Games where exploring the world is the best part of the story

A great story can be enhanced by a great setting, and a great setting is always better with a compelling story. It is not always easy to balance these two things, but when they are delivered and both are abundant, it is usually a recipe for a masterpiece. At its best, just walking through the game world can be the most memorable experience you'll have, especially if it doesn't take away from the story, but instead serves it.

The following games are some of the best examples of this. They have great environmental storytelling to the point where their worlds just suck you in and almost make you forget about the main story. The main quest or objective, however vague or specific, will also take you through some of these fantastical locations and use them as a way to give you the lore and background of the world.

The outer wilderness

Exploration brings out the secrets of the story

A game that is all about providing your story through exploration, The outer wilderness is a game best experienced without any guides or spoilers. As you venture into space and freely explore the solar system around you, you begin to notice that something strange is happening. Every 22 minutes you find yourself back at the beginning of the day.

During this loop, different things happen on each planet and you'll have to fly, connect the dots and collect all the hints and clues to find out what's really going on. In this sense, the investigation and story in The outer wilderness are two inseparable aspects of the game. One cannot exist without the other, and the whole point of the story is that it is a mystery for you to unravel with each successive time loop.

Fallout 4

Fish out of water story paired with amazing exploration

Bethesda's strength has always been delivering great environmental storytelling in thought-provoking main quest lines, and Fallout 4 is proof of that. However, there is something special about first emerging from Vault 111 at the beginning and seeing the state of Sanctuary Hills, which was (seemingly) a normal, busy neighborhood moments ago.

As a sole survivor, you go through the game with this fish-out-of-water mentality, and that really suits a game like this Fallout 4where the player also discovers new vistas and potentially brand new lore if they are new to the franchise. Protagonist and player can share their sense of wonder, and one thing the main quest does well is guide you through some of the best locations in the game. I won't spoil them for you if you don't jump in yet Fallout 4but be prepared to endure radiation.

Subnautics

Stuck with a sense of wonder (and fear)

Another game that brings its lore and mystery through the environment is Subnautica. You find yourself trapped on an ocean world planet, your only goal is to find a way to leave. Initially with limited resources, you will have to sing and dance the usual song and dance of any open-world survival game: get resources through exploration, craft important equipment and tools to advance deeper into the oceans and discover what really lies beneath the surface.

There are some pretty scary parts Subnautica as well as an underwater location that will catch an unsuspecting player by surprise. Let's just say that if you have thalassophobia, it can be a challenging game. Due to its sandbox nature, it's not as story-driven as some other games, but the heavy focus on exploration to complete your “main” quest definitely justifies its place among the other titles.

Red Dead Redemption 2

You'll want to stay just a little longer

Red Dead Redemption 2 he was praised for almost every feature. She managed to nail a surprising number of things: the music, the world, the characters, the graphics… There are very few things that feel clunky or inadequate about the game. His story is often hailed as one of the most emotional stories, especially because of how much you care about the characters you meet during your journey in Arthur's shoes. But another great part of this journey is the world and exploring it.

Rockstar Games has managed to create a world that feels so alive and so detailed that it's hard not to feel like you're actually there. These two features work perfectly in tandem and the environmental storytelling is on another level. Things are most often shown to you, not explained. From finding lonely burnt-out houses to rotting corpses, you'll learn more about it as you travel through the world. It's a quiet but heavy way of telling the story of Arthur and the gang, and as the story progresses, the world also changes to reflect the events that take place within the gang and the overall tone of the story. It's one of the best games that uses its world and the act of exploration to fuel every beat in every act of the plot.

The Main Quest takes you across the province to Sovngarde

Like Fallout 4, Skyrim it suffers from a main quest that has left many players somewhat lukewarm. Unsurprisingly, actually moving around the province to get to the next location and avoiding fast travel is the best part. You might come across something unexpected, like a secret side activity that opens into your own dungeon.

As with RDR2 and Fallout 4the lore of the world is also passed down in these quiet show-don't tell ways. You can find a secluded Talos shrine hidden from the world, perfectly in keeping with the tension surrounding the worship of Talos in Skyrim. The views, music and dynamic weather bring life to the game too, and there are some incredible dungeons to visit, from Bleak Falls Barrow to Sky Haven Temple and Throat of the World. Bethesda has once again ensured that everyone's jaws are on the floor with their impeccable environmental work.

Cyberpunk 2077

See all aspects of the city of dreams

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt he could easily have been here, but his story and character interactions trump it Cyberpunk 2077 with a slight lead. This made exploring Night City during the latter game's main story a decidedly more magical moment, though CD Projekt Red delivered a deep, meaningful and heart-wrenching story, especially in Phantom Liberty. The night city as a world screams at you from all sides, and at every turn it rubs the story's main message in your face in a dystopian, neon-lit, absurd way: the corps are king and the city is ruled by gangs.

You'll see this with random gang activity on street corners, a MaxTac showing up to cordon off a place, or a shootout that breaks out between the NCPD and some rioters. As you walk through town, your quest actions keep you awestruck by the lore with jingles and blaring messages announcing the latest developments. There are also plenty of little secrets and easter eggs, from finding your very own feline friend in your apartment complex to discovering Dex's body in a junkyard a few days later, only to steal a gun from his body.

STALKER 2: Heart of Chernobyl

The Zone Is Its Own Character

I always thought that Zone v STALKER games are their own character. STALKER 2 delivered to perfection in this regard, despite all the humor and lackluster performance, thanks to its incredible environmental storytelling. Not only does Zone present Skif with a carefree challenge that forces you to take the next step, to survive and clean up (all part of the story!), but it also delivers the lore of the world and what came before and after in a slow, quiet, deliberate way.

STALKER games aren't known for being handheld, so you'll definitely have to rely on your best judgment and exploration to piece things together, from finding abandoned places, labs, campfires, and lone skeletons. The world is also very dynamic, living and breathing around you as if you were just a drop in its bucket rather than some kind of epic main protagonist. It's not uncommon to come across different zone factions clashing in the world. Your survival here depends on your ability to observe your environment and decide where to go next and what to do to move the story forward. It's the main challenge of the game because nothing is ever explicitly explained.

Elden Ring

Lore And Story Are In The Environment

Speaking of games that expect you to figure things out yourself, we have Elden Ring. The Lands Between oozes with lore and mystery that explain the events briefly touched upon in the game's opening sequence. Each major boss and large dungeon you must defeat to advance to the Erdtree is another part of the larger story of the demigods and their conflicts. This is why all the great old dungeons are so incredibly unique and why the devil is in the details.

Have you ever wondered why Leyndell's doors are all sealed with corpse wax, for example? Where did the fallen dragons come from and what is Farum Azula crumbling? What about the Albinaurici and their limited village? The grand vistas, the distinct appearance of each region, is no accident; they all tell a very deliberate story of a land that has suffered a great war, and we are just a small fly coming in, a humble defilement, trying to find our place among these great, mighty, and probably decaying demigods, dragons, and other, lesser creatures. Explore, observe and make up your own mind. FromSoftware really challenges you to be vigilant if you want to understand the world and its tragic story.