Summary
- Some open-world games challenge players with overpowered enemies and constant difficulty spikes.
- Games like Zombi and Days Gone emphasize survival and avoiding fights for better gameplay.
- Elden Ring and Monster Hunter Wilds focus on player adaptability with tough enemies to defeat.
Open-world video games are generally designed to empower players, allowing protagonists to conquer their expansive environments gradually. However, some games take a different approach by immersing players in open worlds that keep them in an underpowered state, forcing them to adapt to constant challenges and sudden difficulty spikes.
8 Most Frustrating Open-World Games, Ranked
Open-world games can be some of the most unique and memorable games out there. However, sometimes instead of fun, they can be frustrating.
While most games provide ways for the main character to become stronger and overcome these challenges, many open-world games—whether in the horror, action-adventure, or RPG genres—feature overpowered enemies and increasingly difficult gameplay. As a result, even when players have fully upgraded their characters or obtained the best weapons, they often still feel outmatched by the challenges that lie ahead.
Zombi
Beginners Are In For A Relentless Romp Through London
Zombi
- Released
- August 18, 2015
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ Due To Intense Violence, Blood and Gore, Strong Language
- Genre(s)
- Survival Horror
In a sea of zombie video games, Zombi is often overlooked despite its high quality, featuring a London-set story that pays homage to British zombie movies like 28 Days Later and Shaun Of The Dead. The game features Resident Evil-style item management and relentless zombies that regularly challenge players, often leading to death and subsequent respawning as new survivors, who must then find their zombified former selves.
Not only does the concept give Zombi a unique identity, but it also makes it one of the most challenging zombie open-world games as players scavenge every nook and cranny of London’s streets for supplies. It can take hours just to advance through one section of the story, and the zombies never get easier to deal with, even with the best weapons in the game.
The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild
Nintendo Changed The Legend Of Zelda For The Better
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
- Released
- March 3, 2017
WHERE TO PLAY
Link is known for being able to take on any enemy with the right equipment in his other games, but in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, he is outmatched by even the most basic Moblins. Once the initial training area is complete, Hyrule is available to explore in any direction, and that can result in meeting the Guardians and Lynels far too early, resulting in Link's inevitable demise.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild introduces weapon and shield durability, which can be frustrating early on as items break and players have to find replacements. Additionally, Link is noticeably weaker in Breath Of The Wild, as most enemies can take out three heart pieces with a single hit, forcing the player to grind and complete as many shrines and upgrades as possible to survive.
Subnautica
The Entire Planet Is An Ocean Of Terror
Subnautica
- Released
- January 23, 2018
WHERE TO PLAY
On the one hand, Subnautica excels at making the player truly feel like the sole survivor of a spacecraft on an undiscovered alien planet, surrounded by nothing but ocean for miles. It executes its concept well, balancing the ability to craft new equipment and weapons with the constant dread of a Leviathan swimming up from the depths to make a kill.
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As players progress through the game, they encounter increasingly larger underwater monsters. The combination of breathtaking visuals and survival-focused gameplay has solidified Subnautica as a modern classic. Before first-time players have the chance to build a vehicle or a base, they often feel overwhelmed by the presence of underwater creatures and the constant need to surface for air.
Stranded Deep
Sharks Are The Least Of The Players’ Concerns
Stranded Deep
- Released
- April 21, 2020
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T For Teen due to Blood, Crude Humor, Mild Violence
- Genre(s)
- Survival
If Cast Away and Minecraft had a baby, the result would be Stranded Deep, an open-world sandbox in which players can travel between a multitude of remote islands scattered across an endless ocean. From scavenging wood and rock for creating makeshift tools to hunting deadly sharks in the ocean, Stranded Deep always feels like a nightmare scenario brought to life.
Even if the player knows all the ingredients to craft a tool or a piece for their raft, they are still at the mercy of the procedurally generated world and islands. Not every landmass is guaranteed to have the items needed not only to advance, but also to keep the protagonist alive, especially when sharks, poison, and even too much sun can kill the player in short order.
Days Gone
Players Are Better Off Never Fighting The Zombies
Days Gone
- Released
- April 26, 2019
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Drug Reference, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Strong Language
- Genre(s)
- Open-World, Action, Adventure
While Deacon St. John is a skilled survivor in Days Gone, he is not a superhero with unlimited means of taking out the zombie-like monsters known as Freakers. The majority of the game is spent avoiding the zombies, especially if they are in hordes, because when working together, they swarm like a hive of ants, and it’s nearly impossible to kill them.
Days Gone is well-known for its motorcycle gameplay. To enhance realism, players must find gas to fuel Deacon’s bike and perform maintenance; otherwise, it will break down. Even after obtaining the best upgrades and fully automatic weapons, it is often more effective to avoid Freakers or to eliminate them using a stealthy approach.
Don’t Starve
A Game That Manages To Be Cute And Stressful All At Once
Don't Starve
- Released
- April 23, 2013
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T For Teen due to Fantasy, Violence, Crude Humor
- Genre(s)
- Survival, Management
Don’t Starve is another attempt to replicate the survival game style, similar to Minecraft, but with a dark and whimsical aesthetic that fans of Tim Burton are sure to enjoy. The visuals may be cute, but the gameplay aligns with the title, as it is a struggle to stay alive, especially for beginners who may not be familiar with the game’s mechanics and crafting recipes.
During the daytime, Don’t Starve presents a challenge in finding the right materials, but even just touching the wrong object can have serious consequences, including, but not limited to, teleporting the player to the opposite side of the map. At night, however, Don’t Starve becomes a whole different beast, with pitch-black darkness that can lead to insanity, which has understandably adverse effects on the gameplay.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Hunting Ghouls And Goblins Is Not A Walk In The Park
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
- Released
- May 19, 2015
WHERE TO PLAY
Despite Geralt of Rivia being known as the greatest monster hunter on The Continent, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is far from a breeze when it comes to facing the many creatures and evil beings in the game. Not only does the player have to do the proper research to find which sword, oils, and magics to use, but they also have to make sure they have the stats for such a fight.
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Geralt comes up against many difficult foes during The Witcher 3, but here are the toughest of them all, ranked.
Even with all the preparation in the world, it is not always guaranteed that fights will go smoothly. The Witcher 3 has massive maps that feel daunting to explore because trolls, giant spiders, and undead lurk around every corner. Swinging swords wildly is not the way to go, especially when dealing with higher-level enemies that can easily dodge or have high defense.
Monster Hunter Wilds
Upgrading Equipment Is The Bread And Butter Of The Series
Monster Hunter Wilds
- Released
- February 28, 2025
WHERE TO PLAY
Feeling underpowered compared to the enemies is practically the central concept of Monster Hunter, and that continues with Monster Hunter Wilds, which provides a large open world to play in. Like other Monster Hunter games, the player has to build new equipment using materials gathered from hunted creatures, but the game never becomes easy.
Each new monster introduced is a behemoth of teeth, spikes, and supernatural abilities, which turns Monster Hunter Wilds into a gauntlet for gamers, especially when playing solo. Every monster has its unique weaknesses and methods for bringing them down that take a lot of patience to master, but even with strong weapons, it’s far from easy to complete a hunt.
Elden Ring
Even Dark Souls Veterans Aren’t Ready For It
Elden Ring
- Released
- February 25, 2022
WHERE TO PLAY
The developers at FromSoftware already excelled at punishing gamers with iconic games like Dark Souls and Bloodborne, but they took it even further with an open world in Elden Ring. It’s the same concept as Dark Souls, with absurdly strong enemies and bosses that can take out the player with one hit or reward them with experience points that are instantly lost the next time they die.
While there are changes and even improvements made to the Soulslike formula, anyone who has played FromSoftware’s previous titles can get an idea of what challenges are ahead in Elden Ring. Unlike past games, farming experience points to try leveling up stats barely helps, with most of the upgrades coming from dropped items, forcing beginners to rethink their Soulslike tactics.
8 Best Open-World Games With Intense Group Combat, Ranked
Some of the best open-world games typically incorporate combat into their game. The combat systems that allow you to fight multiple enemies at once are so satisfying once you beat the odds. In this video we go over the 8 open-world games who had the best intense group combat.