Most Motivational Video Game Storylines

Motivation isn’t something that’s always easy to come by. Sure, there are definitely plenty of books and guides out there that can help perk someone up when they need it most, but there’s also a plethora of video games that contain very inspirational stories that can definitely light a fire under the player once they get around to finishing them.

Even if a story has a fairly serious and even dark tone to its presentation, it can still be motivational so long as it shows a character finally being victorious, in one way or another, after facing hardships throughout their journey. Then again, some of these games aren’t serious at all, yet still manage to be extremely captivating and inspirational through their storylines. For anyone who feels like they need that extra surge of energy to achieve their dreams, these are the video game stories that can help out with that.

7 Starfield

It’s Hard Not To Want To Explore The World After Playing Starfield

At the beginning of Starfield, right after the player has created their own character, they’ll be nothing more than a lowly miner working for Argos Extractors. However, it’s not long before they are recruited by Constellation, a group dedicated to collecting mysterious Artifacts that they suspect have some very mysterious and potentially time-altering powers.

All members of Constellation are vigorously driven to find the Artifacts because of how much they can alter the world, and this sense of passion and determination is very infectious, with it being hard not to get pumped about finding the next one. Venturing out and exploring the world, or in this case, the universe, in the search of something spectacular is what Starfield’s story is all about, and it’s a message that everyone can take on board in their own lives.

6 God Of War (2018)

Proves That Friend And Family Bonds Can Be Restored With Enough Effort

Kratos and his young son Atreus have a very rocky relationship at the beginning of God of War, and that’s putting it lightly. After the death of Kratos’ wife, it became hard for the two to bond, with the God of War himself keeping a lot of his past hidden from his son. As they journey through foreign Norse lands though, the two eventually start to open up to one another, with it becoming more evident as the story goes on just how deeply Kratos cares for Atreus, and vice versa.

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What’s truly motivational about God of War is that it’s a game that centers around a close family relationship that, despite being in turmoil, manages to become restored by the end of the game through the effort put in by both characters. As the father and son spread the ashes of Kratos’ late wife into the distance, it’s clear that after all the hardships and traumatic events, they’ve each experienced, they still were able to set aside their differences and form an inseparable bond that can never be broken.

5 Mass Effect 2

Each Squad Member Pushes Through Their Problems To Become Better People

This is specifically referring to the party members’ stories as these make up the majority of the story in general for Mass Effect 2. Each member of Shepard’s squad deals with their own personal problems in this game. Whether it’s Grunt struggling with maturity, Jack dealing with the horrible experiments conducted by Cerberus, or Thane worrying about his rebellious son, they all have issues to worry about which the player can help them with.

All of these missions are extremely well-written and a joy to play through, but they are also incredibly motivational, as it’s clear by the end of them that the characters have come out as better people by dealing with their own dilemmas. The game could have easily left these absent to focus on the bigger plot with the Collectors, but by taking the time to focus on the individuals with their fears and worries, it makes them extremely inspirational characters who are finally able to deal with their past regrets with the help of a friend and ally.

4 The Legend Of Zelda: Majora’s Mask

Link Takes It Upon Himself To Save The World After Witnessing The Horror And Despair Of His Friends

Majora’s Mask is often considered by fans to be the darkest entry of this beloved series, but that doesn’t mean that it still isn’t extremely motivational in its messaging and themes. At the core of the story is the Moon, a giant and frightening entity that is going to crash into the world in three days, killing everyone in the process. At the beginning of the story, Link is ill-prepared to prevent this from happening, having lost most of his resources after being ambushed by Skull Kid.

Rather than giving up though, or letting someone else deal with the inevitable destruction of the Moon, Link instead takes it upon himself to travel around Hyrule, collecting weapons and gadgets, buffing his stats, and eventually, liberating the Giants to protect the world from destruction. Link isn’t portrayed as the mighty hero who can save the day as he is in the other games, instead, he’s just someone who is spurred on to make the world a safer place after seeing the hopelessness and despair shown by those he cares about the most, which is a really motivational message at the end of the day.

3 Journey

Reminds Players That They’re Never Alone In The World

No one could have predicted just how immensely popular Journey would end up becoming when it was released in 2012, and while one major reason for this was the visually stunning art style, another was for its beautifully told story. Throughout the game itself, the player will control a single explorer who must venture through harsh climates and environments to discover more about a lost civilization that eventually died out from war and destruction.

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At one point, the traveler even witnesses a vision that shows that they will fall before they can reach the end of the story, but despite this, they keep on going to learn the truth about what happened, and what their own purpose in life really is, now that everyone is gone. It’s an emotional game that is also full of motivation considering the lengths that the character goes to while on their journey, but what tops it off is after the credits when the game shows the usernames of players who were also on the “journey” at the same time. It’s a clever way of saying that, although we might feel alone at times, there are always others out there that we can meet, and maybe even become friends with throughout our own personal journeys.

2 Halo 3

Even In The Face Of Assured Destruction, Master Chief Never Once Thought Of Giving Up

By the time of the third game in the Halo series, Master Chief had been through quite an ordeal during his experiences facing down both the Covenant and the Flood. During the story of Halo 3, not only does Guilty Spark betray him, but he also loses his dear friend Sergeant Johnson, along with his longtime companion Commander Keyes. Despite all the deaths and misery surrounding him though, Chief pushes through to the very end, destroying the new Halo ring and barely escaping with his life intact.

At this point, Master Chief is the only soldier in the UNSC with the skills to stop the merciless enemies that threaten humanity, and despite having such a gigantic weight on his shoulders, he pushes through it all, even willing to sacrifice his own life in the process. Halo 3, and the story of Master Chief, is one that fans can all think back to if they ever need that extra dose of motivation to keep going, especially on those days when it feels like the world is against them.

1 Final Fantasy 7

Story Centers Around Being Confident And Contributing To The World

On the surface, Final Fantasy 7 can seem like any standard JRPG in its presentation and gameplay, but the story really is something special that hadn’t really ever been seen up to that point. While there’s obviously a much larger tangible threat in the form of Sephiroth, the story also chronicles the personal internal struggles of Cloud and his journey to accepting who he really is. Despite starting off as nothing more than a moody Ex-Soldier, Cloud’s cracks soon begin to show before it is revealed that he was never actually in Soldier, and had been portraying himself as someone else to hide his guilt, shame, and embarrassment.

After experiencing several mental breakdowns, and the loss of Aerith, Cloud eventually realizes that he doesn’t need to keep putting up a facade just to seem confident in the world. He’s not defined by his past mistakes, and he learns to be fully comfortable in his own skin, with him only being able to finally defeat Sephiroth once he comes to make peace with himself. Cloud’s journey, and by extension, the story of Final Fantasy 7, is a motivational tale about being confident in ourselves, and striving to be the very best we can be, rather than wishing we were someone else.

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