Best RPGs If You Like First-Person Exploration

Summary

• Immersive first-person RPGs place players directly in characters’ shoes, enhancing exploration.
• Games like Avowed and Atomfall offer rich worlds with rewarding exploration.
• Titles like S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 and Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 provide visually captivating environments.

The perspective of a first-person RPG is an aspect of those games that is sometimes underappreciated in the gaming world. With a first-person point of view, players are truly placed in the shoes of the characters they’re playing – seeing the world through their eyes.

It’s a component of RPGs that pairs well with their characteristically vast environments. From this point of view, players can become easily immersed in the surrounding sights, convincing them that they’re actually the ones taking the steps through these locations. The games below are RPGs that take full advantage of this marriage of gameplay elements, letting players run wild to experience their rich worlds from a first-person perspective.

10

Avowed

High Fantasy Exploration

Although Obsidian’s Avowed was met with a mixed reception because of its writing, one area that critics seem to unanimously agree on is its world design and sense of exploration. The game is filled with so many moments where players will ask themselves, “What’s behind that waterfall?” or “What’s at the top of that tower?”

And Avowed remembers to do what some games unfortunately don’t, which is to reward players for seeking these places out. Each cave, monster nest, or obscured path will end in something worth the player’s time – whether it be loot or little nuggets of lore. Avowed has plenty of the latter, with the game being based on another of Obsidian’s RPG series, Pillars of Eternity.

9

Atomfall

Investigate The Quarantine

Upon the announcement of Atomfall, many gamers were quick to call it a ‘British Fallout,’ drawing parallels between it and Bethesda’s nuclear inspirations. Now that the game is in players’ hands, it’s safe to say that Atomfall is so much more than a different flavor of Fallout.

The game handles exploration differently from other games by doing away with traditional objective markers and quests. Instead, players will collect Leads – tidbits of information and clues they can collect through various means – that will guide them through the story and to new locations. It’s a system that makes Atomfall‘s exploration feel more organic and rewarding when compared to other mainstay titles in the genre.

8

Dying Light 2 Stay Human

Parkour Through The Apocalypse

Set 20 years after the first game, Dying Light 2 Stay Human places players in a world where the Harran virus has spread globally. The resulting zombie apocalypse has made society regress into a medieval state, something that is made evident by the many wooden structures that adorn the city of Villedor – the game’s main setting.

Exploring the city is not only intriguing from a world-building perspective, but it’s also fascinating from a gameplay one, too, thanks to Dying Light 2‘s signature parkour mechanics. With intuitive controls, scaling a building feels just as simple and easy as walking down the street, and the first-person perspective makes the experience feel ridiculously immersive.

7

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl

Explore The Zone, An Incredibly Beautiful Yet Destitute Location

The core of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl is the environmental design of the Zone, a quarantined area bordering Chornobyl that is filled with all sorts of nuclear abominations. The Zone is eerily beautiful despite its destitute state, with its swathes of wilderness harmoniously contrasting its urban patches and supernatural anomalies. It’s a visual aesthetic that best encapsulates Eastern Europe’s post-soviet take on the apocalyptic genre.

Besides the visual delights of exploring the Zone from a first-person perspective, players can also expect to come across the challenges of its hostile environment. Whether that be other humans or the Zone’s many mutants, besting these threats is difficult but fun nonetheless.

6

Prey

Exploring One’s Options

Set on the alien-infested space station of Talos 1, Arkane Studios’ Prey sees players assume control of Morgan Yu as they work to uncover the secrets of both the station and their past. Exploring the eerie ship from a first-person perspective is a delight in itself, with its environments dripping in atmosphere and providing bits of lore for players to absorb while they fend off aliens.

Where Prey truly shines, however, is in Arkane’s signature sense of player agency that their games come packed with. Objectives can be approached from multiple angles, letting players lean into different tactics and follow different avenues to achieve their goals. Exploring these other paths becomes even more of a treat on multiple playthroughs, helping it remain fresh even for veteran fans.

5

Luncacid

Kingsfield Exploration

Lunacid is an indie gem from developer KIRA that throws players into a subterranean world of fantasy and horror. Citing King’s Field as a direct influence on its Steam page, Lunacid hearkens back to classic ARPGs with its first-person dungeon-crawling gameplay.

Its environments are possessed by a sense of mysticism and horror, with players jumping from areas like serene underground forests to crypts filled with all sorts of ghouls. The magic of Lunacid is in its exploration and the many secrets laid throughout the world for players to find. To say much more about it would spoil the experience.

4

Barony

Procedurally Generated Dungeons

Turning Wheel’s Barony is a voxel-based roguelike that sees players traversing levels of procedurally generated dungeons. With each run being different from the last, players will have to constantly remap floors – bar a few static areas. This may sound tedious at first, but the feeling of never fully knowing what to expect adds a layer of fun tension to the gameplay loop.

Plus, though players will have to do it many times considering the difficulty of the game, sneaking around dungeons and scavenging for loot really captures the hardcore dungeon crawling experience. The way in which the first-person perspective manages to immerse players as they progress is just the icing on the cake.

3

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2

Explore Medieval Bohemia

Set in a realistic recreation of 1403 medieval Bohemia, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 – just like its predecessor – is an excellent game for all those history buffs out there. Every building and town is constructed with impressive historical accuracy, easily transporting players to another time period as they walk through its streets.

Not only that, but the game’s wilderness is rendered in stunning detail. Simply setting off into the woods with nothing but a horse and sword is just as alluring as following Kingdom Come Deliverance 2‘s story. Being able to do so from a first-person perspective is simply an added bonus.

The Classic Fantasy Experience

It’s hard to find a gamer who hasn’t already enjoyed the magic of The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim‘s world. For many, it’s the game that comes to mind when simply thinking of the RPG genre, and this is for good reason. Admittedly, Skyrim still lingers in people’s minds largely thanks to nostalgia, but to say that’s the only reason is unfair.

Playing the game today, fans are still treated to the beauty of its Norse-inspired setting. Picking a direction and running towards it still feels just as exciting as when the game dropped back in 2011. Soaking in its foggy woodlands feels like cozying up during a rainy autumn day and will likely continue to do so for years to come. Though third-person is an option, the first-person perspective is a must for those looking to really put themselves in the shoes of the Dragonborn.

1

Fallout: New Vegas

Wandering Through The Mojave Desert

Set in the post-apocalyptic wasteland of the Mojave Desert, Fallout: New Vegas‘s world, on the surface, may seem quite empty. That impression is quickly assuaged, however, once a player experiences the game for themselves.

The moment players step out into the world, from a surgery instead of a vault like in previous games, New Vegas feels designed to constantly lead them towards something to do. There isn’t a moment where players won’t see something on the horizon to pursue or a character to interact with. Somehow, the desert manages to still feel barren and harsh despite being so rich in content and life. It’s a juxtaposition that acts as just one of the many reasons New Vegas remains to be among the best RPGs in gaming. Being able to experience it from a first-person perspective just allows the experience to feel even more immersive.