Summary
- Kenshi demands players to train a squad to survive in its harsh open-world, challenging the notion of being the "chosen one."
- Dragon's Dogma 2 offers punishing battles against monsters, urging players to get creative and level up to make traversing easier.
- Elden Ring's open-world challenges players to explore, level up, and make strategic choices before facing challenging bosses.
Open-world games tend to be some of the most forgiving, especially as many open-world games tend to allow players to explore the vast open world at their own pace and therefore level up or prepare how they see fit to then interact with the main story or side content.
Best Strategy Games That Are Punishing But Fair, Ranked
Strategy games are extremely fun to play, as they offer variety and excitement. Here are some titles in the genre that are punishing but fair.
This doesn't mean that all open-world games are easy to complete, as some titles are still quite punishing due to them requiring players to learn various mechanics or practice various battles repeatedly in the hopes of facing challenging foes. Therefore, these are by far the most punishing yet forgiving open-world games available for players to enjoy.
8 Kenshi
Train The Squad For The Chance To Survive
Kenshi
- Released
- December 6, 2018
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Lo-Fi Games
- Publisher(s)
- Lo-Fi Games
- Genre(s)
- RPG, Open-World, Survival
- Platform(s)
- PC
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
Open-world sandbox titles are arguably some of the most forgiving due to them allowing players to play the game how they want. However, Kenshi is somewhat of an exception, as this sandbox title can be quite harsh to survive in. Players don't only have to look after one character, but also the rest of their squad, which requires players to train each member if they hope to survive.
Kenshi highlights that the player isn't the chosen one or some hero, but instead a regular person that must work hard if they hope to survive in this hostile open world. With enough effort put into the game through the various forgiving occupations, a player will start to feel less punished by the various encounters they face in this sandbox.
7 Dragon's Dogma 2
Challenges The Players' Choices
Dragon's Dogma 2
- Released
- March 22, 2024
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Capcom
- Publisher(s)
- Capcom
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG
- Platform(s)
- PC, PS5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
Dragon's Dogma is a classic that many players are thankful has returned with Dragon's Dogma 2. Players that are somehow nostalgic about the difficulty of the open-world RPG when it was originally released will be thankful to hear that Dragon's Dogma 2 is just as punishing for players, from intense battles with deadly monsters to having to get creative with how they explore the world.
As players progress throughout the game, it does become a bit easier as they acquire ways to make traversing the world of Dragon's Dogma 2 easier, as well as leveling up their character and finding better pawns, which can even make the various battles of the game less grueling too.
6 Atomfall
Scavenge For Survival
Atomfall
- Released
- March 27, 2025
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Rebellion Developments
- Publisher(s)
- Rebellion Developments
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, PC
Atomfall may not be entirely open world as some of these games are. However, due to the open zones that players are instead able to explore, Atomfall feels large enough to allow players to feel as if they are exploring an entirely open-world game.
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These battles in Baldur's Gate 3 prove that the toughest encounters in the game aren't always boss fights.
As another survival title, Atomfall can be quite a punishing experience for players that haven't experienced a title like that before, as well as the beginning of survival titles always being an uphill battle. Even as a survival game, each open zone in Atomfall is a fair experience as it attempts to provide the player with as many resources as they need, as long as the player is cautious about what they use.
5 Horizon Zero Dawn
Be Prepared To Face Huge Robot Animals
Horizon Zero Dawn
- Released
- February 28, 2017
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Guerrilla Games
- Publisher(s)
- Sony
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
There is nothing more punishing than being a simple human woman taking on giant mech animals. Exploring the open world of Horizon Zero Dawn is quite an experience, as players will need to put the effort into Aloy if they hope to eventually take on some of the hardest robots in the game.
Players who hope to survive against some of the most violent of creatures, such as the Thunderjaw, will need to approach battles tactfully. These monsters can be some of the most punishing if a player doesn't prepare properly. Fortunately, Horizon Zero Dawn does provide players with a wide variety of weapons able to target an equally varied set of weaknesses in enemies, providing tools and traps to help in each type of fight players come across.
4 Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2
Improve Through Playing More
Kingdom Come: Deliverance II
- Released
- February 4, 2025
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Warhorse Studios
- Publisher(s)
- Deep Silver
- Genre(s)
- RPG, Action-Adventure, Open-World
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
Since the success of the original Kingdom Come: Deliverance, players have been looking forward to Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2. The original RPG title was quite a punishing experience for players, with quite a harsh learning curve for those that were interested in experiencing the original story of Henry.
While Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 has received some quality of life changes to allow more players to enjoy the title, it can still be quite a punishing but fair experience. As players play more of the open-world RPG, they will start to quickly understand combat as well as level up Henry to make survival much easier for him.
3 The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Learn Each Monster's Weaknesses
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
- Released
- May 19, 2015
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- CD Projekt Red
- Publisher(s)
- CD Projekt Red
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
Similarly to Atomfall, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is an open-world game that is split into zones the player can freely explore. As a Witcher, it is the duty of Geralt to deal with the various monsters that threaten the villages and towns.
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The First Berserker: Khazan is packed full of difficult boss enemies, with these being the toughest of the bunch to take down.
These monsters come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, with each of them having their own weaknesses that a player should be certain to exploit when dealing with them. If a player doesn't pay attention to their Witcher training or use the tools available to them in The Witcher 3: Wild Hun t, facing these monsters can be far more punishing, especially when playing at harder difficulties.
2 Elden Ring
Take On A Hostile And Beautiful World
Elden Ring
- Released
- February 25, 2022
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- From Software
- Publisher(s)
- Bandai Namco Entertainment, From Software
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
Unsurprisingly, one of the most punishing but fair open-world games is Elden Ring. With players already enjoying FromSoftware's more linear titles (comparatively) such as Dark Souls, the jump to a fully open world was something few players even dreamed of for this iconic developer.
Due to the open-world experience of Elden Ring, the game is made more approachable compared to From's previous games by allowing the player to make their own choices about where they go in the world and how they wish to prepare. This means spending time leveling in the dungeons around Elden Ring before they take on the main bosses, as well as exploring to find the weapon and armor that fits them the best.
1 The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild
Players Make Their Own Objectives
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
- Released
- March 3, 2017
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Nintendo EPD
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Wii U, Switch
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
Out of all the punishing but balanced open-world games, the best that players should be sure to experience is The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. While this game may not be as punishing as the likes of Elden Ring, it is similar in its approach to allowing the player to freely explore the world as they see fit to prepare before facing a possible boss or making it to the end of the game.
With plenty to find around the map of Breath of the Wild, it is a fair experience due to how much Nintendo provides the player with. Even if weapons can break after a certain number of uses, it causes the player to prepare and come to terms with the mechanics of the game.
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