Summary
Games that focus their efforts on exploration tend to lean on immersion and atmosphere to remain engaging. Others make use of collectibles to keep players engaged, while some excel through sheer accessibility.
However, there are a variety of exploration-heavy games that succeed with great gameplay. From the hardcore survival and simulated ecosystem ofRain Worldto the challenging combat ofDark Souls, these titles offer a variety of exploration-heavy experiences.
Rain Worldis a hardcore survival platformer that takes place in a harsh and hostile interconnected world. Elevating the overall experience is a simulated ecosystem that provides a great deal of immersion despitea minimalist visual style, coupled with procedural animations that breathe life into the game’s many exotic creatures.
Despite being wholly focused on methodical exploration of its unforgiving and overgrown landscape,Rain World’sgameplay can be tremendously rewarding. This is thanks in large part to the game’s expressive movement controls and emphasis on patient play, which rewards cautious curiosity.
Pacific Driveis a game that excels withits supernatural settingand immersive atmosphere, providing a dense ambiance that balances tranquility with an eerie undertone. However, it’s backed up by a unique extraction-based gameplay loop and supported by engaging survival game mechanics.
The emphasis on car maintenance and resource management provides a tense and rewarding loop that elevatesPacific Drive’sexploration-heavy gameplay. Combined with a variety of hazards, tools, and objectives,Pacific Driveis able to provide players with consistently engaging exploration.
Fans ofgames such asDark SoulsandThe Legend Of Zeldaare more than likely going to enjoyTUNICnot only for its exploration-heavy structure, but for its expressive gameplay.TUNICfacilitates a deep and meaningful sense of discovery with its unique tutorial design and pseudo-open-world, but its intuitive combat keeps the moment-to-moment engaging.
TUNICtakes the stamina management and expressive dodge rolling present inDark Soulsand combines them with classichack-and-slash gameplayto provide engaging combat encounters that are equal parts accessible and rewarding. Combined with an abundance of loot that rewards players for exploration,TUNICis able to offer a well-balanced loop.
Deep Rock Galacticis able to offer unique exploration with its distinctive procedural caverns, providing players with truly alien and oftenawe-inspiring underground environments. With little in the way of hand-crafted content to uncover,Deep Rock Galactic’sexploration-heavy gameplay relies heavily upon its core mechanics to remain engaging.
The destructible terrain in particular makes the moment-to-moment exploration a satisfying experience, but it’s the game’s frequent injections of explosive combat and variety of expressive movement tools that elevate it. With such a diversity of character classes, each with their own unique toolset,Deep Rock Galacticallows players to explore and battle in their own way.
Gloomwoodoffers an immersive and deeply atmospheric adventure through a dark and eerie Victorian city. Gameplay is heavily based around exploration, with players needing to scrounge resources from the environment to survive, and the interconnected nature of the city provides a frequent sense of discovery.
The structure and mechanics of the game, which deftly combine elements of the survival horror and immersive-sim genres, support this focus on exploration. More specifically,Gloomwoodis heavily centered around resource management and creative problem-solving, both of which encourage players to explore the world with close attention to detail.
Many survival horror titles center around exploration, thanks in no small part to their emphasis on careful resource management.Resident Evil, a pioneer of the genre, is no exception. While the original games hold a certain charm and their own unique challenges,Resident Evil 2— more specifically, its recent remake — offers a modern take on survival horror that’s tremendously engaging.
The over-the-shoulder perspective provides an experience that’s decidedly more immersive than the original’s tank controls. However, it’s the intuitive controls and satisfying gunplay ofResident Evil 2’sremake that elevate it, allowing this survival horror title to be a more accessible and, arguably, a more tactile experience.
Hollow Knightisa distinctive Metroidvaniathat excels with its unique underground world and immersive, melancholic atmosphere. The sense of discovery provided by its interconnected locations is a particular strength, butHollow Knightis supported by a fluid combat system and meaningful upgrades.
The charm system in particular provides a simple and intuitive method of build-crafting that’s both accessible and strategic. Furthermore, each of the game’s upgrades provides meaningful milestones, opening up new and exciting locations for players to explore. The hack-and-slash combat and resource management of Soul, used to cast various spells, also provides consistent engagement as players explore the dangerous locales of Hallownest.
Withits interconnected world, plethora of secrets, and abundance of meaningful loot,Dark Soulsis an incredibly exploration-heavy game. However, its nature as an ARPG provides consistent action, supported by a unique and innovative combat system.
A particular strength ofDark Soulsis its sense of scale and discovery. However, its expressive combat drives the experience forward, allowing players to approach the game in a multitude of ways and, as a result, encouraging players to explore and seek out new items to support evolving strategies. The variety of impressive, memorable boss fights are a particular stand-out, providing consistent skill-checks that can be tremendously rewarding to overcome.
