Summary
- Elden Ring emphasizes natural exploration sans map markers, setting a benchmark for seamless open-world exploration.
- Sunless Skies offers organic exploration and storytelling in a vast, improved sandbox setting.
- Kenshi drops players in a dangerous wasteland with no objectives, requiring self-discovery and survival skills.
Some of the best open-world games players can get their hands on understand how frustrating it is to get lost while exploring a massive sandbox. However, map markers and waypoints are a clumsy solution that can take away from the magic of exploration that these games try to sell.
This is why open-world games need to figure out the best way to make exploration feel both organic and seamless. The best titles in this genre have nailed this balance finding ways to include no—or at least limited—map markers, and they are worth checking out for fans of quality open-world games.
8 Elden Ring
FromSoftware's World Design Makes Exploration More Organic
Elden Ring
- Released
- February 25, 2022
WHERE TO PLAY
The beauty of Elden Ring stems from how natural its exploration feels. This game took a page out of Breath of the Wild's playbook, blending its open-world design with FromSoftware's action RPG expertise to make for a tantalizing combination.
It's made clear where players need to go without using map markers, which is a major achievement. The fact that an update that added a few minor map markers for NPC locations elicited such a polarizing response from players shows just how seamless exploration is in Elden Ring.
7 Sunless Skies
An Immersive Game With A Focus On Exploration And Storytelling
Sunless Skies
- Released
- January 31, 2019
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T For Teen Blood, Language, Sexual Themes, Use of Alcohol and Tobacco, Violence
Sunless Skies is a massive improvement over its predecessor, shifting the setting from the seas to the skies and turning combat into a tense real-time affair. The slow exploration of the first game was addressed, with players enjoying a decent speed from the get-go while traveling from one area to another.
What makes Sunless Skies such a brilliant title stems from its organic exploration and excellent storytelling. Players will head to a place to make the most of some profitable trade deals, only to be immersed in the story of a settlement as the mysterious horrors of this title rear their ugly heads.
6 Kenshi
Drops Players Into The World With No Objectives
Kenshi
- Released
- December 6, 2018
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- nr
- Genre(s)
- RPG, Open-World, Survival
Unlike most other open-world games, Kenshi has no objectives to speak of. All players need to do is pick a background, following which they're unceremoniously dumped into a wasteland full of dangers that can tear them apart in no time.
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Players must figure out how to amass a fortune, improve their skills, gather a party of explorers, and uncover all the content this game has to offer. As one would suspect, there are no map markers to speak of, and players must rely on their gut to make a decision that they'll explore after leaving the safety of a settlement.
5 The Matchless Kungfu
Players Make Progress On Their Own And Decide How The Open World Expands
- Platform: PC
- Release Date: November 6, 2024
- Developer: HuanMos Game
A unique indie game with a ton of potential, The Matchless Kungfu is essentially a wuxia version of Kenshi with turn-based melee combat and an excellent progression system. From the moment players start their playthrough, the informational overload will make their heads spin.
Eventually, they'll grasp the basics and make enough progress to set more blocks that help increase the size of the open world. This makes for a unique gameplay loop where anything and everything can happen. As one would expect, players can't rely on map markers to guide them on any step of their journey.
4 Outer Wilds
Exploring The Galaxy Is Driven By Player Curiosity
Outer Wilds
- Released
- May 28, 2019
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- E10+ For Everyone 10+ due to Fantasy Violence, Alcohol Reference
- Genre(s)
- Adventure
The freeform design and unique knowledge-based exploration of Outer Wilds make it one of the best indie open-world games players can get their hands on. Players need to pay attention to the information they acquire on every step of their journey, since these tidbits contain valuable hints that help players make meaningful progress, and there are no other indicators to guide them to the next step.
It's a simple and tantalizing way to guide players in the right direction without overloading the game world with map markers. Outer Wilds can take a while to grow on players, but those who get invested in its mystery will find it hard to tear themselves away when there are so many leads to pursue.
3 Gothic
The Nameless Stranger Starts From Nothing And Must Struggle To Make A Name For Themself
Gothic
- Released
- November 23, 2001
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- t
- Genre(s)
- RPG
Piranha Bytes is one of the most unique open-world RPG developers around, integrating tough combat systems and open-ended gameplay in their titles as players are unceremoniously dropped into unfamiliar worlds. Gothic is a great example of the same.
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The landscape is fraught with horrors that can take out the Nameless Hero in a single hit. Players must figure out on their own that their experience can be cashed in to learn new combat moves, giving them the means to survive in a brutal, glorified prison where anything and everything is out to kill them.
2 The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind
An Old-School Open-World RPG Where Players Must Follow Directions And Read The Map
The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
- Released
- May 1, 2002
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T For Teen due to Blood, Violence
- Genre(s)
- RPG
An old-school open-world RPG that fans will love, there's something about Morrowind that makes it deeply tantalizing even after all the time that's passed since it launched. Modern gaming trends have made later Elder Scrolls games easier to get into, but Morrowind's retro gameplay has its undeniable charms that most people will find hard to resist.
Instead of staring at markers on a map, players must listen to directions and follow them while looking at a simple, unmarked map from time to time. This organic method of exploration makes every discovery rewarding as players make headway in their journey at their own pace, seeking to fulfill the prophecy and become the Nerevarine.
1 Caves Of Qud
A Roguelike Open-World Game With Numerous Opportunities To Explore
Caves Of Qud
- Released
- July 15, 2015
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- Roguelike, RPG
Players who want to check out a roguelike that emulates old-school gameplay and lets players explore a massive procedurally generated open world will love what Caves of Qud brings to the table. The title is punishing for beginners, who will likely die over and over again before figuring out what they must do to make meaningful progress in each run.
After these basics are cleared up, players will be introduced to the faction system and the various avenues of interest that they can check out. All of this combines to make Caves of Qud a rewarding open-world game where the simple visuals don't do justice to its incredibly complicated combat mechanics. As one would expect, players won't be drip-fed map markers in this title. Instead, how and where they want to explore is completely up to them.
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