The haunting peace of being lost

[Spiderhead]

Not really sure what to say other than that this video explains so well on why I get so much enjoyment out of pre DLC Fallout 76, Generation Zero and Breath of the Wild. I like the feeling of being alone and taking in sites of a destroyed and forgotten world, while being surrounded by nature and taking everything in at my own pace.

 

[Deleted member 24118]

Being lost is good and fun until you hear the footsteps.

 

[Greywaren]

I don't think I've ever felt as alone and lost in a game as I did in Outer Wilds. It was terrifying, but also weirdly peaceful. I strongly recommend it to anyone who enjoys the thrill of everything around you being huge and unknown and overwhelming and having no idea why you're suddenly in outer space after falling through a wormhole while hearing your own heavy breathing.

 

[Deleted member 16876]

God of War Greek Saga had a lot of this. The games sometimes take you into big holes underwater and lots of traps so it feels like you are very far from civilization.

 

[Yossarian]

I don't think I've ever felt as alone and lost in a game as I did in Outer Wilds. It was terrifying, but also weirdly peaceful. I strongly recommend it to anyone who enjoys the thrill of everything around you being huge and unknown and overwhelming and having no idea why you're suddenly in outer space after falling through a wormhole while hearing your own heavy breathing.

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Manages to whiplash effortlessly between whimsy and existential dread. Those times when you are in outer space without your ship anywhere nearby are horrifying.

 

[Transistor]

I don't think I've ever felt as alone and lost in a game as I did in Outer Wilds. It was terrifying, but also weirdly peaceful. I strongly recommend it to anyone who enjoys the thrill of everything around you being huge and unknown and overwhelming and having no idea why you're suddenly in outer space after falling through a wormhole while hearing your own heavy breathing.

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I can't stress enough how amazing this game is. Actually having to learn the solar system and figure things out was just truly sublime.

Getting lost can be one of the most amazing feelings in a video game.

My nomination and one of my all time favorite "getting lost" games:

 

[Tagyhag]

Huh, now that I think about it. I can't remember the last game that I played where I felt truly lost. Maybe Morrowind? I remember having to use the physical map that the game came with. It was such a cool feeling.

I need to stop using in-game maps or get rid of UI elements. I wouldn't mind recapturing that feeling.

 

[Son of Liberty]

I don't think I've ever felt as alone and lost in a game as I did in Outer Wilds. It was terrifying, but also weirdly peaceful. I strongly recommend it to anyone who enjoys the thrill of everything around you being huge and unknown and overwhelming and having no idea why you're suddenly in outer space after falling through a wormhole while hearing your own heavy breathing.

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Beautiful game, easily one of my favorites of all time.

 

[Goldenroad]

It's what makes the Metroid Prime games amongst my favorite action adventure games ever. OG Zelda games (pre-hand holding), were incredible and conveying that feeling as well.

 

[The Shape]

I don't think I've ever felt as alone and lost in a game as I did in Outer Wilds. It was terrifying, but also weirdly peaceful. I strongly recommend it to anyone who enjoys the thrill of everything around you being huge and unknown and overwhelming and having no idea why you're suddenly in outer space after falling through a wormhole while hearing your own heavy breathing.

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Thinking about that spikey thing, Dark Bramble I guess, still has me feeling anxious and with shortness of breath. I almost couldn't handle it at all, but I perceived and finished the game.

 

[Kurtikeya]

Expected a Shadow of the Colossus mention but since it's not there, I want to shout out the fact that even if you've memorized the map in that game, the sense of wandering is never gone. And that's because of how anatopic the Forbidden Lands are. You're at a lush jungle and suddenly arrive at a desert in a flash.

Inside is the same. The trajectory of your journey doesn't make sense, and you'll traverse everything from farmlands, to the metro, to research facilities.

 

[Spiderhead]

It's what makes the Metroid Prime games amongst my favorite action adventure games ever. OG Zelda games (pre-hand holding), were incredible and conveying that feeling as well.

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Metroid Prime is my favourite game of all time, and that's one of the reasons why. I adore the environmental story telling in the game, and the atmosphere.

I don't think I've ever felt as alone and lost in a game as I did in Outer Wilds. It was terrifying, but also weirdly peaceful. I strongly recommend it to anyone who enjoys the thrill of everything around you being huge and unknown and overwhelming and having no idea why you're suddenly in outer space after falling through a wormhole while hearing your own heavy breathing.

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I really outta play this game. The "time limit" has me worried though too. I know it just resets back but it kind of scares me.

 

[Greywaren]

I really outta play this game. The "time limit" has me worried though too. I know it just resets back but it kind of scares me.

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Don't worry too much about the time limit. You have plenty of time in each loop and you eventually learn how to move quickly around every area, so you have more than enough time to do everything.

 

[JuniperAndSage]

This is my favorite feeling in video games.

 

[Nocturnowl]

I remember watching this vid a few weeks back when it dropped and actually I just watched his latest on rage quitting just a few hours ago, also recommended, it's a good channel.
I was expecting something on the fun of getting lost in a more tense panicked sense like "where's a dang save room/bench/bonfire?!" but what I got instead also works
Shadow of the Colossus was probably the first game that had me reflect on the sense of peace a vast quiet space could offer via a video game, I'd echo the poster being surprised of its absence from the vid but I guess you can't cover them all (also Ico on a similar note)

 

[Spiderhead]

Don't worry too much about the time limit. You have plenty of time in each loop and you eventually learn how to move quickly around every area, so you have more than enough time to do everything.

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I'll watch for a sale on ps4 and play it on ps5, thanks for the reminder about the games existence :)

 

[Huey]

SOTC or "Getting Lost: The Game"

Never encountered another game where exploration was so truly its own goal.

 

[Spiderhead]

SOTC or "Getting Lost: The Game"

Never encountered another game where exploration was so truly its own goal.

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I never finished it, and I gotta finish it. Loved it.

 

[Ciao]

I don't remember feeling lost at all in OG shadow of the colossus. You had the sword ray and knew where to go. Morrowing tho. Never experienced such sense of exploration since that game. Breath of the Wild maybe?

 

[Deleted member 37928]

Well there's a difference between being lost in a beautiful forest of Breath of the Wild and then being stuck deep inside a cave system in Outer Wilds that is quickly filling up with sand.

 

[Huey]

I never finished it, and I gotta finish it. Loved it.

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The remake is incredible, despite the total failure to capture the emotions in Wander's facial expressions. Highly recommend it for your purposes.

I don't remember feeling lost at all in OG shadow of the colossus. You had the sword ray and knew where to go. Morrowing tho. Never experienced such sense of exploration since that game. Breath of the Wild maybe?

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You're right the game does have reasonable way finding with the sword, but there were definite times I recall during my first playthrough where I was a bit lost, especially in the canyons in the southern part of the map. But it's more just the ability to "go get lost" in the world, the set off in a direction and find some new carefully curated piece of the world that exists for no other real reason than to explore it and soak it in. There's no reason to be galloping full speed on Agro's back through the surf on the "Ico Beach," but that doesn't make it less enjoyable.

To top it off, even the small rewards the game does give for exploration - the white tailed lizards and the fruit - are never even indicated to players as rewards/bonuses. I'm sure there are players that play through the game and never know they're there. So it is literally just through exploration and trial the player finds out about their (very real) benefits.

 

[Calamari41]

I don't think I've ever felt as alone and lost in a game as I did in Outer Wilds. It was terrifying, but also weirdly peaceful. I strongly recommend it to anyone who enjoys the thrill of everything around you being huge and unknown and overwhelming and having no idea why you're suddenly in outer space after falling through a wormhole while hearing your own heavy breathing.

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The haunting peace of entering the atmosphere of Giant's Deep for the first time.

 

[Ciao]

The remake is incredible, despite the total failure to capture the emotions in Wander's facial expressions. Highly recommend it for your purposes.

You're right the game does have reasonable way finding with the sword, but there were definite times I recall during my first playthrough where I was a bit lost, especially in the canyons in the southern part of the map. But it's more just the ability to "go get lost" in the world, the set off in a direction and find some new carefully curated piece of the world that exists for no other real reason than to explore it and soak it in. There's no reason to be galloping full speed on Agro's back through the surf on the "Ico Beach," but that doesn't make it less enjoyable.

To top it off, even the small rewards the game does give for exploration - the white tailed lizards and the fruit - are never even indicated to players as rewards/bonuses. I'm sure there are players that play through the game and never know they're there. So it is literally just through exploration and trial the player finds out about their (very real) benefits.

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I didn't knew about the lizards when I played the game. I learned about them a decade later. So at the time, exploring didn't seem to bring any reward. Of course you could just go anywhere randomly, but that's something I can now appreciate as an adult who like contemplative stuff. At the time, I was like 16/17 and needed a new weapon or a stack of gold at the end of a stretch of land or it wasn't worth it! I should play the remake, see how I experience the game now !

 

[Hippopuncher12]

I used to love getting lost in games, but these days it just gets on my nerves for the most part, not as much time and way more games to play means I want to go from start to finish quickly. It's still fun every once in awhile though.

 

[Unicorn]

This just came out and is EXACTLY what the OP is talking about. It's the most Morrowind kind of world exploration I've played since. The maps are scrawled by goblins and require you to use the environment to figure out where you are on it (no player tracked marker - need to ID a landmark or town to regain your bearings).

Tenderfoot Tactics |OT| The Joys of Exploration and Strategy OT

Platform(s): PC (Windows, Mac, Linux) Release Date: October 21st, 2020 Genre: Strategy RPG Price: $24.99 (Launch discount available) Player(s): 1 Format: Digital Developer: Badru, Michael Bell, Isa Hutchinson, Taylor Thomas, Zoe Vartanian, Madison Pathe Publisher: Ice Water Games Size: ~1GB...

www.resetera.com

 

[Spiderhead]

This just came out and is EXACTLY what the OP is talking about. It's the most Morrowind kind of world exploration I've played since. The maps are scrawled by goblins and require you to use the environment to figure out where you are on it (no player tracked marker - need to ID a landmark or town to regain your bearings).

Tenderfoot Tactics |OT| The Joys of Exploration and Strategy OT

Platform(s): PC (Windows, Mac, Linux) Release Date: October 21st, 2020 Genre: Strategy RPG Price: $24.99 (Launch discount available) Player(s): 1 Format: Digital Developer: Badru, Michael Bell, Isa Hutchinson, Taylor Thomas, Zoe Vartanian, Madison Pathe Publisher: Ice Water Games Size: ~1GB...

www.resetera.com

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That looks neat, don't have a PC to play on, so I'll hope for a console release.

 

[Kapryov]

My nomination and one of my all time favorite "getting lost" games:

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Getting lost in this game was a highlight of 2004 for me (GOTY version on Xbox).
I used to pick a location with that awesome physical map it came with, and then try to go find it in game. Often getting lost and discovering something else on the way, sometimes getting stuck in a weird location being attacked by cliffracers and trying to find somewhere to hide. It was magical.

 

[Unicorn]

Getting lost in this game was a highlight of 2004 for me (GOTY version on Xbox).
I used to pick a location with that awesome physical map it came with, and then try to go find it in game. Often getting lost and discovering something else on the way, sometimes getting stuck in a weird location being attacked by cliffracers and trying to find somewhere to hide. It was magical.

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I'm STILL finding new things in Morrowind!

 

[LookAtMeGo]

I don't think I've ever felt as alone and lost in a game as I did in Outer Wilds. It was terrifying, but also weirdly peaceful. I strongly recommend it to anyone who enjoys the thrill of everything around you being huge and unknown and overwhelming and having no idea why you're suddenly in outer space after falling through a wormhole while hearing your own heavy breathing.

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Such an amazing game. That feeling I got when things started to come together on the Sun Station was unlike anything I've ever felt in a game before. The satisfaction of figuring out some of its secrets is unmatched. Really a remarkable game.

 

[Ravelle]

The haunting peace of entering the atmosphere of Giant's Deep for the first time.

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As much as it became annoying after the 15th time you misjumped, the first time was something special. Floating to your inevitable doom, with only your breathe and accepting this is the end.

 

[ray_caster]

Not really sure what to say other than that this video explains so well on why I get so much enjoyment out of pre DLC Fallout 76, Generation Zero and Breath of the Wild. I like the feeling of being alone and taking in sites of a destroyed and forgotten world, while being surrounded by nature and taking everything in at my own pace.

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Have you ever played the first Unreal, OP?

 

[Spiderhead]

Have you ever played the first Unreal, OP?

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I have not.

 

[Yossarian]

My nomination and one of my all time favorite "getting lost" games:

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Great shout.

 

[Unicorn]

The haunting peace of entering the atmosphere of Giant's Deep for the first time.

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You mean the waves of panic attacks and frantic scrambling to escape the atmosphere of an entirely nightmare ocean?!

 

[Deleted member 56803]

• Pathologic 2
• Outer Wilds
• Hollow Knight
• SHadow of the COlossus
• Subnautica

 

[NekoNeko]

i never really felt lost in any game other than in Hollow Knight and i fucking hated it.

in BOTW you're never lost.

 

[Noema]

One of the reasons I prefer Dark Souls 1 over the sequels. You don't have fast travel for the first half of the game, so if you are knee deep in the bottom of the swamp in Blighttown (or even worse, Ashen Lake) you know you have to arduously crawl your way back into the surface. So now you are stuck in this horrible, dreadful, hostile shithole and you know that you have no choice but to press forward.

It feels like a journey into an abyss and none of the subsequent From games managed to capture that since teleporting back to safety is always a couple of button presses away.

 

[Tuorom]

Elder Scrolls is the best for this, and probably why there isn't a lot of competition in that space. It takes a lot of resources to make a world really explorable. Half the fun of Morrowind/Oblivion/Skyrim is deciding to go to someplace you see in the distance and then looking back and seeing a sweet view. It's satisfying. Like doing the finger of the mountain quest in Oblivion where you climb a tall mountain, or reaching High Hrothgar in Skyrim. Skyrim was pretty good in this regard for dungeons (Oblivion had terrible copy paste dungeons). I remember walking around and finding the pirate cove beneath Solitude and spending a good hour looking around in there, or finding your way into Blackreach and being drawn to the giant fake sun.
Morrowind was on another level with the journal directions, and I hope they bring that back it adds a lot to immersion and engagement. I remember getting lost looking for some tribe to talk about the Nerevarine and looking at my map and journal thinking like shit where did I turn wrong?

 

[Deleted member 13015]

Shadow of the Colossus is the perfect game for this feeling.

Alone, not sure of what happened to this destroyed land, just you and your horse... and a couple of mysterious giants.

The lack of music while traveling and hearing the wind and stomping of your horse adds so much.

 

[Grettir_the_Swole]

I remember being a little too young to beat Ocarina of Time without any help and I never grabbed the strategy guide. But I still remember the joy of aimlessly wandering around each zone and the rush that would come from seeing a new dialogue box or cutscene. Back when 3D adventure titles were a new genre, I can't remember anything more impactful on my taste in games than OoT.

 

[Dervius]

I made a thread with a similar concept to this a short while ago and people came in with some outstanding suggestions:

A Wanderer in a Strange Land

• No Man's Sky
• Hollow Knight
• Dear Esther
• Breath of the Wild
• Death Stranding
• I Am Alive
• Shadow of the Colossus
• Subnautica
• Death Stranding
• Fez
• Soma
• Observer
• Another World
• Heart of Darkness
• The Outer Wilds
• Hellblade
• Myst
• Ico
• Elite Dangerous
• SnowRunner
• Tacoma
• Hardspace Shipbreaker
• GRIS
• Rain World
• What remains of Edith Finch
• Skyrim (shallow AF but you can get lost in the world exploring with the great ambient soundtracks courtesy unfortunately of a sexual predator)
• Metroid Prime
• Pathologic 2
• The Void
• This War of Mine
• Kentucky Route Zero
• Pyre
• Where The Water Tastes Like Wine
• Sunless Seas/ Skies
• A House of Many Doors
• Anodyne 2
• Beeswing
• Fallout 3
• Other Waters
• Blasphemous
• FAR: Lone Sails
• Paper Beast (VR)
• Samorost 3
• Vane
• King's Field
• Morrowind
• Darkwood
• Ashen
• Betrayer - an atmospheric FPS with horror elements.
• Yume Nikki - a classic. (Also YUMENIKKI -DREAM DIARY- for the modern take.)
• Strange Telephone - exploration game inspired by Yume Nikki.
• NaissanceE
• Disco ELysium
• Panzer Dragoon Saga
• Moon: remix RPG
• Journey
• Darksiders series
• Fashback
• Control
• Souls Reaver 1/2
• The Witness
• Devil May Cry 2
• Firewatch
• Phantasy Star Online
• Minecraft
• Everybody's Gone to the Rapture

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Not all apply specifically to this, but there'll definitely be overlap.

 

[spiel]

Yes to the Hollow Knight mentions. The exploration in it was satisfying without being unfair. I love that the game doesn't hand you the map to the area right away, you have to look around for Cornelius. You're always uncovering the map bit by bit, hoping for the next bench to give respite and to save your progress.

I've been playing Raft recently and felt so very alone floating in the vast expanse of the ocean. It's lovely.

 

[jotun?]

Subnautica, especially when you start to venture into waters so deep you can't see the bottom.. then you dive down and can't see the surface

 

[808s & Villainy]

Being lost in BOTW was one of the best feelings. It wasn't even necessarily with the expectation of finding an item or anything, it was just me enjoying the scenery and environments.

 

[Spiderhead]

I made a thread with a similar concept to this a short while ago and people came in with some outstanding suggestions:

A Wanderer in a Strange Land



Not all apply specifically to this, but there'll definitely be overlap.

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Any idea if some of those games are like Generation Zero or Fallout 76?

 

[medyej]

While I think the video went on a bit too much of a tangent on it, this concept is exactly why games like BoTW and Hollow Knight are the best when it comes to organically exploring an open world and letting you get lost. People who want a typical grid-based automap simply don't get it.

 

[Dervius]

Any idea if some of those games are like Generation Zero or Fallout 76?

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Maybe Death Stranding, Subnautica or Shadow of the Colossus.

Personally I think both Ashen and Below really capture the tranquil feeling of being lost but will play very differently to the first person games you've mentioned.