In my opinion, the foundation of a good adventure story – whether written or in a video game – is a compelling character and a believable reason for them to embark on a significant journey. This holds true for action games, role-playing games, and pretty much any adventure-focused game. Usually, the adventure itself feels personal – something uniquely suited to that specific character. Though, I should add, that’s not always the case.
Some adventure games don’t focus on a specific main character. Instead, they let you create one at the beginning, develop a character throughout the story, or even play without a defined hero. In these games, the adventure is about you, the player, not a character within the game’s world. While this can sometimes make the story feel less connected, it often leads to more unique and engaging experiences, as you’re free to shape the adventure yourself.
8. Terraria
Hard to Have a Set Character with No Story
When we call something an “adventure,” we usually mean there’s a reason or goal behind it. Why would anyone embark on an adventure without a driving force? In Terraria, though, the adventure is the reason. There isn’t much else pushing you forward in this game – the world itself is the impetus.
Terraria is an adventure game, but it doesn’t really have a main story. There’s some backstory – revealed by the developers in online forums – about being a chosen hero destined to save the world from a cult that worships a Lovecraftian monster. However, the game never actually tells you any of this, so you might not even know it’s there!
Terraria offers a really free-form and ongoing adventure. You’ll create a base, explore underground caves and dungeons, and fight various creatures along the way. While you can imagine a personal story for your character, it’s mostly for your own enjoyment, unless you’re playing with others who specifically roleplay.
7. Final Fantasy
Nobody Cared Who I Was Before I Was a Warrior of Light
Most Final Fantasy games, and similar Japanese role-playing games, feature a team of characters with established histories and personalities. These characters have their own stories that existed before they met you. However, the original Final Fantasy is different – your heroes seem to come from nowhere, with no prior backstory.
Your group of four heroes, known as the Warriors of Light, travel to the kingdom of Corneria, each carrying a mysterious crystal. Their origins and pasts are unknown and unimportant. The game doesn’t offer any background on these characters beyond the classes you choose at the beginning – they’re essentially brand new heroes for you to define.
Given how the story concludes – with the Warriors triumphing over Chaos, ending his time loop, and essentially wiping their adventure from existence – it makes sense that almost nothing is remembered about them. All that’s left are hazy stories about what they did, and even within the story’s world, people wouldn’t have much to say about them beyond a basic description of how they looked or what they were good at – and maybe not even that.
6. Shadows Over Loathing
You’ve Got an Uncle, That’s About it
Shadows Over Loathing begins with your character stumbling into a diner just outside of Ocean City, with a magazine accidentally stuck to their face. Once inside, and after being shown to the bathroom by the diner owner, you get to create your character’s history – deciding on their appearance, name, and personality. Regardless of the choices you make, you’ve come to town because of a call from your Uncle Murray.
Your Uncle Murray has been kidnapped by some seriously creepy creatures, so you’ll need to find him eventually. While you’re at it, feel free to explore the city and use your talents to discover hidden, and possibly dangerous, artifacts.
A cool feature of this game is your recurring enemy – they’re the main villain’s top assistant. What makes it interesting is that who this enemy is, and what they’re like, changes depending on the character class you pick at the beginning. This means you don’t just create your own hero, you also don’t have a fixed opponent trying to stop you – your rival adapts to your choices.
5. Rogue Legacy
A Whole Legacy of Nobodies
In Rogue Legacy, you play as descendants of a family of adventurers constantly trying to conquer a magical, ever-changing castle. Each new family member bravely (and usually unsuccessfully) attempts to raid the castle, and any money they collect goes towards improving your family’s estate and preparing for the next attempt.
Ultimately, it doesn’t really matter who you initially choose to play as or which of your heirs takes over. While each heir might have a unique name or personality, they’re all essentially trained to fulfill the same role and are willing to do it, even knowing it’s dangerous. Honestly, you probably won’t even remember their names after you’ve chosen them.
Throughout the game, you’ll find journal entries that reveal the castle’s disturbing history, telling the tale of a hero who tried and failed to conquer it. These entries suggest that entering the castle curses your entire family line forever. Basically, an ancestor of yours made a huge mistake.
4. Pyre
You Can Read, That’s All That Matters
The world of Pyre is a fantasy realm where people are banished from the civilized Commonwealth to a harsh, desolate land called the Downside for all sorts of crimes – or even for no good reason at all. You play as “the Reader,” who was exiled for a particularly serious offense: the ability to read.
When the Nightwings discover you, you’re barely alive and have suffered terrible injuries to your arms and legs. It’s hard to tell if you’re male or female, hidden as you are beneath torn clothing. But because you can read – and therefore understand the Book of Rites – they find you incredibly useful. They’re happy to let you lead, especially since your injuries prevent you from taking part in the Rites yourself.
As you play, you’ll have chances to share your character’s history. You can choose if they were a farmer, a scholar, an orphan, or something else – but it doesn’t really matter, because everyone learns to read and is then sent away for it. You can also keep your past a secret from the other Nightwings, and they won’t mind if you do.
3. Street Fighter 6
A Lone Fighter in a World Full of Things to Punch
I’m bending the rules slightly by including Street Fighter 6, as it’s primarily a fighting game, not an adventure. However, the game’s World Tour mode is an adventure, and a unique one at that – you play a character who is surprisingly adaptable, in multiple ways.
Essentially, all it takes to begin is signing up with Buckler Security and training with Luke. He doesn’t care about your past or even your daily habits, and he quickly sends you out into the world to become a skilled fighter. Plus, you can completely change your appearance for a small cost, so your looks aren’t important either.
You can quickly pick up the fighting styles of all the other characters simply by sparring with them. Surprisingly, you’ll even master abilities that shouldn’t be possible, like Blanka’s electric attacks or Dhalsim’s incredible stretching. It seems like you have a natural talent for martial arts – you might be the best fighter ever!
2. Disco Elysium
Harry Du Bois, Backstory TBD
You’re right to point out that Disco Elysium does have a main character, Lieutenant Harry Du Bois. You play as him! But the real mystery is, who is Harry Du Bois? Because honestly, he hasn’t got a clue himself.
Lieutenant Du Bois begins the game with complete amnesia, the result of an epic drinking spree. He’s not a defined character at the start, but rather a blank slate for you to shape. As you play, successful actions will reveal bits and pieces of his past – like his birth, childhood, and career – but whether these memories change how he behaves depends on your choices as the player.
When Harry’s mind is open and vulnerable, he’s highly suggestible and easily swayed by new ideas and even his own emotions and senses, which are presented as characters. Because of your choices and a bit of luck, he could develop beliefs and a personality very different from what you might expect based on his past.
1. Fallout: New Vegas
Just a No-Name Courier
The first three Fallout games give you a solid background for your character. Fallout 3, especially, lets you experience key moments from childhood and adolescence, helping to define who your character is. However, Fallout: New Vegas takes a different approach. You start as a courier who’s been shot in the head, and your past is largely a mystery – anything that happened before the shooting is unknown.
We don’t know much about the Courier’s life before their current job, except that they were one of six people hired by Robert House to make deliveries along the New Vegas Strip. As revealed in the ‘Lonesome Road’ expansion, the Courier also delivered a package from Navarro to Death Valley. This delivery unintentionally triggered a massive explosion that created The Divide, but it wasn’t meant to happen.
Your Courier’s core traits – their skills, morals, and overall direction – are largely determined during your initial meeting with Doc Simmons. From that point on, your choices shape who they become. To be honest, most people living in the wasteland lead pretty ordinary lives, especially when compared to the more eventful existences of tribal communities or those who came from Vaults.
Read More
- How to Unlock the Mines in Cookie Run: Kingdom
- Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Remake: What Happens in Mary Read’s Cut Content
- Upload Labs: Beginner Tips & Tricks
- ALGS Championship 2026—Teams, Schedule, and Where to Watch
- Jujutsu Kaisen: Divine General Mahoraga Vs Dabura, Explained
- Jujutsu Kaisen Modulo Chapter 18 Preview: Rika And Tsurugi’s Full Power
- Mario’s Voice Actor Debunks ‘Weird Online Narrative’ About Nintendo Directs
- The Winter Floating Festival Event Puzzles In DDV
- Top 8 UFC 5 Perks Every Fighter Should Use
- How to Use the X-Ray in Quarantine Zone The Last Check
2026-01-22 22:11