Gamereactor’s Gamer Guides: essential adventure –

After covering the essential action games we think you should play if you really want to understand the genre properly, we move on to the other genre description that appears in almost every game these days: adventure.

Adventures come in all shapes and sizes, but for this list we’ll go with the games that really capture the spirit of an epic story or journey. There is no character creation here, as that suits RPGs, nor will there be games that focus on an adventure where you jump from one place to another (trust me, we have another list for that).

5. The Secret of Monkey Island (1990)

What’s an adventure list without a classic point-and-click? Well, it’s not such a good one, I’ll tell you that. Although Telltale is the king of point-and-click these days, and we’ve considered some of their best for this list, The Secret of Monkey Island is a classic adventure game that endures to this day. Its humor, unique gameplay and quirkiness combine to form a genre-defining classic, and one we wouldn’t want to miss in the adventure genre.

4. Lost (2022)

From a classic to a modern adventure game, 2022 Stray is a master class in how to capture and hold an audience out of nowhere during the story’s short but incredibly enjoyable ride. The fact that you play as a cute cat feels almost secondary to the work BlueTwelve Studio put into this adventure game, which managed to become one of the standout hits of the year thanks to great level design, worldbuilding and more.

3. Uncharted (2007)

While Nathan Drake’s book may be closed, the Uncharted series still has some of Naughty Dog’s best work ever produced. We really could put any of the entries on this list, and frankly, we believe you should play them all if you enjoy getting embroiled in a good adventure. Nathan Drake and Lara Croft often fight over who is the Indiana Jones of our time, and while we love a little tomb raiding every now and then, Uncharted just managed to make it onto the list.

2. Beyond good and evil (2003)

There’s a reason why everyone is clamoring for a sequel to Beyond Good & Evil. The original game is very, very good, and it captures the spirit of a wild sci-fi adventure better than even some titles in long-standing franchises. Thanks to the 20th anniversary remake that just came out, now is a good time to jump into this nostalgic classic and reveal a sinister alien conspiracy.

1. Red Dead Redemption (2010)

While these lists do not place any of these adventure games above one another, it is hard to dispute Red Dead Redemption and especially its prequel as some of the best adventure games of all time. If you really want to get lost in a fictional world, and still see many of the good and bad of our own world reflected, Rockstar’s westerns are where to go. Without adding weight to Grand Theft Auto’s need for satire, Rockstar really flexes its writing muscles in Red Dead Redemption and Red Dead Redemption 2 to create an experience you won’t soon forget.

What did we miss on this list? What is your favorite adventure game? Be sure to let us know!