Gacha Games With The Best Stories

Key Takeaways

• Gacha games can have exceptional gameplay and story elements beyond predatory practices – like
  Reverse: 1999.
• Unique mechanics and deep lore set games like
  Arknights
  apart, offering challenging gameplay and engaging narratives.
• Games like
  Punishing: Gray Raven
  deliver style, story depth, and planned character acquisition, creating a rewarding experience.

The truth is, Gacha games are not for everyone. The idea behind a Gacha game is for the player to spend money in the game. They do this via various means, the most successful being character pulls. Due to this seemingly predatory nature, Gacha games are sometimes seen as inferior to other games and gimmicky to the extreme.

While this is true in some instances, there are quite a number of Gacha games that have proven to be exceptional games both in terms of gameplay and story elements. Some Gacha games have incredible stories that have kept players and fans hooked for years and should be tried out by more people.

Updated on November 20, 2024, by Famutimi Oluwafemi: The world of gacha is ever expanding, and new games are being added to the genre all the time. Impressively, the stories have only gotten better and deeper, and it would be a shame not to highlight some of those great gems. So, here are some excellent gacha games to scratch the story itch, updated with a handful of new entries that show the broad range of storytelling is this new but rapidly-growing genre.

13 Reverse: 1999

A Gorgeous Game With A Refreshing Storyline To Boot

Reverse: 1999 is a beautiful game that pulls the player in with its distinct visuals and interesting combat system. It also did something a little different as the story is not the typical apocalyptic tale of doom and woe (there’s still a lot of doom and woe) and instead creates a world falling in reverse and divided between magic users and regular people.

As the story progresses, players are sucked into a world that will remind any Harry Potter fans of the series and the mechanics of the earth there. A lot of Reverse: 1999’s charm comes from its impeccable presentation and it makes it one of the most unique Gacha games out there.

12 Arknights

A Tale Of Freedom Fighters With Enemies On All Sides

Arknights came out worldwide in 2020 and is a Tower Defence game that requires quite a lot of strategy to progress smoothly. It has a lot of characters with their rarity going as high as 6-stars and a lot of content both for the daily grind and the endgame.

The lore of Arknights is surprisingly deep and revolves around the use of the mineral, Originium. Originium is central to life on the planet Terra (where the game is situated) and also the cause of the deadly Oripathy. The player who controls and amnesiac doctor, is in control of a band of people who are searching for a cure to Oripathy while facing off against the tyrannical government of Terra and infected individuals.

11 Limbus Company

A Surprisingly Fun Game In A Bleak World

Limbus Company came out in 2023 with little to no fanfare. However, the reputation of its developer—Project Moon—is stellar. They are a South Korean outfit responsible for some really great titles, including Lobotomy Corporation and Library Of Ruina. The game borrows heavily from classic literary pieces like Dante’s Inferno and Moby Dick.

Limbus Company is a turn-based RPG that doesn’t slack on difficulty, but where it shines the most is in its story. Like some other titles, Project Moon has created a seamless story that flows from Lobotomy Corporation and Library Of Ruina, focusing on the 12 ‘Sinners’ who have to explore the ruins of the Lobotomy Corporation.

10 Honkai Impact 3rd

It Boasts An Expansive Universe That Affects Other Games

While Genshin Impact has been their breakout game, Mihoyo (now Hoyoverse) have been making games for quite a while and made a bit of a splash with Honkai Impact 3rd.HI3 as it is commonly called tells the story of how humanity with the help of Herschers and mechs are fighting against the Honkai.

The depth of story for HI3 is made stronger by the fact that it shares a universe with the other Hoyoverse games all of which starts with the World Tree. For newcomes, the sheer amount of information to absorb might be overwhelming, but for lovers of great storytelling and lore, Honkai Impact is a great pick to play.

9 Blue Archive

A Game To Remind Fans Of A Certain Magical Index

The player starts life as a sensei tasked with bringing order to the academic city of Kivotos. Kivotos is filled with several races, including humans and robots, and is also home to several rival schools and many other odd features. The world of Kivotos involves tank battles in the streets and gun-toting girls ready to shoot each other up.

Blue Archive finds its charm in the ‘cute girls doing cute things’ niche where the idea of young teenagers robbing banks and engaging in interschool warfare is somewhat amusing. That said, the story is engaging and the deeper the player dives into it, the more rewarding it becomes.

8 CounterSide

A Story Where Character Bonds Mean Everything

CounterSide was also released in 2020 by STUDIOBSIDE and is a game with a unique combat style that feels more like a tug of war than anything else. CounterSide has a similar story to a lot of Gacha games in that there is something threatening humanity and a set of people are on hand to stop it.

What sets CounterSide apart is how well the story is told and how attached they are able to make people feel about the characters. There is a camaraderie among the counters (the powerful beings who fight against the corrupted objects) that make them very relatable and lovable. The animation also makes the more touching aspects of the story hard-hitting.

7 Guardian Tales

An Homage To Nostalgic 90s Games

The story of Guardian Tales is deceptively deep. The player controls a knight of Kanterbury, and is responsible for saving the kingdom from the clutches of invaders who would destroy everything. The story has its twists and turns and is chock-full of humorous moments to get players invested.

The graphics are charming, with a top-down view reminiscent of older games like the early Zelda titles. Players can summon characters, who are then delivered in a package via a drone, which might not do anything special, but its pretty neat.

6 Path To Nowhere

A Bleak Story That Encourages Players To Empathize With The Characters

Path To Nowhere boasts a great story, engaging characters, and some slick design. The game is absolutely beautiful to look at and from the art, one can tell that the story could get pretty dark.

Path To Nowhere is set in a rather grim world which isn’t uncommon with a fair few Gacha games, but the player is particularly exposed to the bleak atmosphere through the characters they have to use. Called Sinners, these individuals are people affected by the disease called Mania. As the player gets deeper, Path To Nowhere ceases to be an Arknights ripoff to become something unique.

5 Zenless Zone Zero

A Stylish Action Adventure

HoYoverse has a way of crafting dark stories and themes beneath a seemingly playful exterior, and in 2024’s Zenless Zone Zero (ZZZ) they were at it again. The game follows a pair of siblings who are proxies; guides through extraordinary planes known as Hollows. In typical Gacha fashion, the cast is vast, each with different interests and motivations.

On top of a strong story, the game is also satisfying and rewarding with its deceptively simple battle mechanics, which require players to dodge and parry where necessary. The vibrant world of New Eridu is also home to several idiosyncratic characters that fans are sure to fall in love with.

4 Punishing: Gray Raven

Style, Story, And Substance Collide To Create Magic

Punishing: Gray Raven is a Chinese Gacha game made by Kuro Games who most recently released Wuthering Waves. Punishing: Gray Raven is one of the friendlier Gacha games as it allows players guaranteed banners which means they can adequately plan for some characters.

The story is also a high point as it takes the typical post-apocalyptic storyline involving the conquering of Earth and really builds on it. Also, due to having fewer characters PGR is able to zero in on the cast and tell their stories in-depth. Like most Gacha games it takes a while to get going, but once it does, it is a rewarding experience.

3 Genshin Impact

Come For The Waifus, Stay For The Lore

Genshin Impact came out in 2020 and has been a phenomenon. Making loads of money and introducing a whole new generation to Gacha games, Genshin pulled all this off thanks to incredible animation, simple gameplay, intuitive and enjoyable combat, and an immersive story.

The story of Genshin Impact looks pretty simple on the surface: A brother and sister looking to be reunited, but once the player looks aside to the tales of the humongous world of Teyvat, they find something incredible. Unfortunately, a lot of the deep lore of the game is in books found in-game, and text attached to items which might put some people off.

2 Honkai: Star Rail

This Trip Around The Universe Is A Mindblowing Experience

HoYoverse has its grip on the Gacha market with a selection of excellent games that each have compelling storylines. Honkai: Star Rail, released in 2023, and was a return to their more space-oriented aesthetic, similar to Honkai Impact. The lore is dense, and the story follows the Trailblazer, an amnesiac who is discovered to have a Stellaron hidden inside them, which is a weapon of mass destruction.

Honkai: Star Rail is also a lot of fun to play and will appeal to players who both love the story, and those who are simply there for the gameplay. There’s a lot of end-game content, and challenging battles that will keep fans coming back again and again to look for new ways to win. This game was the winner of The Game Awards’ Best Mobile Game in 2023, and for good reason.

1 Fate/Grand Order

A Sprawling Story That Cuts Across Worlds And Times

Fate/Grand Order, popularly known as FGO, has been around for a while (since 2015) and follows the story of the efforts of the Chaldea Security Organization to restore humanity embroiled in a Holy Grail War.

The story of FGO is dense and it has been commonly joked that it reads like a light novel. While the combat, Gacha elements, and animations are all top-notch, the real star has always been the story. It should be noted, however, that FGO starts off pretty slowly, but really ramps up as time goes on and sucks the player into a world of intrigue.