Open WorldGamingPC Games

What are the best Exploration games on Steam?

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Subnautica vs The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim vs SOMA

 vs Hollow Knight vs The Stanley Parable vs Far Cry 4 vs Grand Theft Auto V vs The Magic Circle vs Gone Home vs Kairo vs Tom Clancy's The Division vs Watch Dogs vs ARK: Survival Evolved vs Jotun: Valhalla Edition vs Dear Esther vs Fallout 4 vs Spore vs Ether One vs Far Cry Primal vs The Faraway Land vs The Eternal Cylinder vs Planet Explorers vs Trailmakers vs The Novelist vs Mountain vs Duskers vs Sandwalkers: The Fourteenth Caravan vs Horizon’s Gate vs AER Memories of Old vs Mind: Path to Thalamus vs MirrorMoon EP vs Gujian3

Specs

Steam Rating

Overwhelmingly Positive

Genre

Survival, Open world, Exploration

Platforms

Windows, Mac, Xbox One

Co-Op

No

Controller Support

Full

Publisher

-

Steam Rating

-

Genre

Fantasy Role-Playing

Platforms

Windows, Xbox, PS, Nintendo Switch

Co-Op

-

Controller Support

-

Publisher

-

Steam Rating

Overwhelmingly Positive

Genre

-

Platforms

-

Co-Op

-

Controller Support

-

Publisher

-

Steam Rating

Overwhelmingly Positive

Genre

Metroidvania

Platforms

Nintendo Switch, Windows, macOS, Linux

Co-Op

Single Player

Controller Support

-

Publisher

-

Steam Rating

Very Positive

Genre

Adventure, Interactive Story

Platforms

Windows, Linux, Mac

Co-Op

-

Controller Support

-

Publisher

-

Steam Rating

-

Genre

FPS

Platforms

Windows, PS3, PS4, Xbox One, Xbox 360

Co-Op

-

Controller Support

-

Publisher

-

Steam Rating

-

Genre

Action-Adventure

Platforms

-

Co-Op

-

Controller Support

-

Publisher

Rockstar Games

Steam Rating

Very Positive

Genre

Action, Adventure, Puzzle

Platforms

-

Co-Op

No

Controller Support

Partial

Publisher

-

Steam Rating

Very Positive

Genre

-

Platforms

-

Co-Op

-

Controller Support

-

Publisher

-

Steam Rating

Mostly Positive

Genre

-

Platforms

-

Co-Op

-

Controller Support

-

Publisher

-

Steam Rating

Mostly Positive

Genre

Open world RPG

Platforms

-

Co-Op

-

Controller Support

-

Publisher

-

Steam Rating

Very Positive

Genre

-

Platforms

-

Co-Op

-

Controller Support

-

Publisher

-

Steam Rating

Very Positive

Genre

Action-Adventure, Survival

Platforms

PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Windows, Linux, macOS, iOS, Android

Co-Op

-

Controller Support

-

Publisher

-

Steam Rating

-

Genre

Action, Adventure

Platforms

PC, Mac, Xbox One, Playstation 4, Nintendo Switch

Co-Op

-

Controller Support

-

Publisher

-

Steam Rating

Mostly Positive

Genre

First-Person Exploration

Platforms

PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Windows, Linux, macOS

Co-Op

-

Controller Support

-

Publisher

-

Steam Rating

-

Genre

Action RPG

Platforms

Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One

Co-Op

Single Player

Controller Support

-

Publisher

-

Steam Rating

Very Positive

Genre

-

Platforms

-

Co-Op

-

Controller Support

-

Publisher

-

Steam Rating

Mostly Positive

Genre

-

Platforms

-

Co-Op

-

Controller Support

-

Publisher

-

Steam Rating

Very Positive

Genre

-

Platforms

-

Co-Op

-

Controller Support

-

Publisher

-

Steam Rating

Very Positive

Genre

-

Platforms

-

Co-Op

-

Controller Support

-

Publisher

-

Steam Rating

Very Positive

Genre

-

Platforms

-

Co-Op

-

Controller Support

-

Publisher

-

Steam Rating

Mixed

Genre

-

Platforms

-

Co-Op

-

Controller Support

-

Publisher

-

Steam Rating

Very Positive

Genre

-

Platforms

-

Co-Op

-

Controller Support

-

Publisher

-

Steam Rating

Mostly Positive

Genre

-

Platforms

-

Co-Op

-

Controller Support

-

Publisher

-

Steam Rating

Very Positive

Genre

-

Platforms

-

Co-Op

-

Controller Support

-

Publisher

-

Steam Rating

Very Positive

Genre

-

Platforms

-

Co-Op

-

Controller Support

-

Publisher

-

Steam Rating

Very Positive

Genre

-

Platforms

-

Co-Op

-

Controller Support

-

Publisher

-

Steam Rating

Very Positive

Genre

Retro, open-world RPG

Platforms

-

Co-Op

-

Controller Support

-

Publisher

-

Steam Rating

Very Positive

Genre

-

Platforms

-

Co-Op

-

Controller Support

-

Publisher

-

Steam Rating

Mixed

Genre

-

Platforms

-

Co-Op

-

Controller Support

-

Publisher

-

Steam Rating

Mixed

Genre

-

Platforms

-

Co-Op

-

Controller Support

-

Publisher

-

Steam Rating

Mostly Positive

Genre

-

Platforms

-

Co-Op

-

Controller Support

-

Publisher

-

Pros + Cons

Pro
 Great theme and looks

The game takes place underwater, and it looks very good especially because of the new candy eye update. Looking up at the sun through the ocean looks pleasant and real. Coral reefs have multiple colors and look real as well. Graphics wise this game looks great and pulls off its theme of an underwater survival quite well.
Comment

Pro
 Interesting creature design

The creature design in Subnautica deserves some major praise. Spotting a new, never seen before creature is extremely rewarding and there's a large variety of alien creatures to look for.
Comment

Con
 Lacks Co-Op

This game was meant to be a survival game (and a bit of horror), most survival games are difficult, may get boring to play alone after time and this game has both. Having a second survivor in the story would mean to rewrite it again, but having a friend in an alien world would be better.
Comment

Pro
 It can be a relaxing and a very scary game

It can get relaxing when you just swim around in the ocean but when you get deeper down in to the dark it gets a lot scarier.
Comment

Pro
 Incredibly satisfying tool-building mechanics

The whole process of creating new tools is mostly done using a sophisticated 3D-printer available from the start of the game. You gather various resources and transform them to create tools that you will need for your survival. For example, organic matter gets printed into raw carbon, combine carbon with some zinc and you get a battery; combine that battery with some glass and you get a flashlight that helps you see in the dark. It's very straightforward but incredibly satisfying when you build your tools, especially since you are doing all of this while swimming in an ocean filled with predators.
Comment

Pro
 Has a mode for people who just want to explore

Subnautica has three game modes: survival, freedom, and creative. The first one pits the player against the elements and forces them to think about food and water through its thirst and hunger mechanics. The second game mode basically removes every mechanic that is related to surviving, such as the aforementioned hunger and thirst mechanics. It also leaves all the items in your inventory after you die. In other words, it's a game mode for people who want to explore without having to bother with surviving. Which is nice, since Subnautica has a lot of stuff to explore. The third one will let you build a base of your dreams without worrying about food, oxygen, or thirst. It is the best mode for people who want to build and don't want to gather resources.
Comment

Pro
 The sound effects really set up the overall atmosphere

The sound design in Subnautica is amazing. Even though the soundtrack can be bland at times, the sound effects for the ocean noises are incredibly atmospheric and really help to get the player in the mood for exploring a vast, alien ocean.
Comment

Pro
 Very interesting for both new and long-time players

But it goes faster when you learn the game. Because everything is done manually.
Comment

Pro
 No pointless multiplayer

Not every damn thing needs multiplayer, and multiplayer can often ruin an otherwise incredible experience. There's none to be found here, and that intensifies the lonely atmosphere. Also, the creators didn't waste resources on something that would fundamentally undermine the experience so they could focus on making the game the wonderful thing that it is.
Comment

Con
 No real story

A bit underdeveloped story. Only in notes and some short cgi animations.
Comment

Pro
 Huge variety of mods

Bethesda Softworks has upheld a tradition of releasing their internal content-creation tools to the public since Morrowind (2002). Many modders transition to new Bethesda games as they are released, bringing their experience with them and helping newcomers through forums and wikis. As a result, Skyrim's mod selection is outstanding in both variety and quality.
Comment

Pro
 Moral choices that can affect gameplay

Things like stealing (and getting caught), fighting or killing in towns will change how the game plays as now those people or towns will be angry with the player, which makes things much more difficult. There are also many moral choices in game such as if one should betray the person who gave then their quest by keeping the treasure they were hired to return. All of these things will change how the game plays and how NPC's react to the character making for a simulated real world of consequences.
Comment

Pro
 Total freedom in how you choose to play through the world's different factions

You can set off to any of Skyrim's different towns and discover new storylines from interesting factions that flesh out the world and the lore, with great characters and their own absorbing narratives to get lost in. There are a good number of these factions, like the scholars at the snowy College of Winterhold, the secretive assassins of the Dark Brotherhood, or the cohort of rogues and bandits of the Thieves Guild. After picking whichever faction you want to learn more about, you can eventually become a Master of the guild and learn new skills for your character. Playing through each of their individual stories lets you really feel like a member of the faction you choose, like with how the Thieves Guild sends you on missions to pick locks and steal valuables without getting caught by the guards. And if you only get through some of the faction's story and decide you don't enjoy it, you can easily go find another one and play through that one instead. There are no limits on how you play through the plot, with Skyrim giving you the flexibility to pick up stories, set them down, and come back to them whenever you feel like it.
Comment

Pro
 The longest-running RPG-FPS franchise, with world lore rivaling classic fantasy literature

The Elder Scrolls series stretches back 20 years and has always focused on providing a rich world to explore. Skyrim inherits the stories and world-building of over half a dozen previous games.
Comment

Pro
 Massive sandbox to explore at your own pace

The in-game map is absolutely gigantic. There are so many places to go and so much to do in the world, easily giving you hundreds of hours of content. Exploring the wide range of environments, from the snowy mountains to the richly-detailed towns and cities is such a joy because of how lush and beautiful everything is. Wandering around often surprises you with new side quests to find off the beaten path, with new characters to meet and history to learn about in whichever area you find yourself in. You can get into all sorts of battles with powerful enemies or stumble into hidden dungeons with awesome loot at the end. Or you can sneak around towns at night stealing peoples' stuff while they're asleep to sell everything off for money. And there's just a ton of other intriguing secrets and fun diversions to discover as you adventure throughout the world.
Comment

Pro
 Deep lore rivaling classic fantasy literature

Skyrim inherits the stories and world-building of The Elder Scrolls series, which stretches back 20 years. It has numerous stories surrounding the various races (orcs, elves, lizardmen, demons, etc.), mythical beasts, gods, cataclysmic events, parallel worlds, and just about any fantasy trope you could think off. What's even better you can read the lore in books found in-game, allowing you to immerse yourself for countless hours.
Comment

Con
 Combat is too simple

Fights within the game don't have very many options. "Headshots" don't matter, and most combat options in the game are poorly balanced. Few examples: Doesn't really matter if you go mace, sword or axe, fire, ice or lightning, or even two handed vs dual wielding. The options mostly add flavor to your character and little else. Despite the fact that you might have ranged attacks, dragons are impossible to hit while in the air, so you end up fighting them similarly to a melee character. "Twincasting" the first healing spell is actually worse than just casting it once in each hand. Illusion magic becomes useless at later levels, since the spells don't do anything if the enemy is too high level and enemies scale to your level. Enemies are too stupid to make hiding a bad thing. The worst one is leveling as an Alteration mage, which gives you access to the Dragonskin spell, granting maximum armor for 30 seconds and has a 5 second cast time. Or you could just go Heavy Armor, level that up (so it weighs nothing) and have maximum armor ALWAYS without ever having to cast an Alteration spell before combat ever again. Combat comes down to how you leveled, not how you play.
Comment

Pro
 Unrestrictive skill-based RPG system

Skyrim has no concept of character classes, and there are no restrictions on what equipment or magic a given character can use or learn. A character's capabilities are defined by skills (e.g. heavy armor, marksman, enchantment) which automatically improve as they are used. Levels are gained by increasing skills, and each level grants one perk -- a passive, secondary effect which further enhances a particular skill -- and increases an attribute of your choice (Magicka, Stamina or Health).
Comment

Con
 Buggy and crash prone

Skyrim, like all Bethesda in house game engines (GameBryo) is buggy and prone to crashing. Non modded games have plenty of issues, but to then add mods on top is just asking for a crash or corrupt game save. There are still many community mods for Skyrim that try to make the game more stable by addressing memory issues and general buggynes. While the game is not as buggy as it was upon release, there are still many people that have issues with the game crashing on boot or just randomly which is why these mods are still widely used and still very relevant.
Comment

Con
 Immersion can be broken due to game limitations

While the game offers players many choices some of these choices are not reflected in the game accurately. There are instances where NPCs should know who your character is or what classes they belong to but due to the limitations of the tech used in the game it is unable to "remember" these things and so NPC text will often break immersion in the game by saying the wrong things.
Comment

Pro
 Thought-provoking story

Like many horror stories, it delves deep into uncovering the central mystery of what’s going on. There are many unsettling events and revelations along the way, bringing up philosophical questions about consciousness and identity. It’s the type of story that sticks with you long after you’ve finished it and is worth experiencing at least once.
Comment

Pro
 A horror game for Sci-Fi enthusiasts

SOMA is set in the future, so it has all that futuristic goodness. Things like robots, AIs, underwater laboratories, diving suits designed to endure immense water pressure, and much more. SOMA is a thoroughly enjoyable Sci-fi experience.
Comment

Pro
 Great atmosphere

SOMA’s atmosphere is a combination of various things. It can be the feeling of loneliness when you’re exploring a rundown and desolate lab. The feeling of anxiety as you trek along the seafloor and you’re only surrounded by muffled sounds and the bubbling of the water. The feeling of fear as you dive deeper into the ocean and the sun becomes more distant. It’s an extremely immersive atmosphere, which is something that many modern horror games don’t have.
Comment

Con
 No HUD (head-up display) or map

You have to memorize the layouts of the underwater facilities, since there is no HUD or overlay map system. Even though there are several computer terminals scattered through the game that provide access to rudimentary maps, there's no way to save them.
Comment

Con
 Very linear level design

While other horror titles have branching paths and open areas you get to explore, SOMA is very linear even in its ocean exploration sections. This feels like a failed opportunity to create an even better game.
Comment

Pro
 Rewarding exploration and gameplay

Comment

Pro
 Tight controls

Comment

Pro
 Gorgeous art style & beautiful music

Comment

Con
 Unresolved crashing issues

A few users have reported that they get random crashes in between room loads and at startup.
Comment

Pro
 Forces you to learn attack patterns

You won't get far just going in swinging. Learning enemy behavior is much more important than in any other Metroidvania and that feels very rewarding.
Comment

Pro
 Tight and fluid movement

Every movement in the game makes you feel like you are in control.
Comment

Pro
 Rewarding exploration

The game world is enormous, with a massive amount of secret areas that really reward you for sniffing them out.
Comment

Pro
 Fun, challenging boss fights

With a couple exceptions, the boss fights are challenging in a way that does not feel cheap. If you die, it is because you screwed up and not because the game didn't feel like keeping you alive anymore.
Comment

Pro
 Has character

The visuals, music and sound effects are both quirky and charming. You may stay for the gameplay, but you come in for the lovable world.
Comment

Pro
 Amazing art and soundtrack

Has a very dedicated aesthetic that works beautifully.
Comment

Pro
 Mysterious story/lore

Makes you wanna explore more to find out whats going on and you may find secrets with NPCs that will tell you more or add to the mystery. This keeps things interesting.
Comment

Pro
 Large amount of content

Over 30 hours of gameplay.
Comment

Pro
 Has free DLC

Two DLCs have been released, adding additional quests for free.
Comment

Pro
 Amazing story and lore

Comment

Pro
 A few nods to other games can be seen throughout the game   

References to other games including Half-Life 2, Portal & Minecraft can be found throughout the game.
Comment

Con
 More an interactive story than an actual game

The Stanley Parable is not much of a game in the strictest sense but more an interactive story or interactive "art".
Comment

Pro
 Exceptional narration

Excellently crafted, hilarious writing delivered by a well spoken, charismatic British narrator. Kevan Brighting has become somewhat of a cult success since the game due to its cult like status which just shows how deserving he is due to how well done the narration of the game is done.
Comment

Pro
 Points out narrative limitations in games by encouraging breaking narrative structure through gameplay

The game encourages players to explore decisions that would change the meaning of the presented story. What if you took a left turn where the game asked you to take a right? What if you decided not to push a big red button needed to continue playing because you didn't agree with pushing the big red button? What if you died in a boss battle? How would that affect the narrative of the game? The game rewards you for not following the "intended" narrative structure of the situation in order to point out how the structure is unavoidable in games as a whole. The process of attempting to break the structure can be highly satisfying in The Stanley Parable and can help you better notice limitations of narrative in other games.
Comment

Pro
 Discusses the illusion of choice in games 

One of the main themes of the game is the illusion of choice that's presented in games. While a player can make a vast number of decisions in the game, the narrator reminds the player he can only make decisions that the game allows him to and how the game manipulates the player into making them. The narrator points out that not just common choices such as what path to take to get from point A to point B, how to approach a certain situation or what ethical choices are available are limited to the game's designers having thought of and implemented those aspects of the game, but decisions such as purposeful suicide, not taking action, disobeying instructions and even turning off the game are only there if the game allows them to be there.
Comment

Pro
 The game has a lot of different endings to find

There are numerous ending to the game that appear to play out even when the player makes the same choices as their last playthrough.
Comment

Pro
 Insightful commentary on state of game design

The game tackles topics such as ludonarrative dissonance, choice in games, narrative limitations, etc while mostly focusing on the relationship between the game and the player in terms of storytelling in a very meaningful, educated and entertaining way.
Comment

Con
 Random

More randomness.
Comment

Pro
 Adventure aspects add to what would be a stale FPS

Being able to scale cliffs, hunt and trap animals, and use ones environment as a weapon against enemies adds to the basics of first person shooting making for a fun adventure game on top of a slick FPS.
Comment

Pro
 Options in play due to creativity

There are so many ways to tackle a situation that makes this game what it is. In one instance you could lure an animal towards enemies in order to kill them, or in another you could run everyone over with a truck. Even better is that explosives can be attached to things, even vehicles, so you can even send the vehicle towards a crowd and blow it up from a distance. Basically you are free to choose how you want to approach just about every situation in the game and those that feel like playing around have the chance to get really creative, which is half the fun.
Comment

Con
 Environment feels too familiar

While Farcry 1-3 all had different locales that had their own styles, 4 looks much like 3 and is not that much of a departure. For those looking for a different experience it is not going to be found in 4 sadly.
Comment

Pro
 Freedom to do anything you want

Even aside from the many missions, there are dozens of other things you can do. This includes activities like playing tennis, going skydiving, watching a movie in the cinema, managing your businesses to earn tons of money, going hunting in the mountains, or just simply exploring the map while taking in the sights. Whatever you decide to do it's very easy to lose track of time. Mostly because it feels like a giant sandbox where you're allowed to do anything and simply have fun.
Comment

Pro
 Massive world

It's very easy to get lost in GTA V's world both figuratively and literally. It's partly because of the sheer size of 35 square miles, allowing you to spend hours just walking, driving, or even flying around the map. It's also because of the many beautiful sights you get to see, causing you to often stop and take it all in. So it doesn't matter if you're walking along a beach packed with people, biking around a dimly lit city, cruising down a highway next to the ocean, or just hiking on the forested mountains, GTA V's world feels like a real place you can explore endlessly.
Comment

Pro
 Online multiplayer

GTA V has included an online multiplayer mode where up to 30 players can play at the same time in the online world.
Comment

Pro
 Improved graphics over every other version

The PC version of GTA V is the optimal experience when it comes to graphic quality. Improved lighting and anti-aliasing make a big difference over the games XBox One and PS4 counterparts.
Comment

Pro
 First person mode

The entire PC game version has had an engine tweak that allows it to be played in first person view, making for the first time in the series run that this option is available for the full playthrough.
Comment

Pro
 Well optimized

There were many reservations as to how well Rockstar was going to optimize the game for PC, as some of their past games had a lot of trouble in this area. Luckily it looks as though the game has been optimized quite well with the specs being quite reasonable in order to achieve 60FPS in 1080p on the best settings.
Comment

Pro
 Supports up to 4K resolutions

GTA V supports resolutions all the way up to 4K on the PC version.
Comment

Pro
 Rockstar editor

The included Rockstar editor allows for user to create their own Machinima and gameplay videos. The tools are very robust allowing for many different day, weather and character options.
Comment

Pro
 Game saves can be imported from console versions

Players that have game saves on their console versions can import the save to the PC version, this way they will not have to start the game over from scratch to enjoy it on PC. Rockstar has a support page specifically to transfer the saves.
Comment

Con
 Forced Rockstar Social Club online registration DRM scheme

Rockstar Social Club is a forced online registration and DRM platform that will not allow one to play the game without first logging in to it. No internet connection, no play. Forget the password to the account three times, get locked out. All hindrances to paying customers that in no way will stop the piracy of this title or effect pirates in any way shape or form.
Comment

Con
 Population density slider in the options does not make much of a difference

The population density option in the PC version does not make much of a difference in the game, while it does have more people and cars than the console counterparts, the increased number is not by much.
Comment

Pro
 Solid gameplay and puzzles with multiple solutions, and not just an interactive piece of art

There are many ways to play the game, whether that's finding the location of secrets while you're a ghost, or using your resources to scam your way into them while you're alive. Good example? There's a cave across a lava river. You could either make a flat rock fireproof, give it the ability to walk and take orders, jump on it and command it to take you to the other side. OR You can just kill yourself, walk over the river while you're dead, and find a hidden spawn point while in the cave. You find these keys that look important but there's nothing to do with them, along with an old recording log from a former beta tester. You can either be perceptive and find where you need to put the blocks after looking everywhere worth looking, OR You can just read the logs, listening to this tester complain that players don't look up and the puzzle is freakin' stupid and it needs to be erased. After taking the hint, you'll find where you put the keys: Directly above your head.
Comment

Pro
 Interesting side stories

Besides the main story there are several side stories in the game that center around the rest of the people who live in the house. Through interacting with objects in the house one learns of the surrounding circumstances of those that live there.
Comment

Pro
 Deep environmental storytelling

Through interacting with objects in the environment of the game (a house) one is able to learn piecemeal the story that the game is set out to tell.
Comment

Con
 Main story feels badly written

Comment

Con
 Weak voice acting

While most of the voice acting is adequate there are many moments that stick out as poorly done and lessens the experience of the game.
Comment

Pro
 Easy controls

There is no interactive button to control all one needs to do is walk around in order to solve the games puzzles, such as walking over particular tiles or bumping into objects.
Comment

Pro
 Interesting mix of architecture and colors

The game feature different areas that have completely different feels to them due to the use of architecture and colors. One are may look like a temple and use the color blue a lot while another may use modern architecture of concrete blocks and use the color red a lot. This makes for areas that are not only different in looks but gives a sense of exploration as you never know what will be next.
Comment

Con
 Story feels flat

The game really focuses on ambiance and looks more so than story, which means if one wants an entertaining story this may not be the game for them.
Comment

Pro
 Class can be changed at any time

The class system for this game allows for the player to change class and perks at any time, meaning anyone can take on the role of their choosing at the drop of a hat. While this may cut down or replayability due to not having to play through multiple times to experience each class it does make for a great way to test out each one and their perks to land on one of the player's liking.
Comment

Pro
 Open world freedom

Once the introduction to the game is played through, all missions for the game can be unlocked by just walking around the map. The player is free to choose any mission they would like to try, though some may be too tough depending on the player and mission skill level. The game is set in a living breathing world, in addition to the primary missions you will randomly encounter a variety of side missions you can do for additional experience and rewards.
Comment

Pro
 Fun team shooter gameplay with RPG elements

The core gameplay for the division is a cover based third person team shooter, however over the course of the game you can customize your solider in a lot of different ways to keep things interesting. You can unlock various active skills to use during combat, passive perks that buff up your solider and talents that activate when you perform a certain action like getting a headshot. Although it starts simple, as you progress through the game you can then modify and upgrade a lot of the abilities to keep things interesting. On top of all this the loot and gear systems make it really fun to continually upgrade your solider. You have over 10 slots for various bits of gear that have a primary attribute that will improve either your DPS, health or how powerful your active ability are. Weapons also have multiple mod slots, so you can add on different scopes, silencers, grips etc that make meaningful changes to gameplay.
Comment

Pro
 Great matchmaking

This game has made it very easy to group up with friends, nearby players, or random players looking for the same content. Grouping from the player menu is always available, and when you enter a mission you can choose to look for players to join you as well as set the difficulty. Also looking at the ISAC map lets you see friends' locations and invite them to group.
Comment

Pro
 Great use of a cover system

The cover system in the game is quite intuitive. The player can easily crouch behind an object for cover (being that it is highlighted, so the player knows where they can cover) with one button press. Once in cover, any other area within a certain distance will highlight letting the player know they can run to the next spot for cover. This is done through a singular button press while being held down. This makes for an easy way to run from cover to cover with little effort. Which allows for flanking enemies and just an overly easy way to move around without taking too many bullets while in a fire fight.
Comment

Pro
 Lots of fun to play with friends

The missions get hard fast, so the game forces you to co-ordinate with your team and ensure you have the right team composition to beat the more difficult missions. You'll have to keep track of the locations of all your team to make sure you're not getting flanked, be in position to rescue downed friends and let people know when you spot a sniper or a boss.
Comment

Pro
 Rich crafting environment

Every piece of gear and every weapon can be customized with different Mods. But the game does not stop there, as a player can actually alter attributes of individual pieces, deconstruct old gear for parts, and find and build gear from blueprints.
Comment

Pro
 Pleasing graphics

While not up to par of the promotional material Ubisoft showed off a few years ago (not much of a surprise, this is Ubisoft after-all), the graphics are quite good and can easily be set on max setting with a smooth 60fps for those with good components in their computers. Even when using a mid range rig the graphics can easily be on high while getting above 30fps. In general what is present in the game is a winter city that is in a pre-opocolyptic crisis. The snow is randomized and can sweep in and out of the city at any time making for a beautiful representation of snow storms in a city. The city itself is pretty sparsely populated, which allows for less tax on the graphics, but of course the excuse is that it is basically an abandoned city other than the bad guys. There will be a few civilians in the streets but mainly you are alone out there until you run into trouble.
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Con
 Low level graphics (in comparison to E3 & early screenshots)

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Con
 Constant server downtime

Servers are always dropping connection and causing users to lose around 15 to 20 minutes progress.
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Con
 Buggy post release

The game has been buggy across all systems it was tested on. PC has had issues with loading to blank screens, as well as gamepad buttons that stop working mid game. While frustrating nothing has so far been game breaking. Of course ones components and graphic setting may allow for some to experience these bugs while others do not. There is also an issue where users can troll one another by blocking doors and access to NPCs that are necessary to progress as well as other odd graphical bugs such as this. Updates to the game seem to have solved some bugs while also creating others. There is also an unaddressed bug where people are unable to play the game due to a crafted backpack, which if used causes an issue where users are not able to get into the game anymore.
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Con
 No early review copies given out

Usually there are embargo's on new games, meaning that a games review has a set date for when the review can be released. Often it is apparent if a game does not perform well as an embargo will be set for release day or after, meaning the developers and publishers do not want consumers to know how good or bad a game performs, which can potentially cut sales. The Division has no set embargo but had also not given out any early review copies, which means there were no pre-release reviews. While this does not necessarily mean the game will be bad in any way, it is usually best to wait for reviews in order to know if the game works properly. With no early review copies in the wild that means cautious consumers needed to wait a day or more till the reviews came in.
Comment

Con
 Boring grinding system

After hitting level 14 - 15 most missions are either way to high or to low to go back to play. So you are stuck doing awfully boring side missions that become quite repetitive, most are Hostage Rescue or Zone Decontamination and require no effort. The next missions start around level 20, which seems to be a way to force players into the Dark Zone.
Comment

Con
 Poor enemy NPC chatter

The in game chatter of the enemy NPC is laughably bad. As you are shooting them one by one they constantly say the same things that are not really relevant to the situation such as calling you names or just simply stating that you should "get lost". This can be immersion breaking and asks the question what the devs were thinking when putting this type of chatter in the game in these situations.
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Con
 Cheaters running amok on PC

Many players complain about cheaters on PC as it is easy to game the system currently. The problem being that any user who modifies their local memory can then change what happens in the online game. An issue discovered by users in the public beta that Ubisoft promised to fix but never did. It fundamentally breaks the online component of the game as it is too easy for anyone to cheat.
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Con
 Repetitive cover-based shooting

Literally the only mechanic in the game. There are no other true ways to avoid and attack enemies.
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Con
 Boring repetitive side-quests

The side-quests in the game tend to consist of the same tasks over and over again, this is repetitive and can get boring due to not much changing up in side-quest gameplay.
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Con
 Crashes a lot on GTX 770

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Con
 Awful AI system

AI will run all over the place and then stand in front of your turret for no reason.
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Con
 Buggy on Launch and After Updates

on launch the game was broken and the first proper update caused users games to crash instantly or have weird bugs such as (http://puu.sh/nPMwP/9b7898dbe6.jpg)
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Pro
 Fun multiplayer

The multiplayer is a bit like Dark Souls where other players can invade the players world with a twist of them hiding in plain sight while trying to hack the player.
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Pro
 Interactive, hackable city

Throughout the game players can use their in game phone to hack items in the city such as red lights or draw bridges.
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Pro
 Limited co-op play

There is co-op offered in Watch Dogs but it is limited to specific points in the game where players can work cooperatively or competitively to complete a task.
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Con
 Character is boring and gloomy

The character played in the game has a boring and uninteresting story as well is normally gloomy and downtrodden making it somewhat of a chore playing as such an uninteresting character.
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Pro
 Tribal aspects

Users can form a tribe with other online users to for a community. This community can now band together in order to build and grow as well as team up against other tribes. This makes for a fun experience with friends and other players as it requires teamwork in order to be successful.
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Pro
 Good character creation

When starting a new game the player is allowed to choose between a man or woman, from there is a plethora of option for making a character with a personalized or individualistic look.
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Con
 Anti-cheat issues

ARk has started using an anti-cheat tool called Battleye, this has so far broken Linux and Mac support for using official servers. Battleye has also had some issues with banning legit users and does not have a very good reputation. These issues add up to many angry players who paid for the game but now can not play it.
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Con
 Early access

Ark is an early access game meaning it is basally in an Alpha or Beta state. Bugs are easily found and many areas of the game lack polish. While t may not cripple the gameplay this is something to consider when purchasing as there is n guarantee the game will ever be finished.
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Pro
 Beautiful hand-drawn graphics

The graphics and animations resemble a painting in motion thanks to their colorful, hand-drawn style. Lines are bold, with lots of contrasting colors. The crisp, vibrant look is easy on the eyes and helps to make your journey through green plains, forest, and snowy fields even more inviting. With gorgeous backdrops and scenery throughout, exploring the world is simply great.
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Pro
 Immersive Nordic atmosphere

Not only do you fight war gods as a viking warrior, but the entire landscape and story is steeped heavily in Norse lore from start to finish. Rune stones are scattered around the world which give glimpses into tales and stories about mythology. The landscape itself is heavily influenced by Norway including green plains, mountain vistas, and rolling fields of snow. The soundtrack hums along in the background with soothing, woodwind ballads and crashing battle music. All the voice acting is in Norwegian. Taking on the role of a viking warrior as you roam this vast and detailed world is incredibly well done.
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Pro
 Bosses provide an exciting shift in tone

Encountering a powerful boss after the relaxing nature of the exploration is a huge shift in tone. Rather than calmly discovering and taking your time, you're thrown headfirst into action-packed battles. This stark contrast between calm exploration exploration and thrilling combat is incredible, as the sheer physical size of the bosses shows how massive the world truly is.
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Pro
 Great boss battles

Squaring off against the larger-than-life Jotuns (bosses) is action packed and requires paying attention to the mechanics, but the encounters never really feel unfair. Trying to get a hit in with your axe while dodging massive attacks and environmental attacks can be challenging, but doable once you learn the patterns. Each boss features their own mechanics, and surviving each of these encounters can be rewarding knowing you beat it through skill and persistence.
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Pro
 Relaxing exploration

Much of the gameplay is simply focused on enjoying the scenery and soaking up the lore as you explore. Roaming around and encountering lore items that dot the map and then taking a break to listen to the stories contained within can be quite calming. Walking through snowy fields as the soundtrack plays Viking-inspired music really gets you in the state of mind to see whats around every bend. Casually exploring while enjoying the atmosphere is really what this game is all about.
Comment

Con
 Can be a bit boring

Much of the gameplay consists of walking around searching the various areas for power ups and runes. With the exception of the boss fights, there is very little combat. This slower pace may be boring to some.
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Con
 Combat is too minimalist

There is only a light attack, heavy attack, dodge, and a couple special abilities (which are learned as you progress). You'll also use the same axe for the entire game.
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Con
 Overtuned last boss feels very out of place

The last boss is so hard and unforgiving, that it completely ruins the laid-back feel of the rest of the game. This sharp difficulty spike feels very out of place compared to the other bosses.
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Con
 It's a short graphical story, not a game

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Con
 Short gameplay

Only about 90 minutes to two hours long which is pretty short for a game and can easily be finished in a single sitting.
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Pro
 Gorgeous, intricately detailed environments

There is no arguing that the scenery and graphics in Dear Esther is jaw dropping gorgeous. Due to how nothing can be interacted with the environment can be rendered in a much more beautiful way as not much needs to change while walking around.
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Pro
 Narrative driven experience

There are no waypoint markers, no quests, in fact nobody else in this world except the player and the narrator. Hike through the world and discover the inner workings of this person’s mind.
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Pro
 Outstanding soundtrack

The soundtrack is hauntingly beautiful which suits the games visual atmosphere quite well.
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Pro
 Pervasive sense of isolation, loneliness, and mystery

The game takes place on an abandoned island, so in a practical sense the player is alone. Add to that that this is a bit of a ghost story and mystery becomes enwrapped within the isolation of the island making for what is as much of an experience as it is a game that makes for a feeling and sense of loneliness and despair that often is only found in real life.
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Pro
 Can be relaxing

Just sit back, relax, and spend some time with Dear Esther. The experience isn’t long and there’s no pressure to go past the pace you want to go. While it does have a sense of loneliness and isolation the graphics are beautiful and the music is soothing which also lends a hand in the relaxedness of the title.
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Pro
 Addictive to collect loot

You can pick up most of the stuff you see laying around in Fallout 4. Every item, including weapons and armors, can be broken down into reusable crafting materials. This makes it hard to stop yourself from going around and collecting everything in sight because everything has a purpose. You can also find unique versions of equipment on the corpses of legendary enemies. Each of these items has an additional effect such as speed boost or extra damage. This may cause you to constantly pick fights you'll probably lose, but it's worth it once you get your hands on that extremely good piece of equipment.
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Pro
 Solid gunplay with an interesting twist

The gunplay plays so well it almost feels like a pure FPS. You can shoot from the hip, aim down the sights/scope, or even just run and gun. However, what makes Fallout 4 stand out is VATS (Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System). When you activate VATS, the time slows down to a crawl, allowing you to mark body parts of enemies. When you execute it your character will automatically shoot the marked body parts. This is very useful for getting out of tight spots, allowing you to instantly clear groups of enemies or kill a really tough enemy charging at you. It also has the benefit of making you feel like an expert gunman, even if your aim isn't that great.
Comment

Pro
 Fragmented story the player must figure out

The way the story is told matches it's overarching plot of dementia, so that the story is giving in pieces and not in order requiring the user to make the investment to piece it all together and come to their conclusion.
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Pro
 Deeply layered

While there is little in the way of interaction, what is presented to the player is a deeply layered town with many areas to explore. It gives a sense of "realness" that makes for an experience much in the way art or music does, sometimes visceral sometimes eliciting past memories.
Comment

Con
 Side quests are relatively hidden from the player

For those that go into the game blind there is little in the way of explanation that there are side quests hidden in the game that relate to certain objs=ects as one explores. This means that many players will miss a large portion of the title.
Comment

Pro
 Recaps when starting game

Each time the game is started there will be a recap of the story progression so far of the user time spent in the game, this makes for a good way to catch up on what was accomplished last and what is next when spending any long amount of time away from the game.
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Pro
 Humanized upgrade system

Instead of some static menu where you pick and choose what areas to upgrade skills the player need to find characters in the game, who can build and improve items for the character. This way the player is interacting with the upgrade system by taking part in finding and interacting with AI.
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Pro
 Focuses on survival

Being that the game focuses more on animals in the wild as enemies instead of humans (like past games in the series) the player must survive when out in the wild by avoiding or fighting these creatures. An added day and night cycle adds on to this gameplay by making the animals more aggressive at night. The animals can be warned off with fire, but this means the player needs to collect animal fat in order to create torches. All of this adds up to more of a focus on survival, especially at night.
Comment

Con
 Difficult to connect to characters in the game

There is zero real language used in the game, it is all made up, which makes it difficult to connect to any character in the game since nothing is spoken that anyone can understand. This may have been to save money on voice actors, but no matter the reason it does detract from the story of the game and connecting to it.
Comment

Con
 No color blind option

Bad guys are marked in red and friends are marked in green, the most common color blindness is in the red a green spectrum's meaning that those that are affected by this will have quite a bit of trouble playing this game.
Comment

Con
 Really short

The game only has 4 main missions, which can be completed quite quickly. This shows how much this game should have been DLC instead of a full priced title.
Comment

Con
 Poor performance

The game does not utilize multi core threading very well and even on the highest end of PCs with a Titan GPU the game may still dip below 60fps when on max settings at 1080p.
Comment

Con
 Barely expanded from Far Cry 4

The game has taken many aspects found in Far Cry 4 out to focus on things such as hunting and crafting, sadly the hunting and crafting mechanics are barely improved over Far Cry 4, which does speak to the level of development the game received being that even areas that the core gameplay focuses on is not really improved or expanded in any way to make for a more in-depth experience.
Comment

Con
 Same map as Far Cry 4

While the art has changed to look more stone age, the map size and areas are pretty much the same. This of course makes for way less development time and people see it as a shortcut for a full priced game.
Comment

Pro
 Funny creatures

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Pro
 Lots of transportation options

Users can build their own vehicles which makes the options pretty much limitless.
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Pro
 Massive game world

The world is almost too big to traverse on foot.
Comment

Con
 In early access

The game is not yet finished and any design decisions can change. A good amount of the functionality is in an early state and bugs are common.
Comment

Con
 Development progress is slow

Often many devs that do Early Access bite off more than they can chew which tends to slow down development when they inevitably need to switch engines or do rewrite large portions of the game from scratch.
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Con
 Jack of all trades master of none

The scope of the game is quite large when compared to something like Minecraft, which means there are quite a few mechanics in the game that just do not feel that fleshed out. While there is much one can do in the game, when closely looking at how these things work one can see their failings easily.
Comment

Pro
 Difficult storytelling that can hit home

The story of the game involves a family with a learning disabled son and the trials and tribulations that occur. The father is a writer who is trying to concentrate on his newest novel, his greatest work and is torn on how to advance his career while maintaining his family. The player will choose from different options on how to balance this family life, making difficult choices that will have differing effects on the game and story. It is through these tough choices that the player will experience feeling that may have an impact on their mood and maybe even life.
Comment

Pro
 Longevity of gameplay though different choices

There are many different outcomes to the game, all of which can be experienced through multiple playthroughs. this makes for an extension of the time spent in the game and in so makes the game last a lot longer than a linear storied game.
Comment

Con
 Endings seem to obvious

The different endings in the game feel a bit too neat, to obvious for the story that is played through, something more gritty or less conclusionary would have been more fitting.
Comment

Con
 No controls

Which basically means this is more a screen saver than a game. There is nothing to control, no interaction at all other than tones one keyboard will play when keys are pressed.
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Pro
 Art in the shape of a game

Once the player answers random questions and the mountain is formed all that is left to do is observe the mountain and what happens on it. More an art piece than a game this makes for an ambient experience that can be relaxing.
Comment

Pro
 Low system requirements

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Pro
 Amazing story

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Pro
 Fantastic visuals

A surreal looking world that is a dream state of the main character stands out as the best aspect of the game. From the slight movement of the weather to the different structures make for a fantastic looking environment that never allows the player to know what is coming next.
Comment

Con
 Poor story

The voicework of the game is survivable but the story it tells is quite ridiculous. A storm chaser who lost his sister to then become one himself who then lets his daughter of the same name as his sister also take part in the work. Not only is it obvious and contrived but it feels like some poor writing from a low quality cable show.
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Pro
 Basically no instructions

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Pro
 No other life forms

All of the planets in the game do not have any inhabitants making for a very solitary feeling title.
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Pro
 Beautiful world

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Pro
 Zen gameplay about discovery

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Pro
 Explore a vast universe

The game allows the player to explore unnamed worlds in order to solve puzzles on them, through this exploration the player gets to visit a vast universe of unexplored planets.
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Pro
 Best soundtrack

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Pro
 Far different than any game you'll ever play

The central hub of the game is a vast array of dials and switches that are sparsely defined making for a very explorative environments, from there you will go to many different planets that have crazy color designs. While a very solitary title due to no life forms on these planets it gives the player a chance to really absorb the different worlds and their own control panel.
Comment

Con
 Can get boring

The nature of the game allows for what can become quite boring in that there is little guidance and also little to see making for an experience that can become quite "samey".
Comment

Con
 Chinese audio

The Audio is only in Chinese.
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