Stories Untold

 PC
Metascore
81

Generally favorable reviews - based on 21 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 21
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 21
  3. Negative: 0 out of 21
  1. Telegraph
    Mar 8, 2017
    100
    It’s a fantastic, fascinating example of interactive visual storytelling. It would absolutely only work in the form that the developers have created, and it’s a game I’ll no doubt be permanently using as an example in future when I want to illustrate just what can be done in the genre. It’s also an excellent, creepy story which is deftly told, and a game I can recommend without reservation.
  2. GameOver.gr
    May 26, 2017
    95
    Stories Untold is a great example of the endless capabilities of video games. No Code created a horror sci-fi experience that pushes the boundaries of story telling and on their way there they do not forget to enrich it with high aesthetic and an eerie atmosphere.
  3. The Overpowered Noobs
    Mar 15, 2017
    90
    In this innovative title from No Code, players can relive classic horror movies and late-night television, enjoy simple, light, but intuitive gameplay, and discover a spine-tingling story that’s guaranteed to keep them on edge long after they’ve finished playing.
  5. Everyeye.it
    Mar 14, 2017
    90
    A whirling nightmare made of green phosphor screens and infinitive verbs.
  6. GameSpew
    Feb 27, 2017
    90
    Stories Untold places a hidden story within a hidden story; a puzzle that only reveals itself once you piece together its outer layers – and it’s one of the most fascinating and unique tales you can play this year.
  7. The Games Machine
    Mar 3, 2017
    85
    Stories Untold is an experimental text adventure with a great 80's vibe, a sort of "Stranger Things meets Zork". You'll find soon engaged in a captivating, horrifying and amazingly old-school adventure full of lo-fi technology, dark secrets and terrible text parsers. It's a short ride, but incredibly satisfying.
  8. God is a Geek
    Feb 27, 2017
    85
    If you're looking for a tense, unnerving experience in a simple yet eerie setting, this is it.
  9. Ragequit.gr
    Mar 14, 2017
    84
    An eerie trip to your earliest pre-adolescent memories of wrestling with twenty verbs and a parser and somehow transported into another, darker, more dangerous, more real dimension. Stories Untold is a love letter and a step forward for an extinct genre. Impressive and impeccable in it’s execution, this is something all discerning horror fans owe to themselves to experience.
  10. Games Master UK
    Jun 6, 2017
    83
    There's great variety here, too. [May 2017, p.82]
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  11. Game Informer
    Mar 3, 2017
    83
    Stories Untold is a unique four-hour experience that both horror fans and those who love to dissect head-scratching enigmas should check out. Though a number of frustrating puzzles may prove too tiresome for many, those who stick with it will find themselves rewarded with a treasure trove of gruesome and morbid delights.
  12. GameStar
    Jan 2, 2018
    82
    Creative tribute to text adventures and an in many ways surprising storytelling experiment with a well-done 80s-like scary atmosphere.
  13. games(TM)
    Jun 17, 2017
    80
    An unforgettable journey. [Issue#187, p.81]
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  14. PLAY! Zine
    Apr 26, 2017
    80
    If you loved what Stranger Things did with 80s, you will love this game. Retro text adventures are a hard thing to sell to modern generations, but this game knows how to do it.
  15. Gameblog.fr
    Mar 23, 2017
    80
    In this text based adventure, the 4 stories packed with clever enigmas and tinted with a very pleasant retro atmosphere are really fascinating.
  16. PC Gamer
    Mar 1, 2017
    80
    An atmospheric collection of clever, surprising interactive short stories with a gorgeous retro aesthetic.
  17. Hardcore Gamer
    Feb 27, 2017
    80
    As much as we’d love to go into greater detail about what exactly makes Stories Untold such a successful adventure game, it really is the type of experience you need to check out first-hand. What starts out as a simple ode to classic ’80s games peels away its layers ever so slightly as you progress, until your jaw drops quite a bit upon the reveal as to what’s at the core of it all. It’s a quick ride, one that should be over in about three hours at most, but a ride that will leave quite the impression on you nonetheless thanks to its twists and turns all wrapped in the guise of a campy cult television series. It’s easily a notable sleeper hit for both horror and sci-fi fans, and so it’s definitely recommended that you check it out ASAP. You know, before any spoilers start to leak out. Seriously, sorry we couldn’t say more, but man, that finale…
  18. GameSpot
    Mar 29, 2017
    70
    Stories Untold’s first three episodes are very effective as retro horror vignettes, though, and the fourth can’t undo that. This is a unique package with a strong sense of identity, one that finds a new, exciting way to weaponize nostalgia. Just know that you might not look at the old Spectrum or Commodore 64 you’ve got packed away in the attic quite the same way again after playing.
  19. CD-Action
    Apr 26, 2017
    65
    The first of four chapters is remarkable, but the next two are worse and the last one is simply pathetic. [05/2017, p.45]
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  20. Adventure Gamers
    Jul 17, 2017
    60
    Stories Untold is better than the sum of its parts, even if this collection of horror-themed interactive fiction vignettes never quite capitalizes on the potential of its concept.
  21. Digitally Downloaded
    Mar 7, 2017
    60
    What could have been something lasting, something real, is instead a two dimensional narrative which brandishes plot twists and visual trickery to camouflage a lack of rich storytelling. Nonetheless, I would still highly recommend Stories Untold to writers and game developers: there are ideas in the first few episodes which are fascinating, and I’m dying to see where No Code’s metafictive experimentation might take the text adventure genre.
  22. New Game Network
    Mar 6, 2017
    59
    Stories Untold is clever when it comes to delivering the narrative, and its brief text-adventure is interesting. Unfortunately, most of it is pushing buttons and turning dials on command, and this leaves much to be desired.
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In Progress & Unscored

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  1. Eurogamer
    Mar 7, 2017
    As fanciful as the game can be, the technology feels unnervingly true to its period - right down to the inherent awkwardness of microfilm readers. [Recommended]
  2. Rock, Paper, Shotgun
    Feb 28, 2017
    Stories Untold is bleak and disturbing, novel and experimental, and most importantly when doing all that, very clever. It’s smarter than you’ll realise, in fact. And why it’s smart is all in the experience of playing, not to be given away in the process of reviewing. A pain in the arse for me, but worth it for you.

Awards & Rankings

62
#62 Best PC Game of 2017

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
7.0

Mixed or average reviews- based on 92 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 46 out of 92
  2. Mixed: 35 out of 92
  3. Negative: 11 out of 92
  1. TitaniumDragon
    Sep 5, 2017
    5
    Stories Untold is a rather odd game from Devolver Digital, which seems to sort of be their thing. At first, it appears to be some sort ofStories Untold is a rather odd game from Devolver Digital, which seems to sort of be their thing. At first, it appears to be some sort of weird text adventure thing, though in a “game within a game” sort of environment, as you are playing the game on a computer on a desk inside your computer.

    The game has a very 1980s vibe to it, which isn’t surprising, because it is set in 1986. It reminds me somewhat of the 1980s Twilight Zone, or similar shows; the first story immediately makes you realize that the game is going to be rather meta, but the game has a number of additional twists in store as you go through its four episodes.

    That being said, I use the term “game” somewhat loosely here; this is a strictly linear storytelling experience, and is almost entirely concerned with following directions rather than solving puzzles or interacting with the environment in any sort of meaningful way. Rather, this is more like an interactive made-for-TV movie, or perhaps miniseries – and it is about as long as one, too, clocking in at about 2 hours and 15 minutes to complete.

    While this seems to be a horror game at first, it is not the “random monster jumps out and scares you” kind of horror, and while the first episode does a reasonable job of messing with you, the later ones become much less creepy, though all of them have at least somewhat worrisome aesthetics to them.

    As the game goes on, increasingly more gameplay mechanics are added, and while the game never becomes complex, and you never really do much more than follow directions, the extremely limited adventure game interface is actually limited to only a couple portions of the game.

    All that being said, this is a very, very simple game. While this is not a walking simulator, this is still a very narrative-focused game with very little actual gameplay, perhaps more like a visual novel than anything else, though its interface is, if anything, most reminiscent of Don’t Touch Anything in terms of being in a very narrowly confined space most of the time, with just one or two screens of actual “content” per episode (though the finale is more complicated).

    Sadly, said interface is also clunky at times; the text adventure sections are particularly frustrating at times due to the fact that the interface is not always very smart about what you’re telling it to do, and there were a couple points where I struggled to do what I was trying to do due to needing to find the “magic words” so to speak.

    The only other major problem with the game is the fact that, in the end, the story as it ultimately pans out isn’t really nearly as twisty as you would have hoped based on all the other twists in the game. In fact, I was rather disappointed with the ending, as I was hoping that there was going to be one more twist, or rather, that what you were being pushed towards was not what had really happened, but was yet another lie. Alas, it was missing that extra layer, which I think might have added something more to the experience.

    If you’re looking for gameplay, this is probably not the place to go looking. And if you aren’t super enamored with dark stories with dark twist endings, this isn’t likely to be up your alley either. If you like a 1980s vibe, though, and a darker sort of vibe, this might be something you’d be interested in. It is certainly a different sort of game.    … Full Review »
  2. dumbfrogposter
    Mar 2, 2017
    7
    Should have called it "Stories Told". Or maybe "Stories Old"

    Excellent execution marred by a horribly cliched story that we've all heard    Should have called it "Stories Told". Or maybe "Stories Old"

    Excellent execution marred by a horribly cliched story that we've all heard before, and some technical issues.
    I suppose it fits with the retro aesthetic, but it's not original, nor particularly interesting. Nice gimmicks coating a fairly mundane experience.    … Full Review »
  3. ThunderRam
    Jan 22, 2019
    5
    Stories Untold started out FANTASTIC with episode 1 of 4... but then the game withered immediately with episode 2 and never really got muchStories Untold started out FANTASTIC with episode 1 of 4... but then the game withered immediately with episode 2 and never really got much traction until the very end. Even the end was kinda like "meh, seen this before" kind of vibe.

    I think Stories Untold would have been at least an 9 out of 10 if the adventure game text wasn't so linear. There was one point in the game where I was so lost in what to type for about 30 minutes because the computer never understood what I was saying. SUPER LINEAR COMMANDS.

    Try the game when it's cheap. maybe $5 or less.    … Full Review »
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