Summary
There’s a reason open-world games have become so popular. The map may be as small as a single island or as big as an entire galaxy, but the basic principle remains the same. The main draw of an open world isthe ability to freely explore and interact with itat a pace determined by the player. Because of this, open worlds often go hand-in-hand with RPG mechanics. Many open worlds like to feature detailed settings where the player can encounter different characters and factions. They may make friends or enemies, and sometimes make choices that affect the fates of those characters. While the protagonist may have qualities that make them stand out, they typically learn to find their place in the world, even if it’s not where they expected. And, gaining allies, or even a party, can make it a lot more comfortable.
But sometimes, the developers don’t want the player to be comfortable. Being thrown into a confusing world with little to no help can be a daunting prospect. It leaves the player to piece together information and figure out how to survive. Even if the protagonist isn’talwaysalone, or is just made to feel like they are, it can set up an interesting story arc for them. They may find help, or perhaps have to rely on themselves. The experience of isolation can shake up a character’s personality, or it can force the player to start looking at the world in a lot more detail. Many challenges can be a lot more intimidating when the player can’t just call for help.
A Tragic Story of Desperation in a Cruel World
Red Dead Redemption 2is a weird case. Protagonist Arthur Morgan doesn’t start off alone. In fact, he has a whole gang of outlaws. But a big theme of the game is the Van Der Lind gang’s increased alienation in a world that’s slowly tearing it down. The game’s story takes place in 1899, right at the end of the “Wild West” era. Its heroes are a gang of outlawsdesperately trying to survivea changing world that no longer has a place for them. With their enemies only piling up and fewer places to hide, it’s easy to feel hopelessly alone. And that’s not even getting into the in-fighting and poor decision-making that further divides the gang and amplifies the isolation factor. It leads to an ironic situation where the bustling and heavily populated cities feel more oppressive than the wide-open plains.
But it’s not just about the gang as a whole. Protagonist Arthur Morgang has to deal with his whole world being torn down one step at a time. He has to deal with a lot of his friends either dying or betraying him, and he constantly finds himself hunted at every turn by one group or another.
This British post-apocalyptic adventure centers around a simple premise: everyone is trapped in an exclusion zone born out of the Windscale Disaster of 1957. Not only is the zone cordoned off, but the disaster created a barrier that physically blocks escape. That alone creates a pretty oppressive atmosphere for the player and everyone they meet. But the game makes a point of doing a bit more to help the player feel isolated. The opening scene has them waking up with amnesia, having no idea who they are or how they ended up in a bunker, or who this scientist is that’s suddenly trusting them to get to the “interchange.” From that point, Wyndam Village is the only place they can really feel safe (assuming the player doesn’t do anything stupid), with the surrounding areas all being dominated by the hostile outlaw and druid factions, plus the occasional mutant. And the player has to deal with a lot of this alone.
Nowtechnically,the player can have allies, though who that ends up being is up to them. That said, most of the actual exploration and scavenging is done alone, with allies coming more in the form of lead-givers and traders. It is also possible for the player to isolate themselves by literally killingeveryone, though this is probably not the smartest idea. But it also comes with a different form of isolation. Whichever path is taken, it’s made clear that the player is the one trusted to find a way out. Several different characters are counting on the player, but the player is also presented with different choices on what to do when they get to the Windscale plant. The looming pressure to make a decision adds its own level of difficulty.
This is a weird one since Jason Brody isn’ttechnicallyalone. There are people all over the Rook Islands. However, considering most of the islands' population either want to kill Jason or use him to do their dirty work, it’s easy to feel alone. It’s especially notable in the earlier stages before Jason really starts to develop his skills. This sense of isolation is even reinforced in the opening scene when Brody witnesses the death of his brother, Grant. Grant is indicated to be far more experienced as a survivalist, so his death only makes Jason’s situation feel all the more hopeless. And a lot of the missions Jason goes on require him to handle daunting situations on his own, with little to no support. But the real isolation isn’t so much physical as it is in the way Jason ispsychologicallyalienated by his experiences.
A big part of the game’s story is the way Jason is broken by his experiences on the island, especially once he begins to fully embrace his killer instincts and gains a bit more control of his situation. While he feels helpless at the start, the later stages of the game see Jason becoming a killer not much better than the people he’s fighting, to the point where it starts affecting his decision-making. This creates a harsh dynamic where Jason starts to alienate himself from his own friends, a detail reinforced in the final act when he decides to go after Hoyt despite having a very clear opportunity to walk away.
Hideo Kojima’s surreal post-apocalyptic “walking simulator” has connections (especially in the form of ropes or “strands”) as a prominent motif. The entire point of the game is bringing people together. So, it’s rather ironic that it should go to such great lengths to isolate its protagonist, Sam Porter Bridges, on multiple levels. Most of the game revolves around Sam navigating an outlandish post-apocalyptic open world on his own. He doestechnicallyhave allies, but (with the exception of Fragile) they are rarely seen in person, instead appearing through the chiral network as either a voice or a hologram. Even when completing a delivery, he only interacts with the people at any destination via a chiral hologram, with an automated system actually handing the package to its recipient. He can encounter other porters, but it’s a lot more common to find BTs and MULEs (other porters who have become addicted to collecting packages). Occasionally, the game takes the isolation a step further by trapping Sam in even more remote locations, like a pocket dimension where World War I rages endlessly.
But, one thing that’s notable aboutDeath Strandingis it isolates Sam on multiple levels. In addition to being physically isolated, Sam also experiences a kind of mental isolation in the form of difficulty relating to and trusting other people. He shows discomfort from being touched. The whole concept of “beaches” is itself a form of isolation. Even the peculiar detail of Sam being a “repatriate” who can’t die due to weird in-universe circumstances makes him an anomaly among other humans. This is actually a big part of his character arc, which involves opening himself up to his allies and being more willing to accept help from others.
Dredgerelies on a deceptively simple structure. The player is a fisherman hired for an Archipelago and has the job of catching fish (via a ridiculously easy minigame) and then selling them for money. Seems straightforward enough — until the player spends a bit too much time at sea. Going out into the open water presents plenty of hazards, especially at night. Just trying not to crash into rocks is difficult enough, but there are other, much bigger dangers,like sea monstersand other horrors of the deep. Sometimes, the environment itself seems determined to pull the boat under, with vines creeping out of the water to wrap around the boat. Occasionally, the player might stumble upon a ship or plane wreck, reminding them of just how cruel these seas really are. And, of course, due to the nature of their job, the player has to deal with the worst of it.
It’s true that the player isn’t completely alone in this world. They can interact with NPCs, some of whom are actually quite friendly and helpful. However, most of the game centers around actually driving the fishing boat in open water, and the player character is its only crew member. This becomes especially difficult at night, when the player has to deal with mental health, water hazards, and exhaustion. Docking only ever provides temporary relief, and a lot of the worst things the game can throw at the player happen while they’re alone.
Praey For the Godstakes place on a frozen island in a dying world, coated in death and decay. Everywhere, the world is covered in old ruins from a bygone era — and the frozen bodies of previous inhabitants.Even the “gods” faced by the unnamed heroineare shadows of their former selves, more closely resembling walking corpses whose bodies are slowly falling apart. The landscape is decorated with frozen giants that are hopefully statues, and not the bodies of other forgotten gods. The closest thing to encountering other living people is the occasional undead warrior or ghostly wraith. And somehow, the Heroine has to brave this world if she hopes to save it.
Praey For the Godshas a pretty small cast, and the majority of the game sees the player character trying to survive the island’s eternal winter while facing each of the gods inShadow of the Collossus-inspired boss fights. She really only has two allies — a mysterious wolf who may or may not be her friend, and a trio of sisters known as the Norn, who may or may not already be dead (it’s complicated). But the day-to-day survival and the actual fighting of each boss is a responsibility given to her and her alone. It can feel especially bleak when the only humans around are ones that died long ago.
The originalSubnauticamakes a point of hitting the player hard right from the beginning. The game opens with protagonist Ryley Robinson barely escaping the doomed spaceshipAurora, almost being killed twice by his own escape pod before he can even see Planet 4546B. When he finally gets out, he finds himself alone in the middle of a vast alien ocean. The closest thing he has to a companion is the automated voice that alerts him to important details. He doesn’t even have any equipment to start with, needing to explore an unfamiliar environment just to find resources to make basic tools. The idea of being stranded in an unfamiliar environment with no idea how to survive is already daunting enough. Imagine being trapped on an alien planet, with no idea of what the ocean has in store. Especiallywhen glimpsing terrifying alien predators.
To add to the isolation,Subnauticamakes a point of ensuring it’s clear that Ryley really is alone. Pretty much every other human aboardAurorais dead by the time Ryley receives their SOS transmissions, accompanied by co-ordinates leading to empty and destroyed life pods. Sometimes he even finds audio logs chronicling their last moments. This only reinforces just how dangerous the planet is, and it is definitely not helped when he witnessesSunbeamshot out of the sky, crushing any hope of rescue or escape.
Being a survival game about being trapped in the Canadian Northduring a brutal winter,The Long Darkalready has themes of isolation baked into its setup. But in the story mode, protagonists Will McKenzie and Astrid Greenwood are at least able to work together in a fairly linear experience. It’s thesurvival modethat really ramps up the isolation. Selecting this option makes the setting of Great Bear Island an open world and throws the player into it, alone and unprepared. There is only one objective: survival. Without any guidance, the player has to figure out how to deal with things like hunger, thirst, exhaustion, keeping warm, and treating injuries. While they do get options on how difficult each of these features are, it doesn’t change the overall dread of realizing just how alone they really are.
This is easily one of the most isolating settings a video game can provide. Aside from there being no other people around,The Long Dark’s survival mode doesn’t even offer any hope of escaping its cruel environment. There’s no chance of rescue and no way of getting off the island. It’s just a constant fight for survival as long as possible — until the player character is inevitably overpowered by nature. To make things extra harsh, the game auto-deletes any saves upon dying, so the player has to start all over if they want to try again.
