Man, do I have a ton of games.
I'm pretty sure that Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons has come up in one of the game rec threads somewhere, but just in case not, I'm saying it here. I'm actually fairly surprised that he hasn't played it, at least according to the wiki. What can I say about this game? It's an adventure puzzle game that follows to brothers, who you control at the same time, as they seek out a cure for their father's illness. Without spoiling much, the game is incredibly emotional and artfully told; you can tell that a film director was responsible for it.
I Can Hold My Breath Forever, flash game that I played years ago; very atmospheric and story focused. It still stands out in my mind to this day; very few flash games do.
Couple of oldies to recommend here: The Longest Journey and Syberia, very good story-focused point and clicks, and they later developed into series which are still being released today.
Other stuff: When They Cry: Higurashi (Onikakushi-hen): sorta hesitant here, as it's a kinetic novel so there aren't even any choices, but hey, it's horror so why not? I remember when the Higurashi anime came out (which is an adaptation of the visual novels) and it absolutely rocked the anime world. Wiki does a really good job of explaining the plot:
Higurashi no Naku Koro ni takes place during June 1983 in a fictional rural village called Hinamizawa (雛見沢?) (based on the village of Shirakawa, Gifu, a World Heritage Site),[1][2] which has a population of approximately 2,000. The main character, Keiichi Maebara, moves to Hinamizawa and befriends his new classmates Rena Ryugu, Mion Sonozaki, Rika Furude, and Satoko Houjou. Keiichi joins their after-school club activities, which consist mostly of card and board games (and punishment games for the loser – usually him). Hinamizawa appears to be a normal, peaceful, rural village to Keiichi. However, the tranquility abruptly ends after the annual Watanagashi Festival, a celebration to commemorate and give thanks to the local god, Oyashiro. Keiichi learns that every year for the past four years, one person has been murdered and another has gone missing on the evening of the Watanagashi Festival. Keiichi himself soon becomes drawn into the strange events surrounding the Watanagashi Festival and Oyashiro. [Note: The events later repeat in different story arcs; each arc follows a different scenario.] In each story arc, he or one of his friends becomes paranoid, and a crime is committed. Usually, the crime involves the murder of one of their own friends. While it seems impossible to tell their delusions apart from the mystery of Hinamizawa, slowly the truth is revealed.
First chapter just got released on Steam! Only downside is that Higurashi is long as hell, and there's 8 main games. (And then there's Umineko after that - I have no idea how Ryukishi07 managed to pump these out!)
Juniper's Knot - another kinetic novel, but this one's pretty short; it could actually be done as an hour long one-off. Centers around a boy and a fiend (demon) as she tells him her story. A little hesitant to recommend it as the creator, Dischan, recently fucked up with their Kickstarter money and had to cancel the project it was used for. Sucks, but good VN nevertheless.
Narcissu - last kinetic novel, I promise! It's kind of a gateway VN for many; it recently became available on steam.
The anonymous protagonist is diagnosed with lung carcinoma shortly after his twentieth birthday, and is admitted to hospice care at a hospital in Mito, Ibaraki. There he meets Setsumi, a woman who is few years older than he is, who is also terminally ill. Finding that they both refuse to die in the hospital or at home with their families, they run away together in a silver Honda Integra belonging to the protagonist's father. They travel west across Japan's many highways and prefectures, initially not knowing where to go, but later collectively decide on taking the narcissus fields of southern Awaji Island as a somewhat arbitrary destination.
Narcissu, just...god. I don't even think I can do it justice, but I'll try. The first screen of the novel is literally just suicide statistics, and it only gets more depressing from there. It explores the alienation that can come with having a life-threatening illness (especially in Setsumi's case, where she's suffered for years) and end-of-life decisions, among other things. Years later, even thinking about it makes me tear up; it's an incredibly powerful story. Might hit a weird note though, considering the main pair are dying of lung cancer.
I also kind of think it would be funny to watch Mark play Touhou Project, just to hear him freak out about the fact that there are hundreds of fucking bullets coming at him at once. On Lunatic Mode, anyway.
Out of my list, though, I'd say my top recs are Brothers, Higurashi, and Narcissu.
