Environmental storytelling has long been a major part of video games, no matter the genre. Coming in various forms — through deliberate object and item placement, level layouts and props, notes, or even audio cues — it conveys narrative details, lore, or backstory without relying on more straightforward techniques. From The Last of Us to BioShock, players who want to learn more about these worlds and what happened in them are usually left to piece together many vague clues through careful observation. This layer is especially important in open-world titles, where freeform exploration takes center stage, as players usually have the freedom to go anywhere, and what they find determines their further interest.
It’s crucial for developers of open-world games to make exploration worthwhile, not only through rewards like precious loot, but also through subtle narratives and contextual worldbuilding that leave players with just enough hints to reach potential interpretations. It’s a classic rule of “show, don’t tell” that works especially effectively in open-world titles.
6 Open-World Games With The Best Ruins
Players who enjoy exploring dark and dingy ruins will love what the following open-world games have to offer.
Elden Ring is definitely among the best games in that regard, coupling admirable freedom of going anywhere from the start with rich, detailed locations filled with implicit storytelling that only the most dedicated players will uncover. But Elden Ring is far from being the only open-world game that excels at this — even games with more traditional narratives can be great examples of environmental storytelling as well. Below are several open-world games known for their spectacular attention to embedded narrative through the environment and hidden mysteries that can truly captivate players.
Red Dead Redemption 2
Combining the Best of Two Worlds
Even eight years after its launch, Red Dead Redemption 2 represents a truly special virtual world, filled with mysteries and new discoveries that still occupy the thoughts of many fans. Rockstar masterfully leveraged environmental storytelling in its Western masterpiece, striking a perfect balance between subtlety and intrigue, and leaving just the right amount of clues and hints in distant corners of this world to make it feel convincing, but without overdoing this trick to the point of ever feeling artificial, forced, or too convenient.
Unlike Elden Ring, RDR2 offers traditional, cinematic storytelling fueled by distinct characters, cutscenes, and dialogue of the highest quality. With such broad appeal, all types of players can choose what they’re drawn to most in the game — either its primary layer of Arthur Morgan’s story, or the no less exciting freedom and ability to live in a convincing, reactive world that isn’t too keen to reveal its secrets.
Cyberpunk 2077
Futuristic Angle Unlocks Unique Possibilities
Similar to Red Dead Redemption 2, Cyberpunk 2077 is equally strong in its main narrative, featuring believable first-person interactions and exciting events that make players feel as if they’ve stepped into a Hollywood blockbuster, yet never sacrificing its depths on a more subtle level. The distinct futuristic setting of Night City is utilized in all the right ways to fill the world with implicit storytelling and contextual world-building, while full answers are rarely presented to players, leaving them guessing or requiring some extra poking around.
8 Best Open-World Games With Stories Told Through Exploration
These open-world games excel in environmental storytelling, rewarding players who pay close attention to their surroundings.
Cyberpunk 2077 also benefited greatly from years of post-launch support and content updates, as the team enhanced the world and its corners with additional hidden stories and mysteries. Today, Night City is much more bustling and alive than it was at launch, and players have plenty of reasons not just to rush toward quest markers, but to slow down and appreciate the vibe of a city that never sleeps, indeed.
STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl
Fueled by Real-World Places and Events
As one of the most distinctive open-world games of recent years, STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl almost plays it too safe with its open world, replaying the best bits from the original trilogy yet on an expanded scale with no loading screens in between. However, the detail is king here, as the world of the Zone is not only dramatically bigger than before, but also filled with great examples of environmental storytelling, with small stories behind every new abandoned location and every hidden stash and its owner.
After the initial hours, players are free to go almost anywhere in STALKER 2 (if their protective gear allows), and that’s where the real adventure begins. From countless underground laboratories hiding glum mysteries to enormous anomaly fields that work by their own twisted rules, the game world constantly impresses, surprisingly rich in lore and unexpected revelations of the Zone’s nature. On top of that, players can learn more about almost every NPC, including the fallen stalkers chewed by the Zone’s relentless grind.
Dune: Awakening
Arrakis Is the Star
Following their vast experience from years of working on Conan Exiles, Dune: Awakening is another irresistible offering from Funcom, rich in immersiveness and contextual worldbuilding, and leveraging the familiar elements of the Dune universe to place players on Arrakis in all its harsh, silent glory. Even the not-so-fresh survival mechanics feel more meaningful in Dune: Awakening thanks to the game’s unique, desolate setting, which provides more reasons to keep exploring and learn the dangers of this world.
Best Open-World Games With Rich Lore and Backstory, Ranked
Open-world games are known for their extensive game mechanics and variety. Here are some titles in the genre that also feature rich lore.
Dune: Awakening’s minimalistic approach to storytelling actually proves its greatest advantage, as the game treats Arrakis as the main narrative driver, reducing the role of traditional NPCs and their quests to a minimum. The planet’s distinct architecture, landscapes, and hazards help make the world itself the story, as players driven by exploration and curiosity must engage with the environment to uncover it. Interpretation is key, as each wrecked spice hauler lying across the dunes, abandoned ecology lab, or scattered audio logs and filmbooks can shed light on century-old events.
Tom Clancy’s The Division 2
Reaching Whole New Levels of Authenticity
Another example of a modern post-apocalyptic setting perfectly suited for subtle narratives through the environment, The Division 2 follows in its predecessor’s footsteps, delivering one of the most absorbing sensations of an explorable world abandoned by people overnight. Massive Entertainment went all in with environmental details and mission variety in the sequel, taking players across Washington, D.C., and allowing them to explore abandoned homes and administrative centers at their own pace.
And there’s truly a wealth of places to visit and admire in the game, provided that players aren’t solely interested in acquiring better loot. Each location, be it an apartment, the sewers, shopping malls, museums, or the highest rooftops, is filled with deliberately placed objects, corpses, and audio cues like lost cell phones that slowly paint an omnipresent sense of desperation and chaos caused by the world collapsing around its inhabitants. Rare wandering survivors, animals like dogs and deer, and roaming bandits fighting for territory only add to the convincing portrayal of The Division 2’s rich and unique world.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
This Version of Hyrule Is Open to Interpretations
Two of the latest major Zelda games are not-so-secretly home to some of the strongest implicit storytelling ever, with convincing world-building fueled by unrestricted exploration, a highly reactive world, and distinct locations all the way. With its minimal dialogue and overall scarcity of storyteller NPCs, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is defined by its open-world design, shining through the abundance of places to discover and experience firsthand.
8 Open-World Games With The Most Eerie Environments
These open-world titles feature environments with the very definition of creepiness.
In a way, Breath of the Wild uses the same techniques as Dune: Awakening, immersing players in the rich history and ecology of Hyrule with its post-apocalyptic feel through masterful use of silence and space. The world never feels empty, but instead nails the right balance between places visible on the horizon that players might be drawn to, and the believable distances between them. That’s not to mention how intricately detailed, mysterious, and unforgettable many of Breath of the Wild’s explorable locations, like scattered ruins, crumbling settlements, underground shrines, and towering temples, are.
Fallout 4
Bethesda at Its Finest
Of course, no list of open-world games with strong environmental narratives is complete without a Bethesda title, and Fallout 4 is a prime example. True to the series’ core, Fallout 4’s gigantic map of Boston and its surroundings never feels empty, generously covered in distinct locations, explorable multi-story buildings, enormous underground bunkers and vaults, small settlements, and many more. Players should have no doubt about the well-thought-out and handcrafted nature of every small hut they can visit on their journey, presenting a world rich in reasons to just keep going to see what’s next.
Unlike previous games, freeform exploration and subtle narratives are even more important in Fallout 4, which, coupled with robust crafting and building options, produces truly absorbing results to bring this wasteland to life. From early explorers’ misfortunes to some truly dark revelations and worldbuilding — Fallout 4 is Bethesda at its best.
These Developers Have The Best Selling Open-World Games Of All Time
Some studios are so prominent in the open-world genre that they have not just one, but several titles that became best-sellers.
