When it comes to video games, open worlds are meant to be explored. In games like Fallout 4 and Horizon Forbidden West, players are encouraged to investigate every corner of the map and uncover every secret a game has to offer. However, exploring these massive worlds isn’t always safe or easy.
Danger in open-world games comes in many forms. Failing to manage resources can lead to death and lost progress. A lack of combat skill might mean never overcoming the toughest bosses. And often, these worlds are crawling with terrifying enemies that make exploration genuinely risky. These ten games feature worlds so dangerous, they might be best left unexplored.
10 Players Can Traverse a Post-Apocalyptic Desert in Mad Max
Vehicle Combat Makes the Mad Max World Even More Dangerous
The wastelands of the Mad Max universe have never felt more dangerous than in the 2015 open-world game. It brilliantly captures the brutal violence of the films while carving out its own identity through aggressive, satisfying combat. It’s a harsh world to survive in, but fans of Mad Max will enjoy fighting their way through its dangers.
Players step into the role of Max Rockatansky and traverse a desolate wasteland, taking down gangs of hostile raiders while trying to stay alive in a post-apocalyptic landscape. With combat reminiscent of the Batman: Arkham series, the gameplay is fluid and engaging. It’s a franchise has always been centered around cars, and the game makes the most of that with exciting and challenging vehicular combat. The Mad Max timeline has always been steeped in violence and danger, and the game captures that atmosphere perfectly.
Mad Max
Action-Adventure Open-World Systems
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9 Fallout 4 Turns Boston Into an Irradiated Wasteland
In Fallout 4, Mutated Nightmares Lurk Around Every Corner
Anyone who’s ever been to Boston can confirm it has its rough spots, but the Commonwealth has never been as deadly as it is in Fallout 4. The city is transformed into an irradiated wasteland filled with horrifying creatures mutated by the fallout from the Great War. But mutant monsters aren’t the only threat. Hostile humans roam the ruins and often attack without warning. Radiation itself is a constant danger and, for some players, could mean the end.
In Fallout 4, players take on the role of the Sole Survivor, an individual who emerges from an extended cryosleep in an underground bunker known as Vault 111. The Sole Survivor leaves the vault after witnessing their spouse’s murder and the kidnapping of their son. From the moment players step outside, the open world of Fallout 4 becomes increasingly dangerous.
Fallout 4
RPG Action Systems
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8 Horizon Forbidden West Features a Majestic Open World
Horizon Forbidden West's Deadly Machines Will Always Pose a Threat
The Western United States is stunningly recreated in Horizon: Forbidden West, with beauty covering every inch of the map. But often, beauty and danger go hand in hand. The vast open world is crawling with aggressive, territorial machines ready to strike the moment players encroach on their space. While they take a backseat to the machines, hostile humans also pose a real threat throughout the journey. From snowy mountain peaks to the underwater ruins of Las Vegas, danger lurks in every corner.
In the game, Aloy must travel to the Forbidden West to uncover the source of the Blight, a deadly plague that destroys everything it touches. Along the way, she discovers a far greater threat from the past, one more dangerous than anything she’s faced before. With help from familiar allies and new friends, she fights to protect the future of humanity.
Horizon Forbidden West
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7 Subnautica Is an Underwater Nightmare
Monstrous Sea Creatures Are Always Lurking in Subnautica
When it comes to the 2018 survival game Subnautica, danger is the name of the game. Players are stranded on an alien planet covered almost entirely by ocean and must survive against hostile plant and animal life that seems intent on killing them. With its obscenely massive, Lovecraftian creatures lurking in the depths, there are few open worlds as uniquely terrifying as Subnautica.
When the Aurora spacecraft crashes on a remote, unknown planet, the lone survivor, Ryley Robinson, must endure a hostile environment with only a slim hope of returning home. It’s a survival game where players start with nothing, and the extensive inventory management system demands constant attention, since one mistake can mean certain death. With various game modes that increase the world’s danger, Subnautica offers a truly challenging survival experience.
Subnautica
Survival Horror Open-World Science Fiction Systems
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6 Ghostwire Tokyo Is an Open World Overtaken By Supernatural Creatures
Ghastly Entities Roam the Streets in Ghostwire Tokyo
Ghostwire: Tokyo offers players a stunning recreation of the city, but with a dangerous twist. It’s nearly impossible to roam the empty streets without encountering hostile spirits or Yōkai. Players must use supernatural abilities to purge malevolent specters and help the souls of the innocent find peace. Deadly creatures pulled straight from Japanese mythology lurk in every shadowy alley, waiting for a moment of weakness.
In Ghostwire: Tokyo, players take on the role of Akito, who narrowly survives a car crash and is saved by a spirit that grants him supernatural powers. With Tokyo’s population mysteriously vanished, Akito must track down the cult responsible and put an end to their sinister plans. It’s a thrilling supernatural experience that immerses players in a haunting reimagining of one of the world’s most iconic cities.
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5 The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Is Full of Monsters of Folklore
Good Thing Geralt Is a Professional Monster Hunter
The whole point of being a Witcher is hunting monsters, so it’s no surprise that some of them are incredibly dangerous. But in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, the creatures aren’t just deadly; they’re also deeply fascinating. From the Crones of Crookback Bog to the Leshen, many of the game’s monsters are inspired by mythology and folklore, adding a unique layer to its rich lore. Players can take on contracts to hunt specific monsters, but many can also be discovered just by exploring the open world.
Geralt of Rivia is a Witcher, a monster hunter for hire, mutated to enhance his senses and abilities. His adoptive daughter is on the run from spectral hunters known as the Wild Hunt, and it’s up to Geralt to find her and bring her to safety. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is one of the most immersive games of all time, and that’s largely thanks to its open world, which is rich with mystery and danger.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
RPG Action Adventure Systems
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4 Death Stranding's World Is a Horrifying Fever Dream
The United States Has Never Been Deadlier Than in Death Stranding
With Death Stranding 2: On the Beach recently released, it’s a good time to revisit the original and see what made its world so dangerous in the first place. Death Stranding is set in a post-apocalyptic United States where the remaining population has become disconnected and isolated. After a cataclysmic event, invisible creatures known as Beached Things, or BTs, begin roaming the Earth, consuming humans and wreaking havoc. Since exploration is central to the gameplay, BTs make traversing the world a constant, deadly threat.
Surviving colonies are low on supplies and cut off from communication, so courier Sam Porter Bridges is tasked with delivering vital resources and reconnecting these settlements through a wireless network. The gameplay isn’t for everyone, since many describe it as a “walking simulator” for much of its runtime, but between the BTs and the harsh environment, mismanaging resources can quickly become a matter of life or death.
Death Stranding
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3 Monster Hunter Wilds Lives Up to Its Name
It's Home to the Deadliest Creatures in the Monster Hunter Franchise
As the name suggests, the Monster Hunter series has always centered on hunting monsters, using their parts to craft armor and weapons, then repeating the cycle. Monster Hunter Wilds is the latest entry in the series, bringing back fan-favorite monsters while introducing new and terrifying creatures to hunt. Each monster features a unique design and moveset, with many even battling each other for territory. Trekking across the world of Monster Hunter Wilds is incredibly dangerous.
As with the rest of the series, players take control of a hunter assigned to explore the Forbidden Lands, which are remote regions rarely seen by human eyes. Large, terrifying monsters threaten the group, and it’s up to the hunters to kill or capture these beasts. The further players progress through Monster Hunter Wilds, the more dangerous and deadly the monsters become.
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2 Dying Light's World Is Terrifying from Start to Finish
Dying Light Gets Even Deadlier At Night
Dying Light is an open-world zombie survival game that makes players truly fear the dark. Set in Harran, a fictional Middle Eastern city overrun by the infected, players navigate the environment by parkouring across rooftops to avoid the undead swarming the streets. While zombies are a threat during the day, they become far more terrifying at night. When the sun sets, more aggressive and monstrous variants emerge. Infected like Volatiles and Virals hunt players caught outside after dark, triggering intense, heart-pounding chase sequences.
Players take on the role of Kyle Crane, an undercover agent airdropped into Harran to stop a rising warlord from seizing control of the city and leaking classified information about the outbreak. Dying Light is played from a first-person perspective, with a heavy focus on melee combat and survival. Without the right weapons and resources, survival isn’t guaranteed, and for those brave enough to venture out at night, well… good night and good luck.
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Dying Light
Open-World Survival Horror Systems
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1 In Elden Ring, Everything Is Dangerous
The Danger of Losing Runes in Elden Ring Is All Too Real
FromSoftware is known for its punishing boss fights and terrifying creature designs, pulled straight from nightmares. From Dark Souls to Bloodborne, the studio’s worlds are always dangerous, but none compare to the deadly beauty of the Lands Between in Elden Ring. Created in collaboration with George R. R. Martin, it’s FromSoftware’s most expansive and visually striking world yet, and, true to form, it’s filled with some of the most lethal enemies they’ve ever imagined.
In Elden Ring, players take on the role of the Tarnished, a customizable warrior banished from the Lands Between and called back by the Erdtree. To become the new Elden Lord, the Tarnished must journey across the land, battling unimaginable monsters and piecing together the shattered Elden Ring. Its brutal, challenging open world is a major reason why Elden Ring is considered FromSoftware’s masterpiece.
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Elden Ring
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