I an unable to review this title, as it was archived before I had a chance to download and read it. This feedback is only to stop this title from adversely affecting my netgalley feedback rate. If in the future I have the opportunity to read this title, I will post a proper review here.

Connect your content to what kids are into, they say. WELL. If they're into video games, this book is everything. Through a thorough and spoiler-filled exploration of many different games, the author connects the building blocks of storytelling to the story arcs and gameplay mechanics of many popular video games. The book easily belongs in every middle and high school ELA classroom, and should be a required read for any teacher who isn't much of a gamer. This is an inviting and accessible literary analysis of some of the most popular and successful video games over the last couple of decades.

The Greatest Stories Ever Played: Video Games and the Evolution of Storytelling by Dustin Hansen, 304 pages. NONFICTION. Feiwel & Friends (Macmillan), 2022. $20.
Language: PG (4 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: PG; Violence: PG13
BUYING ADVISORY: MS, HS - ADVISABLE
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
Hansen puts forth more than 20 games as the “greatest” and offers his reasons for the claim of each of them to be worthy of the superlative. While he includes several spoiler warnings, Hansen does not spoil every video game he talks about – some are simply recommendations of which he gives enough information to intrigue gaming readers. But whether or not you’re a gamer, each reader can appreciate the celebration of well-told stories.
Hansen says specifically that he’s writing to gamers, but I found it insightful for me as a non-gamer story-lover. I love the idea of seeing video games from a story standpoint when I have seldom imagined them that way. The descriptions and explanations of the games chosen by Hansen have me convinced that I need to give this medium of storytelling a try. The mature content and violence ratings are for brief descriptions of adult language, innuendo, gore, suicide, and murder within some of the video games mentioned. Note: this book is considered YA non-fiction, so I hope that means all the video games recommended are appropriate for that audience, but I don’t know that for sure (Hansen himself offers warnings for content of two of the included games).
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen

What a great love letter to video games and the art of storytelling through this unique media. I found it interesting that I was most intrigued by the stories that also happened to be in the same type of genre of video game that I like to play. The other storylines, in general, were not that interesting to me.

I would love to see a book like this that was specifically geared toward certain genres. I did find it interesting to read the storyline on some of the well known games that I have never played since they are not in my preferred genre.

This title has a lot of appeal for teens that are noncomittal readers and like video games. This title has a chapter list that features all the video games the author talks about and he goes in depth about the stories in them and even summarizes with a book report on it. I like the inclusion of pictures as well.

I am quite possibly the least qualified person to review this book, even though I enjoyed this author's Game On! tremendously. While I was able to appreciate a history of games, with brief descriptions of the games and the impact on popular culture, I struggled a bit with this since I have very littel experience with video games. In short, I have only had all of my dinosaurs die in Dino Park Tycoon, had my city burn down repeatedly in SimCity even when the first thing I built was a fire station, and been stuck with a pig swimming around a rock lined pond in Minecraft. This has made me equate video games with frustration and boredom. I wasn't even aware that games had stories.

Do they ever. Not Minecraft, per se, because that's a game that is just action. Hansen's description of games that are only action and those that have more cerebral components was helpful. What I struggled with was the deep dives into the construction and meaning of plots of video games of which I had never heard. Which would be just about all of them. It was sort of like trying to follow a critical analysis of, say, soap opera plots. I can appreciate the background that Hansen brings to the book, the breakdowns of quality of storylines based on well established criteria and the emotional impact they have on him personally, and his links between the stories in video games and the process of creating stories in general, but I couldn't fully understand what was going on.

Language arts teachers who try to get their students to come up with story ideas could use this book to good effect. There are sections that would go right along with the curricular standards. Major camps of narrative styles! Personification! Juxtaposition! The plusses and minuses of storytelling mediums. It's all here, and set against the background of video games like Grim Fandango. The part that I really could appreciate was the fact that the games that were highlighted were briefly explained, with the year of introduction noted, and suggestions for where the games might be played today. Most of the games premiered before 2017, and Hansen notes that there is no way to keep up with the constant barrage of new games.

For avid game players who themselves would be interested in writing, this would be the perfect book. I have just the student in mind, which means that I am completely justified in purchasing this title for my library! I just pitched it to a language arts teacher who walked into the library as well. This a great choice for game connoisseurs who want a critical overview of the intricacies of storytelling in video game construction. Hansen is a master at turning his knowledge and enthusiasm into informational books that I can enjoy even when I don't understand them.

I love pop culture nonfiction, and this was no exception! The Greatest Stories Ever Played is an exceptional dive into the history of the games of our youth, and I thoroughly enjoyed the digital ARC. Can't wait to see it in print!

More prose than I care for, but worth a look for the author. I did learn new things about games and gamification.