Summary
- Video games offer escapism, but the open-worlds depicted may be nightmare scenarios compared to reality.
- Survival in settings like zombie apocalypses, post-apocalyptic worlds, or haunted forests is depicted as extremely challenging.
- Life in these virtual worlds often entails struggles with monsters, scarcity, war, and constant danger.
Using their rich, expansive environments, video games have the magical ability to whisk their players to another world, stealing them away from reality for a few blissful hours at a time. That's the reason video games, in addition to the fact they're downright fun to play, serve as millions of people's key form of escapism.
But when players stop to think about the virtual worlds they're vacationing in, and what it would be like to actually enter them, the fantastical gleam of video games begins to wear off. Most of the open-worlds gamers play in would, in reality, be a nightmare to live through. The list below comprises some of the open-world settings no one wishes to be isekai'd to anytime soon.
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10 The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
War And Monsters Across The Continent
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
- Released
- May 19, 2015
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- CD Projekt Red
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
Set in a fantasy world based on Earth's 13th century, existing in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt's world as an average Joe would be a miserable experience. When playing the game, there are many villages and towns players can come across where the residents' lives are near-perfect reflections of what life in the real medieval period would have been like.
Poverty, famine, a life expectancy of 30 years... Alone, these make up for a life of hardship and strife, but when monsters and constant wars are thrown into the mix, things start to look pretty dire. Even the lives of people like mages and witchers would be horrible, with the former being hunted down for their magical abilities and the latter having to endure a torturous childhood only to live a life fighting monsters.
9 Days Gone
Cardio Is Key In The Zombie Apocalypse
Days Gone
- Released
- April 26, 2019
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Bend Studio
- Genre(s)
- Open-World, Action, Adventure
- OpenCritic Rating
- Fair
Any zombie apocalypse would lead to a miserable existence. Modern infrastructure is nonexistent, mindless monsters make up the planet's population, and running into another survivor can be worse than coming across a zombie.
Days Gone stands out as particularly bad, as the game belongs to the 28 Days Later subset of zombie titles. In this world, the zombies — or Freakers — aren't slow-moving husks, they're pack-roaming marathoners that don't get tired. So, on top of the typical survival struggles, people would have to attain an Olympic level of cardio to simply run away from these guys.
8 Dying Light 2: Stay Human
Nightmarish Zombies In The Aftermath of the Haran Virus
Dying Light 2 Stay Human
- Released
- February 4, 2022
WHERE TO PLAY
As with games like Days Gone, living in Dying Light 2's world is automatically a nightmare, what with modern society having collapsed and zombies shambling across the earth. Dying Light 2's flavor of zombie, however, is a mixed bag that can range from the stereotypical walking dead to superhuman monsters like Volatiles.
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With there being numerous variations of the undead, survivors would have to consider a great deal more variables than in a typical zombie scenario, making an already difficult life that much more stressful. The only saving grace of this world is that some of the infected are less active during the day, giving survivors a few hours that are marginally easier to survive.
7 Fallout 3
The Nuclear Devastation Of The Wasteland
Fallout 3
- Released
- October 28, 2008
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Bethesda Game Studios
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG
On the surface, Fallout 3 might seem like one of the more bearable settings on this list. In the game, the protagonist can come across locations like Rivet City, which seem to hint that the world is gradually rebuilding some semblance of infrastructure. But, ignoring the fact that living in them would come with their own slew of problems, between these settlements are still stretches of land filled with mutated monsters and murderous bandits. Traveling anywhere or gathering supplies would always be a constant gamble, with the risk of being eaten or shot at a constant high.
6 Metro: Exodus
The Miserable Life of Post-Apocalyptic Russia's Metro System
Metro Exodus
- Released
- February 15, 2019
WHERE TO PLAY
Metro Exodus is in a similar boat as the Fallout franchise. Both worlds are the result of a nuclear disaster, and both worlds seem to have rebuilt some form of society. Still, living in one of Metro's tunnels, though 'safe' from monsters and the irradiated wastes above, means a sunless life of rations, cramped and dirty living conditions. With resources being so scarce, life in the Metro tunnels has also led to the formation of factions, all of which enforce some form of authoritarian life.
5 Mad Max
Surviving An Australian Desert Full of Bandits
Mad Max
- Released
- September 1, 2015
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Avalanche Studios
- Genre(s)
- Action-Adventure, Open-World
- OpenCritic Rating
- Fair
Other post-apocalyptic settings at least have the saving grace that water is still somewhat accessible. In the desert world of Mad Max, however, food and water are more valuable than gold. Second to that is probably fuel, which is used by the various roving bandit factions in their parade of spiky cars.
Speaking of, without a set of wheels, survivors are unlikely to make it far, with Mad Max's being mostly composed of long stretches of sandy wastes. Life in that universe would be a constant struggle, with people regularly murdering each other over something as simple as a glass of water.
4 Diablo 4
Demons Everywhere In Sanctuary
Diablo 4
- Released
- June 5, 2023
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Blizzard
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG, Hack and Slash
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
Similar to other dark fantasy titles, living in Diablo 4's world is terrible by default thanks to its medieval-inspired setting. However, Diablo 4 is particularly awful due to Sanctuary (the game's main setting) being caught in the crossfire of the constant struggle between heaven and hell.
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When playing the game, it feels as if players only need to go a few meters before coming across a roving band of demons. Trying to survive as an ordinary person, in a world where it's possible to come across a pack of towering goat monsters while walking to the well, would be a nightmare. Considering how much Diablo 4 amped up the franchise's grim darkness, it's a miracle anyone is alive.
3 Elden Ring
The Dead World Of The Lands Between
Elden Ring
- Released
- February 25, 2022
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- From Software
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
Elden Ring is filled with just as many beautiful and idyllic locations as there are terrifying and oppressive ones, making it seem, out of the other entries on this list, as though it might be one of the more bearable worlds to live in. But, as is on brand for FromSoftware, The Lands Between is a setting choked with death and desperation.
Besides fellow Tarnished, every other person — or person-like being — the player comes across is either hostile, undead or deranged. Pair that with the fact that the world is filled with numerous, extremely powerful monsters, and that anywhere that could have provided refuge is now in ruin, the odds of surviving in Elden Ring's world become next to impossible.
2 Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader
In The Grim Darkness Of Warhammer 40k's Future, There Is Only War
Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader
- Released
- December 7, 2023
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Owlcat Games
- Genre(s)
- Strategy, RPG
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
Warhammer 40k: Rogue Trader puts players in a privileged position within the 40k universe that is hardly reflective of what life is like for an ordinary person. Most people aren't granted the luxury of commanding their own ship. Instead, they're often squeezed within a hive city, performing some sort of laborious job within the dark depths of its labryinthian streets, or added to the cannon fodder in the Astra Militarum. The latter of these options would see them facing off against unimaginable horrors like Tyranids or interdimensional demons from the Warp.
Even if one was to end up as a part of one of 40k's other civilized societies, like that of the Aeldari or the Tau, they still come with their own existential and cosmic horrors. The former, for example, were almost driven to extinction after their collective excess birthed the Chaos God Slaanesh, who subsequently consumed the souls of most of the species. Outlining every reason that the Warhammer 40k universe would suck to live in is a task that would take multiple lists to complete.
1 Darkwood
Trapped In A Haunted Forest In Poland
Darkwood
- Released
- August 18, 2017
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Acid Wizard Studio
- Genre(s)
- Survival Horror
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
Acid Wizard's Darkwood places players in one of gaming's most terrifying settings: Poland. Or at least, a part of it that has been twisted by dark forces, birthing a supernatural forest home to all manner of horrors.
A day in the woods is hard enough, requiring one to scavenge for resources while avoiding or fighting mutated monsters and other crazed individuals who are also trapped. But night is where the survival rate truly drops. Those without a well-lit shelter and a generator to power it will be subjected to the shapeless horrors that lurk in the dark. Even with a stable shelter, being subjected to the sounds of Darkwood's nights and the various supernatural phenomena alone would be enough to make someone snap.
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