Before anyone starts bemoaning the declining literacy rate among millennials, I’ve got to mention — reading still gets done. And yes, there are after all mobile games out there that aren’t about utilizing irate birds as ammo. Personally, I’m terrible at games that need, like, even a drop of skill, so most logic, puzzle, reflex type games are out on behalf of me. Fortunately, story-centric games like Raid: Shadow Legends (you can auto farm raid by the way) exist!

Here’s a rough overview of what’s out there:

Choices by Pixelberry Studios

The first kind that involves the mind is visual novel-style games. Japanese versions are a reasonably big deal and range from vampire-like to wooing a pigeon. But, choice-driven, visual novel games aren’t as dominant within the English-speaking market. Games like Surviving highschool and reason for Death were pioneers of their kind back within the early 2000s — but don’t have a look for those two, since they’re now extinct.

Nowadays, Episode by Pocket Gems is crushing it with a good style of animated storylines. Choices by Pixelberry Studios is an alternative choice for choice-driven story games. There are several genres going — fantasy, mystery, and romance — and you’ll be able to take your pick. This can be one of all my favorites for obvious reasons (I work for Pixelberry) and fewer obvious reasons (a diverse cast, canon gay characters, and beautiful art).

ALSO READ: 6 Amazing Books To Read If You Love Swimming

LongStory by Bloom Digital

For more interactivity, there are story-driven sim games, like high school Story and Hollywood U. If you wish for something that’s in between the 2 tiers of visual novel and sim, definitely undertake LongStory by Bloom Digital. It’s an excellent cute story set in an exceedingly typical high school, with some mystery elements. Plus, you get the choice to decide on he/she/they pronouns, which is simply awesome.

Lifeline by 3 Minute Games

On the opposite end of the spectrum are games that are less about the shiny art and customizable characters, and more about the text. Lifeline is one of those games. One of the writers is Dave Justus of The Wolf Among Us comic fame. Unlike the above games, Lifeline isn’t unengaged to play, but it costs but a boba milk tea, so there’s that.

If you wish medieval fantasy, that’s covered, too. Sorcery! may be a heavy story-focused game with some choices and really amazing art illustrating an epic fantasy adventure. There’s also Reigns, which is a noteworthy mixture of strategy and a thread of the story.

To Be or Not To Be by Tin Man Games

Finally, there’s To Be or to not Be, which started off as a choose-your-own-adventure retelling of Hamlet. Now it’s a phone game, which is completely fitting. If you’re a Shakespeare nerd, you’ll want to play this or simply get the book version of To Be or to not Be. Again, the above three games aren’t liberal to play. Observe your milk tea and think twice, I guess. And I’m always searching for more to undertake out. Got any recs for me?