Good explorefag games

[lukaszek]

Unexpected shit happens in that game.

undead emerging from coffins or falmer/spiders from holes around you gets old really fast. However I loved that vampire dlc moment when 2 dragons break the ice and emerge while you are walking on frozen lake. Cool scenery, deadly(flat surface with no obstacles) with requiem on top makes very memorable experience. I guess it doesnt really fit exploration theme since its scripted event thats part of dlc main quest

 

[Nifft Batuff]

Underrail.

 

[Hag]

I'd suggest Crystal Project if you can get over the graphics. The world is massive, detailed, and rewarding. Basically no story to speak of, just all freeform exploration, looting and crafting your party into some sort of cheesy monstrosity. I gushed about it on the forums in a couple other places. Recommend playing on hard difficulty with default settings otherwise.

Looks interesting. How's combat ?

 

[Xorazm]

I know Pillars of Eternity isn't popular around here, but I though the second (Deadfire) pulled off exploration a lot better by having you wander around islands. I didn't realize I had all the DLC plugged in and man some of those "random" encounters got crazy deep, and unexpectedly difficult.

There's an indie project by a team which claims Morrowind as their primary inspiration. There's a demo for the interested: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1154960/Ardenfall/

Obviously different genres but Hollow Knight and Afterimage have got exploration for days.

Prey is another one which really pushes at the other limits of having RPG DNA but exploration is fantastic in that one.

Dwarf Fortress has an adventure mode I haven't played much with, but might be worth a look.

And then there's No Man's Sky is what you're really looking for in exploration is finding a whole lot of nothing, over and over and over again.

 

[Falksi]

Avernum: Escape From The Pit of course.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Realms of Arkania HD

 

[octavius]

Ultima Underworld was probably my best exploration experience in a game.

 

[Hoodoo]

World of Warcraft always had great zone design I thought.

 

[Louis_Cypher]

I enjoyed Legend of Grimrock 1 & 2.

Good thread.

 

[Arvennios]

I thought exploration was very good and rewarding in the Eschalon games, the games are very open and there's even a well thought and very handy "cartography" skill, the world map is tied to the skill, the higher your rating is, the more detailed the world map gets.

 

[Baron Tahn]

I'm gonna cop flak for this, but Bastard Bonds. It's err..a bit gay, but not as gay as half the bioware shit these days and it's got some pretty fun explorin. No homo.

 

[Saint_Proverbius]

And then there's No Man's Sky is what you're really looking for in exploration is finding a whole lot of nothing, over and over and over again.

No Man's Sky has added quite a bit of reasons to explore since it came out. On planets, you can find crashed space ships and even restore the small ships up to fully operational standards. They added a sci-fi horrorish themed things to find with derelict freighters in space and locations on the ground. They've added quite a few POI since launch.

As for games with exploration, Sacred was pretty good at exploration and even has lots and lots of books to find in containers that go deeper in to the lore a la The Elder Scrolls games.

 

[Iucounu]

The Long Dark: large handcrafted areas with lots of loot and environments to explore, along with very advanced gameplay mechanics.

ARK Survival Evolved: very large often very beautiful environments, maybe 200+ different animal species with advanced AI and gameplay mechanics.

Stalker Shadow of Chernobyl and Clear Sky: very nice handcrafted environments, lots of exploration, handplaced loot. Only a few RPG elements.

Subnautica: lots of nice exploration, but no RPG elements that I remember.

 

[JarlFrank]

I thought I liked combat too, but my current Geneforge playthrough has become a slog because of the constant trash mobs...

That doesn't mean you dislike combat, you just dislike shitty encounter design.
Play something with actual unique and challenging encounters instead, like Knights of the Chalice 2.

 

[NecroLord]

Stalker Shadow of Chernobyl and Clear Sky: very nice handcrafted environments, lots of exploration, handplaced loot. Only a few RPG elements.

Indeed.
Not RPGs, but the STALKER trilogy had great exploration with lots of secret areas.
Call of Pripyat had "stashes" where you could pick up all manner of items, mostly ammo, medkits and food. I still remember where many of the stashes are stored.

 

[I eat frozen vegetables]

Arx Fatalis

 

[Miner 2049er]

Shin Megami Tensei V (Vengeance), if JRPGs are considered.

 

[goregasm]

All varying genres of types of games and story, but a few somewhat recent ones come to mind and I'm sure some have been mentioned.

Kenshi
Balrum
Eschalon
RDR2
Grimrock (haven't gotten around to 2)
Stalker
KCD if you ignore the story
Outward
Souls Games
Underrail

I never played System Shock and had a fucking blast playing the remake and getting lost in the ship, definitely recommend that if you haven't played.

 

[Eisen]

Ultima Underworld

I guess Arx Fatalis counts too

 

[stephensmall]

Shin Megami Tensei V (Vengeance), if JRPGs are considered.

Did they expand the exploration aspect somehow in Vengeance? Vanilla V had one of the most uninspired and soulless open worlds out there.

 

[vitellus]

i loved jettatura and drawing the maps and exploring the dungeon, islands of the caliph was decent enough, the legends of amberland games are super satisfying in that m&m way; solasta; the siege of avalon anthology exists and from what i've played, it is very bg1&2 like.

 

[Louis_Cypher]

I will echo that Metroidvania is often the best genre for explorefags.

Someone also just released a game that is nothing but exploration, no combat even. Isles of Sea and Sky. Gorgeous "Link's Awakening" Gameboy art style. Followed it on Steam for years of development. Formerly called Akurra. I'm loving it:

 

[Louis_Cypher]

In terms of JRPGs, there are a lot of Japanese "grid map dungeon crawlers" in the style of WRPGs of old.

ATLUS did some notable ones.

First are formost, Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey, aside from being my favorite JRPG, had a nice map:

Then they released the Etrian Odyssey series, which I haven't played, but is fully just about grid exploration:

The 'adventure game' is the genre that is theoretically exploration in it's purest, getting the key to progress to the next room or puzzle, so things like Resident Evil 1 are explorefag experiences par excellance:

So in terms of explorefag stuff, there is a wide number of approaches. Metroidvanias, immersive sims like Deus Ex, adventure games like Resident Evil (exploring the mansion in RE1 is one of the truly best explorefag experiences ever), grid dungeon crawlers like Legend of Grimrock, etc. I love that sense of discovery and exploration.

 

[BlackAdderBG]

Playing Vagrus just now and that scratches that exploration itch. The combat could be better, but stocking your caravan with supplies and going to explore the map is kind of addicting.

 

[d1r]

I can wholeheartedly recommend Strange Journey Redux as well. The best dungeon crawler with the best map exploration out there. Every area has a very unique design to it, and there is so much hidden shit to find.