Summary
- Some open-world games focus on complex decision-making with multiple strategies and solutions for players.
- Games like Fallout: New Vegas and Blood West offer intricate quests and difficult combat encounters.
- Titles like Kenshi and Project Zomboid emphasize player agency and consequences for every choice made.
Open-world games are often simple in their design, offering streamlined gameplay that allows for a focus on exploration and story. Other open-world games focus on providing mechanical gameplay and complex systems, leading to more involved decision-making in which there's almost always more than one solution.
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These games all feature difficult decision-making with multiple angles of approach. Players must often make informed decisions quickly, and it's not always obvious that they've made the correct choice. In all cases, making these decisions is typically a difficult task.
1 Mount & Blade: Warband
Complex Micro-Decisions In Simulated Battles
Mount & Blade: Warband
- Released
- March 30, 2010
WHERE TO PLAY
Mount & Blade: Warband simulates large-scale battles in an open overworld. This strategic title champions player agency with its free-form exploration and sandbox structure, allowing players to build and lead armies in whichever way they see fit.
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The game's simulated battles are a clear strength, standing out with their boots-on-the-ground gameplay and unique command methods. These battles are where the complex decision-making is most apparent, frequently tasking players with making snap decisions with an abundance of strategic options.
2 Fallout: New Vegas
Complex Questing & Character Progression
Fallout: New Vegas
- Released
- October 19, 2010
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Use of Drugs
- Genre(s)
- RPG
Fallout: New Vegas excels with its open-world environments, offering players an expansive wasteland to explore and interact with. It's elevated by detailed RPG systems and character progression, facilitating a broad range of styles, allowing players to interact in myriad ways.
The complex decision-making mostly comes down to character progression, where there's always more than one option to choose from; players can take their characters in many directions. The abundance of expressive quests, however, provides a more consistent form of decision-making, as many can be approached from a variety of angles.
3 Blood West
A First-Person RPG With Immersive-Sim Elements
Blood West
- Released
- February 10, 2022
WHERE TO PLAY
Blood West is an open-world FPS with a focus on stealth. The game takes clear inspiration from the immersive-sim genre with its emphasis on creative problem-solving and player agency. This design allows players to approach combat in a variety of ways, allowing for a great deal of expression.
This expression is heavily encouraged by the immediate difficulty, with many combat encounters being tough to overcome in a fair fight. There are also many options for the player, both in strategy and in the moment-to-moment gameplay, allowing for complex decision-making.
4 Project Zomboid
Hardcore Simulation & Dangerous Enemies
Project Zomboid
- Released
- November 8, 2013
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- m
- Genre(s)
- Survival Horror
Project Zomboid is a deep simulation of a zombie apocalypse set in open-world environments. It's also particularly harsh on newcomers, as it can be difficult at first to make informed decisions. The systems themselves are complex by design, and it takes time to learn how to plan and deal with problems before they arise.
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Project Zomboid is also extremely punishing, with even a single zombie often proving a deadly threat. However, this combination of dense simulation and lethal foes allows for complex decision-making; every choice matters, and everything has a consequence.
5 Kenshi
A Hostile World That Punishes Mistakes
Kenshi
- Released
- December 6, 2018
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- nr
- Genre(s)
- RPG, Open-World, Survival
Decision-making is a naturally frequent occurrence in Kenshi. This game offers tremendous player agency with its dense open world and sandbox structure. Best of all, Kenshi refuses to hold the player's hand, instead allowing them to set their own goals and pursue them in their own ways.
From this freedom of choice comes a web of complex decision-making; combat is tough and brutal, and even exploring can be dangerous. This makes many decisions important, and between deciding where to go, what to do, and how to do it, the choices are abundant.
6 Battle Brothers
Frequent Combat In Which Every Decision Matters
Battle Brothers
- Released
- April 27, 2015
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- t
- Genre(s)
- Indie Games, Tactical, RPG, Strategy, Adventure
The open-world exploration of Battle Brothers is relatively basic, but its dynamic nature ensures players must keep an eagle eye. Between the roaming brigands and savage creatures, there are many threats that can get the jump on unsuspecting players.
Combat itself is where decision-making expands, increasing in complexity as combat encounters become more dense and varied. Dynamic terrain, morale, multiple weapons, active abilities, and a diverse variety of enemies all work to make the battlefields complex arenas. Character progression can also offer some complex decision-making, with many unique perks that can be tough to choose from.
7 Caves Of Qud
Complex Resource Management In A Dangerous World
Caves Of Qud
- Released
- July 15, 2015
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- Roguelike, RPG
Caves Of Qud's strange and exotic world sets the stage for meaningful exploration and complex decision-making, supported by detailed RPG systems. Combat is traditional, tactical, and emphasizes careful cooldown and resource management.
The lethal nature of most enemies and traps can take some getting used to, but the abundance of items and abilities ensures players almost always have an option. Furthermore, character creation itself offers players a veritable playground, with many decisions to make from a complex variety of options.
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