The 10 Best Videogame Intros Ever

After Crimson Desert’s less-than-stellar intro we got to thinking about who’s actually done it best -- this is our definitive list of the 10 best, but we also reveal runners ups and those who just plain got it wrong!

When it comes to the introduction of a world to punters, videogames tend to do it best. The thing is, some games do this in a unique hands-off way while others drop the player into catastrophe or urgency in alarmingly compelling ways. We mean, who can forget swimming amidst the flaming wreckage of a plane downed in the Atlantic Ocean in BioShock, or the urgency of escape from Aperture Labs as directed by the Personality Core, Wheatley (voiced by Stephen Merchant), in Portal 2? Heck, being born in Fallout 3 is also a standout for its character-creation absurdity (even if it didn’t make this list).

How players are introduced to games is a fundamental part of myriad aspects from that game. Tone and pacing, interaction and gameplay expectation and, finally, confidence in what you’re about to embark on. Some set up story, others set up loops while others still go all-in on the world around you. Slow, fast or measured, depending on the nature of things, intros in games are genuinely vital to keeping someone engaged from go to whoa while also educating them on proceedings.

With that being said and having been entirely underwhelmed (initially) by game-of-the-moment, Crimson Desert, and its intro (our review is still in progress as we received it via purchase on Day One -- and it’s long), we thought we’d go back and look at those that did it best. The criteria here is simple: not wholly cinematic, informative, tonally important to the unfurling narrative, expressive of the loop(s) ahead and engaging. And so, without further ado, here’s our definitive Top 10 Videogame Intros (in no particular order).

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Author: Stephen Farrelly
Date: May 07, 2026

Half-Life 2

"The ensuing game is a masterclass in pacing, environmental puzzles, level design and freeform play..."

While this list is, as stated above, presented in “no particular order”, Valve’s seminal Half-Life 2 gave us such a memorable introduction to City 17, but more importantly, also gave the mysterious interdimensional entity known as “G-Man” a moment to shine ever-so-darkly as he puppeteers series protagonist, Gordon Freeman, to do his (or his employers’) bidding. The ensuing game is a masterclass in pacing, environmental puzzles, level design and freeform play thanks to its at the time groundbreaking physics system, but that intro, specifically, is equal parts haunting and mysterious while also being entirely engaging -- “what the heck am I about to play?” is a sentiment we suspect many a player had when things began on that train. (We get some people will argue the first game is better, but we think the actual City 17 intro is more significant.)

If you’ve never played, it is an absolute must and when you do, you might get why so many of us are so bummed we’re yet to not just get an Episode 3, but a Half-Life 3 in total.

BioShock

"Mysterious, inviting and a little bit odd, it acts as a truly perfect POI where, upon entry and descension into its fray, we quickly learn the game’s tenor..."

“Son, you’re special” is a statement now synonymous with BioShock’s explosive intro, which features the game’s otherwise voiceless protagonist aboard a plane that he presumably blows up, seeing it crash into the Atlantic where he, also, is its only survivor. After finding yourself as said character floating amongst the flaming wreckage in a stunning display of visuals at the time (the plane moment is unfortunately pre-rendered, but we’ll forgive), the visage of a solitary spire jutting out of the deep is a beacon for the player. Mysterious, inviting and a little bit odd, it acts as a truly perfect POI where, upon entry and descension into its fray, we quickly learn the game’s tenor, pacing and even parts of its narrative philosophy. It’s a haunting and poignant introduction to the world on tone alone, but when you enter the bathysphere for the first time and the city of Rapture is brilliantly revealed as if you’re on a Jurassic Park-like theme destination run -- if said park were designed by Ayn Rand -- the awe factor is simply next-level.

Few have done it this well, and while the intro to BioShock Infinite was also very good and slightly more measured, as a sequel proper to Levine and co’s first jaunt, it just didn’t have the same impact.

Would you like to know more?
10 other titles that just missed out here include some classics, such as the cinematic Another World, but we were looking for a certain set of criteria that you’ll understand by reading each entry for. Still, these below are worth singling out for being just as memorable, again, in no particular order - Another World | Far Cry 3 | Metroid Prime |Goldeneye (64) | Super Mario 64 | Final Fantasy VII | Ico | Control | Assassin’s Creed | Ghost of Tsushima...

Batman: Arkham Asylum

"The intro is slow and measured and gives us an interpersonal look at the yin and yang characters, while also displaying a level of restraint for what was to unfurl in the game proper..."

While the two titles mentioned above had either a series or development pedigree worth immediate attention, Rocksteady Studios had no such credence. The studio had worked on Urban Chaos: Riot Response where a basic version of its revolutionary combat system was on display, but it wasn't until a perfect storm of licenses and vision presented the studio with the chance to make a new Batman title. At the time, comic book-licensed games were as bad as licensed movie tie-ins, which meant when Batman: Arkham Asylum hit proper, no pun intended, no one was ready for it.

The opening sequence features Batman delivering The Joker to Arkham Asylum after a seemingly ‘routine’ win over the Clown Prince, but it turns into anything but. On the side of the project were the voices of the late (and truly only Batman) Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamil as the Joker in addition to writing credits from Paul Dini, whose other Batman credits include the 90s Batman animated series and a number of comics.

Overall the intro is slow and measured and gives us an interpersonal look at the yin and yang characters, while also displaying a level of restraint for what was to unfurl in the game proper, which was the perfect Batman fantasy, with stunning visuals to boot.

OG Prey

"At the time (and somewhat still) minority representation in games was minimal or left largely to that representation being overshadowed by the ‘white savior trope’..."

We won’t bore you too much with the background of this, because the failure of a Prey 2 from its key stakeholders is still a bitter pill for all, and while we loved Arkane’s Prey ‘reboot’ the intro to the OG was pretty special and we think goes pretty unheralded in the grand scheme of things. 

At the time (and somewhat still) minority representation in games was minimal or left largely to that representation being overshadowed by the ‘white savior trope’. Prey, however, introduced us to Domasi “Tommy” Tawadi, a native American of the Cherokee who spends the opening salvo voicing his disdain for life on a reservation and in wanting more. His partner, and grandfather, however, ask that he stay true to his roots which presents some fairly excellent writing and discourse. Things quickly go awry, though, when an alien invasion happens and sucks all three onto the ship with Tommy finding a way to escape. The rest of the game features a lot of cool ideas for the time not wholly expanded on, but its intro is still entirely memorable and remains an important slice of representation for protagonists of all ilk and culture, it’s also an intro of massive scale if you pay attention to the on-rails ‘tour’ of the invading vessel before Tommy is freed.

Would you like to know more?
Not a site to poo-poo too much, but we sort of can’t ignore those that just got it all wrong right from the outset. To be fair, most games get intros right, even if fundamentally, but these five basically insisted the player put the controller down or hit Alt-Tab to get out as quickly as possible (a lot of them are licensed, you’ll note). No love lost here, to be honest but at least it was only five we could muster - Superman 64 | Forsaken | Metal Gear Solid V: Phantom Pain | Batman Forever | Ebola Village...

Mass Effect 2

"The destruction of the Normandy, Shepard saving Joker only to die himself in the cold vacuum of space..."

From alien abduction sci-fi to humans thriving in space as part of a galactic federation sci fi, the leap from OG Prey to Mass Effect 2 felt… right. While the first Mass Effect’s intro is also great, the introduction of drama, loss and sacrifice in ME2 is beyond memorable. The destruction of the Normandy, Shepard saving Joker only to die himself in the cold vacuum of space where all we hear is his frantic breathing as he drifts into seeming oblivion; ME2 became more than just a great way to kick things off, it also showed that BioWare as a storytelling studio had gone to another level.

After the above, Shepard is revived two years later by Cerberus and we’re introduced to The Illusive Man as iconically voiced by Martin Sheen -- throughout the entire intro and following hour or so, the game never puts a foot wrong and is, rightly, still heralded as the best in the series. Near perfection.

Portal 2

"Now awake, however, we meet Wheatley who helps us navigate ourselves amidst a flurry of jokes brilliantly delivered by Merchant..."

Where Portal started ever-so-gently and with little grandeur, Portal 2 chose to kick things off with a bang, and a collapse. Chell awakens in a bedroom of sorts and we quickly realise we’ve apparently been here for quite some time, and asleep for the majority of it. Now awake, however, we meet Wheatley who helps us navigate ourselves amidst a flurry of jokes brilliantly delivered by Merchant before our room begins to shake. We quickly learn we’re in just one of many rooms of this nature still in Aperture Science’s lab, attached to a rail like the myriad doors of Monsters Inc’s Scare Floor (and larger building). The rust and decay and currently collapsing section we’re in maintains just how much time has passed and, while literally and figuratively on rails, it’s an incredible intro highlighting advances in the game’s overall art and presentation while also setting up that this time we’re definitely in for more story.

Once we’re up and running and free to move about ourselves, things do harken back to the first game, but now with a companion that immediately isn’t GLaDOS and more jokes than you can shoot a portal gun at.

Dead Space

"The game’s intro is quintessential sci fi horror..."

Similarly to Batman: Arkham Asylum, Dead Space came out of the gates as an untested IP made from a team known mostly for its work on licensed products. However, an internal rebranding that turned EA Redwood Shores into Visceral Games, gave the studio and its team a new identity and Dead Space remains that identity’s benchmark-setting legacy.

The game’s intro is quintessential sci fi horror, with the contextually perfect protagonist, Isaac Clarke, an engineer with myriad tools to ‘do the job’, en route to the marooned USG Ishimura. He has a personal attachment to the ship before he even arrives with his partner, part of the crew manifest, but after the rescue team’s ship crashes into the docking bay in a fiery explosion, we’re quickly introduced to the game’s slow and deliberate movement as well as Isaac’s soon-to-ensue isolation as things rapidly go from bad to worse. And even before he can blink and get to welding, we also learn of an horrific threat on board by way of grotesque monsters that become known as Necromorphs, while an unfurling narrative around cultism draws the player in and before you know it, you’re hooked.

The above is also presented with art, lighting and visuals that at the time were jaw-dropping, amplified in the modern sense by Motive’s Dead Space Remake. 

Resident Evil 4

"Leon pushes on only to find the village centre and a gruesome scene before all hell breaks loose..."

Redefining almost every aspect of how a Resident Evil plays, Shinji Mikami’s masterpiece puts us behind the iconic jacket, pistol and perfect hair of Resident Evil Requiem co-star, Leon S. Kennedy who is now a special agent acting on behalf of the president to locate his kidnapped daughter somewhere in Eastern Europe. The dense foliage, fog and audio as we alight from our vehicle is palpable, and things only intensify when we get to a small shack and meet one of our first village residents, who is anything but friendly. After taking him down Leon pushes on only to find the village centre and a gruesome scene before all hell breaks loose and he’s descended upon by man, woman and sack-hooded chainsaw wielder alike. It was arguably one of the most frantic intros to a horror game ever and remains iconic right to the point a bell chimes and everyone leaves both Leon, and the player to ponder -- “what just happened!?”.

Truly a masterful intro to all of the game’s new mechanics and its focus on action, but never at the cost of high stakes ammo consumption, enemy evasion and genuine horror.

Red Dead Redemption

"It is a masterclass in mission delivery and world interactions, not the least of which ends with us learning to herd cattle..."

The opening sequence to the brilliant Red Dead Redemption 2 is up there, what with a trope-laden train robbery and all, but the measured and cinematic sequence at the beginning of Red Dead Redemption trumps it, in our humble opinion. We learn about the era in which we’re living while John Marsten makes his way from Blackwater to Armadillo replete with an informative train ride highlighting the opinions of folk from the era in which the game is set. John (and we) keep quiet and listen in, while the sprawling open-world is carefully and surreptitiously revealed to us as we pass through it in spaghetti western fashion, replete with a haunting Ennio Morricone-inspired soundtrack.

When we get to Armadillo and can start the game proper, it is a masterclass in mission delivery and world interactions, not the least of which ends with us learning to herd cattle by its close. Not many do it better than Rockstar. 

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

"Link ignores his orders and sets out to help. This is all followed by a neat infiltration sequence set against the rainy backdrop of the night at play..."

Drama of the magnitude of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past’s was rarely seen in the early days of 16-bit gaming, but leave it to Nintendo to raise the bar. On a dark and stormy night, Link is visited by Princess Zelda via a telepathic vision seeking his urgent help. She’s been imprisoned in Hyrule Castle by a twisted wizard, you see, and so Link and his uncle set out to save her. Except Link is told to stay home, even though he was the recipient of her plea. His uncle takes up a sword and shield and departs, but like any tenacious youth, Link ignores his orders and sets out to help. This is all followed by a neat infiltration sequence set against the rainy backdrop of the night at play, and upon entry to the castle, our young hero finds his uncle wounded. Naturally, he takes up sword and shield and takes matters into his own hands.

It’s a wonderful way to pull us into the world and while the exposition is brief, it serves to lay out what’s ahead, which is one of the best Zelda adventures ever made, meaning it’s also one of the best games ever made. Unheralded a bit in the modern Zelda annals, but still oh-so-good.

Now, Explore

No doubt you’ll agree and disagree with some of this list, or all of it, but the basic idea here is to highlight the importance of engagement. Movies do this through visual stimuli or a “Save the Cat” moment, but really there’s no better format to engage the audience than videogames, which makes the format so important, and so unique.

There are myriad other games that do this well, and we openly broad-stroked this, not taking into account most RTS, TBS, Sim or City Builder-types, purely because they’re tute by default, even if cool. Rather, this whole thing was run through a (simple) matrix of “what grabbed our ghoulies the most”... simple, but we think effective. And please, if you haven’t played any of the above, jump in and give them a go -- they’re all still available and playable in the modern world, and worth your time.

About the author

Written By Stephen Farrelly
Stephen Farrelly is a veteran journalist and editor with more than two decades experience in the worlds of gaming, entertainment, lifestyle and sport. He is a proud pug dad, loves art in all forms (particularly street and tattoo culture), and is the director of Swear Jar Editorial and Media Pty Ltd, this site's owner and publisher. When not dispensing words, he's also dispensing boutique beers as a taproom fixture at Bracket Brewing in Marrickville, NSW...
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