Summary
Part of the enduring thrill of open-world games is that, theoretically, the player can go anywhere whenever they like. However, many open-world games lack vertical integration, meaning players rarely see the rooftops and beyond. Not so with the grappling hook, every gamer’s favorite mechanic that lets them sling themselves across the open world at maximum speed and great heights.
Whether it’s the smoke-spewing factories of Victorian London or Sengoku era Japan, grappling hooks in open world games are always a hell of a lot of fun. This list is ranked not just by the quality of the game but also by how large a part the grappling hook plays in each game as well as how the game unleashes the grappling hook’s potential for fun gameplay.
By the timeAssassin’s Creed: Syndicatecame out, theAssassin’s Creedgames risked over-saturation, with many gamers complaining that they were too samey. However, modern re-evaluations ofAssassin’s Creed: Syndicatetend to rate it much higherthan it was at the time now that there’s been time to appreciate what it was going for.
While Victorian London is an immediately compelling setting for open-world adventures, the game builds upon the hook mechanic ofAssassin’s Creed: Revelationsand lets the player have a rope launcher that can sling them up to the top of buildings in record time and craft rope rafters to clamber across. It’s a creative use of the grappling hook that has went underappreciated ever since.
One issue with evolving the combat of theHalogames is that, in its relative minimalism, it’s almost perfect already. Adding too much could strip away that essential secret sauce, but not innovating risks making the game too stale.
WhileHalo: Infinitemay not have set the world on fire, the grappling hook addition gave Masterchief some much needed mobility in the open world setting of his latest adventure. Combined with a satisfying physics engine and a newly aggressive Masterchief, and the grappling hook is the addition to theHalogames fans didn’t know they needed.
As the 2010s came to a close, the Soulslike game was reaching its zenith in popularity, but many gamers rightly pointed out that players are pinned to the ground and lack any upward mobility in the Dark Souls games.Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, is a direct response to that criticism.
In its semi-open-world that opens up as the player advances, Wolf can use his new prosthetic arm with an interior grappling hook to launch himself into the sky at Mach speed, flying across the Japanese rooftops and using it offensively to close distance fast againstthe game’s fearsome roster of bosses. It was a much needed boost of kinetic energy into the defining subgenre of the 2010s.
It might sound weird thatMad Maxneeds a grappling hook for traversal considering he uses his Magnum Opus, the car, as his main method of getting around. However, the Magnum Opus’s grappling hook is a key method of both offensive combat in the game, as well as a primary way of lugging the great hunk of metal around the Australian wasteland.
Often, players will find themselves on the wrong side of a crevasse that they need to puzzle their way around, using the grappling hook to pull down a bridge or open up a new area. It’s a novel usage of the grappling hook compared to other open-world games, earning it a spot on this list.
The originalDying Lightwas built on the premise of a first-person zombie survival game likeDead Island, but instead of being stuck on the ground, players would embody the perspective of a parkour master, jumping across rooftops and vaulting over the undead.
InDying Light 2, the beloved grappling hook of the original game returns, even more dynamic than ever, offering players the possibility of not just climbing up massive buildings, but creating impromptu swings to build all-important momentum when fleeing the baying horde replete withnew types of awful variants.
While other superheroes can fly, run fast, or teleport, Batman doesn’t have any of those luxuries. Instead, he needs to rely on technology to keep up, and his trusty grappling hook in the form of a grapnel gun never fails to get him where he needs to go.
First introduced as an open-world traversal mechanic inArkham City, inArkham Knight, the grappling hook reaches its maximum power, launching Batman at face-melting speeds across the rooftops, as well as becoming a key part of how his new Batmobile navigates car-based puzzle segments. Batman is the full embodiment of why the grappling hook is so beloved, and it’s a key part ofthe best games in theArkhamfranchise.
Okay, whiletechnicallySpider-Man isn’t using a grappling hook when he swings through the city, the momentum, mechanics, and visual presentation all suggest that his webs are acting like a grappling hook would.
It would be a big shame to leave it off the list, too, asMarvel’s Spider-Man 2may have the best-simulated grapple hook mechanics ever put to pixels. The devs also included a harder traversal mode where players need to carefully monitor their momentum, building it over time and punishing mistakes. Few other games make grapple hook gameplay as central to their core game design as the Spider-Man games, where web-slinging is crucial in defeatingthe game’s infamous rogue gallery.
From the very beginning of theJust Causefranchise, protagonist Rico Rodriguez was defined by his parachute and his grappling hook that could attach to almost anything in the world. ByJust Cause 2, a keen mixture of the two mechanics means that Rico could theoretically outrun motor vehicles with these mechanics.
ByJust Cause 4, with the addition of a wingsuit, rocket boosters, and weather events, Rico becomes closer to a superhero than a mortal man, where the grappling hook forms a key part of Rico’s offense, defense, as well as his primary traversal mechanic. Few games celebrate the grappling hook quite like theJust Causefranchise do.
