The best first-person exploration games of all time, ranked

The first person view in video games it is often used to make the game more immersive. After all, it mimics the view you would have if you were in your avatar's skin rather than moving it around with a controller. Although most commonly used for first-person shooters, this perspective offers much more.

Take these other games. They are undoubtedly first-person games, but there are no fights to worry about. Instead, it's about everything survey. What they do with this exploration varies, but it's usually used to tell a deeper and more compelling story than would be possible if guns kept getting in the way. These games stand as some of the the best first person exploration games ever, largely because they tell a story so compelling that you're forced to keep exploring to uncover more details.

Arrange the covers in the correct US release order.

Easy (5)Medium (7)heavy (10)

Start

Arrange the covers in the correct US release order.

Easy (5) Medium (7) Hard (10)Start

8

Gone Home

Uncovering the secrets in your childhood home

Set in the 1980s, Gone Home follows a young woman who returns home from overseas to find her family absent, leaving her with only a letter to go on. Missing? Not necessarily. There is no supernatural danger or nefarious mystery to unravel. However, she still needs to find out where her family has gone, even though the letter begs her not to investigate their absence.

In that vein, you'll piece together the events leading up to her family's departure by exploring the house she grew up in. You can tackle this exploration in any order you see fit, as the entire game is meant to be a non-linear experience. You're really only here for the story, and what a story it is, filled with impressive depth of character about a group of people you'll never actually meet.

7

The Disappearance of Ethan Carter

Use supernatural powers to solve the Carter family murders

If the supernatural is more your speed, then The Disappearance of Ethan Carter is the way to go. The game is similarly designed to allow for non-linear progression, but in this case you'll be investigating a series of murders in a small Wisconsin town. Contacted by a 12-year-old boy named Ethan Carter, Paul Prospero travels to Red Creek Valley to investigate a series of paranormal events. After they arrive, Paul finds that Ethan has disappeared and the rest of the Carters have been killed.

You'll use a mix of investigative puzzle solving and stealth to solve various murders throughout the area, switching between them as the situation calls for. Much like he went home the story – and the mystery at its core – are the main drivers here. However, there is more gameplay involved as you piece together the events leading up to each death.

6

What's Left of Edith Finch

Discover the truth behind the family curse

What's Left of Edith Finch is a more linear experience, instead guiding you through narrative and narrative vignettes from one story to the next. While there are still investigative elements to engage with, you're unlikely to miss anything during the progression, which will be a selling point for some and a knock against it for others.

The reason it ranks higher than the previous games is because while all three have stories that are on par, What's Left of Edith Finch reaches a much more extensive level. It is about the Finch family, as recorded by Edith in her diary, who have continually succumbed to what she believes is a family curse. As you progress through playing as Edith, you will learn about the demise of each family member, dating back almost a century and continuing to the present day. It's a deeply tragic and moving story with a lot of uncertainty that you have to dig into even after the credits roll.

5

PT

Break out of a terrifying loop

PT

Systems

Released

August 12, 2014

ESRB

m

It's hard to overstate what a loss Silent Hills was for the gaming industry, but the fact that PT it's rated here as one of the best first-person games of all time, and it's just a playable trailer for what the full game would be, speaks volumes. Hideo Kojima's take on Konami's flagship horror franchise feels like it's been forever, but we'll never know.

Unfortunately, if you haven't downloaded PT when it was originally available, you can't play it today. However, those who have access to it have no doubts about its greatness. The winding corridors of a small suburban house become progressively scarier as the ghostly Lisa stalks you more boldly with each passing moment. PT is a testament to what video games can achieve with a simple concept executed to perfection.

4

Firewatch

First day as a fire lookout

Firewatch is about two main characters. Sure, there's a mystery to solve that involves some missing kids, breaking into Henry's lookout tower, and a strange figure watching you from afar, but the plot only works because its two main characters—Henry and his fire watch neighbor, Delilah—have such fantastic chemistry that it makes for a deeply immersive story experience.

This is especially impressive because you never get to meet Delilah in person. Instead, she and Henry communicate exclusively via walkie-talkie. But despite the distance between them, it's impossible not to get drawn into the growing bond between them. Their insecurities, personal tragedies, and ultimately their fears and doubts surface as they piece together what is happening in the surrounding forest. By the end, you'll be wishing the game had continued so you could hear them chat even more.

3

SOMA

What does it mean to be “yourself”?

SOMA

8/10

Released

September 15, 2015

Technically speaking, SOMA is a survival horror game, but there is no combat to speak of, and only a few times will you face enemies of any kind. The rest of the game is spent exploring an abandoned undersea research station that contains the occasional broken robot that speaks in a way that seems all too human. It's basically a horror walking simulator, but don't let that put you off.

SOMA asks a very philosophical question: What makes you? He answers this question in as psychologically terrifying a way as possible. Aside from light puzzle solving, your exploration will mostly present the inevitable instances where you will be forced to question your own consciousness and your own physical being. It's a powerfully impressive game that's hard to forget, despite the lack of combat.

2

Blue Prince

Claim your inheritance

Roguelites are usually about creating a combat lineup that can take you from the start of a run to the end in a single life, but Blue Prince approaches the matter a little differently. Instead of creating a character, you create the layout (plan, if you will) of a massive mansion with the goal of reaching the elusive 46th chamber at the end of it. The thing is, the mansion is absolutely jam-packed with puzzles, and the clue you need for one puzzle is often in a completely different room.

Therefore, you will need to constantly explore, plan your routes and even take physical notes in order to progress. While this may sound frustrating (especially with the roguelite RNG running all the time), Blue Prince he will never punish you for failure. It's a game that wants you to succeed, yet challenges you along the way to achieve that goal. Once things start to fall into place, you're rewarded with one of the most satisfying feelings of accomplishment to be found in the gaming medium.

1

The outer wilderness

Use the time loop to stop the end of the universe

Very few games make exploration as rewarding as this The outer wilderness. There is literally nothing else to do here; you explore, discover new information and use it to explore “better” somewhere else. The game's brilliance lies in its completely non-linear approach and the way it encourages your curiosity above all else.

Sure, you'll get brief instructions on where to go to get your ship for starters. After that, it's up to you which of the solar system's five planets, two moons, or one comet you want to explore first. There are also space stations to look into, black holes to fall into, and more. If that sounds aimless, it's not. You spend the game trapped in a 22-minute time loop that ends with the sun exploding, forcing you to make the most of your time. Best of all, the payoff is excellent, one of the best and most fulfilling endings in video game history. In large part, this is because reaching that end is earned. You have to figure out every step in the process and the only way to do that is to pick a goal and see what you can learn.