9 Open World Games With No Fast Travel

Open-world games, as you might guess, are types of games set in expansive, freely explorable environments. These often feature richly detailed landscapes comprising numerous regions, diverse biomes, and bustling urban centers – quite a challenge to navigate!

Instead of getting overwhelmed by an endless array of possibilities and routes in open-world games, these games typically offer a fast-travel feature to minimize the hassle of traversing the vast map. This way, you can explore different areas with more ease and flexibility.

In other words, some open-world games choose not to include fast-travel options, instead relying on well-designed maps, smooth navigation systems, and intriguing world development to maintain player interest during their journey from one place to another.

It’s bold design, but it can pay off big time, as these open-world games prove.

We might incorporate some games that primarily rely on minimal teleportation and fast travel mechanisms, however, we’ll focus on titles where it is possible and advisable to play without relying on these elements altogether.

9. A Short Hike

A Mountain to Climb

Many of these games opt not to incorporate fast travel even in expansive worlds where it could be beneficial. However, the game we’re starting with today takes place in a compact open world so small that fast travel isn’t necessary at all.

As Claire, a tiny bird striving to reach the mountain peak for better cell phone signal, you’ll begin your journey on foot, initially limited in mobility options.

As you gather feathers and assist Non-Player Characters (NPCs) within this miniature realm, you’ll find yourself swiftly flying across the map in mere moments.

Demonstrating that an excellent map design, coupled with effective utilization of space, can indeed make a small amount very impactful – A Short Hike remains one of my favorite relaxing games for a leisurely Sunday afternoon, and it’s unique among open-world games as it can be completed in just one session.

8. Tchia

Sun, Sea, Soul Jumping

This game, Tchia, has a form of fast travel, but it’s not extensively used. In fact, I played most of the game without realizing the somewhat restricted fast travel options, indicating that the game doesn’t really require or emphasize this feature much.

Instead of just hopping over to different destinations around New Caledonia’s ports quickly, consider taking advantage of the enjoyable travel experience Tchia offers; skipping it might mean missing out on some fun.

By utilizing Tchia’s ability to swap souls, you can transform into various creatures like birds, bugs, fish, or any sentient being within your view, enabling you to perform consecutive transformations and navigate the world using nature in ways that were previously just imaginative.

Should you ever pause at a harbor to gain speed, here’s my two cents: You’re not making the most of your journey.

7. The Forgotten City

Mod Turned Masterpiece

This Skyrim mod transforms an otherwise speedy game filled with quick travel spots into a richly detailed and captivating experience, demonstrating that not all games necessarily require instantaneous teleportation, particularly when the miniature universe is meticulously crafted and engaging.

In The Forgotten City, you encounter a perplexing predicament involving a time loop. As the player, your task is to delve into this ancient Roman metropolis, decipher a chain of logical riddles to uncover hidden truths, and be mindful not to violate the cardinal rule.

This work showcases exceptional writing and world-creation, which is truly remarkable given its origins as a simple mod. Therefore, if you’ve been meaning to praise it, now is the perfect opportunity.

6. Dredge

Lovecraftian At Sea

In this game, there’s another minor wildcard – the Manifest feature in Dredge, which offers quick travel adjacent functionality. However, it’s important to note that the game primarily lacks conventional fast travel options. Instead, players can unlock a spell enabling them to teleport back to a key location on the map.

As an avid explorer, it’s clear that the remainder of this captivating archipelago calls for a hands-on approach. Every nook and cranny on the map conceals its unique blend of perils, surprises, and enigmatic puzzles, each as chilling and Lovecraftian as the next.

Players must catch fish, collect resources, and enhance their boat to venture deeper into the initial zone.

However, it is crucial to adhere to your curfew as well, or face the consequences from the monsters lurking beneath the surface. It’s a unique and captivating indie game that emerged in recent years, offering a fresh twist on the popular fishing genre with its quirky charm.

5. Outward

Fantasy Minus Fast Travel

In Outward, a game resembling The Elder Scrolls that doesn’t hold back, travel between locations was initially available but has since been removed entirely.

Or:

Initially offering limited fast travel, Outward – this Elder Scrolls-like open-world game – now features no quick-travel option at all.

In the game Outward, if you don’t plan ahead, you’re setting yourself up for failure – it earns its nickname ‘Dark Souls for Couples’ for a reason. It provides minimal tutorials and guidance, but harshly penalizes players who underestimate the seriousness of their journey.

As a gamer, diving headfirst into Outward’s vast, sprawling landscape, I can’t help but feel a sense of immersion that arises from the absence of fast-travel. This game transforms into an authentic survival RPG where every step I take feels like a testament to my will to survive. It’s not for the faint-hearted; only those who are willing to engage with the world fully, to explore every nook and cranny, will truly thrive in this captivating realm.

As a fellow gamer, I must say this game is like a love-it-or-hate-it situation, much like Marmite. However, if you’re yearning for a fantasy RPG that empowers you and sticks to classic RPG values, then there aren’t many other games out there that can rival its quality.

4. Pathologic 2

Brutal In The Best Way

The game “Pathologic” deliberately aims to be challenging, making you feel discouraged, tested, and despairing about your chances of success. Consequently, it’s not surprising that navigating the game isn’t designed to be a simple, effortless experience.

Rather than walking everywhere, which is troublesome given the shortage of time you have to help people back home, this often results in difficult choices or, even worse, an unexpected confrontation en route that forces a decision upon you.

Leaving out the fast travel option contributes significantly to making this game an intense, heavy, and grueling experience. As a longtime advocate for this indie gem, I couldn’t ask for it to be different.

3. The Forest

Timmy, Where Are You?

When it comes to challenging survival games, The Forest stands out as one that plunges you headfirst into a perilous situation. Unlike being thrown in the deep end of a swimming pool, here you find yourself stranded on an isolated island, inhabited by ravenous cannibals who have abducted your child.

If you feel a strong urge to be a protective father, you’ll have to discover the island, establish a life using whatever meager resources you can scavenge, and traverse a complex network of caves, all without the convenience of instant travel.

In simpler terms, this implies that when you find yourself in a difficult situation such as getting lost in the dark, you’ll have to endure it. And if you encounter someone who may want to eat you, like a cannibal, you might need to use your wits and resources to survive, perhaps by pretending to cook them like a Sunday roast.

The absence of quick transportation makes every journey from your base an adventure fraught with risk, which keeps The Forest intensely captivating from the opening scene right up until the end.

2. Atomfall

Brilliantly British

Atomfall is an innovative game that challenges traditional open-world game design norms by making daring choices almost everywhere. Instead of typical quests, it offers leads; adjusting skill trees to encourage exploration rather than experience point grinding; and crucially, it lacks any fast travel feature.

As a gamer, I’ll be delving into this puzzling corner of the Lake District, sans any teleportation abilities. This means that solving the game’s mysteries will be just as challenging as surviving in this harsh environment.

Combine it with the close-quarters fighting that recalls the style found in the Sniper Elite games from the Rebellion franchise, and you get an undiscovered gem that eschews conventional fast travel methods, making it more enjoyable as a result.

This game might be divisive, similar to Marmite, as it doesn’t offer much guidance. However, if you appreciate a challenge, just like me, you could find yourself quite fond of it too.

1. Outer Wilds

A Monumental Metroidbrainia

Among all these games, there’s one that truly respects my gaming intuition and avoids talking down to me. That’s Outer Wilds. I’m the explorer here, after all!

In this game, it provides you with enough guidance to grasp the fundamentals, before setting you free in an actual solar system, where your mission is to locate the missing puzzle parts necessary to break free from a continuous time loop that you’re trapped within.

In the vast emptiness of space, each choice carries immense significance because quick transportation isn’t possible, making a single misstep potentially disastrous. A slip-up in landing might be lethal, while an overly confident leap could result in endless drifting through the cosmos.

This game develops gradually, requiring players to become deeply involved, since understanding is key in this Metroidvania-style world. Yet, if you invest yourself wholeheartedly into it, you’ll be richly rewarded a hundred times over.

2025-04-08 13:40