Highlights
- Ghost of Tsushima 's combat mechanics uses historical fighting stances, making it one of the most realistic samurai games.
- TheHunter: Call of the Wild offers extremely realistic hunting combat, with attention to detail on graphics, sound effects, and animal behavior.
- Dying Light 2 features realistic combat in a zombie-filled open world, with physics and reactions that enhance the immersive experience.
Open-world games are among the most popular as players love the freedom of being able to go where they want, when they want, with the ability to mold their own experience. Most open-world games tend to feature combat in one way or another, but while many simply strive for fun, more immersive games try to offer their players realistic combat mechanics.
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Fans of medieval warfare shouldn't pass up these great sword-and-shield adventures.
From medieval games that base their combat mechanics on real history sometimes using treatises in their research, to games set in the present day with lifelike shooting, there are plenty of great open-world games with realistic combat.
6 Ghost Of Tsushima
While the combat in Ghost of Tsushima isn't completely realistic and does have its flaws, it does a much better job than most other samurai games of using historical fighting stances. As one of the best games set in Japan, players must defend the island of Tsushima against the invading Mongols, formidable foes.
Ghost of Tsushima is one of the most beautiful and scenic games, the combat is equally pleasing to the eyes and is all about patience and outsmarting the enemy, allowing Jin to study the stances of his enemies to go in for swift and decisive strikes.
5 TheHunter: Call Of The Wild
TheHunter: Call of the Wild is by far the best hunting game available on the market and as a simulator, it has extremely realistic combat with guns that feel just as powerful as they do in real life. Players must also take the wind into account before firing, as well as understand the nature of their prey.
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The fact the game has absolutely stunning graphics and sound effects, also helps players immerse themselves in realistic hunting. However, it is the movement and behavior of the animals themselves that help make combat so realistic in TheHunter: Call of the Wild.
4 Dying Light 2
Dying Light 2
- Platform(s)
- PS5 , PC , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S , PS4 , Switch , Xbox One
- Released
- February 4, 2022
- Developer(s)
- Techland
The open-world zombie game, Especially after multiple updates, Dying Light 2, now has some of the most realistic combat, with more realistic physics and reactions from the zombies. Even though the game features sci-fi weapons and abilities, they feel real and immersive. Of course, the game's iconic drop-kick is not the best example of this, but is nonetheless extremely fun to use.
Human enemies such as bandits also offer realistic fights, respecting the player and dodging rather than just running into the warm embrace of death like opponents in other games.
3 Arma 3
Arma 3
- Platform(s)
- PC
- Released
- September 12, 2013
- Developer(s)
- Bohemia Interactive
- Genre(s)
- FPS , Tactical
Arma 3 is a strategic military sandbox game that happens to be one of the best war games of all time and also has extremely realistic combat. The game is absolutely massive and aims to bring immersive and authentic modern warfare to players who are then able to use the tools provided to create their own experiences and stories.
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Cruising around an open world can be a lot of fun if the mechanics are pulled off properly.
This military simulation game features over 20 different vehicles and over 40 weapons, all of which work just as they do in real life, and although the shooting feels great, it is the tactical aspect of the game that players love so much.
2 S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow Of Chernobyl
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl
- Released
- March 20, 2007
- Developer(s)
- GSC Game World
- Genre(s)
- FPS , Survival Horror
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl is a dark and brutal open-world survival game that gets combat just right. In the unforgiving former exclusion territory near the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant, players must survive by thriving, never appearing weak, and often this involves taking down mutants or thugs with whatever weapon they can their hands on.
Each weapon hits hard, but the enemy hits harder and unlike other games where players will simply heal over time, a single bullet can mean death in S.T.A.L.K.E.R. if players don't have a bandage to hand to stem the bleeding.
1 Kingdom Come: Deliverance
Kingdom Come: Deliverance is easily one of the best medieval games of all time, and as a game that prides itself on historical accuracy, it is no surprise that it also features realistic combat. The combat is inspired by Historical European Martial Arts or HEMA and unlike other forms of media that depict medieval knights cutting through armor like butter, players will have to be much more patient and wait for openings.
Even in the later stages of the game when protagonist Henry has honed his martial prowess, players will find that they can rarely take on more than two opponents at once unless they themselves are fully armed fighting against unarmored opponents. Combat in KCD is all about stances and guard positions, rather than just mindless slashing.