Action Games Designed for Players Who Love Getting Lost

Often, seeking respite from everyday problems is the fundamental reason why people turn to interactive media, looking to lose themselves in the fantastic pixels of a video game world.

While some genres are more conducive to achieving this, virtually all kinds of games can evoke that feeling, including those one might initially think are the antithesis of voluntarily getting lost: action games.

Even I'm surprised by the number of games that, despite being entirely focused on combat, allow you to explore, wander around, and, of course, bang your head against a wall because you don't know where to go next.

All these sensations are unusual within the genre, but not impossible, as I've compiled in this list of ten action games designed for players who love getting lost.

10 Redfall

For Arkane Studios Fans

I know what absolutely everyone thinks of Redfall, and I'm not bringing it up here to defend it against all the valid criticism it's received. Yet it was still one of the first titles that came to mind for this article.

Even playing it at an unsuitable frame rate, with buildings appearing and disappearing, and disastrous AI, the truth is that every 15 minutes I realized I'd stopped pursuing the main objective to explore everything else.

Arkane Studios has an unparalleled ability to make you feel like you're inside their experiences, and this also applies to the way they convince you to go to that strangely colored house, to enter through that open window, to fight that enemy isolated from the others…

Redfall has many flaws, though when it comes to inviting you to see everything, I think it's great, especially because the gunplay works very well, and it's extremely satisfying to shoot everything alive.

9 Dishonored

Routes for Everyone

Since I'm on the topic of Arkane, I'll take the opportunity to include Dishonored, the best stealth game I've ever played, in a list of action titles to showcase its greatest strength: versatility.

Although its levels are linear and silent infiltration is heavily encouraged, there's a special kind of enjoyment in wandering around, letting your bloodlust take over and taking down every enemy until there's not a single one left.

The game is inherently very immersive, as it's easy to get lost in the sheer number of paths and gameplay options it offers, always ready to try a new route or put some new gameplay tool to use, so the idea of ​​roaming around suits it perfectly.

If its size were bigger, it would top the list, though a masterpiece of this caliber needed more modest dimensions, so I think it's appropriate to place Dishonored below other, more ambitious games.

8 Devil May Cry

A Confusing Island

It's no coincidence that Devil May Cry, a pioneer of the hack-and-slash genre, appears on a list like this, considering it was originally intended to be a Resident Evil game.

As a result, elements like its fixed camera, limited number of enemies per room, terrifying tone, and, most relevantly for this occasion, an interconnected mansion, are part of its magnificent and timeless appeal.

However, in the process of finding its own identity, the first Devil May Cry is as immersive as it is confusing, with rooms whose orientation isn't always clear and specific levels, like the underwater ones, that are downright cognitive labyrinths.

For many, the game's partial non-linearity is a hindrance to enjoying it, but for me, it's yet another reason to pay homage to it. It's a unique game in the genre, considering that most followed in the footsteps of the third installment of the franchise, which only adds more soul to its intriguing style.

7 Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag

Many Indicators, Much to Do

It's been over ten years since I've fully enjoyed an Assassin's Creed title, and it's precisely Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag the one that I cherish as the last time I truly felt immersed in a game from the series.

By improving upon the great but imperfect ideas of its predecessor, Ubisoft created a stunning Caribbean adventure where, both on land and at sea, there were countless interesting activities to complete and enjoy.

Diving, naval battles, parkour through the trees, facing off against dozens of guards, infiltrating locations undetected, completing side missions… It's the kind of game that, before you know it, you've sunk hundreds of hours into and still feel like there's more to come.

Of course, the point here isn't to get lost in the literal sense, but rather in the metaphorical one. Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag remains a typical Ubisoft game with dozens of indicators, though even these don't prevent the power of curiosity and the desire to explore from making you change towards unknown paths at every turn.

6 Lies of P

The Heir of Soulsborne Games

Despite being more linear than its peers, which reduces the chances of getting lost, Lies of P is a scaled-down version of what FromSoftware does on a grand scale with its maps.

Instead of a semi-open world, this marvel offers clearly differentiated scenarios that hold countless secrets within them, for which backtracking, which you might do dozens of hours later, is essential.

While the menu helps guide you, Lies of P offers many side stories and additional objectives that provide both lore and powerful tools, but these are only accessible to those who take the time to understand the dialogues, decipher the information capsules, and so on.

Therefore, you can watch the credits of Lies of P without getting lost once, but if you want to truly enjoy the experience, you'll have to connect with all its gameplay systems and environments, which is where you'll revisit even the starting areas numerous times.

5 Resident Evil 2

Going Round and Round

Following the previous entry, it was inevitable to mention a game from Capcom's most acclaimed series, so I'm going to invoke 2019's Resident Evil 2 to represent all its peers, both younger and older.

Aside from comparisons of narrative, gameplay, or characters, the reason for my choice lies in the level design, as the various environments of Leon Kennedy and Claire Redfield's first appearance are captivatingly intricate.

The sheer number of unexpected connections between rooms, the map's progression, and the accessible complexity of the puzzles will likely have you wandering around more than you theoretically should, but you'll be amazed by the process.

Besides, having a seven-foot bioweapon relentlessly pursuing you adds a significant layer of complexity, further hindering your ability to navigate Resident Evil 2, which makes it all the more compelling.

4 Dragon Age: Origins

A World to Immerse Yourself Into

No other gameplay structure is better suited to immersing yourself in the world of a video game than role-playing, so discussing Dragon Age: Origins in this piece is simply a matter of duty.

Despite its dated gameplay and graphics, few titles have matched BioWare's ability to create an immersive universe, much less with the sheer variety, density, and appeal of narrative branches found in the franchise's first installment.

You can create dozens of characters and experience completely different adventures with each one, precisely because the game allows you to roam freely and interact with your entire environment however you see fit.

Years go by, and every time I revisit it, I realize all I missed in one area while getting lost in another, because Dragon Age: Origins seems to have no end when it comes to choices.

3 Hyper Light Drifter

No Directions or Signs

As the first indie game I ever played, Hyper Light Drifter is not only among the titles that have most influenced me as a player, but also among the experiences that most opened my eyes to the possibilities of interactive media.

It's not very common to see a game choose to use a foreign and unintelligible language to make you feel so vividly in the shoes of the protagonist, a wandering being devoid of identity, though here it's one of the fundamental elements of a journey without direction.

Beyond knowing that you have important bosses to defeat in each of the four cardinal directions, you don't know or understand anything. Who you are, what's chasing you, where you are, how to upgrade your arsenal, where to go, who to talk to… You're alone, so much so that not even the game itself accompanies you.

You have to travel, explore and make mistakes, connect the dots, and give meaning and explanation to everything that happens in Hyper Light Drifter, so that getting lost is not only natural: it is the raw material of an odyssey that needs you to go off the path to find your way.

2 Hollow Knight

Spatial Orientation at its Finest

Metroidvanias are quite adept at misleading the player, but few experiences have been as immersively confusing as Hollow Knight, which captivated me far more than any game ever has.

The way the title gradually expands as you explore and grow stronger, enticing you to return to showcase your progress and access previously inaccessible areas, is among my most cherished memories of video games.

I spent more hours wondering what to do than knowing what to do, but those magical moments when you finally find the right place after exploring its vast world are truly magical, especially because a magnificent boss or a stunning audiovisual experience always awaits you around every corner.

Just when you think you've seen it all, you discover a secret wall, a dream boss, or an NPC you didn't know had a quest, because Hollow Knight always offers something more, as long as you're willing to put in the effort to uncover it.

1 Dark Souls

A Real Adventure

Considering that multiple entries on this list have been influenced by it, and that the number of video games inspired by its formula reaches into the thousands, it was to be expected that Dark Souls would be the undisputed king of this category.

Few developers in the history of video games, especially in the AAA realm, place as much trust in their players as FromSoftware, who disregard years of advancements in design, interface, and accessibility to throw you into an unforgiving world that doesn't want you to succeed.

Without indicators, guides, companions, explanations, or anything remotely resembling the concept of orientation, you only have the empty mandate to find two bells and your will to continue, since Dark Souls depends entirely on your ability to endure the difficulties and fight until you win.

This applies not only to its challenging enemies and bosses, but also to the map itself, whose confusing layout with early connections to endgame areas will give you more than a few headaches, though also a corresponding sense of satisfaction when you understand everything.

If the premise of this article is to combine action games with the art of getting lost in a world, I can't think of a better alternative than this one. Other FromSoftware games are either more linear or more easily digestible, though Dark Souls in particular strikes the perfect balance between effort and difficulty.