Don’t Nod is a studio largely well-known for its acclaimed episodicLife is Strangeseries, for which it developed the first two games,but it’s branched out since thenvery much like its stories. The studio has dipped its feet into multiple genres and settings and even produced some horror Soulslike options that still carry its signature style.
Don’t Nod has been on a roll with its gaming releases, and its knack for unpredictable sci-fi mystery and gameplay mechanics never ceases to amaze as to what this developer will come up with next. Here are the masterfully cinematic games you may or may not be familiar with from Don’t Nod, ranked.
Read our3/5 star review of Twin Mirror!
Twin Mirror has become the hidden gem among Don’t Nod’s stories, still weaving a complex mystery accompanied by difficult themes, but its close launch date toTell Me Whyand Epic Store exclusivity at the time likely hurt its chances at success. It just proved too challenging of an endeavor to follow up the compelling and well-executed design, characters, and storytelling in Tell Me Why.
What Makes This Game Worth Playing
9Harmony: The Fall Of Reverie
After Twin Mirror, Don’t Nod took a break from its standard storytelling and gameplay to deliver the interactive visual novel adventure called Harmony: The Fall of Reverie. But as it turns out, the game still has a branching decision-making narrative, superb voice-acting, and dialogue classic of Don’t Nod but designed as a node tree landscape and built around a clairvoyance plot element.
8Remember Me
This is Don’t Nod’s first-ever video game, and it’s the kind of premise that always gets revisited in its other projects with an updated and more nuanced formula. Remember Me launched in 2013, and while the parkour system, combat design, and camera angles might be considered dated and a sign of the times, it helped mold this developer into the storyteller it is now.
7Vampyr
Don’t Nod’sVampyris the game that probably made you scratch your head, as it’s something radically different from this developer. Jonathan Reid’s tragic story from doctor to vampire and his struggle to maintain humanity bringsa vampire tale like no other, putting morality at the forefront.
There’s also a prologue demo to Life is Strange 2 following the Eriksens called The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit.
Read our5/5 star review of the Episode 5 finale of Life is Strange 2!
The analogy that can be made withLife is Strange 2is similar to what happened with the first and second seasons of HBO’s True Detective, where neither sequel quite lived up to the expectations set up by the original installment. However, it’s still a strong Don’t Nod game that delivers on the series' core themes and style.
5Gerda: A Flame In Winter
Read our4.5/5 star review of Gerda: A Flame in Winter!
Gerda: A Flame in Winteris not only different from a visual, game design, and narrative design perspective, but also because it’s the first game to be published by Don’t Nod and developed by PortaPlay. It’s a WW2 game depicting the Nazi occupation of Tinglev, Denmark, and follows the titular nurse in a hand-drawn RPG game world on a dangerous mission to free her husband from the Gestapo.
Read our3/5 star review of Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden!
Don’t Nod has finally found its correct footing between deep storytelling without the need for an episodic structure and the boss battle and Soulslike combat system that started in Vampyr. With some Easter egg nods to its predecessor,Banisherstells both a ghost and a love story set against the backdrop of colonial America, where exorcisms take on an interesting new meaning.
Read our5/5 star review of Tell Me Why!
Tell Me Why is classic Don’t Nod and ultimately the successor to the Life is Strange series. It’s episodic, has a complex family and murder mystery storyline, and the character choices and supernatural abilities feel the same. But certain elements propel it beyond many of Don’t Nod’s previous games.
Read our4/5 star review of Jusant!
Jusantis another one of those rare departures from Don’t Nod’s typical aesthetics, and it landed asone of TheGamer’s best indie games of 2023. The story isn’t as spoonfed as past Don’t Nod games, while still maintaining a sense of mystery, with the focus here instead on climbing physics and a more relaxing vibe to enjoy.
This is the game that started it all for Don’t Nod, the perfect canvas for its story-driven and character-forward stories that play out with branching dialogue options and have mind-bending supernatural gameplay mechanics. It’s Bully, Telltale, Alan Wake, and Heavy Rain all wrapped into one.
