Open-world games are always full to the brim with details and story notes that give players a pretty good reason to stay invested over the course of a long narrative. A lot of the lore and main points regarding the world and the characters are very out in the open, meaning that players don't need to dig too deep in order to understand the characters and their place within the wider universe. This also makes it so that the large majority of the playerbase has a pretty straightforward view of the narrative, being dictated by large narrative arcs and interactions that feel pretty closed by the end of the story.
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However, there are situations where the lore and information seem virtually endless, sending players on wild goose chases that can span several years and potentially never end. For games like this, it feels as though new discoveries are made every single year that goes by, which is particularly impressive given how many eyes have scoured these worlds and how long they have had access to them.
Elden Ring
Countless Theories Coming To Reality
Details:
- Revelations about higher beings
- Ties into Nightreign
FromSoftware has long been a frontrunner in the world of narrative complexity, and Elden Ring is no exception. The world is enormous and crammed with lore snippets and details that many players will never come across, even after several playthroughs.
A large part of the recent discussion centers around Nightreign and how the two games connect with one another into a much larger narrative that extends far beyond the islands. One of the more interesting talking points focuses on the Outer Gods and the idea of higher cosmic powers pulling the strings, as, thanks to item descriptions and pieces of dialogue, it is very clear that there is more at play than a single unique entity.
Fallout: New Vegas
Information Outside Of The Actual Gameplay
Details:
- Cut-content revealing details about huge factions
- The success of the show has put more eyes on the older entries
New Vegas stands at the top of the open-world RPG space and for good reason. The world is fascinating, the characters are intriguing, and the fountain of lore continues to amaze players well over a decade on, with more and more details arising that each help to piece together a grander image of the wasteland.
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Recently, cut content has been the primary source for new lore revelations, specifically in regards to certain factions like the NCR and the Brotherhood of Steel having much deeper motivations than those present within the game itself. Other files also suggest a higher level of complexity within the conflict, painting these groups in a much more grey light that would have made in-game choices far more challenging overall.
The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind
An Endless Stream Of Knowledge
Details:
- Links to ESO
- More concrete evidence regarding larger arcs within the narrative
Morrowind took the ES series to new heights when it was first released, and since then, it feels like only the surface has been scratched in terms of lore and narrative detail. A lot of the more abstract ideas, like the divinity of Almalexia, have become increasingly challenging to argue, as with new details coming from ESO, suddenly, the higher powers don't seem so holy after all.
Hidden texts and contradictory accounts also suggest that the Tribunal's reign was sustained not through power alone, but through myth-making and artificial beliefs. But because the game provides no definitive answers, the exploration of ancient lore is as much about piecing together minute details as it is about speculation in the search for truth.
Gothic
Before The Remake, There Is Still More To Learn
Details:
- Theories about the Sleeper
- Potential for the remake to reignite the search
Gothic is certainly one of the more mysterious open-world RPGs out there. A lot of the lore remains deliberately opaque and open to interpretation, with only subtle cues being given about even some of the most important aspects of the world itself.
A crucial detail that has become more intriguing in recent years is regarding the Sleeper and its true nature. There are plenty of accounts and smaller notes that players have uncovered that indicate that its influence predates the Barrier itself, but only time will tell if there will be more answers in the remake or just a long list of additional questions.
Dragon Age Inquisition
Removing The Veil
Details:
- Veilguard is ushering in a new wave of searches
- Deep dives into Tevinter and the Veil
Dragon Age: Inquisition’s lore has gained new relevance as players revisit its exploration of the Veil and Tevinter’s obsession with reshaping reality. Codex entries and ancient elven ruins imply that the world’s current structure is fundamentally unstable, and these ideas tie directly into The Veilguard, allowing the narrative to feel more open-ended than finite.
The game’s deeper lore suggests that magic, politics, and history are all symptoms of a much older mistake. As connections to the other games become clearer, Inquisition feels less like a standalone epic and more like a pivotal turning point in a long-running cosmic disaster that appears to have far more to tell than anyone initially thought.
Red Dead Redemption 2
Just When You Thought We Had Moved On
Details:
- Brand-new secrets with unclear motives
- Speculation about a third game and links to modern titles
Red Dead Redemption 2 is jam-packed with secrets and tiny story details that encourage players to go above and beyond and really scour those outer edges. Because of how much content is tucked away in the most obscure places, it has literally taken years for the majority of it to be found, but even then, there seems to be more out there in the wilderness.
Most recently, a discovery was made involving a series of telegraph poles that each have a spider symbol on them. Piecing these locations together and players have mapped out a much larger web of locations that seem to point to Fort Wallace, where the trail ends, but where to go next remains a mystery that may never be solved.
Horizon Zero Dawn
More Intelligent Than Artificial
Details:
- Bringing clarity to the obscure nature of the AI
- Sequel/DLC is creating a more cohesive narrative
Horizon Zero Dawn’s lore has only grown richer as players reassess its portrayal of artificial intelligence and its motivations within the universe. The original game’s revelations about GAIA and its subordinate functions gain new weight when viewed alongside Forbidden West and its subsequent DLC.
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What once seemed like a closed-loop disaster now appears to be an ongoing experiment in autonomy, ethics, and evolution, spanning a much longer series of time than the games themselves show. Audio logs and datapoints hint that humanity’s attempt to control creation was never truly successful, and the deeper players dig, the clearer it becomes that Horizon’ s world isn’t just post-apocalyptic, but post-humanity as well.
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey
Tying All The Pasts Together
Details:
- Connections to Mirage
- Complex web of stories across generations
Odyssey’s lore continues to evolve as players connect the Isu mythology to later entries like Mirage. The game reframes ancient Greece not just as a historical setting, but as a foundational era for the Assassin–Templar conflict, with hidden artifacts and cryptic messages suggesting that the Isu influence extended far deeper into human culture than initially implied.
These connections turn Odyssey into something more than just a spin-off. The game instead represents a core keystone in the franchise’s timeline, which only becomes clearer with each new entry, taking older notes with seemingly no purpose and turning them into pivotal story points that connect even the most fragmented dots in the series.
Kenshi
Unearthing The Most Hidden Details
Details:
- Game files indicate a more structured style of faction politics
- Absurd depth within the world, meaning many more details may never be found
Kenshi’s lore isn’t just hidden in dialogue or in the world itself, but buried in the game’s files in places that virtually no one will ever see. Players have uncovered evidence of more structured faction politics and abandoned narrative arcs that suggest a far more organized world beneath the surface chaos.
Ruins, skeletons, and broken economies all point to a civilization that failed in stages rather than all at once, feeding into the concept of brutality despite there clearly being structure tucked behind the destruction. Even without explicit storytelling, the game still manages to drive players forward with a compelling universe that reveals its lore through discoveries rather than straightforward reveals.
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