Given how cathartic video games have become, it's almost impossible for this medium to really say something meaningful that doesn't aggravate the player in the process. While games are meant to evoke emotion, it's harder to sell the experience when said emotion isn't a particularly positive one. It's these reasons that have popularized the idea of open-world gaming, with players being able to do pretty much everything they want in these sandboxes with little to no meaningful consequences.
However, there are some games that strive to recreate the actual nuances of living in a world where freedom can be an illusion, even if it comes to the detriment of a player's enjoyment. For what it's worth, the following games are popular specifically because they deconstruct the open-world genre and provide a fresh experience that is unlike anything ever seen before in this particular aspect of gaming.
10 Mafia
The Mafia trilogy forms some of the most unique open-world experiences around, even if the third game might make too many sacrifices when it comes to the DNA of the series. However, the first two titles did a great job of incorporating an open world where players needed to stay within their limits.
Driving too fast, running people over, or everything else along the same lines would lead to strict police intervention that can be hard to get rid of. On top of that, the violent confrontations in these games make it clear that leading a life of crime is anything but rewarding, unlike other games in the same genre.
9 Deadly Premonition
Deadly Premonition is a unique detective game that fans of Twin Peaks will definitely enjoy. The title itself is quite janky, has many puzzling mechanics, and can take quite a while to get used to.
The very act of using a car can prove to be a downright chore, with players having to refuel and maintain the car at regular intervals. However, it's moments like these that show just how stubborn Deadly Premonition really is when it comes to sticking to its vision.
8 Death Stranding
Exploration is definitely a huge part of any video game, but nowhere is it gamified more than Death Stranding. There's a reason why this game was so polarizing upon launch, with its off-the-beat mechanics being quite jarring for fans of open-world games that have been following a template for the longest time.
Death Stranding doesn't shy away from frustrating players if they ignore its unique traversal mechanics. Going from Point A to Point B becomes a riveting gameplay experience, to the point where the shoehorned combat segments feel pretty out-of-place in comparison.
7 Kingdom Come: Deliverance
Most people would assume that playing a medieval open-world game would be a blast, and it is... in most games that utilize this setting. However, Kingdom Come: Deliverance makes it clear that medieval times were harsh, with death awaiting people at every corner.
Henry is the son of a blacksmith, and he definitely fights like one. Without proper training, pretty much every bandit in this vicious world will turn Henry into a walking pincushion before he can even think of delivering his father's sword in the first place.
6 Shenmue
Shenmue is one of the most legendary open-world games of all time. It cost a pretty penny to be developed and never ended up recouping these costs despite the substantial investment.
Controlling Ryo Hazuki as he strives to get revenge for his father's murder makes for a great time, even with all the busy work that goes into living out a virtual life with a proper day-night cycle. Certain events get locked out at specific times, and players need to keep track of the time if they want to avoid any needless frustrations.
5 Gothic
Gothic is a pretty underrated fantasy RPG set in a brutal open world where death awaits the player at every corner. It doesn't help that the combat system of Gothic is pretty obtuse and will heavily punish the player for the smallest mistakes.
Every NPC has a routine, and players need to actually learn combat moves and the like from fighting veterans to even stand a chance of battling a ton of enemies in the overworld. Gothic may be frustrating early on, but it's pretty rewarding for players who power through its brutal difficulty.
4 Minecraft
Minecraft took one single concept of letting players use blocks in whatever way they want and added a massive sandbox for players to experiment around with this mechanic. If that wasn't good enough as is, then Minecraft also populated its world with a bunch of interesting things that players would love to check out.
The end result is an amazing sandbox where players can get lost for hours on end. There's a reason why Minecraft is one of the most popular video games around, and this boundless freedom is a huge reason why this is the case.
3 Kenshi
Players who don't know what Kenshi is all about and play their first game completely blind unwittingly embark on a speedrun to become a tortured slave. The title is brutal, and players who have no clue what they're doing will either lose all their limbs or have their organs harvested by nefarious individuals.
In a way, the sense of freedom provided by this game is so overwhelming that people have no clue which path to take. However, this is the beauty of Kenshi — each and every playthrough becomes a unique experience, with the oppressed becoming the oppressor once they learn the death of the game's mechanics.
2 Middle-Earth: Shadow Of Mordor
The Nemesis system in Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor is one of the most revolutionary mechanics ever introduced in a video game. It's a shame that this unique system has been copyrighted since other games could've gone all out with the reactive nature of the Nemesis system.
Each and every orc that players will fight in their playthrough is unique, and it's the manner in which players can interact with them that makes Shadow of Mordor and its sequel such a blast. Players can be defeated by other orcs, have these chieftains seek them out for revenge, betray them during a battle, or just be caught off-guard during an ambush!
1 The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild
In a way, Breath of the Wild is more of a reconstruction of the open-world genre than a deconstruction, showing major AAA developers exactly what has been missing in their games. The fact that this open-world title completely removes a compass that gives them a hint for any areas of interest makes for a brilliant mechanic.
This forces players to actually look at the map they're traversing and mark areas of interest as they witness from afar. It's this amazing open-world design that has made Breath of the Wild such a unique title, and fans can't wait to see how Tears of the Kingdom will build upon this design ethos.
