10 Video Games That Will Keep You Hooked From Start to Finish

1 week ago 22

Published Jun 15, 2026, 8:41 PM EDT

Lucas Kloberdanz-Dyck is a writer for Collider. He grew up creating lists, stories, and worlds, which led to his love of anime and video games. He attended Sheridan College where he earned an Honours Bachelor of Game Design. Lucas and his group won 1st place for technical innovation at LevelUp Toronto 2023, and he was also an intern for the Oakville Film Festival of Arts.

One of the most challenging things about video games is keeping the players' attention for the entire span. Games such as Red Dead Redemption 2 and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild are masterpieces, but they have some pacing issues that can make it hard to find entertainment in every second of gameplay. This is a common issue, but some games manage to balance their pacing with breathtaking gameplay and visuals.

In a time when attention spans are at an all-time low, player retention is harder than ever, but this list will provide viewers with 10 video games that will have players hooked from start to finish. Based on aspects such as gameplay, narrative, visuals, pacing, originality, design, popularity, fan opinion, critical acclaim, and overall quality, these ten titles are must-play games that don't have a second of dull gameplay.

'Mafia' (2002)

Most of the games on this list are newer titles, but the oldest one featured is Mafia, a true classic that was flawless from start to finish. Set in the 1930s in a fictional city named Lost Heaven, a cab driver named Tommy Angelo saves two men who happen to be mafia members, thus starting his rise within the crime family.

Players fully immerse themselves as a mafia member in the 1930s, with the game having an incredible sense of realism that grounds the players with laws. Mafia is much different than other open-world sandbox video games, using its intriguing world as a backdrop for the fascinating and cinematic narrative, which takes center stage.

'Subnautica' (2018)

Player scanning coral underwater in Subnautica

With the second game releasing not too long ago, fans might have forgotten how perfect the first Subnautica was. When players crash-land onto a planet almost entirely covered by water, they must build their base and survive the harsh conditions. By finding other broken vessels, the aim is to find a way off this planet, but many more mysteries lie deep beneath the sea.

Subnautica doesn't do any hand-holding, throwing the players right into the abyss to figure out what they need to do and how to do it. This approach made the beginning immediately engaging, with gamers slowly realizing what they need or want to do, from exploring the ocean to collecting materials to building a base and other tools. Subnautica is a fantastic open-world game that lets players freely roam, even into the jaws of a Leviathan.

'Hollow Knight' (2017)

A bug wearing a robe in a forest in Hollow Knight

A lot of indie games are becoming the best titles of the year, with one such example being Hollow Knight. The Kingdom of Hallownest is a bug-filled world with wonders and mysteries at every corner, but when a plague turns every creature hostile, it is up to the protagonist to travel around and defeat the source of the mayhem.

Hollow Knight is a definitive modern Metroidvania game, using its fluid and satisfying platforming and traversal alongside seamless exploration to deliver a fascinating and rewarding experience. Whether it be the lore that players learn or the precise combat and platforming that hooks players, Hollow Knight is jam-packed with entertainment value from start to finish.

'God of War' (2018)

There are big games on this list, but the most popular is arguably God of War, which revived the franchise, bringing it to new heights. After the passing of his wife, Kratos sets off on an adventure through the Nordic realms to scatter her ashes at the highest point in the world alongside his son, Atreus. However, the gods have an interest in his son, making the journey much more dangerous.

Right from the introduction, where players learn controls through various challenges, including a fight against a troll and one of the greatest boss fights in video game history, God of War boasts an unrelenting pace of pure exhilaration with moments of genuine heartfelt storytelling and emotion. The next God of War game is highly anticipated, but it is going to be difficult to top this adventure, which had some of the best combat and narrative design.

'NieR: Automata' (2017)

NieR: Automata is set in the distant future, with all of humanity now living on the moon after aliens took over the Earth. However, humanity still fights in the form of a handful of androids sent down to Earth to battle against machines made by the alien invaders, starting a proxy war for their homeland.

This video game can't just be put down after beating it, because NieR: Automata has multiple endings that paint a full picture, but the replay is just as good as the first time. It constantly switches genres from 3D action to twin-stick shooter to 2D platformer, offering a variety of mechanics that always make gameplay fresh and enjoyable.

Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Survival Quiz Which Sci-Fi World Would You Survive? The Matrix · Mad Max · Blade Runner · Dune · Star Wars

Five universes. Five completely different ways the future went wrong — or sideways, or up in flames. Only one of them is the world your instincts were built for. Eight questions will figure out which dystopia, galaxy, or desert wasteland you'd actually make it out of alive.

💊The Matrix

🔥Mad Max

🌧️Blade Runner

🏜️Dune

🚀Star Wars

TEST YOUR SURVIVAL →

You sense something is deeply wrong with the world around you. What do you do? The first instinct is often the truest one.

APull on every thread until I understand the system — then figure out how to break it. BStop asking questions and start stockpiling — food, fuel, weapons. Questions don't keep you alive. CKeep my head down, observe carefully, and trust no one until I know who's pulling the strings. DStudy the patterns. Every system has a rhythm — learn it, and you learn how to survive it. EFind the people fighting back and join them. You can't fix a broken galaxy alone.

NEXT QUESTION →

In a world of scarcity, what resource do you guard most fiercely? What we protect reveals what we believe survival actually requires.

AKnowledge. If you understand the system, you don't need resources — you can generate them. BFuel. Everything else — movement, power, escape — runs on it. CTrust. In a world of fakes and informants, a truly reliable ally is rarer than any commodity. DWater. And after water, information — the two things empires are truly built on. EShips and credits. The galaxy is big — you survive it by being able to move through it freely.

NEXT QUESTION →

What kind of threat keeps you up at night? Fear is useful data — if you're honest about what you're actually afraid of.

AThat reality itself is a lie — that everything I experience has been constructed to keep me compliant. BA raid. No warning, no mercy — just the roar of engines and then nothing left. CBeing identified. Once someone with power decides you're a problem, you're already out of time. DBeing outmanoeuvred — losing a political game I didn't even know I was playing. EThe Empire tightening its grip until there's nowhere left to run.

NEXT QUESTION →

How do you deal with authority you don't trust? Every dystopia has a power structure. Your approach to it determines everything.

ASubvert it from the inside — learn its rules well enough to weaponise them against it. BIgnore it and stay out of its reach. The further from any power structure, the better. CAppear to comply while doing exactly what I need to do. Visibility is the enemy. DManoeuvre within it carefully. You can't beat a system you refuse to understand. EResist openly when I have to. Some things are worth the risk of being seen.

NEXT QUESTION →

Which environment could you actually endure long-term? Survival isn't just tactical — it's physical, psychological, and very much about where you are.

AUnderground bunkers and server rooms — cramped, artificial, but with access to everything that matters. BOpen wasteland — brutal sun, no shelter, constant movement. At least the threat is honest. CA dense, rain-soaked city where you can disappear into the crowd and nobody asks questions. DMerciless desert — extreme heat, no water, and something enormous living beneath the sand. EThe fringe — backwater planets and busy spaceports where the Empire's attention rarely reaches.

NEXT QUESTION →

Who do you want in your corner when things fall apart? The company you keep is the clearest signal of who you actually are.

AA tight crew of believers who've seen behind the curtain and have nothing left to lose. BOne or two people I'd trust with my life. Any more than that and someone talks. CNobody, ideally. Alliances are liabilities. I work alone unless I have no choice. DA community bound by shared hardship and mutual survival — people who need each other to last. EA ragtag team with wildly different skills and total commitment when it counts.

NEXT QUESTION →

Where do you draw the line — if you draw one at all? Every survivor eventually faces a moment that tests what they're actually made of.

AI won't harm the innocent — even the ones who'd report me without hesitation. BI do what I have to to protect the people I've chosen. Everything else is negotiable. CThe line shifts depending on who's asking and what's at stake. DI draw a long-term line — nothing that compromises my people's future, even if it'd help now. ESome lines, once crossed, can't be uncrossed. I know which ones they are.

NEXT QUESTION →

What would actually make survival worth it? Staying alive is one thing. Having a reason to is another.

AWaking others up — dismantling the illusion so no one else has to live inside it. BFinding somewhere — or someone — worth protecting. A reason to keep moving. CAnswers. Understanding what I am, what any of this means, before time runs out. DLegacy — shaping the future in a way that outlasts me by generations. EFreedom — for myself, for others, for every world still living under someone else's boot.

REVEAL MY WORLD →

Your Fate Has Been Calculated You'd Survive In…

Your answers point to the world your instincts were built for. This is the universe your temperament, your survival instincts, and your particular brand of stubbornness were made for.

The Matrix

You took the red pill a long time ago — probably before anyone offered it to you. You're a systems thinker who can't help but notice the seams in things.

You're drawn to understanding how the system works before figuring out how to break it.
You'd find the Resistance, or it would find you — your instinct for spotting constructed realities is the machines' worst nightmare.
You function best when you have access to information and the freedom to act on it.
The Matrix built an airtight prison. You'd be the one probing the walls for the door.

Mad Max

The wasteland doesn't reward the clever or the well-connected — it rewards those who are hard to kill and harder to break. That's you.

You don't need comfort, community, or a cause larger than the next horizon.
You need a vehicle, a clear threat, and enough fuel to outrun it — and you're good at all three.
You are unsentimental enough to survive that world, and decent enough — just barely — to be something more than another raider.
In the wasteland, that distinction is everything.

Blade Runner

You'd survive here because you know how to exist in moral grey areas without losing yourself completely.

You read people accurately, keep your circle small, and ask the questions others prefer not to answer.
In a city where humanity is a legal designation rather than a feeling, you hold onto something that keeps you functional.
You're not a hero. But you're not lost, either.
In Blade Runner's world, that distinction is everything.

Dune

Arrakis is the most hostile environment in the known universe — and you are precisely the kind of person it rewards.

Patience, discipline, and political awareness are your core strengths — and on Arrakis, they're survival tools.
You understand that the long game matters more than any single victory.
Others come to Dune and are consumed by it. You'd learn its logic and earn its respect.
In time, you wouldn't just survive Arrakis — you'd begin to reshape it.

Star Wars

The galaxy far, far away is vast, loud, and in a constant state of violent political upheaval — and you wouldn't have it any other way.

You find meaning in being part of something larger than yourself — a cause, a crew, a rebellion.
You'd gravitate toward the Rebellion, or the fringes, or whatever pocket of the galaxy still believes the Empire's grip can be broken.
You fight — not because you have to, but because standing aside isn't something you're capable of.
In Star Wars, that willingness is what makes all the difference.

↻ RETAKE THE QUIZ

'Disco Elysium' (2019)

A screen with character dialogue in Disco Elysium

Indie games feature some of the best narratives of all time, and one of them is Disco Elysium, where players play as a drunk, amnesiac detective. After waking up with no memories, players must solve a politically charged murder of great importance while trying to remember their own struggles. By using the many personalities in their head, players slowly unravel the mystery.

Disco Elysium rejuvenates the RPG genre by taking the focus away from combat and looting and instead using dialogue as combat. The voices in the player's head are the skills, upgraded and utilized, each to look at things in a new light, revealing new secrets and lore. With some of the greatest dialogue in video games and a politically important narrative, Disco Elysium is an indie game masterpiece.

'Batman: Arkham Asylum' (2009)

Comic books and movies are mainly where the superhero genre lives, but video games are an underrated medium in that regard. Batman: Arkham Asylum follows the titular Caped Crusader navigating the prison with the rest of his rogues' gallery after the Joker locked him inside. From stopping Joker's takeover of the prison to defeating many other villains, this adventure is one nightmare Batman wants to wake up from.

Batman: Arkham Asylum is the best superhero video game other than its sequel, but it has a better pace that makes the entire game perfect. From side objectives like collecting Riddler trophies or finding videotapes to the engaging main storyline, this game has much to offer. Plus, Batman: Arkham Asylum invented a new combat system that is cathartic and riveting, enhancing the vibe and gameplay in every mission.

'Luigi's Mansion 3' (2019)

A ghost dog scaring Luigi in Luigi's Mansion 3

Nintendo is one of the biggest gaming companies in the world, and they prioritize creativity and accessibility; Luigi's Mansion 3 is one of the best examples. When the titular character and his friends go on a vacation, Mario, Peach, and Daisy are captured by ghosts, leaving Luigi alone to navigate the haunted mansion, defeat the spooky residents, and save his friends.

Luigi's Mansion 3 is a surprisingly beautiful game, boasting charming visuals that are polished and stylized. However, the gameplay kicks off right away, delivering the simple yet engaging vacuum mechanic. Each area introduces a new gimmick, fresh scenery, and different enemies to spice things up, always making it fun. As one of the greatest games on the Nintendo Switch, Luigi's Mansion 3 is perfect from start to finish.

'Control' (2019)

A figure with their back to the camera facing a dark castle in Control

Control has a sequel on the way that looks absolutely phenomenal, but until it comes out, the original is more fitting for this list. The Federal Bureau of Control is a top-secret government facility, but when Jesse Faden enters it looking for her brother, she accidentally becomes the director, now needing to fight off a supernatural entity known as the Hiss.

Remedy Entertainment is known for its new-era weird concepts, and Control embodies that innovation perfectly, creating a worldbuilding masterpiece that is bizarre yet captivating. The telekinetic powers offer a fun gameplay loop with engaging combat that has fluid control and creative solutions. Control has logic-defying levels that up the imaginative scale and offer some of the best moments a gamer could have.

'Resident Evil 4' (2005)

Leon S. Kennedy and Ada Wong fighting in Resident Evil 4

The Resident Evil franchise is celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2026, and it already has one of the best games of the year and has a movie on the way. However, the pinnacle of the franchise is still Resident Evil 4. Leon S. Kennedy travels to Spain to rescue the daughter of the president from a cult that has been mind-controlled by an evil parasite, making everyone mindless and hostile.

Known for its revolutionary over-the-shoulder camera angle that redefined action-horror games, this pioneering survival horror also had a groundbreaking inventory management system that made everything more immersive. Resident Evil 4 isn't just a compelling game; it has a distinct style that is scary and exhilarating, establishing itself as one of the greatest video games of all time.