Plot TwisterInteractive story games: the main types and where to start
Interactive story games are games where your choices change the story. They come in a few types: cinematic choice games such as Life Is Strange and The Walking Dead, text-first interactive fiction such as 80 Days, phone mysteries such as An Elmwood Trail, short choice games such as Reigns and Florence, chapter story apps such as Episode, and AI story games such as AI Dungeon and Plot Twister, which we make. Pick the type you enjoy, then a game within it.
Disclosure. We make Plot Twister, an AI story game, and it is one of the picks below. It sits in the AI story games group, and we say who should pick something else. Facts about other apps come from their US App Store listings and official sites, read in October 2026. Prices are as each source listed them in October 2026 and can change.
How we chose
We grouped games by how you make choices, because that shapes the experience more than the genre does. For each type we picked one or two games that are live on the US App Store, and read their listings and in-app purchase lists in October 2026. The order follows the types; it is not a quality ranking. Many of these games are on other platforms too, but we only checked the iPhone versions.
The types at a glance
| Type | Game | How you choose | How it charges (US App Store) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cinematic choice | Life Is Strange | Dialogue and actions; rewind time | Free download; Episodes 2–5 sold in-app |
| Cinematic choice | The Walking Dead: The Game | Dialogue and actions, often on a timer | First episode free; Episodes 2–5 sold in-app |
| Interactive fiction | 80 Days | Written options and route planning | $4.99 |
| Phone mystery | An Elmwood Trail | Chats, clues and replies on a fake phone | Free download; optional purchases |
| Short choices | Reigns | Swipe left or right | $2.99 |
| Interactive storybook | Florence | Small playable scenes | $2.99 |
| Chapter story app | Episode | Choices in each chapter | Free download; Gems, Passes, VIP |
| AI story game | AI Dungeon | Type what you do | Free download; memberships and Credits |
| AI story game | Plot Twister | Whisper to characters; inject events | See the App Store listing |
Cinematic choice games
These look like an animated series and play like one, with full art, voices and music. You talk to characters and act, and the game remembers what you did.
Life Is Strange
Square Enix’s five-part episodic game follows Max Caulfield, a photography student who finds she can rewind time. You can rewind to change the course of events, and the game has multiple endings that depend on your choices. The download is free, and Episodes 2 to 5 are in-app purchases, with a Season Pass at $7.99. The listing names iPhone X or later. It is rated 16+ (October 2026).
The Walking Dead: The Game
Skybound’s five-part horror series is set in the world of Robert Kirkman’s comic. You play Lee Everett, a convicted criminal who protects an orphaned girl named Clementine. The listing says your choices carry across the whole series, and some must be made almost at once. The first episode is free to play, and a pack of Episodes 2 to 5 is $14.99. It is rated 18+.
Interactive fiction
80 Days
inkle’s 80 Days reimagines Phileas Fogg’s trip around the world in an 1872 of airships, submarines and mechanical camels. You plan the route city by city while a clock keeps running, and the listing counts 150 cities. Reviews quoted in its listing call it an interactive novel. It costs $4.99 and was last updated in 2018. For more text-first games, see our choose your own adventure apps guide.
Phone mysteries
An Elmwood Trail
You search for Zoey Leonard, an 18-year-old missing from the town of Riverstone, through a phone in the game. The listing describes reading chats, photos, social media and voicemails, questioning suspects, and solving code-breaking puzzles, with choices that lead you to her. It is rated 4.9 from more than 264,000 ratings (October 2026). The download is free; in-app purchases include Remove Ads at $3.99 and Sidetrails at $6.99.
Short choice games
Reigns
Devolver’s Reigns makes you a medieval monarch. Advisors, peasants and enemies bring requests, and you swipe left or right on each. You have to keep the church, the people, the army and the treasury in balance, and when a reign ends the dynasty goes on. It costs $2.99, and the listing was updated in August 2026.
Florence
Annapurna’s Florence is an interactive storybook from the lead designer of Monument Valley. It tells Florence Yeoh’s first love with a cellist named Krish through short mini-game scenes, from flirting to fighting to growing apart. It costs $2.99 and is rated 4+.
Chapter story apps
Episode
Episode describes a library of more than 150,000 stories, a figure the company gives itself. You customize an avatar, build relationships and pick between endings, and you can write your own stories. The download is free; in-app purchases include Gems, Passes and a monthly VIP subscription at $14.99. Choices, Chapters and other apps work the same way; we compare them in games like Episode.
AI story games
Here an AI writes the story as you play, so it is not limited to branches someone wrote in advance.
AI Dungeon
Latitude’s AI Dungeon is an open-ended text adventure: you type what you do and the AI responds. You can start from a prebuilt scenario or write your own, and play with friends in multiplayer. The listing says you can play free without ads; paid memberships and Credits packs are in-app purchases. aidungeon.com
Plot Twister
Plot Twister is our app. Each episode has a fixed setup and cast in GBA-style pixel art, and you are not one of the characters. You whisper a thought into a character’s head, from presets or typed up to 500 characters, or inject an event, and the AI writes what happens next. You can rewind and branch, reach different endings, and share a Plot Twist Score card. Its 10 hand-built episodes include The Haunting at Mariner’s Point, Kepler Station and Someone at This Table is Lying. It is rated 16+, episodes carry content warnings, and stories are labeled AI-generated.
Not best for: a fully written story with a fixed plot, or being the hero yourself. Pick Life Is Strange or 80 Days for the first and AI Dungeon for the second. More AI picks are in best AI story games.
Plot Twister: whisper into characters' heads and watch the story bend. Ten hand-built episodes in pixel art. Rated 16+.
Frequently asked questions
- What are interactive story games?
- They are games where the story is the main thing, and your choices change what happens in it. You might pick dialogue, decide who to trust, swipe on a request, or type what your character does. Most have several endings.
- What is the difference between interactive fiction and an interactive story game?
- Interactive fiction usually means text-first games, where reading is most of what you do, such as 80 Days or Choice of Games. Interactive story game is the wider term, and it also covers games with full art, voice and animation, such as Life Is Strange.
- Which interactive story games have no in-app purchases?
- On the US App Store in October 2026, 80 Days ($4.99), Reigns ($2.99) and Florence ($2.99) are paid upfront and list no in-app purchases.
- Which interactive story games are for adults?
- Check each age rating. On the US App Store in October 2026, The Walking Dead: The Game is rated 18+, and Life Is Strange and Plot Twister are rated 16+. Florence is rated 4+.