Video Games For Map Explorers

[Heliocentrical]

One of my favorite things to do in a video game is to explore the entire map on foot without any shortcuts such as fast travel. It helps me to get immersed in the world I'm playing in. Bethesda's games such as their Elder Scrolls and Fallout games were pretty much my go to for this. However I've basically explored everything in Bethesda's games so I'm currently on the look out for games with interesting maps to explore. Does anyone have any suggestions?

[BTGBullseye]

Just Cause 2/3... JC3 has a literal 25km x 25km map, and it is FULL of shit to blow up. (only able to go to about 10km vertically though)

 

The Saint's Row series. (starting at 3)

 

The Grand Theft Auto series. (starting at San Andreas)

 

Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor.

 

The Batman: Arkham *whatever* series. (apart from Arkham Asylum apparently)

 

The Far Cry series.

 

The Borderlands series.

 

The Assassin's Creed series.

 

Brütal Legend.

 

The Dead Island series.

 

Mass Effect.

 

The Prototype series.

 

Rage.

 

Red Faction: Guerilla.

 

These are all open world games with minimal or no fast-travel requirements. (and I only looked at my Steam Library to get this list)

Edited September 6, 2016 by Guest (see edit history)

[Jeb_CC]

Guild Wars 2

Though it does have waypoints to fast-travel, you can always just... not. XD

[rairii]

r u n e s c a p e

the entire game basically revolves around traversing the world, the fast travel system generally has a skill or quest requirement and comes at a cost, and the world is HUGE

[BTGBullseye]

and the world is HUGE

Not really... It's actually the smallest open-world game listed here.

[Heliocentrical]

r u n e s c a p e

the entire game basically revolves around traversing the world, the fast travel system generally has a skill or quest requirement and comes at a cost,

Interesting, what type of cost specifically? Does it cost some form of resource or of actual consequence for taking fast travel such as random encounters?

 

and the world is HUGE

Not really... It's actually the smallest open-world game listed here.

I'm looking for map depth not size. Size means nothing to me if there's nothing interesting to find.

[rairii]

and the world is HUGE

Not really... It's actually the smallest open-world game listed here.

Liberty City/Los Santos and Steelport/Stilwater are fucking TINY so I don't wanna hear how Gielenor is the smallest

 

Interesting, what type of cost specifically? Does it cost some form of resource or of actual consequence for taking fast travel such as random encounters?

Resources, getting around by teleports almost always costs money or runes and it's usually just to avoid traveling clear across the continent on foot.

I've probably spent most of my time in the game just walking to and from certain destinations and I only ever use teleports when I'm working with time constraints

There are also lots of cities, towns, and villages that all act as hubs for certain in-game activities.

Also it should be noted that I'm referring specifically to the old school variant of Runescape, RS3 has fast travel in the form of lodestones which are scattered throughout the map and you can teleport to and from them at literally no cost.

 

Also Dark Souls has no option for fast travel until late in the game and there's plenty to explore in that game

[Templar Knight]

One of my favorite things to do in a video game is to explore the entire map on foot without any shortcuts such as fast travel. It helps me to get immersed in the world I'm playing in. Bethesda's games such as their Elder Scrolls and Fallout games were pretty much my go to for this. However I've basically explored everything in Bethesda's games so I'm currently on the look out for games with interesting maps to explore. Does anyone have any suggestions?

 

The Witcher 3's Maps are fucking enormous and a treat to explore especially if you have a great computer.

 

And although there are fast travel options via signposts, you can still go by foot, horse, or boat from the Nilfgaardian Army camp in southern Velen to Novigrad without a single loading screen. That's if you just go in a straight line too, there's two other major cities in between, and numerous smaller stops. Its two whole map regions conjoined to form a massive area with varied environments and settings and kilometers worth of in-game space.

 

Then there's Skellige and its numerous islands which is its own kettle of fish and IMO is also beautiful to explore. I loved going on foot through Kaer Trolde, it felt like I was actually in a Viking Fortress-Port town.

 

Another game that I really enjoyed for its exploration elements and the fact that you cannot fast travel at all is an indie game called Sunless Sea. You're basically a steam-ship captain trying to explore and survive in the Unterzee, an underwater ocean filled with strange locales, hazards, and wonders. It also has amazing art and writing and pretty great music.

 

Mafia II's map is also pretty good, and is basically open-world if you don't follow the story missions immediately.

 

The Long Dark has enormous maps that you have to explore in order to try and find places to search for supplies and shelter in order to survive in the Canadian North after a massive electro-magnetic event that left you stranded, and those maps can go into other regions that are also huge maps themselves, and it is impossible to go faster than a foot pace in the game, as there are no working vehicles yet (I kinda doubt there will be, but you never know, it is still in development atm, they may include a snowmobile or something that needs gas to power), and no way to fast travel.

 

I've also heard that Kona looks pretty nice, for something in a similar vein to The Long Dark, its also in development.

 

Also, Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines has some nice maps in the same vein as Deus Ex in that they're most city-scapes of cities like Santa Monica, Los Angeles, and a few other locations in that area of California.

[BTGBullseye]

Liberty City/Los Santos and Steelport/Stilwater are fucking TINY so I don't wanna hear how Gielenor is the smallest

A typo occurred in my original list, it lost the specification of the games.

 

And with the qualifications that were intended to be there, yes it is the smallest. (especially when you're talking about interesting stuff in the map, not just doing the same stuff with the same type of monsters in a different area of the same incredibly generic 'medieval' setting)

[rairii]

Liberty City/Los Santos and Steelport/Stilwater are fucking TINY so I don't wanna hear how Gielenor is the smallest

A typo occurred in my original list, it lost the specification of the games.

 

And with the qualifications that were intended to be there, yes it is the smallest. (especially when you're talking about interesting stuff in the map, not just doing the same stuff with the same type of monsters in a different area of the same incredibly generic 'medieval' setting)

 

I'm calling it now, you've never touched the game in your life.

Unless you haven't left the starting area, enemy types are incredibly diverse and only ever get repetitive in areas with no specific focus on combat.

And I don't want to hear how Runescape's setting is generic when you dropped Stilwater completely in favor of the bland/lifeless Steelport

[Blightmare]

I didn't play much of Runescape but that map was enormous. Idk what you're talking about it being the tiniest map. O_o

[Heliocentrical]

Again, I would like to emphasize that I'm looking for map depth not map size. One game that immediately comes to mind is a little, indie game called Miasmata https://www.gog.com/game/miasmata . Even though at least from what I can tell the map is pretty small the mechanics in that game are so in depth that they make the map feel ginormous. In Miasmata you actually have to triangulate your position in order to draw yourself a map, very cool game. But as you can tell I've already played through it and I know that map like the back of my hand at this point.

[BTGBullseye]

Again, I would like to emphasize that I'm looking for map depth not map size.

That was the type of 'small' I was referring to. Unless you like the generic fantasy elements present in Runescape, (and they are incredibly generic) combined with the very limited controls, (click to move, click to do default action, right click on NPCs to sometimes be able to do more than the default action, click to attack/defend, use game chat that tends to be less engaging than the 12 year olds screaming in the latest CoD game, etc.) you probly won't consider it a 'deep' game.

 

Bear in mind that I was a paying subscriber for this game for over 2 years, and did virtually everything there was to do.

[rairii]

Bear in mind that I was a paying subscriber for this game for over 2 years, and did virtually everything there was to do.

 

Bear in mind I've been playing for over ten and can attest to every point you make being complete bullshit

Not as if you completely ignoring my previous post didn't suggest that already

[BTGBullseye]

Bear in mind I've been playing for over ten and can attest to every point you make being complete bullshit

Not as if you completely ignoring my previous post didn't suggest that already

So, because you feel differently, you decide that it's a good idea to become an asshole?

 

I was answering the question asked by the OP to the best of my ability, and trying not to let him fall into a game that has an acerbic community at the best of times, and downright dickish at the worst, has some of the most assholeish devs I've ever met, (and I've met some real asshole devs) the worst level of griefing I've ever seen in a paid game, and the least original setting I've ever seen. When you get to some of the outer areas, there is some variety, but the thrill of seeing them is countered by the fact that it's the first new thing you've seen in 10+ levels, and it's something you've seen in almost every medieval fantasy game. (and the fact that this 'new' thing will be either seen for the next 30 levels and be boring as hell, or it'll be a 1-time thing that really isn't as interesting as it first seemed)

[Psychotic Ninja]

So tell us how games like the GTA series and Saints Row series aren't generic crime ridden cities. Or how Borderlands isn't a generic wasteland city. Or how Red Dead Redemption isn't a generic Western.

[Blightmare]

Somehow I feel this isn't helping Helio find titles so I'm gonna go ahead and throw out a suggestion:

 

Dying Light.

 

Like the world isn't particularly large but it's very detailed with a lot to see and explore. Exploration is mostly tied to finding stuff to use but there is some environmental story telling at play and no fast travel (since I know you don't like that) meaning you have to run/parkour everywhere.

 

I've put a lot of time into Dying Light and still ahven't seen everything. I know of some stuff I'd like to find on my own but haven't yet so it's got potential.

[BTGBullseye]

Wasteland 2 is also a large and remarkably varied map... In the first mission you get to go to a dam that's under attack by raiders, or somewhere with genetically engineered and mutated plants that are killing their creators. Or you can skip both, and just go run off and do your own thing. There is an awful lot of stuff in this particular 'wasteland'. lol