There has been talk for a while that story-driven games are on the out. AAA games are in decline or stagnating at least, while live games are in the ascendant. While there is truth to this concept, the picture is not quite so clear cut. What is clear is that attitudes are changing, along with the game development landscape. There is no doubt live games are booming, but does that necessarily mean single-player story-based games are dead?

Story-driven games in flux

In a nutshell, story-driven games are those where one or more players take on characters in an ongoing narrative. Not all games use or need a story to move the action, relying on the gameplay itself to keep players engaged. For some popular games boasting strong narratives, here are a few examples which are bucking the sliding figures:

• The Way
• The Uncharted Series
• Witcher 3
• Legacy of Kane: Blood Omen
• Half-Life

There are plenty of great games that have successfully blended strong storytelling without conflicting with game mechanics. However, players are getting negative waves from inside the industry. EA Games chief, Frank Gibeau had this to say – '…fire-and-forget, packaged goods only, single-player, 25-hours – and you're out. I think that model is finished.' These are devastating words for players who like to immerse themselves in new worlds, unraveling complex narrative webs.

Live games are powering along

On the flipside, live gaming is blowing up and shows no signs of slowing down. It seems gamers just can't get enough of this style. From MMORPG, shoot em ups, to live online casino gaming, the numbers are showing solid growth. As such, developers are adapting to meet the demand. The quality of live games is matched only by its depth and includes thing like:

• Call of Duty
• DOTA
• Counter Strike
• Online poker
• Roulette

Growth has been powered in this area not just by player demand. Live streaming on services like Twitch means fans can watch the best compete in real-time. This could be from home, or in massive tournaments like The International, which offers prize pools in the tens of millions.

When it comes to winning money, online casinos have been quick to spot the live gaming trend too. It is now possible to play any card and table game online, hosted by live dealers. Most rooms allow a virtually unlimited number of guests and provide all the thrills of casino gaming across any device.

An ever-evolving industry

Whether you consider story-driven games dead or simply stagnating, one thing is clear - live games are in the ascendency. Of course, the gaming industry is always changing according to advances in technology and gamer tastes, so it makes predicting the future difficult. For now though as Frank Gibeau said, online is 'where the innovation and the action is at'.

Epic gives out free games on a regular basis, but this week is a little different. While most of the other weeks we get one or two random games, this week's freebie - The Wolf Among Us - gets on the free shelf for a reason: its sequel - The Wolf Among Us 2 is getting resurrected after canceled due to its developer- Telltale Games was forced to break up.

The Wolf Among Us is a must-try if you are fans of heavy narrative games, as it brought a unique choice-driven mechanics and an intriguing story based on a famous novel. If you haven't heard of this masterpiece yet, here is the trailer for you to have some look while waiting for the download to complete.

The story of The Wolf Among Us

The Wolf Among Us is a video game taking the inspiration from an American comic book series - Fables. In detail, its story starts in 1986 - almost 20 years later than the main event of Fables, when almost all of the mythical lands (the Homelands) in many folklore and legends were taken over by the mysterious dictator - the Adversary.

Inhabitants in those lands want to escape from the evil regime of the Adversary, so they've fled to America and together formed a shelter namely Fabletown in Manhattan. However, they can't just live there as their original forms, so the non-humans refugees need to buy a magical item called the 'glamour'. It will disguise them with the appearance of humans, allowing to settle down in a human rural area - "The Farm".

In there, the game will put you into the shoes of the main protagonist Bigby Wolf (originally Big Bad Wolf), working as a sheriff of Fabletown in an office full of mythical characters like Snow White, Magic Mirror and a winged monkey namely Bufkin. The people here, well, don't seem to like him due to his wicked looks, but that's not preventing him from his job anyway.

However, his ordinary life changes forever after he saved a prostitute from a drunk forester. Escorting her to his safe place, the girl told him that he's not a bad person like many is telling - that's some rare nice words that Bigby received for a while.

Unfortunately, that nice woman didn't live long, as her head was found hanging on the woodman's door stairs that night, shocking the Big Bad Wolf. Due to her death, her identity was unveiled - Faith from Brother Grim's fairy tale Allerleirauh. Now, the big bad sheriff will have to embark on an extraordinary adventure to find the truth behind this bloody murder case.

Gameplay features

The most special thing of The Wolf Among Us - its story - is waiting for you to explore, and I'm not going to spoil everything for you. However, it's safe to give you some information on its gameplay features - which went far ahead of time even if it was released now.

The most outstanding feature of all is its choice-driven mechanic, in which the outcomes of your decisions do not only depend on the choices themselves but also the time you choose to commit. You'll investigate all of the people from famous folklore and fairy tales in the third-person perspective, trying to pull off some clues from their words through dialogues. They might come from completely different stories, but The Wolf Among Us tie them up very tightly and reasonable in the most unexpected ways.

Apart from the characters, you can also find important clues by interacting with the objectives on your way as well. It doesn't require you to use fancy control mechanics, just simply use your cursor against the objects, and Bigby will give some comments on them. The only thing that requires reflexes in this game is the quick-time events, which I've mentioned earlier.

Claim it for free and keep it forever

The Wolf Among Us is this week's freebie on Epic Games Store, and you can feel free to add it to your library and download it at any time you want. It will stay on the shelf until the next Friday, so take your time but don't forget about it.

And here's another good news: its second installment - The Wolf Among Us 2 - is now being developed again from the hands of LCG Entertainment and the help of AdHoc Studio - the one created by former Telltale's developer. Here's it reveal trailer at The Game Awards 2019, which you can have a look:

What's more important for you? The pals that go with you through the toughest moments of life and death, or the sacred missions that you're carrying on your shoulders? That's the tough choice that soldiers have to choose back in the time of wars, and Broken Lines will tell you that much.

It's a brand new RTS game from the developer Portaplay, in which you'll take control of 8 soldiers somehow stuck behind the enemies' lines. Maybe through this game, you'll learn how severe World War II was, and treasure your lives of peace more now.

Below is the new trailer of Broken Lines showing its gameplay features, which you can have a look:

The story of Broken Lines

Broken Lines takes the settings of Eastern Europe in a historical event - World War II. You'll learn the story of a squad of 8 soldiers, as their plane somehow crashed and landed in the enemies' territory. All of their leaders and comrades have died, and there are only eight of them left struggling to survive.

Fortunately, they are all experienced soldiers that have sharpened their skills and instincts through training. With their experience, they realize that they must work together to deal with the upcoming challenges and stay alive in this situation, but is it an easy task?

First of all, all of the survivors have their virtues and distinctive viewpoint on issues, and each prefers different results of goals. For example, some want to look into the reason for their crash, some want to stay safe away from the enemies' sights first. Some are even expecting desertion, making the task of survival extremely difficult.

Will their journey become a smooth escaping route, or will it turn into a complete disaster where no one comes out alive?

Gameplay features

Broken Lines is a heavy-narrative real-time strategy game, where you'll have to lead this ragtag team of 8 soldiers overcoming their difficulty. Unlike other RTS games where the story doesn't matter too much, Broken Lines features an intriguing survival story where each of your decisions will affect the outcome of the whole story.

To be more specific, the group has to face a lot of tough situations in their journey, which will be told through rich narrative lines from all 8 characters. At times, you'll have to make decisions on how to deal with those situations: whether to aid the people in need or just abandon their demands for the sake of the whole group.

Being a leader is never an easy task, as you are always tortured between the ideas of the major and the minor. Your choices will change the attitudes of the members on your leadership status, and if you failed to prove that you're a rightful leader, some of them will abandon the crew at any moment.

Not only do you have to cope with inner problems but also the threat from the troops around you as well. That's where the turn-based RTS combats kick in - as you'll plan your characters' moves, and they'll execute it simultaneously for the best approach with each gunfight. Broken Lines feature permadeath mechanics, so if anyone from your team dies, they're gone for good!

Through battles and exploration, you'll gain equipment and weapons to help you with future fights. They include guns, ammo, armor and other consumable stuff to restore your character's HP. The characters also level up through the battles as well, which allows you to learn new skills for them that match their roles in the group.

Release date and supported platforms

Broken Lines are planned to release in Q1 2020 for PC via Steam. However, the specific release date hasn't been announced yet.

The modern world of mundane often uses the power of science to explain mostly everything they found strange in their lives. However, Last Stop - the latest narrative game from the famous publisher Annapurna Interactive  - will show you why you should believe magic does exist in real life.

Last Stop tells the story through the eyes of three characters who have encountered something quite abnormally. Their paths will intertwine with each other at times, and you'll see how supernatural things have made and ruined their lives.

Below is the trailer of the game, and you can see which uncommon things will happen in their lives:

The story of Last Stop

According to the developer, Last Stop is an anthology drama that tells the settings of the modern city of London. You can already tell through the similar concept of Harry Potter, this city will have something magical in it. Specifically, Last Stop will tell the secret story of three different characters, including Donna, John, and Meena.

All of them has been going through strange things happening in their life. To be more specific, Donna is a female student who has caught a strange behavior of her neighbor: he keeps hooking up with new girls every day and bring them home, but no one has come out since then.

To investigate the case and (mostly) satisfy her curiosity, Donna and her friends will sneak inside her neighbor's house. And the thing they see will be their worst sci-fi nightmare: that guy has the eyes that release green beams just like robots!

The second character - John - a handsome man that has somehow switched his body with a bold father. Together, they must find out the reason behind this body swapping.

And the last one - Meena - is the girl you're looking for in your workplace. She's an extremely attractive worker who will realize if you drop an eye on her and might satisfy your lewdest dream - or ruin it! This strong girl will choke you to death to threaten you not to sexualize her anymore.

If that's not spooky enough, the game introduces a giant bird with glowing eyes at the end of the trailer, which might be the cause of the whole supernatural mess.

When will their story intertwine? Where will be their last stop?

Gameplay features

The publisher Annapurna Interactive hasn't revealed much about Last Stop is a narrative game that tells magical stories through three separated people. As their stories gradually develop, they will connect at a certain point, and revealing the whole climax of the supernatural crisis that's running their lives.

This concept is not new anymore, as we can see this kind of narrative through Quantic Dream's latest hit - Detroit: Become Human. However, it's not old either, as there are still few developers that have chosen this mechanic for their games. The only frustrating part of this is you might feel baffled in the beginning, but it can be easily covered by intriguing stories.

Showcasing a little more about the gameplay, the trailer has shown the dialogue-choice system which allows you to choose your own path of developing your story. Adding the cherry on top, you can also see the third-person RPG with very simple control - using a specific key combination to rolling around the place trying to be sneaky.

Last but not least, the music in Last Stop is compiled by the composer Lyndon Holland - an award-winning composer. All of the characters are fully-voiced, making the game even more realistic and thrilling

Release date

Last Stop will launch for Xbox One and PC in 2020, but there's no specific release date yet.

The developer also teased that other consoles might get this game as well, and further information will come in the near future.