Open world games are all about exploration, taking the road less traveled and creating a personalized journey. Tons of players flock to this genre precisely because of the freedom it grants. The ability to curate one's own experience and take it as fast or slow as each player wants can be quite appealing to some.
However, some open world games don’t like it when players explore too much, or too soon. Some games have clever in-game warnings or hints essentially telling players to go away or that they're not supposed to be here yet. Some straight up traumatize players with the hardest enemies they'll ever find, while others take the lazy route and restrict them.
7 Far Cry 4
Far Cry 4 follows Ubisoft’s open world formula to a tee. It’s a well-established plan where players are thrust into a large open world with multiple areas, open-ended missions and quests and areas to conquer and capture. Far Cry 4 unfortunately didn’t get the memo that open worlds games are supposed to be, well, open.
Far Cry 4 has a lot of parameters that restricts the players. There are warnings if the player is about to exit the mission ‘zone,’ and it's even possible to fail a mission by straying too far. It's extremely counterintuitive considering the array of options that are seemingly available. Some sniper rifles are even incompatible with certain mission ‘zones’.
6 Pokemon Mystery Dungeon
Some players love to explore every nook and cranny they can. They like defeating as many enemies as possible and soaking in all the precious loot and experience. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon has a warning for these players: no turtling!
If the player is progressing too slowly through a dungeon or a particular part of the dungeon, the game lets them know that they need to hurry up. First they get a few warnings, each making it clearer that something’s up. After three warnings, a wind blows the player completely out of the dungeon, and they lose all progress. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon wants the player to explore, but not too slowly.
5 Metro Exodus
This applies to all the games in the Metro series, and even similar games such as The Last of Us 2. While this hardcore survival game doesn’t tell the player not to explore, doing too much too early is definitely not ideal. It’s a subtle balancing act, where going off the main route and exploring too much means that players use up precious resources, like ammunition and health.
Doing this earlier in the game can be especially problematic as players are still new and getting acquainted, and their equipment isn’t that good anyway. It’s a well crafted risk-versus-reward question that each player must consider.
4 Dark Souls 1
FromSoftware’s Dark Souls series is known for punishing players and doing so needlessly. But they, too, followed this trend in the first iteration of the mega hit franchise. Not too far from firelink shrine lies a path of graves and skeletons leading the chosen undead down to the Catacomb. Do not go there. This area is way too difficult this early in the game, and enemies are smarter and stronger. There's also a necromancer constantly summoning skeletons and a scarce supply of bonfires. The game makes it pretty clear early on to not explore this area.
The game is littered with similar hints telling the Chosen where not to go too early. For example, Ash Lake is one of the most beautiful and idyllic locations in the entire series, but it's best not to go there before the player gets the lord vessel, else they face a long and arduous backtracking session.
3 The Witcher 3
The Witcher 3 is one of the most popular and critically successful games of the modern generation. Part of this is due to the game’s massive, detailed open world, which players can sink dozens upon dozens of hours into. However, this game is also fond of punishing the player for going somewhere too soon or when under prepared.
The map is littered with high-level mobs that are supposed to deter newer players. Often times though, beating them is highly rewarding. Players can run into the archgriffin when exploring Skellige at a time when they’re woefully under-leveled. Novigradian Sewer mobs can be problematic too. This, however, works both ways. High-level mobs can also be a sign that a player hasn’t explored enough, and is thus under-leveled. It's all a balancing act and CD Projekt Red excels at it.
2 Elden Ring
FromSoftware’s latest release is perhaps their most ambitious project yet, featuring a sprawling open world that is equally dense and difficult. Players have been waiting to delve deep into the game but again, make sure to explore the right places at the right time. Stormveil Castle is a focal part in the game’s critical path, but this area is way too difficult at the start. Margit, the Fell Omen, poses quite a challenge.
This area progresses the game’s story and can take players several hours to cover, so it's best to do so at the right time. Moreover, the difficulty is understated, particularly considering how early players can go to Stormveil. The game makes it clear it's best to avoid it for a while. After having gathered some good loot and defeated a few other bosses, it's best to explore the Weeping Peninsula before going through Stormveil.
1 Bloodborne
Bloodborne is a scary, difficult, and punishing game, and it wants players to suffer at every turn. The game makes sure the players don’t bite off more than they can chew, and if they do, so it makes them suffer. Yahar’gul the Unseen Village is the perfect example of this. Going to this area before the red moon means the player is here too early and has probably been caught by the body snatchers.
Similarly, Hypogean Gaol is a nightmare. It’s extremely difficult, the atmosphere is eerie, and the enemies are terrifying. While its impossible to explore the whole village this early in the game regardless, Hypogean Gaol is still a very difficult area and the boss, Dark-beast Paarl can be tough opponent this early in the game.