Summary
Is it really worth getting into an open-world game if the exploration feels unrewarding and a bit of a letdown? Lots of open-world games can advertise satisfying exploration, but only a few actually manage to pull it off.
For exploration to be rewarding, a game doesn’t necessarily have to fall into the category of being an open-world adventure, as a few of the titles below will demonstrate. You’ll be exploring various periods of history, alien planets, rich fantasy lands, and environments under the sea, and relishing every moment.
Deep-sea underwater exploration in a video game has never been more wondrous as it is rewarding than in 2023’s indie hitDave the Diver. In this game, you’re both a diver catching the fresh fish and seafood to be served at a sushi restaurant and helping manage it at the same time, the former activity taking place during the day and the latter at night.
The main exploration point for Dave is the Blue Hole, which has so many mysterious underwater regions and sealife that await and will also include some harpoon combat and picture-taking. Even the general theme of the game is rewarding, as guests will be trying your catches and commenting on the quality of service and food that you’re risking your life for to put on their plates.
Have you ever wanted to explore the beauty and wonders of Ancient Greek civilization?Assassin’s Creed Odyssey’s gorgeous open-world will take you there,and you may not want to leave. Launched in between AC Origins and AC Valhalla, this prequel entry has just the right balance of pacing, exploration, grinding, and story. And you still gain XP just for exploring!
The number of side quests, hidden activities marked by question marks on the map, enemy camps to clear, side bosses to fight, and regions to unlock might be overwhelming, but you’ll truly be left in awe of all the scenery and architecture. Part of the main quest is also uncovering the identities and slaying the villainous members of the Cult of the Kosmos, which entails exploring everywhere for new clues.
DoesAvatar: Frontiers of Pandorahave a narrative that can compete with the first two movies created by James Cameron? Sadly, no,it’s just one of those cases. But where it makes up for that is its gameplay, which gives you an expansion of the world-building of Pandora as well as fun Far Cry-esque objectives and combat, Ikran-riding included.
Frontiers of Pandora offers an immersive Exploration Mode, which is a highly underrated feature that more games could use for more challenging and elevated exploration. With this feature, you essentially won’t see any quest markers assisting you on the map, only clues, and the environment will be just as unknown and new to you as your Na’vi character who’s freed from an RDA facility.
Although it’s a 2D Metroidvania platformer game with cutely terrifying aesthetics,Hollow Knightshares much in common with FromSoftware’s Soulsborne games. Aside from the challenging boss fights, the world-building and lore are handled similarly, with you needing to really explore all of Hallownest to discover hidden details and grasp every story bit.
Exploration is also rewarding in the sense that you’ll gain new abilities that help your bug-masked caped crusader along the journey, which is one of the most fun componentsto any Metroidvania game. However, Hollow Knight’s unique world and stunning areas ultimately make it more worthwhile.
You’ll never play a sci-fi game quite likeOuter Wilds. There’s a reason why it always earns so much praise and accolades, and that’s because of its approach to exploration, which iscentered around a time loop. You’ll always have no more than 22 minutes to explore everything you may before your planet’s sun reaches supernova and resets the gameplay.
The entire game is also focused on the various mysteries of the fictional solar system you’re in and finding answers to them, so you’ll have to do some exploring if you want to discover all there is to Outer Wilds. And remember, you can travel to multiple planets within the solar system, which each have their own secrets and hidden lore about the Nomai species.
Dragon’s Dogma 2is a game that ultimately has more rewarding exploration than a rewarding story, which works in its favor because no one would have it any other way. The main pull of this series is its vast open-world exploration and opening up the sectors of the map as you go along with your Pawn companions, encountering dynamic enemies of all sorts.
This is even encouraged by the game’s very designin how it handles fast travel, which is through hard-to-obtain items called Ferrystones that can be used to activate Portcrystals around the map, and the MTX tied to them should further discourage the use of fast travel. But you’ll probably be too busy attacking a Griffin mid-flight or tricking a Cyclops than worrying about Ferrystones anyway.
Now, on the other hand,Red Dead Redemption 2is quite the opposite of Dragon’s Dogma 2. It offers stellar exploration as well as a riveting and emotional story that might be one of the best told in gaming. Rockstar did such an incredible job at expanding the gameplay world from its 2010 predecessor, and you can truly get lost in it outside the main missions.
There’s so much detail that goes into all the environments and side activities thatit would be a crime not to go off and explore all of it. You’ll encounter more terrifying moments and cool mysteries, andstumble upon natural landmarksin this fictionalized period of US history. Red Dead Redemption 2 is crafted to be as immersive as possible, especially when Arthur is on horseback and roaming the landscapes.
Elden Ringis designed to make you struggle with extremely challenging bosses, almost to the point of pain and hopelessness, but it also does something very unique and interesting in how it approaches storytelling. Out of all the Soulsborne games,it has the most story and lore infused into it, but you have to know where to look if you want to piece together any of it.
There is a whole mythology and purpose to the world, its characters, and beasts, but none of that will make sense without you really exploring every nook and cranny of The Lands Between and The Shadow of the Erdtree’s The Realm of Shadow. Plus, there’ll be more bosses to fight that you otherwise wouldn’t have encountered, along with some nice weapons and upgrades.
Is it really a question thatBaldur’s Gate 3would be on here? You can pretty much miss everything by not exploring, including some party member companions if you don’t go out canvassing all there is in the starting area of the game.Interacting with new NPCs, opening up the map, and embarking on side quests is basically the whole fun of the game.
What’s even more impressive is that each new playthrough will result in different outcomes and story moments, given all the branching choices and paths you may explore. And you’d be amazed at how much you’ll still miss even if you think you’ve covered everything in every area across each Act.
Ever heard of the film Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets? Well,No Man’s Sky invites you to explore 18 quintillion planets, all procedurally generated as well. That’s a lot of interstellar exploration to wrap your head around, and it’ll feel absolutely worth it and amazing.
There will always be new creatures and resources to scan and identify across each planetary environment and exploration is very important to the base-building and survival craft mechanics that are at the core of the game.And with all the new updates constantly being implemented, the game only gets better and more rewarding.
