It's died down a bit but for a few years you couldn't read too many game reviews without hearing some inkling of the term "ludo-narrative dissonance", so I was wondering what are some of games that best exemplify the opposite. (Quick Primer for those out of the loop, it's where the actions the player performs clash with their actions/motivations narratively) "Ludo-narrative harmony" has the right air about it but onto an example.

Hotline miami is a great example; but I don't really want to get into it for spoiler reasons. Have also heard that LISA: The Painful does a good job of this but again I can't comment.

Anyone have particularly good examples of this being done well in games that gameplay as a focus?

Cheers

Are you asking for games where the gameplay and story reflect each other?

That is one way to interpret it, and the more conventional one.

I'm personally more interested in the case where they are intertwined in interesting ways. In many games the story and gameplay are effectively two separate entities that are connected in setting and other elements, but happen almost entirely divorced from each other. Games like Disco Elysium, in which not only are the player and the player avatar's goals aligned, but also their progression through the narrative is entirely driven through the gameplay.

Another example would be the Nemesis system from the Shadow of Mordor games, where the player is given in world dynamic storytelling that reflect the motivations of both them and their character.

I'm not sure I made this any clearer, sorry.

Well, I mean it depends on the way you play the games for a lot of them. I hated playing RPGs wherein I would grind extra levels to just blow through everything, only to have my game cut short by a cutscene with my character on the verge of death because I had to lose the fight that I dominated.

**** SPOILERS FOR JEDI FALLEN ORDER AHEAD ****

[spoiler]

The first fight with the Second Sister is like that. I mean, it would be ludonarrative harmony if I was bad at the game, like the first time. But the second time through, she didn't touch me. And it still has you playing down like you're just barely holding on.

[/spoiler]

**** END SPOILERS ****

EDIT A gaming forum should really have working spoiler tags, GOG. Why do you guys lack the most basic shit?????

Manhunt would be a good example i think.

Don't know, since I have no idea whatsoever what you are trying to ask, since your OP is extremely unclear.

Maybe Celeste, but personally, I would advice against using opaque terms like the second word in the topic title and that you use playing English instead.

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons comes to mind, at least in part and when you play it the intended way (that is with a gamepad, and alone - although two players sharing one gamepad might work, too, to some extent, just haven't tried it myself).

As paladin181 said, it often (not always) is a matter of how the player cooperates (or doesn't), rather than of how the game is made. Also, while ludo-narrative dissonance is very noticeable because of the jarring contrast between story and gameplay, "harmony" goes unnoticed by its very nature. However great examples of gameplay and story aligning are the Deus Ex series and The Witcher saga. Also a honourable mention to GTA 5 for making a psychopath main character that aligns with how some people play.

Ok so a random definition for the original term, ludo-narrative dissonance, is the "conflict between a video game 's narrative told through the story and the narrative told through the gameplay". I'm asking for games where this conflict doesn't exist as they reinforce each other, ie the gameplay tells the same story as the traditional narrative does.

I think that Japanese training games usually hit the mark. For the all-ages demographic, Wonder Project J and the Princess Maker series has you teaching a child how to approach life. In the case of WPJ, that simply means giving approval or disapproval as the character does things. Princess Maker has you managing your daughter's life - buying her clothing, sending her to schools, and arranging a schedule for her to follow. Whether she does so is dependent on her feelings and exhaustion.

For the west, King's Quest is largely focused on fairy tales and mythology. To resolve situations, you have to think back to stories like those from Aesop's Fable, Brothers Grimm, and Hans Christianson. If well versed in those, the solutions to most problems in the series will become more apparent. This also matches well with the vignette nature of King's Quest, as fairy tales are typically many different stories kept in a collection.

If interested in that series, you can try the freeware remakes of the first three games.

King's Quest I - AGDI download

I'd say 'Beyond Eyes', a game in which you play a blind girl who navigates and discovers the world through sounds. Also 'What Remains of Edith Finch' although here the gameplay isn't the story but a means to reinforce it.

Edit:
Adding to the list, I'd also reference the games made by Sam Barlow (Her Story, Telling Lies), as well as the ones made by Lucas Pope (Papers; Please; and Return of the Obra Dinn).

Somehow hadn't heard of this game before, thanks for the recommendation! Think this is what I was looking for
Been meaning to check Lucas's games out for a while now, nice to have an extra excuse to check them out. Hadn't heard of 'Beyond Eyes' before but it looks interesting. Edith Finch is excellent and now that you point it out it definitely exhibits what I was referring to.

Cheers

Some games that come to mind:

The Talos Principle
A good puzzle game with a great story, would recommend going in blind to avoid spoilers.

Rain World
The game world overall conveys the sense of struggle and hostility felt in the tough gameplay. Great game, incredibly alive world but also very hard.

Superhot: Mind Control Delete
The game concept revolves around glitches, and I'd say it also portrays this through its gameplay.

Return of the Obra Dinn
You investigate the game world in one of the most sensible ways I have yet encountered in a game. It is essentially a detective game, but it takes every aspect of its game world seriously, and so must you if you want to comprehend what is going on.

Scanner Sombre
A game I would buy on a decent discount. It's a 2-hour walking simulator, but it ultimately offers a witty conclusion which fits gameplay and narrative together.

SOMA
I'm not sure if it belongs here gameplay wise, since its stealth gameplay feels a bit flawed, but to me, it is one of the best narratives (also best told) in a game I came across so far, and it intensifies as you keep moving deeper towards the bottom of the ocean.