Summary
Typically offering all manner of environments to tread through and across, open-world games naturally excel with their exploration-heavy gameplay.Outer Wilds, for example, focuses almost entirely on exploration of its minimalist solar system.
However, there are a variety of open-world games that, while exploration remains a factor, focus on combat instead. These titles offer everything from large-scale and strategic battles to stand-offs against impressive bosses, providing a little something for everyone.
Fans of swashbuckling adventuresand sci-fi westernswill surely enjoyRebel Galaxy. In keeping with classic space-sims such asFreelancer,Rebel Galaxyis more concerned with punchy gameplay than it is with realistic simulation. Thankfully,Rebel Galaxyfocuses wholeheartedly on the strength of its combat.
Exploration is a part ofRebel Galaxy’sgameplay loop, to be sure, but it’s a simple and repetitive system that’s by no means the focus. Instead,Rebel Galaxyfrequently throws opportunities for combat at the player, sometimes even forces it. But as mentioned, combat is easily its greatest strength, offering arcade-infused space battles fought in a broadside manner.
Mount & Blade: Warbandis a sandbox RPG withfree-form overworld exploration. However,Mount & Bladehas a clear focus on combat over exploration, emphasizing large-scale battles with an impressive sense of scale.
Thougha strategy gameat heart,Mount & Blade: Warband’sbattles take place on the ground, from the perspective of the player character. This creates distinct and often visceral gameplay, allowing players to control their armies from an unorthodox perspective with unique controls.
Far Cry 5offers players an expansive open-world to explore. Exploring this world is only engaging, however, thanks to the frequent opportunities for combat and the dynamic nature of its myriad enemies.
The FPS gameplay ofFar Cry 5may not be innovative, but it does offer players a great deal of freedom in how they approach encounters. Perhaps not as much freedom as an immersive-sim, for example, but enough to provide players with a meaningful sandbox of action that takes precedent over exploration.
Blood Westis an open-world FPS that stands out with its unique setting and infusion of immersive-sim elements. Though not a fully-fledged immersive-sim,Blood Westallows players to overcome its myriad combat encounters in multiple ways, though it does heavily encourage a stealthy approach.
These encounters are the lifeblood ofBlood West, with a clear focus on combat over exploration. That said, exploration is still important, as players will want to find as many items and weapons as they can to increase their options and improve their chances of success in combat.
Borderlands 2isa first-person shooterwith an emphasis on powerful, procedural loot. This title is further elevated by theaddition of co-operative gameplayand interconnected open-world environments that weave together encounters with short stints of exploration.
Despite its diversity of environments,Borderlands 2remains a game that emphasizes combat over exploration. The core motivation for the game is finding bigger, better weapons to take out bigger, badder foes. And, while exploring is a part of this, it’s only a means to an end, with the end being combat.
Battle Brothersis a low-fantasy sandbox RPG that features overworld exploration frequently interspersedwith brutal combat encounters. Combat is a clear focus of the experience, and rightly so, asBattle Brotherstasks players with running a company of mercenaries.
The combat ofBattle Brothershas been designed with clear attention to detail, with gameplay that’s naturally punishing rather than posing artifical difficulty. Mistakes are swiftly punished, though a healthy dose of RNG ensures luck can sometimes sway the outcome.
Developed by the prolific FromSoftware,Elden Ringoffers players an open-world take on the soulslike formula. This open-world structure does reduce thedensity of combat, but it remains a combat-focused experience that fans of theDark Soulsgames are sure to appreciate.
AlthoughElden Ringpresents players with a painstakingly crafted expanse of dark fantasy that greatly rewards exploration, it remains an experience that focuses on the challenges of combat encounters. It’s true that players will spend plenty of time exploring, probing the dark corners of the enigmatic world, but a vast array of enemies dots the expanse, and the defeat of myriad bosses remains the core motivation.
