Summary
In the open-world genre,environmental storytellingcan significantly enhance the players' experience, making exploration and the world itself far more engaging. Uncovering hidden narratives within various locations – stories that only reveal themselves to players who closely observe their surroundings – adds depth to exploration and looting. Even small, seemingly insignificant areas can hold clues about what transpired there, keeping players invested in uncovering these details. This approach is especially crucial for games with a heavy emphasis on free-roaming, where completing the journey can take over 100 hours.
The effectiveness of environmental storytelling often depends on the game’s setting. Urban or post-apocalyptic worlds tend to lend themselves to dense, diverse narratives, allowing players to piece together the mysteries of those who once lived there. However, even traditional fantasy games with rich lore can offer surprisingly engaging hidden stories,rewarding players who delve deep into their environments. Below, let’s explore some standout open-world games that excel at delivering exceptional environmental storytelling, setting them apart within the genre.
Red Dead Redemption 2focuses more on forging your own path through the wilderness, with environmental storytelling emerging less frequently than in some other open-world games below. However, when players stumble upon an abandoned ranch, camp, shack, or cave that once housed someone, they’re often left with intriguing fragments of a story – provoking thought but offering few clear answers. Rockstar’s reputation for crafting intricate mysteries that players continue to analyze for years is on full display inRDR2, making each discovery feel meaningful.
What setsRed Dead Redemption 2apart isn’t just its detailed locations ripe for exploration, but also the smaller, optional stories woven into towns and cities. These moments,often involving NPCs, aren’t marked as side quests but reward careful players with hidden opportunities. Whether helping or robbing people or piecing together subtle environmental clues to turn a profit as an outlaw,RDR2offers a wealth of immersive experiences that make its world feel alive and unpredictable.
Like many Bethesda titles,The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrimhas stood as a benchmark for environmental storytelling for well over a decade, offering a vast world brimming with adventures and tales at every turn. From the very beginning, players are free to choose their own path – whether delving into deep caves filled with treasures, exploring ancient ruins shrouded in mystery, or wandering through bustling cities alive with NPCs and small errands.
Among fantasy open-world games,few can rivalSkyrim’s unparalleled sense of freedompaired with its rich environmental storytelling – a key factor behind its enduring popularity in both the RPG and open-world genres. Each new location feels fresh and exciting, even after dozens or even hundreds of hours, thanks to the game’s masterful balance between subtle lore-driven narratives and engaging, direct storylines.
In many ways,Elden Ringpresents a post-apocalyptic world where cataclysmic events have already unfolded. The Elden Ring itself has been shattered, and many of the once-mighty Demigods have fallen far from their prime. As Tarnished, playerstraverse countless war-torn fortresses and castles, alongside desolate or corrupted settlements, villages, and entire cities. Only the most observant players can piece together the history of these intricate locations, uncovering subtle narratives through environmental details and items placed with deliberate intent. The Lands Between feels alive in its decay, rewarding those who seek to unravel its mysteries.
FromSoftware, masters of environmental storytelling, play to their strengths inElden Ring. The game’s lore is incredibly deep and layered, with fans still uncovering connections between seemingly unrelated characters, events, and locations. This intricate design ensures that the world ofElden Ringcontinues to captivate players long after they’ve left its hauntingly beautiful landscapes and overcome all of its challenges.
Cyberpunk 2077marks a significant evolution in environmental storytelling for CD Projekt Red, building on the foundation laid byThe Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. The gameleverages its futuristic setting– a sprawling, dark megacity where cultures, influences, and human values collide in a truly unique blend. Night City is one of the most ambitious and expansive urban environments ever created in a video game, with the studio’s meticulous, hand-crafted approach evident in every detail.
From dozens of explorable buildings with richly detailed interiors to apartments that capture the essence of their owners at a glance, the world brims with personality.Gritty slums, secret warehouses, and the expansive wastelands surrounding the city further add to its depth. Night City itself feels like the game’s central character, telling countless stories beyond the main narrative, side quests, and jobs, all through its vibrant and immersive environmental design.
STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobylis a true haven for explorers, with the Zone brought to life in stunning detail. Equal parts dangerous and beautiful, the Zone is packed with mysteries and rewards for observant stalkers who take the time to learn its rules. Beyond the main and side quests – or even the thrill of artifact hunting –STALKER 2isbrimming with small stories, random encounters, and, most notably, well-hidden stashes. Claiming every stash is no easy task, but players are often rewarded not only with valuable items but also with a glimpse into the tale of its previous owner or the unfortunate events that led to its abandonment.
One of the greatest strengths ofSTALKER 2is the layered complexity of its world and narrative. The game masterfully blends the real-life story and consequences of the Chornobyl disaster with fictionalized elements, creating exclusion zones inspired by real-world locations while adding imaginative twists of its own. This approach results in an immersive, realistic world that appeals to both newcomers and series veterans, with countless nods to the earlier games for long-time fans to uncover.
Tom Clancy’s The Divisionwas eerily prescient, depicting the devastating collapse of major U.S. cities due to a deadly virus – a scenario that feels even more unsettling in the post-Covid real-world pandemic. Combining the haunting allure of post-apocalyptic environments with a uniquely atmospheric Christmas setting,The Divisionstands out as one of Ubisoft’s finest examples of environmental storytelling and one of the most immersive in the open-world genre.
Even today, the game impresses with meticulously detailed streets, littered with remnants of chaos, and its abandoned apartments that tell countless tragic stories of survivors struggling to endure.The Divisiondoesn’t rely on elaborate cutscenes to convey its dark, chilling narratives – it places them directly in front of the players, woven seamlessly into its world.
WhileThe Division 2carries on this legacy with its own strong environmental storytelling, the sunlit streets of Washington, D.C. lack the samedistinct charm as snow-covered, holiday-tinged New York. That said, which setting resonates more ultimately comes down to personal preference.
SurpassingSkyrimwas no small feat, yet Bethesda managed to do so brilliantly in the realm of environmental storytelling withFallout 4. The previous entry,Fallout 3, had already set a high bar, showcasing thefranchise’s unique ability to weave subtle and nuancedstories through exploration alone. However,Fallout 4elevated this aspect with a much larger and denser wasteland,packed with countless hidden locationsand multi-story buildings, each room offering intriguing discoveries or small, thought-provoking scenarios for players to unravel.
Every step through the Commonwealth – the city of Boston and its surrounding Massachusetts region – is filled with new revelations. From tragic or darkly amusing tales of ill-fated settlers and vault dwellers to snapshots of everyday life and struggles in a post-apocalyptic world, the game offers endless moments of discovery. While there’s some repetitiveness in its quest structure, particularly with settlement-related tasks, exploration remains engaging for hundreds of hours. Players are rewarded not just with valuables or crafting materials, but with something far more meaningful – stories and personal moments that breathe life into the wasteland.
