Summary
Open-world games come in many flavors. Many aresurvival games, but there are also role-playing games, trading simulators, and other genres that have adopted an open-world approach to map design. Many of these games reward exploration of the world map in some way.
Exploration isn’t always about discovering new things. Sometimes, it can simply be about finding out what is over the next hill or across the ocean. However, not allopen-world gamesreward exploration in the same way. Some games have exploration at their heart, making it a requirement to progress in the game. Others have tangible rewards waiting to be unlocked for players who spend time exploring.
A Whole Galaxy To Explore
Space Engineers
Space Engineers is an open world sandbox game defined by creativity and exploration.It is a sandbox game about engineering, construction, exploration and survival in space and on planets. Players build space ships, wheeled vehicles, space stations, planetary outposts of various sizes and uses (civil and military), pilot ships and travel through space to explore planets and gather resources to survive. Featuring both creative and survival modes, there is no limit to what can be built, utilized and explored.Space Engineers features a realistic, volumetric-based physics engine: everything in the game can be assembled, disassembled, damaged and destroyed. The game can be played either in single or multiplayer modes.Space Engineers concentrates on construction and exploration aspects, but can be played as a survival shooter as well. We expect players will avoid engaging in direct man-to-man combat and instead use their creativity and engineering skills to build war machines and fortifications to survive in space and on planets. Space Engineers shouldn’t be about troops; it should be about the machinery you build.
Space Engineersis an open-world survival game, that challenges players tothrive and survive in the harsh environment of space. As survival games go, this is a tough one, as simply staying alive in the early stages of the game can be tough, mainly due to the need to ensure that oxygen and power needs are covered before the player’s limited supply runs out.
Exploring inSpace Engineerscan be truly rewarding. Several valuable, key resources can only be found andmined in space, on asteroids, or on specific planets in the solar system. So, it really does pay to explore this game, as it is the only way to actuallyacquire these rare resources.
Exploring the open-world map isn’t just fun in7 Days To Die;it is something that every player has to do at some stage. There are multipleresources and materialsthat can only beobtained by looting POIs.Once a player has cleaned out all of the POIs in their local area, they need to explore more of the map to find more.
Getting ready to explore in7 Days To Diemeans gearing up and having at least a basic combat build in place. Outside of the starting biome, theenvironment becomes much more dangerous. For example, the vultures that will hone in on the player whilst exploring the desert biome, and the wolves that will stalk them in the snow biome.
Thishorror survival game, with its Lovecraftian theme, mixes gameplay features from several genres into a whole that, surprisingly, works very well. The gunplay is solid, thestory arc is intriguing, and the base building is rewarding. But where this game really shines is in thequality of the map design.
Exploring the map in Once Human is hugely rewarding, simply from a visual point of view. The game world is simplystunning and incredibly detailed.But exploring in Once Human isn’t simply about enjoying new vistas. There are hidden locations on the map, such as caves, and also rare resource nodes that a player can stumble on when exploring.
As open-world games go, few have such a wealth of space to explore asELITE Dangerous. This game has over400 billion star systems for a player to explore. However, with the galaxy built at an astronomically correct 1:1 scale, exploration in ELITE Dangerous requires a significant investment of time.
It is not unknown forELITE Dangerousexplorers to embark on expeditions that take weeks or even months to complete. On the plus side, exploring inELITE Dangerousis a lucrative activity, asexploration data can be sold for creditswhen the player returns to inhabited space.
Some games reward players that explore well, andRed Dead Redemption 2is such a game. Sure, the game world is incredibly detailed and is worth exploring for this alone. However,exploration rewards playersin more ways in this game.
Heading out into the wilderness inRed Dead Redemption 2can result in the playermaking intriguing discoveries, such as artwork carved into rocks, learning the lore of the game through letters found in abandoned buildings, and collecting hidden cigarette cards. Overall, spending some time wandering around the wilderness inRed Dead Redemption 2can be very rewarding in multiple ways.
No Man’s Skygameplay revolves almost entirely around exploration. This is a game that wasbuilt from the ground upto provide a universe that needs to be discovered. Every solar system, planet, moon, plant, and animal can be discovered, with the first player to make each discovery having the option of naming them.
The game has regular community eventsin the form of expeditionsthat, once again, are entirely based on exploration and discovery. These are short story arcsthat have rewards that are unlocked when reaching each stage. These expeditions often act as a curated journey of discovery, guiding the player to interesting locations, and unlocking game lore.
Set Sail For New Shores
Valheim
Valheimis a brutal exploration and survival game for 1-10 players set in a procedurally-generated world inspired by Norse mythology. Craft powerful weapons, construct longhouses, and slay mighty foes to prove yourself to Odin!EXPLORE THE TENTH WORLDExplore a world shrouded in mystery. Discover distinct environments with unique enemies to battle, resources to gather and secrets to uncover! Be a viking, sail the open seas in search of lands unknown, and fight bloodthirsty monsters.BUILD MIGHTY HALLSRaise viking longhouses and build bases that offer reprieve from the dangers ahead. Customise buildings, both inside and out, with a detailed building system. Progress through building tiers to upgrade, expand and defend your base.GATHER, CRAFT AND SURVIVEStruggle to survive as you gather materials and craft weapons, armor, tools, ships, and defenses. Decorate your hearths and sharpen your blades, grow crops and vegetables, prepare food, brew meads and potions, and progress as you defeat more difficult bosses and discover new recipes and blueprints.
EveryValheimplayer has to undertake at least some exploration of the game world. Simply due to the fact that to progress, each boss needs to be found and defeated. Only the first boss is located close to the starting area.
Players will need to build a boat, and set sail to uncover much of the map, in order to locate each boss, and also unlock new resources and materials.Valheimgives areal feeling of being a pioneer, as the player boards their small boat, and braves the waves to discover distant shores.
