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[Agent_Nobody]

An oddball suggestion:

The game ‘Observation’:

Observation (video game) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

You play as an AI (think Hal 9000 from 2001) and you have control of the systems of a space station (modern day like the ISS space station) and you are trying to keep the main character alive through a disaster. The cool part is you aren’t the main character, but the AI assisting (or hindering) them. And it get’s really, really weird really, really fast.

But concerning your topic it definitely has a lot of uncovering mysteries; let’s just say the ending is: ‘Memorable’…

 

[worldwithpyramids]

King's Field 4

You can play the first 3 too but 4 is really the culmination and all around best and most polished in the series.

 

[FoxMcChief]

King's Field 4

You can play the first 3 too but 4 is really the culmination and all around best and most polished in the series.

It’s a crime that we can’t easily play Kings Field on a console. The first game holds a special place I my gamer heart.

 

[Mozzarella]

Outer Wilds

 

[Jesb]

I absolutely loved the optional tombs in the tomb raider reboot games. If it doesn't return that’s a huge downer.

 

[yansolo]

witcher 3, cyberpunk, rdr2, arkham games, zelda

 

[Neolombax]

Remnant 2.

 

[NotMyProblemAnymoreCunt]

Then Xenoblade games…I personally love exploring in that game.

I hope when the Switch 2 comes out that there will be HD Upscaling with all the Switch games. Would love to replay all 3 Xenoblade games at a higher resolution and better framerates. I still love how the games run on Switch but man some of those environments are beautiful

Witcher 3 would be my pick though for the exploring and Mass Effect Trilogy

 

[Humdinger]

Morrowind felt like a big, convoluted mystery to me. That would be my pick.

 

[Holammer]

First reply nailed it, BotW and TotK are excellent to explore. I unironically love the climbing and searching for koroks, I seldom bothered using a horse.
Elden Ring made a huge mistake by not adding a climbing element and dumbing down vertical traversal too much.

Crosscode has some really good exploration

Agreed. For such a retro style 2D environment there's plenty of secrets to find and puzzles to solve.

 

[IAmRei]

It sounds like a specific request, but over the years I find that exploring and solving mysteries/puzzles are my favorite parts of games. Combat is also fun, but it’s best when it makes the exploration more dangerous/rewarding.

The modern Fallout games are great at this, but I’ve played them all to death. The Souls games are also amazing at exploring areas, but again, I’ve played them all multiple times.

Any other good suggestions for games where you explore a dangerous space and find interesting items?

(Also, nothing rogue-like, please. Procedural generation is basically the exact opposite of the experience I’m looking for.)

BoTW and ToTK and also elden ring.
I feel like an adventurer in those games. I find there are lot of things we can discover. Even just stumbled small ruins can evoke imagination for me. Like why there is ruins here, i wonder how people lives here, and such. And the atmosphere is so georgous to evoke such feeling.

Another one is AC odyssey.
Although not all people seems like it. I feel like there are lot of things can be discovered as well.

 

[RDaneelOlivaw]

Prey 2017

This is a good choice as well.

I really wish I could eternal sunshine of my spotless mind this game and redo it from the beginning. Top 10 all time for me.

 

[NanaMiku]

Xenoblade series. They even have special music for secret area in Xenoblade 3 lol

 

[FunkMiller]

BoTW, ToTK and Elden Ring are leagues above everything else.

In only those three games have I ever felt the full on 'what's that over there?' feeling... and had it rewarded every time so magnificently.

There's a good reason Miyazaki used BoTW as part inspiration for Elden Ring.

 

[nkarafo]

Subnautica.

The Witness.

Talos Principle.

Portal 2.

 

[Icymanipulator]

Genshin Impact is all about exploring and doing puzzles.

Also basically any Metroidvania will likely fill your requirements.

Assassins Creed -pick which ever one has the time period you like most, but I’d recommend Odyssey.

Both Horizon games would be good too, but a bit more focus on combat, though there’s plenty of exploration to be had.

Ghost of Tsushima would also work. Good exploration and meaningful rewards, but a bit light on puzzles.

 

[Zannegan]

The Arkham games are fun to explore (or at least navigate), and they're chock full of little puzzles, especially Asylum. Even the enemy encounters are puzzley in AA as you plan how to take them out and in what order.

It's not open world, and I wouldn't call the environments dangerous exactly, but it might be a nice change-up from Souls.

Aside from that, the Zero Escape games (and especially 999) are great. You might also really like Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow (or SotN, but I can't personally reccommend).

 

[Edellus]

People have already mentioned Outer Wilds and Subnautica; but, while I wholeheartedly agree (2 of my favorite games ever) I would warn you of things:

1. They're not "dangerous". At least not like Souls games are dangerous. They don't have any combat. And although you can die, it's due to your mistakes while exploring the environment. Specially so In Outer Wilds, since it's inevitable to die and it's part of the game (again, not at all like Souls game).
Subnautica's sense of danger is a lot closer to Souls games than Outer Wilds, but it still is a too different kind of danger, IMO.

2. They don't have "interesting items". At least not like Souls games present items.
In Subnautica, you collect data of the environment and find some lore, while finding stuff to help you survive (via crafting and tech). To get most of them is not optional, it's a requirement to complete the game.
In Outer Wilds there are no items at all (I haven't played the DLC yet. Idk if this changes with the DLC). You only find lore to help you complete the game.

I just thought of mentioning those 2 things, so that you don't go in with conflicting expectations and risk tainting your experience of these great games.

That said, these games have made me feel like I was exploring uncharted territory like nothing else before. They don't hold your hand at all, they let you roam and discover on your own. Finding places, advancing and putting together what has happened feel so very rewarding (even more so than Souls games in my case). If there was a mandatory starting course to gaming, these 2 games should be part of it.

 

[killatopak]

Star Ocean.

IIRC, most of the game in the series even have map completion percentages with rewards if you complete them. Battles are amazingly complex.

It is a bit grindy post 3.

 

[jufonuk]

Resident evil games ?

 

[jufonuk]

If you haven't played Zelda Breath of the Wild yet, now is the time.

That game clicked with me massively. I love how you are mostly left to it. You get some guidance but it’s massive on exploration and for a lot of the game you are gonna get killed. If you are not careful.

You will hide a lot from the Guardians

That’s if OP has a switch.

 

[cireza]

How about Project Zero ? Thought I would mention it just in case.

 

[Kumomeme]

not the best but it is fun exploring in Ghost of Tsushima

also in Dragons Dogma. roaming around is fun. uncover secret area behind waterfall and has fight with cyclop and with dragon once we return later is some of great moment.

 

[existensmaximum]

The Depths are super fun to explore in my opinion. The whole game is just exploring really.

Honest question - what is it that you think is fun finding there? To me it just felt repetitive and just not rewarding at all. I was missing the motivation or incentive to keep exploring.

 

[laynelane]

Classic Tomb Raider as mentioned above

Blade of Darkness

Soul Reaver

Darksiders 2

Zelda BotW/TotK but honestly this felt like Zelda: Fallout to me

Eternal Darkness

Control

Signalis

Classic Horror games like RE1 or Fatal Frame series are primarily games that revolve around puzzles to progress.

Darksiders 2 was amazing for this. I went in completely blind and love going off the beaten path. I ended up finding so many hidden areas, bosses, weapons/armour, and stories.

 

[KiteGr]

It sounds like a specific request, but over the years I find that exploring and solving mysteries/puzzles are my favorite parts of games. Combat is also fun, but it’s best when it makes the exploration more dangerous/rewarding.

The modern Fallout games are great at this, but I’ve played them all to death. The Souls games are also amazing at exploring areas, but again, I’ve played them all multiple times.

Any other good suggestions for games where you explore a dangerous space and find interesting items?

(Also, nothing rogue-like, please. Procedural generation is basically the exact opposite of the experience I’m looking for.)

If you want to explore and uncover the misteries of the world, the obvious answer is Outer Wilds. It's a game where you only collect information, thankfully logged so you can look it up at any time, and once you've understood the story and the solution, you can theoretically finish it in 5 minutes. Obviously the game is extremely sensitive to spoilers, so look it up with the hand ready on the pause.

 

[Fbh]

The Outer Wilds

Is literally a game about exploring and uncovering mysteries. There's no combat.
I won't say much as its easy to spoil but what makes this one really special is that most of your progress is made by by learning more about the world and the various planets through your own observations as well as ancient texts you find by exploring.

Unlike most similar games it doesn't rely on standard gaming tropes and conventions. Like imagine you need to reach a high up place but you can't jump high enough, in most games you'd eventually just find a double jump ability or rocket boots or whatever and then you can go back and reach that high location. Outer Wilds doesn't work like that, there's usually a way to solve each problem with the basic tools you have from the beginning, but it's up to you to figure out how.

 

[DarkArterialGore]

I really enjoyed exploring around the main hub city of Prague in Deus Ex: Mankind Divided.

 

[hyperbertha]

Prey 2018, metroid prime games, the older Harry potter games, modern hitman trilogy ( turn off all assists)

 

[winjer]

Supraland.
Don't be fooled by it's cartoonish looks, this game has some mind bending puzzles and exploration.
It's part metroidvania style game, and part puzzle game. And a bit of combat, but rather simplistic and easy.

It has a 96% user score on Steam, so it's one of the highest rated games on the platform.

 

[jufonuk]

Honest question - what is it that you think is fun finding there? To me it just felt repetitive and just not rewarding at all. I was missing the motivation or incentive to keep exploring.

it depends on how you approach it, yes the game is bloody overwhelming at times, but I started off doing a mixture of setting a play time limit finding and completing shrines, and trying to get sky towers unlocked, this was even before trying to do the main quests, I would also do the Korok seeds etc, then over time side quests like taking down monster bases, even when I was underpowered. sometimes I go to try to complete a set task and end up doing something else instead as I've gone off course, seeing as the game doesn't have a deadline as such you can just go around doing whatever ever, and if you can't just come back to it later.

the main overall thing is to defeat the big bad. how you do it is totally up to you. what's nice is the game will nudge you in the right way but not take the controls from you to do it. (minus the opening tutorial part after that it feels like it just leaves you to it)

just the way the game is structured just works for me. but having said all this if I am playing it for some time I can find it sometimes monotonous but then just as I do something happens to break it up.

also, it feels like there are multiple ways to approach things, such as in-game objectives or cliffs have more than one way to get up them and the ingame systems are not too complex, once you realise about cooking food or how to use the abilities and experiment with them it just feels fun. maybe it's my age but BoTW and ToTK made me feel like a kid again, that sense of freedom felt to me like pure exploration. that's why I found it fun.

 

[cash_longfellow]

 

[fart town usa]

The Council.

Mass Effect style 18th century mystery/secret society. game. No combat but lots of puzzles and dialogue choices. Really cool game.

 

[EverydayBeast]

Horizon Forbidden Best every single area you want to explore it makes me wonder if people ever finish games.

 

[_Ex_]

My review: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/ps3/930048-aquanauts-holiday-kakusareta-kiroku/reviews/166568

 

[diffusionx]

Hob

 

[Efren is G.O.A.T.]

Tunic ?

 

[Physiognomonics]

Batman Arkham Asylum is good at this.

 

[SHA]

What mysteries? Visiting Exoplanets and being impressed by It's look till I get used to it like mass effect? , cause I can't prove there is much going on when discovering new places in the history of video games, don't get me wrong, I liked what the Tech we're getting every few years, I really like the view of many games, it's just that there isn't much to do in gameplay. I don't know, the closest seems strategy games, but it's not perfect.

 

[S0ULZB0URNE]

Elden Ring
TLOZ Tears of the Kingdom
TLOZ BOTW
The Witcher 3

 

[Mephisto40]

The Witness would be my suggestion, but it doesn't really have any combat, just puzzles

 

[Ibara]

La Mulana 1&2

 

[ResurrectedContrarian]

A few smaller odd ones you might have missed:
Monster Boy and The Cursed Kingdom
Wonder Boy The Dragon’s Trap
Zelda Link’s Awakening
Legend of Grimrock
The Witness
Fantasian
Scorn
Fez

I like your sorting algorithm

Honest question - what is it that you think is fun finding there? To me it just felt repetitive and just not rewarding at all. I was missing the motivation or incentive to keep exploring.

TOTK/BOTW are exploration in its purest form IMO, more than any other games in my 40+ years of playing.

I'm not sure what you mean about not finding anything. What do you expect to find when exploring? Is it not places, challenges, puzzles, visually beautiful surprises, new landscapes, etc?

If what you want is some kind of loot, then I really don't agree at all. I hate finding pointless loot that just piles up in a massive collection of items that no one even uses since, in most games, each new piece just makes others obsolete. If anything, that's why I loved the breaking equipment system in BOTW: to strike against the loot collector nonsense up front and tell players to stop trying to collect things, and treat items as temporary tools.

 

[existensmaximum]

I like your sorting algorithm



TOTK/BOTW are exploration in its purest form IMO, more than any other games in my 40+ years of playing.

I'm not sure what you mean about not finding anything. What do you expect to find when exploring? Is it not places, challenges, puzzles, visually beautiful surprises, new landscapes, etc?

If what you want is some kind of loot, then I really don't agree at all. I hate finding pointless loot that just piles up in a massive collection of items that no one even uses since, in most games, each new piece just makes others obsolete. If anything, that's why I loved the breaking equipment system in BOTW: to strike against the loot collector nonsense up front and tell players to stop trying to collect things, and treat items as temporary tools.

No, not talking about pointless loot - but it sounds like we didn't play the same game. Challenges? Puzzles? Something visually beautiful?

Anyway, I'm happy you enjoyed the game. Guess it's just not really for me

 

[ResurrectedContrarian]

No, not talking about pointless loot - but it sounds like we didn't play the same game. Challenges? Puzzles? Something visually beautiful?

Anyway, I'm happy you enjoyed the game. Guess it's just not really for me

There are 120 shrines across the original game's map, and most of those are puzzles. Basically, they are the Zelda translation of Portal test chambers. This is not to mention the fact that many of the harder ones to find are only discovered by solving an environmental puzzle, some of which are subtle. It seems a bit weird to pretend there isn't substantially more puzzle reward for exploration than any prior game of its open size & scope.

But apart from those, any player gushes over all their weird discoveries after a while of playing. To name just three off the top of my head:

finding the dark forest for the first time, and burning your way through by moving a fire to light your path

seeing a weird glow on a mountain in the distance, and eventually getting there at the right night to see a ghostly horse waiting in a pool of water

finding the secret passage under the labyrinth, where you'll drop quickly down into a lower room filled with guardians, and suddenly find yourself at the vertex of 10 laser sights

...and every time I think of a wonderful moment in the game, it has 2 qualities:

• not required for the main quest; all these encounters (Eventide, etc) are spontaneous wonders you can stumble upon
• possible to solve in many ways; in every case, there are multiple approaches to the problem, enough to make your experience totally unique

It's so weird to me to hear someone say that these games (and TOTK is overloaded x 100 even over the first game) don't offer exponentially more adventure than anything else on the market.

 

[Vandole]

In Link to the Past swimming upriver and under the bridge led you to that spot with the guy who gave you a bottle.

I don't know just how hidden that really was, but I swear I felt like I had to be the only person who thought to travel there when I discovered it.

 

[tommib]

Tomb Raider 1996