10 Adventure Games that Make Every New Location Feel Like a Major Discovery

The feeling of discovery is among the best experiences a video game can offer, embodying what we love most about the interactive medium: experiencing countless impossible adventures.

This industry's ability to transport us to uncharted worlds is fascinating, especially when the creators of such works allow themselves to explore the true possibilities that the context can allow.

Games that focus on exploration are often very difficult to accomplish properly, yet the reward for succeeding is usually a monumental journey that captivates everyone who has the privilege of experiencing it.

Therefore, in order to recognize these titles' greatness, which allows us to travel to fantastic spaces and feel like we are inside them, I invite you to read this list of ten adventure games that make every new location feel like a major discovery.

10 Stray

Posthuman Spaces

Although it's not a game I'm fond of, and it's considerably more linear than the others on this list, I want to give Stray a chance to praiseone aspect of its design I find truly remarkable: the transitions between areas.

There's a certain subtle artistry in the way you enter the next physical space where your adventure will unfold, and I think the organic and fluid nature of exploration in BlueTwelve Studio's work makes experiencing these transitions feel monumental.

It's not usually through grandiose screens or cinematics, but rather through meticulously designed architecture that contrasts with the size of our feline protagonist, leading you to feel tiny before the colossal structures that loom before you.

It's a very different feeling from what will be portrayed in the rest of the article, though I want to honor Stray's ability to manifest dimensionality through the use of spaces and transitions, as few games achieve a memorable result in such a transparent element.

9 Chants of Sennaar

A Biblical Myth

Chants of Sennaar plays with the player's ignorance but from a cognitive perspective, placing them in practically alien locations where the key is deciphering their ancient language.

Although the entire title takes place within the same tower, the areas you traverse during your adventure feel like stumbling upon the archaeological remnants of entire civilizations, making the enjoyment of learning about them an exploratory experience in itself.

Certainly, finding these places doesn't produce said 'eureka' moments, as this actually comes from the distinctive process of connecting with their forms and legends to solve the puzzles that each space so creatively presents.

It's a game with a lot of soul and charisma that feels unlike anything you've played before, transforming confusion into discovery so many times within the same sequence that you feel the enjoyment without respite.

8 Tchia

Tropical Landscapes

As someone from the Caribbean, I'm always captivated by games with authentic tropical settings, so you can imagine my feelings when playing Tchia.

Regardless, I don't let my sense of belonging cloud my judgment when it comes to including it in this writing, as it's actually an aspect that brings a great deal of freshness to the ideas established by games like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

Given its open nature, it's extremely easy to get lost among its natural landscapes, focusing on the variety of flora and fauna, as well as the countless monoliths that catch your eye in the distance, always enticing you to explore a few more meters to see what lies on the horizon.

It's a minimalist but highly effective formula: every time you catch a glimpse of something, you can't help but be intrigued and want to examine it more closely, and so you continue until you realize you've reached the credits.

7 Return of the Obra Dinn

One Place, Dozens of Stories

That Return of the Obra Dinn appears on this list, considering the entire game takes place inside a not particularly large ship, is curious, though it makes more sense than it initially seems.

Instead of multiple locations, the game transforms its sole location into a multifaceted reality by varying it according to the narrator's testimony, as each corpse tells the story of a different Obra Dinn, reflecting their experience of the catastrophe.

The game's surprises lie not in the unexpected discovery of an underground tomb or an abandoned mansion, but in the way it constantly expands its overall picture as you gain access to new parts of the ship.

Each room is a world of possibilities when you consider all the lives lost within it, why, and at whose hands. Thus, when it comes to discoveries, Return of the Obra Dinn is imbued with a perpetual atmosphere of revelations that doesn't cease even when you think you know everything.

6 Rain World

Climbing the Pyramid

Games that explain absolutely nothing and throw you into a harsh realm that does everything possible to destroy you have become some of my favorites, which is why I'm such a big fan of Rain World.

Absolutely every pixel you discover feels monumental simply because it's yours, as there's nothing to guide you but your own inventiveness, curiosity, and ability to explore every hidden corner of this beautifully desolate universe.

Rain World is a demoralizing game because it will make you cry with frustration, but it will also make you feel like a small child in an endless park where your imagination and reality meet, only within a digital space.

Recommending this title is like trying to explain to someone that drinking cold water after brushing your teeth is satisfying: it makes no sense and seems designed for masochists, though it provides a special aftertaste unlike any other experience.

5 Sable

A Fascinating Atlas

Sable is, within the indie empire, the closest I've seen to the fundamental design philosophies imparted by Nintendo throughout its history, and that statement says it all.

The number of times you're completely awestruck by breathtaking architectural settings, captivating visuals, or vibrant color palettes is staggering, especially considering its short length.

It's astonishing that such a brief campaign can deliver so many stellar moments, but Sable is brimming with instances where you can't help but marvel at every new location you encounter, particularly the originality of its mythology.

Speaking of scale, movement, and presence, it's a game that conveys magnitude and grandeur at every turn, making it feel like a full-blown adventure where curiosity is the driving force behind everything.

4 Subnautica

Unnoticed Depths

Taking the most hated biome in video game history, due to its iconically bad levels over the years, and making it your entire setting is incredibly daring, but Subnautica pulled it off brilliantly.

Much has been said about how little we know about marine life, but I dare say this thalassophobic journey is an extremely close encounter with what we hope never to find in real life, only to witness within the safety of video games.

Being so deep underwater that you can't see an inch of your face and stumbling upon sanctuaries, alien bases, and more is an unforgettable experience, with discoveries feeling even more special by encompassing both places and beings.

No matter how much you explore or how many YouTube videos you watch, Subnautica always has secrets to unfold, turning exploration into a magical, eerie, and memorable event, with a density and variety very few products can boast.

3 No Man's Sky

Truly Infinite Possibilities

Far from being the unfinished and misleading product it was at launch, No Man's Sky has become one of the greatest bastions of exploration video games, and deservedly so.

Simply by virtue of being procedurally generated, it's a virtually infinite space odyssey in which, after so much content and so many updates, you truly are exploring an unprecedented galaxy.

Being able to name planets or species is a vital part of the No Man's Sky experience, which is made possible precisely by the endless vastness of its content, enabling very real possibilities for discovering things no one has ever seen in the game.

The situation is such that, at this point, I don't know if the legend will ever truly end, as its universe has expanded so much both in-game and within the players' minds that it feels like an immortal reality that's going to transcend us all.

2 Outer Wilds

A Diversely Living Galaxy

However, despite genuinely appreciating the value of procedural design, I'll always gravitate towards handcrafted experiences, which is why Outer Wilds wins out over its endless counterpart.

While the content density and number of options are significantly lower, traversing the meticulously designed planets of its universe as part of a galactic puzzle is simply an unmatched experience.

Familiarizing yourself with its physical rules, understanding the role they play within the grand scheme of things, connecting the dots that link one planet's problems to another's solutions... The meticulousness with which it's all orchestrated is astonishing, worthy of being called divine.

From stumbling upon an entire globe to understanding why jellyfish are important, everything in Outer Wilds is splendid precisely because nothing is irrelevant, even when what you discover isn't directly related to solving the loop's dilemma.

1 Animal Well

Each Layer is a Dimension

When I think about the title of this article, two things immediately come to mind: that we need more experiences based on exploration as both the goal and the means of the gameplay, and Animal Well.

If the verb "to experience" were to become a video game, it would probably take the form of this masterpiece of indie development, whose depth is so absurd that it would require an inconceivable amount of mental effort to finish if it were not for the internet.

You can stick to the first few hours of gameplay, see the most immediate ending, and consider it finished, though the layers this game holds are extraordinarily more complex than simply following its somewhat predetermined path.

Thanks to the creativity of its tools and the interactivity of its biomes, as well as its endless secrets more intricate than entire ancient mythologies, Animal Well makes even finding a simple hidden room with nothing but candles feel spectacular.

Don't let its pixel art design and microscopic context fool you: you may not find colossal statues or ancient pantheons, but you will come face to face with discoveries that not even the wildest of dreams would allow you to access.