The WORST offender is the Assassin’s Creed series. It has some really great batshit crazy sci-fi/conspiracy storytelling, and then just stretches the games out interminably with a horrible grind.
I’ve been tempted by Crusader Kings lately, which people love for emergent stories, but the spreadsheet aspect totally puts me off, because that looks like work to me.
I think one good solution is to look at indie games with short playthroughs.
Just based on what I’ve been playing lately:
Digital: A Love Story: Digital: A Love Story
It’s a short visual novel, basically, with a BBS interface to really put you in the mood.
Her Story: http://steamcommunity.com/app/368370
An odd indie with a search-engine mechanic from Sam Barlow, the creator of Silent Hill…