Open world games where you are insignificant

Games are the perfect way to deliver fantasy of power right into our hands. Become a great Warlock with special abilities and powerful swords. Be the Last Dragonborn, destined to save all of Skyrim and Tamriel, or be the Doom Guy, throwing himself into a horde of demons. Video games allow you to live out your dreams of becoming a famous hero, but there are also games that take a different approach and you start out as a complete nobody and either have to prove yourself through trial and error or you'll never end up becoming something big – you'll just survive.

The magic of a game like this is the satisfaction of proving the game's expectations wrong. A lot of us players love a good challenge and high odds against us. If you think about some of the iconic, epic stories like lord of the ringsyou see this trope of the humble nobody rise to become something more. It's clear that it can, even if it's not everyone's cup of tea when gaming. If you too would like to experience your hero's journey from nothing to something, these games are for you.

STALKER games

Just another STALKER in the zone

A harsh world STALKER the games are not an epic tale of glory and heroism. It's about survival in a world torn apart by a nuclear meltdown, leaving behind a hostile zone traversed by stalkers and controlled by mutants, anomalies and warring factions. In every game, the premise is always roughly the same: you're just another guy trying to get by and learn how to avoid getting fried by bigger fish right away.

Sure, you'll be a little tougher and a little more prepared as you learn how the world works and how to navigate the wilderness and what to look for while managing your limited inventory and rare resources, but you'll always be just a regular stalker. No one fears or respects you right out of the gates, and the endings of every game are grim, to say the least.

Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord

Start As Nothing, Rise As A Conqueror

While STALKER the world wants to impress despair and hopelessness on you by making you a nobody, in Bannerlordit feels more like a blank slate bursting with potential. Whether you play this game in sandbox or campaign mode, you start with virtually nothing. No country to your name, no political power to speak of, and only a few men to fight by your side, let alone resources.

Both the story and the sandbox force you to work hard towards something meaningful, although in the sandbox you can define what that means. You could rise as the conqueror of an entire continent, uniting it under one rule, or you could be perfectly content with the life of a nomadic warrior and lend your aid to anyone in need. Either way, all heroes, big and small, start out the same in this medieval simulation.

External

Nobody In The Rough Fantasy World

If you like the games Skyrim and The Witcher 3 you feel too important and too powerful too fast boy can i suggest you a game. External is the perfect counterbalance because it spits you out into the world and rubs it in your face how ordinary you are. His survival mechanic is one of the main ways he humbles you. You have to take care of yourself like a normal everyday Joe-Schmoe, drink, eat and sleep, manage your pack and fight off any diseases or infections if you get sick or injured.

To get better at something or even dream of fighting the monsters that roam the wilderness, you need to get your hands on some trainers. This isn't a game where you just mow down enemies until you get better. With no fast travel available, you also need to think carefully about where you're headed next, what route to take, and whether you're even ready for such a long journey. The last Dragonborn would never!

The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind

Nerevarine? You? Nonsense!

If you're familiar with Bethesda's RPGs, you're well aware that the latest ones tend to treat you as a chosen hero who is respected and sought after right from the start. Oblivion The Emperor has entrusted you, a mere captive, with an important task, and before you know it, you've helped seal the gate to Oblivion and are the Hero of Kvatch. Meanwhile in Skyrimyou happen to be the Last Dragonborn, the continent's only hope to keep the dragon menace at bay.

Morrowind he doesn't give you that luxury. From the start, you are treated as a pawn, a tool for something important in local politics, not necessarily an important person. Few even believe that you could actually be the chosen one. From there, an unforgettable story begins, during which you have to prove to everyone that you are, in fact, important, despite being an outsider. In addition to the main quest, factions are also more difficult to enter and progress through as they require you to build up. Nothing is given to you and it's almost new for a Bethesda RPG.

gothic games

You are worthless until proven otherwise

The Gothic games are notorious for making players feel small right from the start. In the beginning, you are a completely insignificant speck, and the world likes to remind you of that. One way to do this is through factions and how they treat you. No one tries to recruit or find you, but instead requires you to prove your usefulness by earning the faction's trust and respect through hard work and quests.

Until you do, you will literally be brushed off by many NPCs. Some will be downright mean to you. Add in how difficult the fight is at the beginning and you really have a long way to go to think highly of yourself. A mere wolf can cast a death spell on you so quickly that you begin to question your sanity. It's a humbling experience indeed, but it's all the more satisfying to rise from the ashes.

Kenshi

Whether you live or die is irrelevant

A thing to understand Kenshi's the world is that it's almost like a simulation. This is what sets it apart from many other games, as the world works in a dynamic, independent way that makes you irrelevant. Factions will fight each other while you die in the desert. There is no grand quest or plot to propel you forward. You are thrown into this world and free to do whatever you want.

Well, with a caveat. In the beginning, you are absolutely miserable. You're practically a wimp, and when the bad guys catch you, they cut you down faster than you can think of running away. It's not unlikely that you'll spend some time being held as a slave or just bleeding out in the wilderness while your other character comes running to your rescue. Even later in the game when you have a fortified base, you still run the risk of facing threats that can destroy your progress if you're not careful and strategic.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2

Even after the first game, you're still nobody

Without spoiling too many details from the first and even the second game, while Henry is technically an important character, the reset that occurs between the two games is masterfully done. In the first game, Henry goes from being a simple peasant to a war hero, but in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2he returns to the life of a simple blacksmith.

It's a pretty good reflection of the political hierarchy of the two games during the Middle Ages, where your blood determines your position more than your actions. Aside from this system getting stuck in your head fairly quickly, the game's realistic combat reminds you that you're only as good as your blade skills. You will have to learn and be patient with it or you will perish.

Elden Ring

Little Tarnished has a long way to go

Elden Ring is one of my favorite games when it comes to creating a story with a zero hero. Story-wise, you enter The Lands Between when all hell has already broken loose and the effects of the Elden Ring's shattering are everywhere. The only person who can restore hope? Definitely not without the Tarnished maiden. Well, at least Melina gets to be our “girl” so that's covered. But as Tarnished and as FromSoftware's hero, the world is quick to let you know that it thinks of you as more than a speck of dust to be swept away.

One of the first examples is your fight with Margit the Fell Omen, who calls us “Foul Tarnished”, stupid and naive for being fueled by our flame of ambition. When we fight him and engage his second phase, he backs off, “Well, you can pass.” This doubt lingers throughout the game, constantly, and oppressive enemies, often stronger and bigger than us, let us know that we are alone against an army of abominations.