Realism is an aspect that many games consider to be of the utmost importance. It can be through graphics, world design, or gameplay mechanics, but one of the best ways of conveying realism is by making the exploration within the world feel as close to reality as possible.
Upcoming Games All About Exploration
Prepare for an exciting journey filled with discovery in these upcoming games.
Achieving this can be difficult, but if done correctly, players can feel fully immersed in their surroundings and ready to take on any challenges they may face. Some achieve realism through movement, others through authentic animations, and some go above and beyond, dedicating a huge amount of resources to ensuring that every moment of the player’s exploration feels as real as possible.
Red Dead Redemption 2
As Close To Reality As It Gets
Details:
- Slow, deliberate traversal that makes everything from distance to terrain feel meaningful
- An environment that moves with the seasons and shifts depending on the weather and time of day
Red Dead Redemption 2 delivers one of the most convincing open worlds ever created, anchoring exploration in realism in every way possible. Players will forget they are in a fictional world, as everything from the wildlife to the ground itself is crafted with the real world in mind, creating an environment that is both beautiful and surreal.
When exploring the open roads, players need to choose routes accordingly, as, unlike most other games, they can’t simply ride
wherever they please. Vertical slopes become potential hazards, landmarks serve as helpful guides, and the overall experience simply breathes realism, transporting players in a way that no other game ever has.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2
Historical Accuracy On Another Level
Details:
- Perfecting the medieval simulation aspects of the original
- Navigation depends on local geography and in-world elements rather than markers
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 preserves the grounded realism of its predecessor, presenting Bohemia as a living medieval landscape just waiting to be explored. The world has been built using extensive historical research, allowing even simple walks in the forest to feel authentic rather than arcadey.
8 Open-World Games Where Exploration Is Exhausting, Ranked
These open-world games are a blast to play, but trying to explore the map in full can leave players weary.
A lot of the time, players will find themselves relying more on their eyes than clear map markers, as the world itself can often be more helpful than any map could. This makes every journey feel like a momentous task, requiring a good amount of attention to the environment that keeps the game feeling immersive always.
The Long Dark
The Harsh Realities Of Winter
Details:
- Survival systems are directly tied to weather and the world
- Constant thought about shelter, visibility, and other biological requirements
The Long Dark offers one of the most unforgiving exploration experiences out there. Movement itself becomes a challenge in the icy wilderness, as players need to navigate their way through terrible blizzards, and even paths previously trodden can become dangerous unknowns in a matter of moments.
In survival mode, there are no markers of GPS to help guide players forward, instead forcing them to rely on their own map knowledge and the markers in the surroundings. There are also just so many different challenges that players need to deal with, all affecting movement and survival, and all creating the perfect combination of punishment and realism.
Microsoft Flight Simulator
Gliding Effortlessly Across The Skies
Details:
- Premier flight simulation on a global scale
- Genuine aviation physics and trackable flight paths
Microsoft Flight Simulator brings the Earth itself into the gaming world, giving players all the freedom they need to glide across familiar landscapes and see the world in all its glory. Everything has been recreated with as much realism as the technology allows for, and even mechanically, players need to manage real-world problems like wind patterns and altitude gauges.
The flight gameplay feels relaxing yet engaging, and players will find themselves managing several things at once rather than just flying around aimlessly. The whole package stands as the most authentic flight sim out there and a real landmark in open-world scale and realistic design.
Death Stranding
Feeling The Weight Of The Task
Details:
- Traversal depends heavily on terrain
- Movement requires management of balance and footing at all times
Death Stranding transforms exploration into a logistical challenge that forces players to wrestle with their own weight as they trudge across the empty landscape. Players will face more challenges in the environment than from the enemies, as rocky slopes can be perilous, rivers can be major roadblocks, and even seemingly flat paths can quickly turn into major obstacles.
Best Open-World Games That Perfectly Balance Combat And Exploration
Players who enjoy exploring as much as fighting enemies will find these open-world games perfectly hit that sweet spot between the two.
Instead of traditional fast travel or unobstructed paths, players must study landscapes and slowly deploy paths that can help them travel between locations in a much easier manner. The more fantastical setting may make things feel more fictional, but the movement and traversal are about as close to the real deal as it can get.
DayZ
Navigating The Outbreak
Details:
- Emphasis on reading the landscape and planning ahead
- Resource management in every movement
DayZ’s exploration thrives on emergent action and a constant sense of tension throughout. There’s no hand-holding or easy paths to take, and instead, players need to slowly navigate the world in search of supplies, managing their resources, and staying alert for anything moving on the horizon.
The environment itself feels as though it has been pulled straight from reality, as structures are placed with meaning, and every journey inside is filled with the looming risk of death on the player’s shoulders. It might only be a game, but it simulates perfectly what life would be like in a post-outbreak world.
Escape From Tarkov
Bringing Military Action To Life
Details:
- Detailed map design with real-world physics in mind
- Knowledge of sightlines and other tactical tools to make it through alive
Escape From Tarkov’s exploration is built heavily around realism in a lot of ways. For one, players need to carefully navigate the various environments, as any signs of life, whether it be from a sound or the glare on a scope, can be crucial markers in deciding whether they live or die.
The movement itself is slow and grounded, and players need to learn to feel the weight of their own bodies, as well as care for specific injuries that cannot be ignored. The game perfectly mirrors a real tactical environment, where subtle queues speak the loudest, and minor mistakes can be the biggest of all.
Green Hell
One Wrong Step Could Spell The End
Details:
- A dense jungle ecosystem filled with realistic hazards
- An injury feature that requires care after falls and attacks
Green Hell captures the overwhelming realism of the Amazonian wilderness, thrusting players into a dense rainforest that not only obscures their vision but hides all kinds of dangers out of sight. There are many physical challenges in the world itself, and when combined with the living threats from animals and tribespeople, every step feels like a real adventure into the unknown.
Within the gameplay, there are a lot of systems in place that ensure that the experience never feels too close to a game. Simple mechanics like stamina and hydration govern how far and where players can go, while more complex ones like parasites add an extra level of danger to the world around the player, suffocating them in a realistic survival scenario with no easy ways out.
Best Open-World Games Where Exploration Feels Relaxing
Exploration doesn’t always have to feature heavy danger, as shown by these open-world games where venturing out is be surprisingly relaxing.
