It doesn't fully meet the criteria bit Zomboid is close enough to mention.
10. Bannerlord: Story? Only what you create. Starting as a small family of nothing, you set out to create a dynasty worthy of royalty. Ingeniously mixing strategy, tactics, trade and politics, Bannerlord offers stellar gameplay and a living, complex sandbox to experience it in.
9. Tales of Monkey Island: Before Ron Gilbert could make a MI game about age and legacy, Telltale did. This time bumbling has consequence, being a wacky protagonist hurts those around you, and even the star crossed romance leaves room for uncertainty and fear. Guybrush and Elaine, older and better.
8. Wrath of the Righteous: You arrive without a past at a crusade against a demon invasion. At first a war between good and evil, it quickly turns into a complex struggle between flawed, nuanced people. A deep story of conflicting axioms and loyalties, and ultimately a villain that might not be one.
7. Project Zomboid: The Louisville outskirts become ground zero for a zombie epidemic. You play a rare immune survivor, trying to live and find stability between roaming hordes, decaying civilization and dwindling stocks. Constantly tense, brutal like Rogue, and infinitely detailed in your options.
6. Final Fantasy IX: Like a reverse RDR2. A heroic quest where a lot gets done but not much happens. With themes from predestination to duty to mercy and atonement, FF9 is a study of life and its many twists, and a reminder not to surrender to them. Fuck Antlion, though.
5. Red Dead Redemption 2: Criticized for giving up the arcade jog for striding realism, but that parallels the game: it's to walk with others where all can see the end and none stop it. It's guilt keeping, life trying and reality cutting you. The end of the west is told by the end of twenty hearts.
4. Crash Bandicoot 2: Straddling a middle ground between the raw and uncut 1 and the cornucopia of 3, Crash 2 provides some of the best controls feel of all time, snappy and responsive and often able to save you by snagging a random edge. Mutato Muzika's OST is a perfect, shiny cherry on top.
3. World of Warcraft: I have literal years of playtime, so.. Often maligned, sometimes very fairly, WoW has been the forerunner of MMORPGs for 20 years. The best mechanics since Darkfall died, a constant ability to invent and refine itself, and while the focus is not on writing, it's comfy pulp S&S.
2. Killing Floor: The zombie apocalypse has been beaten to death, and so have its games. KF stands out by subverting the tone: the end is total but there is no Left 4 Dead escape plan. Instead, a group of British survivors holler about dosh over groovy metal and AA-12s. Some fights are to be faced.
