SubJeff on 23/2/2013 at 09:58
To be honest I'm surprised and a little bit sad that there aren't more of these. The Metroid Prime games were real fun to explore.
june gloom on 23/2/2013 at 10:01
Especially the 1st and 3rd. The 3rd has some really creepy moments to it.
Sulphur on 23/2/2013 at 10:03
Quote Posted by Jason Moyer
I haven't played a ton of it yet, but I'd second that. I'm kind of surprised it hasn't gotten more love around here, really.
I guess it's hard to get over the grottiness of its presentation from the screenshots/trailer. People should post more about it.
I guess if you take out puzzling, Stalker: SoC fits into those parameters at a high level - especially in terms of atmosphere and detail - but I'm sure you've already played it.
Try Pathologic, if you can stomach its translation and the unrelenting sense of decay. It's... not pretty, but it's quite something.
june gloom on 23/2/2013 at 10:15
The truth is, I'd been wondering about this sort of thing myself. I love games with a heavy emphasis on exploration, or even so much letting you poke around a bit in your linear path like Half-Life does.
That being said...
I know it's not first person and that's like, the main criteria here, BUT... Dark Souls is straight up one of the best games I've played so far this year. While I have things to do that keep me from playing it all the time, and sometimes I just have to put the game down for a bit, I am absolutely adamant about persevering. I'm constantly poking around and finding new things and it's just so much... you know what it reminds me of? Old-school survival horror games, like for the PSX. You have to really approach combat with caution, you start off trying to conquer one area and gradually begin pushing into other places....
twisty on 23/2/2013 at 13:01
Some recent examples with plenty of satisfying exploration:
* Deus Ex Human Revolution
* Fallout & F New Vegas
* Far Cry 3
* Skyrim
Shadowcat on 23/2/2013 at 21:01
Realms of the Haunting probably fits the criteria. I always felt it had a lot in common with System Shock.
Trespasser may or may not scratch that itch. I'm not sure it's exactly what you're after, but it was the very first thing that sprang to mind when I saw the thread title, and a sense of genuine exploration was one of the main things I took away from playing it.
SubJeff on 23/2/2013 at 21:16
I thought DXHR was pretty poor in this respect.
catbarf on 24/2/2013 at 02:26
I know it really doesn't fit the guidelines you specified, but have you played Minecraft at all? The procedural generation in that game is pretty good, there's a very strong exploration element if you want to play it that way.
demagogue on 24/2/2013 at 02:37
Some of the mods for Minecraft bring out the exploration elements too... The Enchanted Forest one, the Aether one, Equivalent Exchange... Also the adventure maps people make. Actually, those are the best exploration maps in the same vein Thief FMs were, except they aren't limited by size, so brings out the exploration side more. Very easy to load up too. Yeah, definitely try some of them out.
Speaking of which, some guy is making a procedurally generated world-game like Minecraft ((
http://procworld.blogspot.com/) VoxelFarm), except the geometry is realistic, like a Skyrim world. I think when it comes out, it'll make a big splash and be the best game for pure exploration, like Skyrim but procedurally generated. And if it gets modded like Minecraft is, and has adventure maps, it'll be like the perfect sandbox game.
Goldmoon Dawn on 24/2/2013 at 04:46
If you enjoy the experimental nature of Thief I, you owe it to yourself to play Ultima Underworld to at least see where it all started. If you havent done so already of course. And it serves the era well to also observe Ultima 6 and 7. If you liked the Underworlds, you could play Might and Magic 4 and 5 to see where Underworld came from, as it was a greatly enhanced version of MM4-5. All of these games are known for their exploratory nature and are all classics in their own right. Might and Magic 6 is essentially the "Dark Project" of the series and warrants special attention. The graphics are dated now, as they were then, but the charm the series is known for is in full effect. Be sure to look out for the "undercover mission". :sly:
