Summary
Following the enormous success of the PlayStation 1, Sony pushed forward with their next-gen successor with a keen eye on the future, as the second iteration of their console would improve on every aspect of the original when it launched on Jul 30, 2025. Thanksto massively improved hardware, developers would be able not just to improve the fidelity of their games, but also the way that narratives were presented.
While the PS1 was home to some absolutely incredible stories, the enhanced hardware inside the PS2 was able to power some of the most fabled tales in the history of video games. Ranging from postmodern spy thrillers to games that almost felt like interactive novels, the variety of different games and styles of storytelling on the PS2 is still unmatched to this day. These games have been ranked based on their writing and voice acting, as the console was the go-to place for good storytelling during the sixth generation of video game consoles.
Taking inspiration from various anime and manga, director Fumito Ueda and his immensely talented team set out to create a game that felt very different. In a market that was built around highly cinematic, dialogue-heavy stories,Icowas focused on vibes and a sense of place that still, even twenty-four years later, is unrivaled in contemporary times.
Icois the story ofa young boy and a princessnamed Yorda, two people brought together through fate, as they attempt to escape the castle and free themselves from an approaching darkness that haunts them at every turn. Ico and Yorda are bonded through touch and physical contact, as the world relies heavily on symbolism and would later go on to influence games likeDark SoulsandNo More Heroes.
11The Mark Of Kri
Innovative Action Game Features Impressive Story
After a merger between 989 Sports and Red Zone Interactive that resulted in the creation of San Diego Studio, a first-party Sony studio, the team went to work on what would become their first game. Drawing from various formsof Indigenous and Inuit culture,The Mark of Kriis a story of ancient magic and encroaching darkness, set in a land where bloodshed and brutal executions come fast and furiously.
But it’s the way thatThe Mark of Kripresents its story that is the most fascinating, as it uses an absolutely gorgeous paintbrush visual style. Each cutscene sees lush, dynamic artwork come to life first as pencil drawings, then filled in with ink and color, all backed by some stellar voice acting and simple, clear writing. It is still one of the most innovative games ever released for the PS2, with a unique combat system based on assigning face buttons to enemies, and it is currently available on PS5 via backward compatibility.
The Greek era of theGod of Warfranchise started with a bang, as it depicts a desperate Kratos on the verge of ending his own life, only to show the player just how he reached the lowest point in his life, using that as a framing device to tell one of the most outstanding stories on the PS2. This bloody, gritty revengetale is set in Ancient Greece, as the gods of Olympus task Kratos with killing the increasingly unhinged Ares in order to be free of the memories that saw him kill his family due to the God of War’s trickery.
God of Warfeatures a bombastic story and is one of the most epic journeys seen on the PS2, as Kratos travels to numerous famous locations and battles legendary monsters from Greek myth. Kratos' raw, unrelenting fury is fantastic, as he is still one of Sony’s most prominent mascots and one of the biggest icons in gaming. The combination of tragedy, revenge and violence helped to elevateGod of Waras one of the most outstanding releases on the PS2.
After the disappointing critical reception ofDevil May Cry 2, which was seen as a downgrade from the first title, Capcom, and director Hideaki Itsuno, took the series back to its roots with the third entry by making it a prequel and re-establishing the tone from the first game.Devil May Cry 3: Dante’s Awakeningis set ten years before the events ofDMC1, where Dante’s complicated relationship with his brother takes center stage, as Vergil looks to open a portal to the underworld and unleash chaos.
Devil May Cry 3’sstory is slick and full of trademark one-liners and catchphrases, as the charisma and energy between Dante and Vergil is one of the highlights. It would also introduce Lady to the series, who would become a permanent fixture of the franchise, having players fight her in an epic boss fight before she joins with Dante.Devil May Cry 3is easily the best storyin the entire franchise, as it brought the series back to prominence and set the stage for the future in some outstanding ways.
The merging of Square-Enix’s roster of incredible JRPG characters and the huge cast of Disney characters still seems like a fever dream that never existed, but despite its oddball premise,Kingdom Heartshas gone on to become one of the most beloved and influential JRPG franchises of all time. And well before the series was flush with spin-offs and tie-ins, the originalKingdom Heartswas a standout title on the PS2, seeing a young boy named Sora team up with some ofDisney’s most incredible characters.
Sora’s journey is filled with twists and turns, as his adventures with Goofy and Donald Duck take him to numerous worlds from the wonderful worlds of Disney. Seeing characters like Winnie the Pooh and Jack Skellington in 3D with Sora and the crew is still an absolute treat, and the way the story weaves humor, heart and the trademark Square-Enix melodrama is fantastic.Kingdom Hearts 1still feels like the most complete and well-conceived story in the franchise, and is readily available on modern hardware.
After flexing their creative and technical muscles on every previous console generation, Square was looking to continue their dominance in the JRPG genre on the PS2. And their first order of business in doing so was creating a next-gen entry in their ravenously popularFinal Fantasyseries, using the power of the PS2 not just to increase the visual fidelity, but the ability to craft an even more compelling, technically masterful story to go along with it.
WithFinal Fantasy 10, Square introduced voice acting to the series for the first time, which was huge for the heroes and the villains. Their stories got more complex, as instead of reading text boxes and imagining how a character might feel or sound, these characters had identities and feelings of their own. As players follow the journey of Tidus, a young man escorting a summoner named Yuna on a pilgrimage, their conflicts with aduplicitous man named Seymourand the monstrous Sin, this complicated tale of mortality and the importance of living for the good of others shines as one of the console’s most compelling stories.
After leaving fans with a devious cliffhanger at the end of the previous entry, Hideo Kojima took theMetal Gearfranchise into the past withSnake Eater,chronicling the early days of Snake’s father Big Boss as he begins a slow descent into villainy. Set in the 1960s, during the height of tensions between the US and the USSR in the middle of the Cold War,Snake Eaterisa high-stakes spy thrillerthat deftly blends real-world military history with fictional history.
Before his turn as the franchise’s most iconic villain, Big Boss was a young soldier named Naked Snake, sent on a mission to retrieve a Soviet scientist without creating an international incident, which leads to his betrayal at the hands of his former mentor, The Boss. Now on a mission of revenge to prevent an all-out nuclear war, Snake’s journey sees his entire worldview challenged and causes him to rethink everything he’s ever known. It is still an absolute masterclass in storytelling, as the themes of war and the way allies can become enemies, is just as poignant today as it was in 2004.
The town of Silent Hillhas tormented its cast of characters for years, as the fog-drenched hamlet is the central location of Konami’s twisted psychological horror franchise. And while the first game explored the sinister machinations of a doomsday cult known as The Order,Silent Hill 2took the series in a decidedly different direction, casting the town almost as a living presence that beckons a man named James Sunderland to answer for his horrific crimes.
Drawn to the town by a letter written by his wife Mary, who passed away years prior, James' trip through Silent Hill is wrought with unspeakable horrors and a sense of imminent dread that other horror games would kill for.Silent Hill 2was a landmark release for the horror genre, as its focus on trauma and grief was revolutionary, paving the way for more games to do the same, as well as serving as the basis for a complete remake by Bloober Team in 2024.
After a legal dispute over the rights to create a sequel toLegacy of Kain: Blood Omen, Crystal Dynamics won the case and went on to createSoul Reaverfor the PS1, a third-person action-adventure game that is still impressive to this day. Its commitment to large-scale, complex mythology and spectacular voice acting was commendable, which they sought to improve on the PS2 follow-up that launched in 2001.
Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 2picks up immediately where the first game ended, as Kain and Raziel ponder the weight of their choices and how it may affect their futures. Taking a slightly meta approach,Soul Reaver 2positions the two leads as architects of their own destruction, as the story relies heavily on the theme of predestination and creates multiple timelines during the game’s final act. It is a game unafraid to let characters just speak, as the Shakespearean writing and impeccable voice acting is still top-notch. And thanks to the recently releasedSoul Reaver 1+2 Remastered, this masterpiece is readily available on all modern hardware.
After taking the series into a bold new direction withSilent Hill 2, the team at Konami decided to revisit the themes and concepts seen in the original game, as well as bring some closure to many of the loose story threads.Silent Hill 3feels like oneof the most complete and structured entries as a result, and despite being made in less than a year, is still one of the most incredible horror games ever made.
Starring the adopted daughter of Harry Mason, the protagonist from the first game,Silent Hill 3is still the best story that the franchise has ever told. Focusing on the themes of parental responsibility, motherhood and isolation,Silent Hill 3was a revolutionary game for the time, as it tackled some pretty dark themes and featured a female protagonist that was unlike the majority of the ones seen in horror games at the time, who tended to lack agency. The writing feels mature without being too edgy, and Heather’s interactions with the charismatic high priestess of The Order, Claudia Wolf, make up some of the most compelling interactions in the series.
