Summary
- Open-world games often emphasize freedom and problem-solving through systems-led design.
- Games like Kenshi, Terraria, and Caves Of Qud reward player creativity and adaptability.
- Creativity not only benefits players in these titles but is essential for survival and success in their harsh worlds.
Open-world games, particularly in the AAA space, often give players predictable, repetitive gameplay loops that work as a backdrop to dramatic narratives and character progression. While this can be more than serviceable, especially when done well, some open-world games emphasize freedom not just in exploration, but in problem-solving.
This is typically achieved with systems-led design. By offering players a series of interconnected systems to interact with, they can often devise their own solutions to obstacles. Other games encourage creativity through dense character creators or crafting mechanics. However, these games not only encourage creativity, but reward it; in these titles, it often benefits the player to be creative, rather than taking the most obvious route.
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7 Kenshi
A Creative But Unforgiving Sandbox
Kenshi
- Released
- December 6, 2018
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- nr
- Developer(s)
- Lo-Fi Games
- Genre(s)
- RPG, Open-World, Survival
- Platform(s)
- PC
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
Kenshi is an open-world RPG that excels with its sandbox structure, encouraging player choice and creativity via a refreshing lack of hand-holding. In the game, players are given little in the way of direction, instead tasked with setting their own goals and pursuing them in whichever way they see fit.
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Kenshi is also an unforgiving experience, taking place in a harsh and hostile world that's unafraid to punish the reckless. As a result, players that can adapt quickly and think of creative solutions to problems are more likely to not just survive, but thrive, in Kenshi's open world.
6 Blood West
Immersive Combat Encounters In An Eldritch West
Blood West
- Released
- February 10, 2022
WHERE TO PLAY
Blood West is an open-world FPS with a focus on stealth and clear immersive-sim influences. The game's world, a rich mash-up of eldritch horror and the Wild West, provides a series of open environments for players to explore, packed with interesting locations, loot, and combat encounters.
Enemies in Blood West are incredibly deadly, right out of the gate, putting a laser focus on stealth. However, there are plenty of ways to approach encounters, and the abundance of unique loot facilitates creative strategies.
5 Terraria
Motivated Base-Building & Player-Built Combat Arenas
Terraria
- Released
- May 16, 2011
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T for Teen: Blood and Gore, Cartoon Violence, Mild Suggestive Themes, Use of Alcohol
- Developer(s)
- Re-Logic
- Platform(s)
- PC, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X, Vita, iOS, Android, macOS, Linux, 3DS, Stadia, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
Featuring frequent combat and meaningful base-building, Terraria manages to be a unique survival-craft experience. The game's open-world is also a joy to explore, thanks to densely populated caves and memorable landmarks.
Crafting is a tremendously accessible experience in Terraria, thanks to a slick user-interface. As a result, it's easy to be creative. Players are also encouraged to build bases not only for show, but to house the various NPCs, providing ample motivation to get creative. In addition, fighting many of the game's myriad bosses is much easier with a player-built arena, further rewarding creativity.
4 Caves Of Qud
Expressive Character Creation & Focus On Resourcefulness
Caves Of Qud
- Released
- July 15, 2015
WHERE TO PLAY
With its emphasis on resource management and character abilities, Caves Of Qud frequently encourages players to get creative with what they have. This is more so because Qud is a dangerous place to be, densely populated with dangerous denizens, hungry creatures, and hazardous plant-life. As a result, those that can adapt and get creative are simply more likely to survive.
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More notably, however, is the game's character creator. Caves Of Qud features an abundance of options when it comes to creating characters, allowing players to experiment with a slew of wild mutations and cybernetics. Players that can exercise a little creativity in character creation, discovering synergies and creating powerful builds, are also more likely to find success in the science-fantasy world of Qud.
3 The Outer Worlds
Expressive Questing In A Firefly-Esque World
The Outer Worlds
- Released
- October 25, 2019
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language
- Developer(s)
- Obsidian Entertainment
- Genre(s)
- RPG
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
The Outer Worlds is an open-world RPG from the minds of Tim Cain and Leonard Boyarsky, creators of the original Fallout. The game features the expressive character progression and questing that fans of Fallout: New Vegas will be familiar with, paired perfectly with a Firefly-esque sci-fi Western world.
The Outer Worlds facilitates a wide variety of character builds, allowing players to make use of powerful technology, stealth their way through encounters, or progress through brute force alone. There are plenty of opportunities to get creative with combat encounters, as well as the game's abundance of dialogue options.
2 Fallout: New Vegas
A Vast & Dangerous Open-World With Expressive Quests
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
- Developer(s)
- Obsidian Entertainment
- Genre(s)
- RPG
In keeping with other entries in the franchise , Fallout: New Vegas provides players with an open-world RPG that's packed with points of interest to explore and quests to complete. New Vegas also features the characteristically expressive character creation of Fallout, allowing players to create a variety of unique protagonists to play as.
It's the abundance of quests present in New Vegas and, more specifically, the myriad ways in which they can be approached, that allows players to get creative. There are often multiple solutions to quests, and plenty of room for decision-making throughout most of them, consistently granting players the opportunity to express themselves.
1 Gloomwood
Immersive-Sim Meets Survival-Horror
Gloomwood
- Released
- September 6, 2022
WHERE TO PLAY
Gloomwood is a stealth-focused immersive-sim that takes place in a large, interconnected city with a dark Victorian theme. Open exploration is not only a part of Gloomwood, but integral to success, as players will have to manage their resources with scrutiny in order to survive. This is thanks in large part to the game's survival-horror influences, channeling Resident Evil alongside its clear inspiration, Thief.
The immersive-sim gameplay is what allows players to get creative, but the lethal nature of the game's enemies forces players to take advantage of this freedom in order to succeed; the more creatively players can solve a given problem, the fewer resources they're likely to expend. In addition, players with few resources on hand will naturally have fewer options, putting even more emphasis on creative problem-solving.
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