Top 15 NEW Exploration Games of 2021
#15 Exo One
Platform: PC XSX|S
Release Date: TBA
Exo One probably the best way to describe what I understand this game to be is remembering the old mobile game Tiny Wings. Now this was like at the height of mobile games, when like Angry Birds was huge, and there were a lot of endless runners and it kind of combined the two things this is that in 3d with like photorealistic but surrealistic styled, just insane, beautiful graphics, you play as this alien craft. Basically, you roll down hills, you jump at a time that is going to get you as high as possible and you glide from that point forward. The mechanic is very different looking, but the exploration looks in depth. This is beautiful alien landscape that has a lot of variety. There is a demo of it available. It is pretty interesting. But again, this is a game that is going to be expanded upon significantly by the time it releases sometime this year. So while the demo is beautiful and very cool in the mechanic is very neat. There's probably a lot more to see, and I'm quite interested to see it so one will land sometime this year.
#14 Stray
Platform: PC PS5
Release Date: October 2021
Stray is a puzzle game set in an open world cyberpunk city in which you play as a cat. This is one of those games where I have thought that it has looked tremendously interesting since the second they announced it way back in April of 2016. s h k project stray is obviously a way better name and much more reflective of the type of thing that they're selling you but the world is populated by robots because there are no humans left. I think that is just a really interesting setting. And having an open world puzzle game where you play as a cat in any setting would be cool. But this one in particularly looks great strays coming in October 2021 for Windows, PlayStation four and PlayStation five.
#13 Junkyard Simulator
Platform: PC
Release Date: 2021
Junkyard Simulator. So this is an interesting game because you basically play owner of a scrap yard and while it is not like a top down management, Sam or anything, you move around in an open world exploring your junk yard, harvesting various crap turning it into something and selling it. Honestly, it's a pretty damn cool game. It's a game that'll be entering early access at some point in the near future, but looks really interesting. A lot of people complain about violence in games, but this is one of those games that looks like it may not only please those folks, but also the type of person who likes violent games because it's grungy and oriented around like the lower class rungs of society. I like it. I think it's pretty cool looking. I will play junkyard simulator, absolutely 100%
#12 Occupy Mars The Game
Platform: PC
Release Date: TBA SOON
Occupy Mars The Game a game in which you essentially do exactly what it says you occupy the planet Mars but really what it's about is colonizing Mars, exploring it finding new areas, finding regions, finding water, making oxygen growing crops, really just a Mars simulator for all intents and purposes. And a lot of the reason this game looks so interesting is how accurate and intends to model physics with the wide openness of Mars and accurate physics simulation on all the vehicles should be very interesting. There is a demo available now it is going into early access soon. I think occupy Mars is going to be a really interesting probably big game this year.
#11 Skull & Bones
Platform: PC PS4 Xbox One XSX PS5
Release Date: TBA
Skull & Bones, which we have talked about for a long time. So Ubisoft game based on the naval combat parts of the Assassin's Creed games, and honestly, it's been looking like a game that I've wanted to play for an incredibly long period of time. It is oriented towards open world exploration in terms of where you're going, what you're finding what you're doing. But there's also obviously the naval combat elements of it, which is what inspired it in the first place. Probably the most interesting competitive mode I think is going to be loot hunt, in which you're basically exploring the map to treasure hunt. I think that's ultimately going to be a lot of fun and will be a very competitive, perhaps maybe even eSports staple Skull and Bones is coming to most platforms sometime this year.
#10 Open Roads
Platform: PC XSX|S PS4 PS5 XBOX ONE
Release Date: TBA 2021
Open Roads the next game from Fulbright. The creators have gone home but perhaps most interestingly, to coma which was kind of in a weird way a space station throwback to the Bioshock two Minerva is dead DLC, suns combat Of course, they brought us a new adventure game here with open roads, a mystery thriller set in a very vast, interesting looking pretty world that knowing their storytelling capabilities should be quite intense.
There's actual character interaction in this game for instance, gone home and to coma both features past tense character interaction where we have two leads in this game, which should be interesting.
#9 Everwild
Platform: XSX|S PC
Release Date: TBA
Everwild a new game from rare this game is an absolutely beautiful action adventure game that we don't have a ton of information about. However, what we have seen is absolutely stunning. Now there has been some inference as to Skull and Bones having some type of influence over this. However, we're oriented towards fantasy towards mysticism and the magic of nature, I think, at least in terms of what we seen in the trailer. Of course, exploring this world is going to be beautiful. It really is going to depend on what this game ends up being rare knows what they're doing. And I think that with ever wild, the potential is there.
#8 Season
Platform: PC
Release Date: TBA
Season an action adventure game, which looks very much along the lines of journey. However, with dialogue and characters. It is a positively breathtaking looking game with these characters that have such a set style. And it looks like it may contain a lot more dynamic action oriented puzzles than journey. I am very interested in this game. I can't really explain exactly what's going on or to what extent where the story goes or anything like that. But it's an incredibly dramatic looking game with very beautiful sights, and again gives me serious journey vibes and I love journey. What a great game season coming soon.
#7 Tchia
Platform: PC Stadia
Release Date: TBA
Tchia. A Open World Adventure on a tropical archipelago where physics sandbox stuff is the most important order of the day. Now, in some respects, this looks like it is a very Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild oriented experience. But in others, it's also a physics puzzle game. I think in that respect, it should be an extremely interesting title. But beyond that, it also allows you to possess any animal or object, it seems like kind of an insane game with a lot of different moving parts that may come together to be something special. That's my hope anyways, and I'm excited to play it.
#6 Returnal
Platform: PS5
Release Date: April 30, 2021
Returnal. which is basically a roguelike, where you are sent to a hostile planet that you've crashed on and are stuck in a time loop where you eventually die. Things change each time, the world gets more hostile technology evolves, and you're gradually attempting to figure out how to get out of this time loop and get off of this planet. It looks like a pretty good shooter. On top of obviously being an exploration game. I'm particularly interested in how the world changes as you go through the time loop, but it definitely looks like a title that is going to command a ton of attention this year, and I think returning is definitely going to be worth playing.
#5 Sherlock Holmes Chapter One
Platform: PC PS5 PS4 XSX|S XBOX ONE
Release Date: TBA 2021
Sherlock Holmes Chapter One. We're dealing with a different Sherlock Holmes in this game coming from frogwares in which a younger less experience Sherlock lives in the Mediterranean and has to solve mysteries in an open world sandbox. Now there is a narrative however, I think they're attempting to put a lot of this into your hands because it looks like the point is at least a semi sandbox. I don't know exactly how this is going to work out. However I do know Sherlock stories are always just really fun. And potentially this could have a huge fun experience associated with it. That brings us to lots more Sherlock games which if they did it that's what I would want a sandbox open world Sherlock mystery solving franchise yes plays.
#4 The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2
Platform: Switch
Release Date: TBA
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2. Now, we do not get direct sequels to Legend of Zelda games very often. This is kind of the second although the other was basically a prequel in the form of a Hyrule Warriors game. And let's just be completely clear one hell of a game Breath of the Wild to continues the story after what happens now, what's neat about this is that Dannon hasn't been defeated Ganon is still at the bottom of the castle and all of the malice that grows out of him has really been what you've been taking on. I don't know exactly what the implications for this are. But I will say it's cool. What we've seen is very cool. Obviously we'll see more of the same type of gameplay but I have a feeling we will see a slightly more focused story on account we have already seen the world of Breath of the Wild this high rule we are very familiar with at this point. I'm beyond excited for this one.
#3 Biomutant
Platform: PC PS4 Xbox One
Release Date: May 25, 2021
Biomutant. A game we've been talking about for quite a while now. Bio mutant gives you a lot of flexibility and creating your character in that you are a little bushy animal that does a ton of open world stuff glides around fights in a kind of Dark Souls but slightly more arcadey way but instead of giving you appearance oriented options, and then
oriented options, your skills are dependent on your appearance, like let's say you make a chunker of an animal, he's going to be slower and maybe a little bit more reliant on powerful moves. Same goes for vice versa. This has been in development a long time. I have been excited about it the whole time too. And the more I have seen of it, the more interested I am, I really hope this is the year it is supposedly going to be released May 25, on Windows, PlayStation four, and Xbox One.
#2 Horizon Forbidden West
Platform : PS4 PS5
Release Date : TBA 2021
Horizon Forbidden West, which How can you not want to play the sequel to Horizon Zero Dawn, in my opinion, this is just an immediately important title Horizon Zero, Dawn is probably one of the best executed traditional open world, find the tower, unlock the area, etc, etc. games out there, period. It's gorgeous, the combat is amazing. The story is beyond interesting. I love getting as deep as I kinda into the war. And that is exactly what this is, you're going west, we're going to be seeing San Francisco in the horizon era, it is absolutely exactly what I would like out of this type of game. And if I'm totally honest, like I should have, but I didn't really expect a sequel for this game. So I'm particularly invested in this because I definitely wanted to see where all of this was headed.
#1 Everspace 2
Platform: PC
Release Date: January 18, 2021
Everspace 2 is just an absolutely gorgeous, fast paced spaceship shooter with this sprawling universe that you just get to go and go and go in. There's tons of great action in this game. There's puzzles, it is in every way like an open world game, though. There's so many different things to see. And it is beautiful in terms of seeing like storms and elements and cyberpunk cities. And it's one of these extremely expansive universes that just gives you so many different visuals. But I also don't want to discount how good the actual combat is in this game. It is a fun game. It is currently out in early access. I have to say it is incredibly fun in the state that exists in now. But we will be seeing the final version sometime this year, hopefully. And just to say this right now, if they said alright, this is the final version. It's worth the 40 bucks. However, it is an expanding universe and expanding game, more features, more content,