Open-World game without safe zones

We've all been there: you're playing a game and are suddenly overwhelmed by enemies. Your health plummets and you realize you could die here and lose your progress, maybe even your loot, depending on the title. So you run away, and you find a safe zone and pull yourself together again. The more iconic examples of these are Resident Evil safe room. Soothing music, impossible for monsters to sneak into, you have a moment's respite to collect yourself.

Another is Grace in Fire Ring. How many times have you rushed past enemies to reach the next grace and touched it to rest on it and reset all enemies? Be honest now. Then you have games where no matter where you go, there's a constant sense of danger that just won't let up. Sure, there may be places where you're much less likely to get jumped by anything, but overall you're in a continuous state of survival. Let's take a look at these hardcore experiences that provide some quality challenges.

The forest

The locals are not really friendly

Apart from the fact that you have to take care of your needs The forest by keeping hunger and thirst at bay, the cannibals are the true stressor of the game. These guys will keep you on your toes due to the rather interesting AI that partially adapts and reacts to your actions. There have been some pretty fun and cool videos of players showing how they've managed to “tame” cannibals in this game, which just goes to show that The forest doesn't play with immersion.

Not knowing exactly what each type does, when they attack and so on, not to mention whether you've just happened to build your cover right into their patrol route, are just a few ways the game constantly makes you feel unsure. The longer you survive, the more daring they become. At night it becomes even more difficult, with some cannibals choosing to attack your safe zone. Did I say safe zone? No, because your little shelter isn't immortal, if you have the Allow Building Destruction setting on (which you should, for total immersion). This is not Minecraftwhere you can barricade yourself in a hole in the ground every night. You're never completely immune, and you're never completely at peace, even inside your base.

Do not starve together

You will never be comfortable

Do not starve together best described as a constant uphill battle against a world that wants you to go crazy and fight to survive. Everything in this deceptively adorable world is out to get you, and if it's not the random dog attacks that give rise to terrorizing you, then it will be something like Deerclops during the winter. And even if you manage to defeat that boss, the cold winter might freeze you.

Are you waiting for summer to come? It is also not safe due to forest fires. If you manage to build yourself a semi-secure base through luck and hard work, sanity can still get you if you don't take care of it, playing in shadow creatures when you become unstable enough. Survival is so exhausting in this world that every moment feels tense. Best (or worst) of all things? Your friends are only a superficial comfort in co-op mode.

Green hell

Oh, no — did you sleep on the ground by accident?

Green hell is a game that is essentially a massive, vulgar gesture aimed at the player's face. Don't get too comfortable in the instruction phase when you're just chilling and hanging out with your girlfriend at camp, plenty of shelter and resources at your disposal, because things are about to get wild. As with The forestthere are definitely zones that are much less dangerous in Green Hell's world than others, but still, managing your needs, making sure you have proper protection from wildlife and the local tribe, and being aware of your surroundings is extremely stressful.

Touching a poisonous frog can endanger your life. Drinking dirty water can give you parasites. Sleeping on the ground can also give you parasites. Having to eat raw food, or heaven forbid, human flesh, will cause your sanity to drop and cause you to hallucinate. One simple but stressful thing is that you have to deal with specific nutritional values ​​instead of hunger in general, which means you have to make sure you're not only getting protein, but also carbs and enough fat to keep you going, in addition to staying hydrated. These are threats that are always with you. It is not an enemy; it's a requirement for survival, and it follows you wherever you go in the game, leaving you constantly on edge and incredibly stressed. And can we talk about the fact that you have to check every quadrant of your body for injuries? The psychology of the simple task wears you out quickly.

Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead

The world is on the move and it doesn't wait for you

If you are familiar with Project Zomboidwhich we will talk about next, then the systems for Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead will be recognizable to you. In a post-apocalyptic world full of the undead, you are among the few surviving characters. You must build a shelter, find resources, while avoiding the zombie threat to turn one into yourself. But this isn't just any zombie game. The undead here are smart and cunning, and they'll give you a run for your money.

Even if you clear a specific area in the game, zombies are always on the way and can actually migrate back to that zone. So every time you return to a place you have to clear it again and be on your guard. All of your actions naturally make noise, so you must prioritize stealth and avoid drawing attention by firing weapons at will. A simple boarded up window is also not a final solution to your base, despite all the hard work you put into fortifying it, as enemies can punch through it and negate all your efforts. It really is a constant rush to survive.

Project Zomboid

As time goes on, hope diminishes if you are not smart

Project Zomboid sets the tone brilliantly when you start a new game: this is a story about how you died, not about survival. One thing is certain: everyone always dies. Always, in the end. It's only a matter of time. As in CDDA above, zombies on standard difficulty Zomboid have the ability to migrate. The population will also peak at some point in the game, meaning there are more and more of them in the early part of your survival. Months later, nature begins to take over the world and within weeks the water and electricity are shut off, complicating your prospects for survival.

Loot doesn't respawn in the world, so you'll need to come up with a long-term plan to find a safehouse, but no house is truly ever safe. Having high fences is a pretty solid way to provide some security, but if you don't have it yet, be aware that any completed buildings can still be accessed by zombies who decide to break in. Even if you live underground for several weeks, you risk running out of supplies, becoming depressed, starving, or dying of thirst. So yes, it's not just zombies that create a lack of security, but your own needs and the limited resources as well.

Kenshi

Raids and factional politics galore

Let's make one thing clear: you are at the mercy of Kenshi the world the moment you fall into it. This is a world ruled by the strong, and the warring factions clashing against each other don't care who you are, as long as they can kill you or imprison you.

Even if you're trying to find a nice, quiet little corner that's not connected to anyone, you're going to lure raiders into your base at some point (which, I should add, is an endgame feature anyway, and early on you won't be building your own bases at all). Entering a city is risky depending on who controls it and what they think of you, and these cities can also be raided by other factions, even if you manage to keep to yourself. So never let your guard down Kenshibecause nowhere is completely safe.