New chapters and expansions
A continuation of the main story or a separate tale about a supporting character. Sometimes an expansion takes place before the main game and sometimes after, so it's worth finding out the best order to play it in.
Updates
Game updates
A story-driven game doesn't always stay the same after release. It may get new chapters and side stories, a photo mode, improved translations, subtitles and accessibility settings, and fixes for bugs that kept a scene from starting. Below we cover what kinds of changes there are, where to find reliable information about them and how to avoid spoilers while reading about what's new. We don't publish news or release dates.
The best update for a story game is the one that makes it easier to understand and to hear.
How this section works: only types of updates are covered here, with no news, dates or titles. For details about your game, check the developers' patch notes.
What updates bring
The changes you'll see most often in story-driven games.
Photo mode
A freely movable camera that freezes time and lets you choose the angle, depth of field and filter. In story games it's a way to study how a scene was staged, the way the developers' camera saw it.
Subtitles and translation
An update can add a language, fix inaccuracies, enlarge the font or add sound captions. If you put a game off because of its translation, these are the changes to watch for.
Accessibility
New contrast settings, simplified quick-time events, an option to turn off camera shake. Changes like these rarely make headlines, but for many players they decide whether the story can be finished at all.
Bug fixes
Small updates repair scenes that wouldn't start, missing lines of dialogue and broken saves. They're what protects your progress and your nerves.
How to keep track of updates
Read the official patch notes
They're posted in the game's menu, on its store page or on the developers' website. An official list is more reliable than secondhand summaries in the comments.
Update from the official store
New versions are offered by your app store or console. Builds from third-party sites may turn out to be fakes and can corrupt your saves.
Check the settings after installing
A major update may have added a language, a subtitle mode or new accessibility options. Take a look at the menu before you continue the story.
Back up your save
If the game allows it, make a separate save before updating. A new chapter sometimes starts from a specific point in the story, and your old progress may come in handy.
How to read about what's new without spoilers
- Read patch notes rather than overview videos with footage from new chapters.
- Mute notifications from communities that discuss the story until you've finished the game.
- Don't expand images in posts about an expansion: a single frame can give away a plot twist.
- Ask friends to warn you about spoilers, and do the same for them.
- Mechanics
Cutscenes and skipping them, quick-time events, branching dialogue, the journal and notes, saves and accessibility.
- How to judge
Your own criteria, no ratings: story and characters, weight of choices, pacing, accessibility, length and fair payment.
- Terms
A glossary: cutscene, quick-time event, branching, ending, motion capture, "point of no return" and more.
- Questions
Answers about this reference, story and choices, accessibility, age ratings and family agreements.
What we rely on
- Accessibility settings in game menus (in general terms)
- Kinokorol editorial materials
We describe mechanics and settings in general terms. Every game has its own menus, option names and set of accessibility features, and they can change after an update, so check the game's own help pages and settings for exact details.