Video games have yearned to be more graphically impressive for as long as video games existed. Each console generation signified a massive graphical shift. It started with 8-bit to 16-bit, then more impressive graphics and lighting.

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Here we are today with video games looking very similar to real life, thanks to the recent innovations of ray tracing and advanced rendering techniques. This shift has also resulted in games wanting to show off that fidelity, resulting in an overabundance of cinematics. Cutscenes are instances that restrict control from the player, either partially or fully. This can range from pre-rendered videoes to simple dialogue between the player and NPCs. Here are the 10 games that had more cutscenes than actual gameplay.

10 Too Human

via: youtube.com (Newport City Gaming)

Many gamers forgot that this game even existed until Microsoft added it to their backwards compatibility program and made it free for everyone.

For those who don't remember, Too Human was an ambitious action RPG that would be based in cybernetically enhanced Norse mythology. The game went through 9 years of development hell, dealt with a lawsuit, and had incredibly clunky controls. The overabundance of cutscenes made up for the shallow gameplay, although the lip-sync and dialogue left a lot to be desired.

9 The Last of Us

It is debatable if there is more gameplay in The Last of Us than cutscenes, but that doesn't change the fact that this game has a large amount of its runtime based around cinematics.

That isn't to say that cutscenes are bad, however. This game showed the industry how a small scale story around a few characters could rival fully-fledged films from Hollywood. The cutscenes did most of the heavy lifting for that, though, with gameplay providing an excuse to go from point A to B. Moments of quiet time in-game added to the impeccable story through character dialogue, but the core gameplay itself was functional with little else going for it.

8 Mass Effect

Saving the entire galaxy requires much more than shooting aliens in the face, even if that's fun to do by itself. Commander Sheperd spends almost all of his time talking.

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Sheperd talks to allies, enemies, citizens, AI, or even big stupid jellyfish. What makes it so captivating, however, is the choice you have when making dialogue decisions in these cutscenes. You can go about it passively or aggressively and ask questions along the way. The best part is it impacts dialogue and future missions. Talking becomes part of the gameplay loop, but it doesn't change the fact that most of the game is spent looking at the dialogue wheel instead of shooting.

7 Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

Bioware nailed making dialogue and cutscenes interesting as far back as KOTOR. Many fans consider this to be Bioware's greatest video game out of everything they've made.

Similar to Mass Effect, players spend most of their time talking to NPCs and watching non-interactive cutscenes shape the narrative. Plenty of time is spent exploring areas and fighting enemies, but more of that time is better spent getting to know your companions and what your role is in the universe. It may not have a dialogue wheel or pretty graphics, but KOTOR still holds up as one of the best RPGs ever created because of its fantastic writing and interactive dialogue and cutscenes.

6 Deus Ex: Human Revolution

RPGs are the most popular genre when it comes to interactive cutscenes and dialogue. Making a large cast of characters is a fast way of fleshing out a universe and making it captivating.

Deus Ex: Human Revolution is a fantastic return to form for the immersive sim genre of video games. While it is an RPG at heart, there is a larger focus on talking to NPCs and exploring the one or two city blocks you're given with unmatched detail. It focuses more on dialogue than stealth or action combat than the original did, but that dialogue sets up the fantastic gameplay sections players will go through.

5 Final Fantasy XV

OK, if we are talking about cutscenes in video games, you have to mention the Final Fantasy series. Just like most RPGs, JRPGs have a massive focus on narrative as well.

And the best way to handle that narrative is through, you guessed it, interactive cutscenes with dialogue. Combat in this game is sparse, even rarer than the games before it. If you aren't talking or watching amazing cutscenes, you are pushing a car to get gas or exploring the massive world Square Enix has made.

4 The Witcher 3

CD Project Red changed the entire gaming landscape with The Witcher 3. Many would argue that this is the greatest RPG of the decade, possibly ever.

That praise is warranted when you consider the hundreds of thousands of lines of dialogue the game has. This dialogue is given almost entirely through cutscenes with some player choice now and then. There is nothing wrong with this, as the main combat loop of The Witcher 3 isn't anything noteworthy. The writing was enough to put it on the map of many RPG fans, but the amazing story and beautifully realized worlds set this game as one of the greats.

3 Metal Gear Solid 4

Metal Gear Solid 4 - Snake In The Middle Of Combat

Dialogue and cutscenes aren't exclusive to RPGs. Metal Gear Solid is infamous for its copious amounts of cutscenes placed within the story. It normally isn't a problem.

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Normally. Metal Gear Solid 4, despite its great story and motifs, has way too many of them. Over eight hours of cutscenes exist in this game when you'd be lucky to spend an equal amount sneaking around as Snake. If you just wanted to sneak around as the iconic protagonist, this was arguably the worst game in the main series to do that in.

2 GTA IV

via gamesradar.com

Most GTA fans will associate this game with the phrase "let's go bowling!" Grand Theft Auto IV was a massive iteration over the third game, but some of those iterations hurt the game more than they helped.

NPCs could call you whenever they wanted, with the most notorious example being your cousin asking you to go bowling while robbing a bank. It was a symptom of GTA IV's larger issue: too many cutscenes. Every mission has cutscenes from the intro to the end and some in-between. Thankfully, Rockstar came to their senses and toned it down in the fifth installment.

1 Dragon's Lair

via: youtube.com

Is this cheating? Somewhat. This entire game is loved by an older generation of gamers for being one of the first interactive video games in existence. Thing is, the entire game is effectively a long cutscene.

Dragon's Lair was fantastic for the time because of its charming art style, further enhanced with well-made animations. By today's standards, Dragon's Lair is effectively a quick time event video game, asking the player to jump or move at certain sections or risk death. It was amazing at arcades for the time and still holds up today because of its great art style. Dragon's Lair is a relic of the past that still holds up, even if it is just one long quick-time event.

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