.
I've heard great things about Firewatch and Outer Wilds, but have not played either yet.
Stanley Parable is a bit dated, but it is fun if you enjoy narrated British humor or The Office.
The Bioshock Series is absolutely fantastic and plays best with a controller. I think the first is best, followed by the third.
The Metro series is great, but they are one of the most difficult single-player FPS out there. So are the STALKER games if you like modding, but those are visually a bit dated.
All of Supergiant Games (Bastion, Hades, and Transistor) are fantastic.
Other notable mentions: Stray, Remember Me,
I've heard great things about Days Gone, but it apparently the fun action part takes quite some time to get into.
You might really enjoy the original "Layers of Fear" if you like psychological horror, but it has very little spoken story and is definitely not an A-rated game. A remake also recently came out, but the original still holds up.
Uncharted Trilogy is a good starting point with your Last of Us suggestion.
Phsyconauts is another option if platformers are your thing
Ghostbuster the video game is a fun classic if you are a fan of the series
Anything else I could recommended would have some open worldnes to it, like Saints Row, and GTA where its linear but there are arrows and markers to guide you through the world
Yeah probably not what you're looking for but Out There on Android is a sleeper. Think The Martian (yeah the novel) mixed with No Man's Sky. Some free and open elements with a journal-driven story progression. Difficult as well.