As technology has evolved over the years, so has the ability for game developers and publishers to make their titles increasingly cinematic and lifelike, making their stories all the more intense and captivating.
Early on, games became more cinematic by implementing pre-rendered cutscenes, such as the intro and closing sequences in Fallout: A Post Nuclear Role Playing Game. But over time, developers began implementing cutscenes utilizing in-engine aspects and cinematic camera angles and pans such as those seen in Halo 2.
Today, many developers use motion capture to record actors’ physical movements to realistically present scenes and gameplay in titles, as well as facial motion capture to accurately portray actors’ faces and emotions in-game to better display important events or to just make characters in games more believable and relatable.
With modern consoles and PC hardware featuring some of the most realistic graphics capabilities in all of gaming history, most of the most cinematic games of all time are games released fairly recently thanks to their cinematic presentation, realistic characters, and gameplay that seamlessly flows with cinematic sequences.
10 Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered
The Best Looking Horizon Game To Date
When the Horizon franchise began in 2017 with the original Horizon Zero Dawn, it was already one of the most visually impressive games ever made, not just for its awe-inspiring animalistic machines, but also for how immersive Guerrilla Games made the post-apocalyptic western United States.
Thanks to the improved processing power of the PlayStation 5, Guerrilla was able to once again stun gamers with the visual fidelity of 2022’s Horizon Forbidden West and, in late 2024, Guerrilla released Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered for PS5 to match the enhanced visual quality of Forbidden West.
On top of the new graphical, shader, and texture improvements, Guerrilla additionally re-recorded over 10 hours worth of dialogue and recorded new mocap for conversations to make Aloy’s journey of self-discovery and defeat of HADES all the more cinematic and realistic.
While I do still love the original Zero Dawn, Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered is the best way to experience Aloy’s first adventure today, at least until Columbia Pictures’ upcoming film adaptation of Horizon Zero Dawn is released, making Aloy’s cinematic journey complete.
9 Red Dead Redemption 2
Arthur Morgan’s Tragic Western Tale
Rockstar Games is well-known for producing some of the most cinematic and narratively engaging video games of all time, such as Grand Theft Auto V and L.A. Noire. But without a doubt, their most cinematic and visually impressive game to date has got to be Red Dead Redemption 2.
From the moment Red Dead Redemption 2 begins, I could tell Rockstar made something truly special with the movie-like introductory text setting the stage for the end of the American wild west, and the immediately immersive scene of the Van der Linde gang struggling to survive in a brutal 1899 snowstorm.
RDR2 is full of moments that wouldn’t be out of place in the greatest of western films, such as robbing trains, fighting rival gangs, surviving a coastal storm, fighting the law, and hunting all manner of wildlife. Even seven years later, it’s still one of the best looking games ever made.
Simply exploring the western United States in RDR2 can be a calming, cinematic journey, especially with the use of cinematic mode, which will cause the camera to follow Arthur in cinematic-esque angles on horseback following roads to a designated waypoint.
8 Death Stranding
Hideo Kojima’s Walking Masterpiece
Hideo Kojima is famous for making some of the most bombastic and action-packed games ever made akin to any blockbuster film, especially with his Metal Gear series, but arguably his most cinematic game is 2019’s Death Stranding.
Death Stranding is set in the near future where the titular apocalyptic event known as the Death Stranding unleashed ghostly creatures known as Beached Things that wiped out most of civilization, resulting in survivors struggling to connect with each other in Knot Cities thanks in large part to BRIDGES trade networks and porters delivering cargo through the wasteland.
What makes Death Stranding truly cinematic is the way its cutscenes are shot and portrayed, often like a foreign art film, and it’s one of the best games to utilize 3D scanners and motion capture to seamlessly recreate actors and their distinct features into the game.
It’s only held back a bit from being a truly cinematic gaming masterpiece due to most of the game centering around Sam Bridges walking and climbing around the wasteland and struggling to balance cargo which can often break immersion.
7 The Last of Us Part I
Naughty Dog’s Magnum Opus
In 2013, The Last of Us was already one of the most cinematic games of all time, thanks in large part to the perfect chemistry between Troy Baker’s Joel and Ashley Johnson’s Ellie in both cutscenes and gameplay, but its cinematic quality was greatly improved upon in 2022’s The Last of Us Part I.
When Naughty Dog developed Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End and The Last of Us Part II, they strove to push their game engine and the PlaySttaion 4’s capability to its limit by including more detail, dynamic environments, and showing more realistic emotions and overall appearances for their characters.
After completing Part II, Naughty Dog strove to remake The Last of Us to better align it with Part II‘s visuals and gameplay fidelity, resulting in Part I completely rebuilding the first game for PlayStation 5 hardware.
In short, Part I is the best way to witness Joel and Ellie’s original tragic journey and is perfectly paired with Part II and its 2024 PS5 remaster, even arguably more so than HBO’s adaptation of The Last of Us since it still features Baker and Johnson’s incredible acting and motion capture.
6 God of War
Kratos and Atreus’ Epic Journey
God of War has always been a brutal, action-packed franchise with Kratos causing destruction in the ancient Greek world for his quest of vengeance against the Pantheon’s abuse of his life, and while the original Greek saga did have many cinematic moments, none of the original games are quite as cinematic as 2018’s God of War.
After killing Zeus and the rest of the Greek Gods in God of War 3, Kratos’ fate was left unknown as his vengeance was complete. Santa Monica Studio completely shocked players when it released 2018’s God of War and not only returned Kratos to the role of a father but also set him in the world of Norse mythology.
What followed would be one of the greatest third-person games of all time, as Kratos and his son Atreus set off on a quest to bring their wife and mother’s ashes to Jotunheim, fighting off Aesir, making numerous friends, and growing closer together along the way.
One way that 2018’s God of War stands out in its cinematic quality compared to other games is how it was filmed in a single shot, with no loading screens or fades to black, making Kratos’ first Norse journey all the more film-like in its presentation and allowing players to immerse themselves more in the story and world.
5 Mortal Kombat 1
Liu Kang’s Beautiful New Universe
Ever since Mortal Kombat transitioned from being developed by Midway Games to NetherRealm Studios, each subsequent game has greatly improved its storytelling capabilities and graphical fidelity, with Mortal Kombat 11 still being one of the best-looking games around six years later. But without a doubt, the most cinematic game in the series is 2023’s Mortal Kombat 1.
Not to be confused with 1992’s Mortal Kombat or 2011’s Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat 1 is technically the series’ second reboot, but it directly follows up on events from Mortal Kombat 11 and its Aftermath DLC with Titan Liu Kang building a new universe with the Hourglass, resulting in certain changes from traditional MK lore.
Mortal Kombat 1 follows Liu Kang as he recruits Raiden, now a mortal farmer instead of a Thunder God, Kung Lao, Johnny Cage, and Kenshi Takahashi to serve as Earthrealm’s champions in a Mortal Kombat tournament at Outworld, only for a devious plot seeded by Shang Tsung to threaten both realms and more.
Mortal Kombat 1, along with its Khaos Reigns DLC, is one of the most graphically impressive fighting games ever made, as the cutscenes shown in between each fight could be played as a movie in their own right with the most realistic characters and dynamic characters the series or any other fighting game has ever seen.
4 Quantum Break
Xbox’s Forgotten Experimental Exclusive
Remedy Entertainment has made some of the most cinematic games of all of time, with titles such as Max Payne, inspired by John Woo films, and Alan Wake, inspired by Twin Peaks. But arguably their most cinematic game is one that’s often forgotten: 2016’s Quantum Break.
An Xbox One exclusive, Quantum Break is a third-person shooter with puzzle elements centered around the character of Jack Joyce, who’s granted time manipulation powers following a failed time machine experiment only to get caught up in a causal loop centered around preventing the end of time, the creation of the time machine, and the death of his brother Will.
Much like Alan Wake and Control, Quantum Break‘s narrative is pretty trippy, though it’s arguably no less confusing than any movie dealing with time travel, and its graphics and action sequences are just as epic and awe-inspiring than any blockbuster.
What makes Quantum Break more cinematic than most games, however, is its use of four integrated live-action television episodes that are primarily centered around the villainous Monarch Solutions corporation, filled with well-known actors such as Shawn Ashmore, Aidan Gillen, and Lance Reddick.
3 The Order: 1886
PlayStation 4’s Forgotten Classic
The early years of the PlayStation 4 are filled with many exclusive titles that have been forgotten or seldom revisited over the years, such as Killzone Shadow Fall and Knack, but one of these early exclusive titles turned out to be one of the most cinematic games ever made: The Order: 1886.
Set in an alternate steampunk 1886 London wherein monstrous creatures such as werewolves and vampires are often found, The Order follows Sir Galahad of the Knights of the Round Table as he and other Knights strive to subdue an outbreak of werewolves.
While most of the gameplay of The Order is centered around third-person shooting found in many games today, such as Gears of War, The Order stands out from other third-person games due to its graphical quality.
Most of the game is doused in shades of brown and gray, helping players immerse themselves in the industrial revolution world of this alternate London while quick-time events and cinematic melee takedowns aid in making The Order appear more cinematic than the average game.
2 Until Dawn
A Love Letter to Horror Films
Horror games are in many ways the most cinematic genre of games as they use similar tropes found in horror films to scare players. Without a doubt, the most cinematic horror game I’ve ever played has to be Supermassive Games’ Until Dawn and its 2024 remake.
From its inception, Until Dawn was designed to be a love letter to classic slasher and supernatural films that reigned supreme in the 1970s, ’80s, and ’90s, and was meant to be played as an interactive movie similar to gameplay seen in Quantic Dream’s Heavy Rain or Telltale’s The Walking Dead.
This was a smart choice, as Until Dawn turned out to be an amazing horror game filled with split-second decisions, jump scares, and mysteries to unfold with tension rising as the group of young friends on Blackwood Mountain struggle to survive the night against a supposed serial killer and supernatural monsters.
The story of Until Dawn is perfect for a film adaptation, which made it all the more confusing and frustrating when the 2025 Until Dawn film released and had virtually little to no similarities to the game’s plot or characters.
1 Detroit: Become Human
The Most Cinematic Game Made Yet
As mentioned before, Quantic Dream is famous for making games that are essentially interactive movies, like Heavy Rain and Beyond: Two Souls. In my opinion, their best and most cinematic game made yet has got to be Detroit: Become Human.
When Detroit was first officially announced in 2015, it immediately reminded me of I, Robot, Surrogates, and the TV series Humans. The similarities between those films and shows can immediately be seen in Detroit, with all three focusing on a future where human-like androids have become prevalent throughout society.
Similar to Until Dawn, Detroit‘s gameplay is centered around split-second action and dialogue decisions that not only impact events and relationships with NPCs but also on the lives of Detroit‘s protagonists: the androids Markus, Kara, and Connor.
Detroit‘s story is one that could be told in a film, but by having it in a video game, it greatly expands Detroit‘s dynamic nature by having multiple endings and ways Markus, Kara, and Connor can grow relationships with others as they deal with their drive for freedom while struggling with their programming.
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Author: 360 Technology Group
