A great video game campaign will allow gamers to replay it multiple times and still experience something new. An iconic story campaign will stick to the brains of players like a strong adhesive for years and years as they recall every great character and twist.

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From beginning to end, some of the best campaigns have engaged with players on a personal level, tugging at their heart strings, making them laugh, and always keeping things interesting. Every story mode is a little different, but the most iconic stories have ingrained their roots in video game history forever.

10 Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater

One of the best features of espionage games is the story, which often includes numerous twists and turns and double, sometimes even triple agents, acting through shadowy agencies. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater may not have invented these story-telling techniques, but it certainly masters them. In a thrilling change of pace from the Metal Gear story, players travel back in time to the 1960's Cold War era where it all began with Big Boss in a Soviet jungle. Big Boss's loyalties are tested as he attempts to stop a superweapon from getting into the hands of an insane Soviet Colonel while crossing paths with his rogue former mentor and her unit of powerful commandos. The story grips players by the heart then forces them into a campaign filled with dangerous boss fights and a lots of hidden secrets to find.

9 Resident Evil 4

Action and horror are two video game genres that are often mixed together with varying results of success. That being said, almost all games that fall into this categorization owe a great deal to Resident Evil 4, the survival horror game that broke new boundaries with its immersive campaign. Walking the perfect line between campy and scary, Resident Evil 4 is a wild ride from start to finish, sending protagonist Leon Kennedy into a cage matches with giant monsters, castle sewers with invisible acid-spewing bugs, and a mine cart ride with some chainsaw-wielding maniacs, all while trying to save the President's daughter from an evil cult. It's one of those games that can be played a little differently each time while still depicting the same classic story again and again.

8 Batman: Arkham Asylum

Licensed video games have always been a bit taboo among some gaming circles, with their releases either being lauded or scorned. Batman: Arkham Asylum takes things to a heightened level of storytelling not often seen in comic book games. Despite being the first game of the highly regarded Arkham series, Asylum is just as much a psychological horror game as it is an action game, masterfully weaving together Batman's past and present into a web of criminal madness that asks just how sane Bruce Wayne really is.

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New and old foes alike take center stage, challenging the Bat to their cruelest games. The Joker takes precedent here, pulling the strings of a masterful plot that is downright fun to experience time and time again. The clever Easter eggs and unique boss fights have continued to exist in every Arkham game since.

7 The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

One of the most sprawling and outright impressive campaigns of the past decade belongs to The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Geralt of Rivia returns once more to slay monsters and save the world from certain doom, this time in a massive land that greatly expanded on the previous games through its dialogue, missions, and the beautifully detailed map itself. Every city feels real, every person Geralt talks to feels genuine, and the wide variety of side quests on top of the already huge main campaign assures that The Witcher 3 is as alive as any game can be. Player choices play a huge role in the game's outcomes, allowing for players to experiment with different storylines.

6 Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time

Some video games just change everything when they are released. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was first released in 1998 for the Nintendo 64, yet its ripples are still being felt in the gaming world to this day. As the first 3D Zelda game, Ocarina of Time had to ensure it could keep the magic of the originals alive while progressing forward with new technology. The resulting campaign is still the essential Zelda game for many fans. By encouraging exploration and adventure, Nintendo crafts a magnificent story, sending Link through time to save Hyrule from the infamous Ganondorf. Many common elements found in Zelda games get their footing in this iconic game, from the designs of the temples to the sword combat.

5 Red Dead Redemption

Rockstar is best known for making immersive open-world games with intricate campaigns full of colorful characters and high-octane action. The first Red Dead Redemption changed video game history when it brought the Wild West to players through a harsh unfiltered lens. John Marston is one of the most likable characters in the world of gaming, from his rugged outlook on life in the early 1900's to his sense of duty and honor among thieves and outlaws. It's a complex story, filled with deceit and peril, but it's also quite beautiful through an intricate narrative, unique missions, and gorgeous scenery. By the end of the ride, many players may feel bittersweet about it all coming to an end.

4 Final Fantasy VII

By tackling bold themes virtually unheard of in RPGs at the time, such as environmental and class struggles, Final Fantasy VII shifted away from the high fantasy elements that the series was known for in exchange for new innovative territory. First released in 1997 and remade in 2020, Final Fantasy VII is an extensive game featuring a number of now-iconic characters in a battle to save their planet from an evil megacorporation.

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By revamping the fighting system, introducing darker storylines, and weaving together a dynamic plot, Square Enix constructs a campaign worth playing again and again.

3 Half Life 2

Another campaign that seems to have changed the dynamics of video games as a whole is Half Life 2. An exemplary first-person shooter set in the near future after an alien invasion, Half Life 2's level designs are enough to make it one of the greatest games ever. A study in "less is more," Valve lets players use their imagination just to the right degree by creating a story in which fan theories reign supreme. By merging the action of a sci-fi first-person shooter with the puzzles of an adventure game, the immersive world Gordon Freeman is thrown into really does feel like the prototype for many modern shooters.

2 Mass Effect 2

BioWare is known for their immersive games, often focusing on morality and decision-making just as much as the action. Mass Effect 2 is the game where it all comes together; space exploration, high-stakes firefights, and a heap of exciting side quests to jump into. Players take control of Commander Shepard in the journey to stop the Reapers, although the player's own choices are critical to the game's outcomes. The breath-taking visuals of planets and attention to detail in both story and gameplay make Mass Effect 2 one of the most exciting space adventures ever.

1 Halo 3

If there was one word to describe the campaign of Halo 3, it would be bombastic. Every level of the campaign feels like an all-out war as the war rages on between the UNSC, the zealous Covenant, and the parasitic, all-consuming Flood. Master Chief continues his mission to save humanity one dead alien at a time, although one of the most engaging aspects of the campaign is the ability to play through co-op and experience the biggest battles with friends. The multiplayer might have been a huge draw when the game was first released in 2007, but the campaign is often regarded as a series high mark for die-hard fans.

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