RPGs Designed for Players Who Love Getting Lost

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Role-playing games, or RPGs, are well-known for their large, detailed worlds, mainly because they let you feel like you’re living a different life.

Compared to most video games, role-playing games typically offer a much richer experience, packed with more things to do, places to explore, people to interact with, and abilities to learn – all of which are essential for creating a believable and immersive world.

But some stories don’t just follow the usual rules of their genre—they really draw you in, giving you plenty of reasons to lose yourself in their worlds and experience something surprising.

I love the feeling of freely exploring imaginative worlds, and that’s why I’ve put together this list of ten RPGs perfect for players who enjoy getting wonderfully lost in the game.

10. Mass Effect 2

Human Complexity is as Vast as the Galaxy

I generally don’t enjoy science fiction, but playing Mass Effect 2 made me question that. It was a truly captivating experience that almost turned me into a sci-fi fan.

Even though it doesn’t offer a lot of gameplay freedom and has a straightforward design, BioWare’s story is truly engaging, largely due to its incredibly memorable and well-developed supporting characters – arguably one of the best in gaming.

Getting to know the characters, learning about their lives, building relationships, and making important choices – all within the context of saving the galaxy – makes Commander Shepard very relatable. Shepard feels like a blank slate onto which we can project ourselves.

It’s not about thoroughly exploring a single planet that makes Mass Effect 2 so popular; it’s the vastness of the universe and the stories of the people within it. That’s what truly captures players’ hearts, in my opinion.

9. Dying Light: The Beast

When Survival is Enjoyable

I absolutely love first-person parkour in games. It’s fantastic because it makes you feel like you are the character, experiencing the world through their eyes, even without the need for complex movement or rooftop chases.

Simply put, playing Dying Light: The Beast was a fantastic experience. It has the strongest atmosphere of any game in the series, thanks to its beautiful art style and gameplay that really encourages player freedom and imagination.

Castor Woods is the ideal location to effortlessly switch between doing tricks like jumps, slides, and flips, or engaging in intense zombie combat with a wide variety of weapons.

You’ll be incredibly busy for three hours, constantly running from task to task. Then, you’ll suddenly remember the main objective – stopping a zombie outbreak – and get back to it. But soon, you’ll find yourself distracted by thirteen other interesting things, starting the cycle all over again. It’s a never-ending loop of activity and distraction.

8. NieR: Automata

The Post-Apocalypse Can Be Bewildering

Yoko Taro is known for making games that are strange and unique, but also surprisingly captivating. His game NieR: Automata is a prime example, and is considered one of the most remarkable games ever created.

The game surprisingly combines fast-paced combat with role-playing, open-world exploration, story-driven moments, and intense shooting sequences. This unusual mix works incredibly well not because of the individual parts, but because the game’s world brings everything together seamlessly.

NieR: Automata masterfully blends emotional storytelling with deep philosophical ideas. It’s a game that keeps you captivated, even if you’re unsure what’s going on or how many times you have to reach the end to truly understand it.

You’ll find yourself going back to the same places often, and it’ll usually feel like you’re not making any progress. However, the ending will tie everything together, and looking back, you’ll be glad you stuck with it even when things were uncertain.

7. Salt and Sanctuary

Hell Has No Limits

For those who enjoy challenging games, especially fans of the ‘Souls-like’ genre, Salt and Sanctuary can be incredibly rewarding if you’re up for the test.

If you like challenging games that throw you into a dangerous world without much explanation, and where survival is a constant struggle, this is an excellent choice.

This game is captivating not only because it’s a fantastic 2D action RPG with a classic Metroidvania feel and incredible boss battles, but also because of how it draws you into beautifully designed worlds filled with secrets and hidden areas.

Salt and Sanctuary encourages a different kind of exploration than most games. Discovering hidden platforms leading to airborne castles, or realizing a deadly fall isn’t actually fatal, forces you to truly investigate your surroundings. You’ll often find yourself lost in shadowy caverns, unsure of the way forward.

6. Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning

Traditional Fantasy, Traditional Secrets

I appreciate when video games build completely new worlds and stories, but sometimes I like to see familiar fantasy tales reimagined. That’s the feeling I got when playing Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning.

Everything from the game’s colors and enemies to its armor and buildings creates a classic feel, like entering the world of Tolkien, thanks to its striking contrasts.

The forests and dungeons are so immersive that you can easily lose track of the guiding markers, and that’s a good thing! It’s much more enjoyable to explore naturally and follow where the path leads.

This is common in many open-world RPGs, but Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning stands out because it successfully blends classic fantasy elements with a captivating originality.

5. Fallout 3

Make the World Burn… Or Not

Bethesda games aim to fully draw you into their fictional worlds, making you feel like you’re actually in the game, and Fallout 3 is a perfect example of how they achieve this sense of limitless possibility.

I have absolutely no recollection of the game’s story. My memories are completely filled with all the things I discovered while exploring and experimenting.

I quickly understood why people call Fallout 3 a masterpiece not by looking for instructions, but by just exploring the ruined world, struggling to stay alive, and getting lost in the interesting characters and unexpected adventures I found along the way.

Once you stop thinking of the game as a series of tasks and start enjoying it as a full-fledged experience, even small moments like seeing an ant or running from a radroach can feel special. That’s because the game is designed so that wandering off the beaten path is actually how you uncover its heart and soul.

4. Look Outside

Cosmic Content

Despite being created in RPG Maker, those who have played Look Outside would likely agree it’s one of the most compelling and well-executed adaptations of Lovecraft’s stories.

This game stands out because of its ability to create a sense of mystery and wonder, placing players in genuinely original and immersive situations.

Watching Look Outside doesn’t take long – around twelve hours – but fully understanding its meaning and what it’s trying to say can take much longer, potentially four times that amount. This is because the title itself is intentionally vague, and the film doesn’t reveal its secrets easily.

I admire it when a game is so dedicated to rewarding exploration that its secrets are hidden from those who don’t look closely – it feels like a natural extension of the game’s story and world.

3. Dragon’s Dogma

A Middle Ages Full of Fascinations

Capcom is known for creating immersive video games where the journey and exploration are just as important as the plot, as seen in popular series like Monster Hunter and, especially, Dragon’s Dogma.

While there is a story and things that move it along, the main draw of visiting Gransys is fighting huge monsters – you literally climb on top of them to take them down.

One minute you’re guarding a caravan, and the next you’re battling a griffin! That fight could lead you to a goblin camp under attack by a cyclops, and eventually to a cave where you’ll face a powerful, evil eye. If you win, you’ll be rewarded with a legendary staff and two potions that protect against being turned to stone.

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It may seem like an overstatement, but constantly facing difficult challenges is just a normal part of Dragon’s Dogma. The game doesn’t pull any punches, and it’s both demanding and incredibly engaging, making it a game you’ll want to play again and again.

2. Dark Souls

A World That Doesn’t Underestimate You

It’s almost impossible to discuss role-playing games without mentioning Dark Souls, and it consistently appears in those conversations.

To put it simply, few games are as confusing as this one. Lordran isn’t designed to be easy to understand – its layout is tricky, and the enemies just make things even more disorienting.

It’s easy to feel confident about your path, but unexpected obstacles – like a major setback or a frustrating dead end – can quickly throw you off course, making you reconsider and even retrace your steps.

If you’re constantly wondering where you’ve been or what something does – especially when instructions are confusing – you’ll either need to start being more mindful, or you’ll need help from someone who knows the way.

A lot of us tend to rely on guides when playing challenging games, but there’s something truly special about experiencing a game like Dark Souls and figuring things out for yourself. That sense of self-discovery is what makes it so rewarding.

1. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Getting Lost as a Leitmotif

Whether you feel lost in a game is both a natural part of the experience and something the game deliberately creates. Depending on what you prefer, either Dark Souls or The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim handles this better, although I personally think Skyrim does it more effectively.

This game differs from FromSoftware titles because you always know where you are, thanks to plentiful guides and markers. Surprisingly, even with all these helpful indicators, the beautiful scenery still feels completely immersive.

Even knowing the details of Skyrim – like where you are, what to do in the main story, or where to find guilds and gods – the game’s true magic comes from making those things feel like natural parts of your adventure as the Dragonborn, rather than things you’re just checking off a list. It’s about immersion, not just completing tasks.

The game features a huge world filled with interesting places and constantly changing events. It’s designed to feel unpredictable and immersive, even though it has set limits, largely thanks to its incredibly high level of interactivity – you can really affect the world around you.

Whether you get a kick out of playfully putting buckets on people’s heads to shoplift, or you lose yourself in clearing every dungeon, one thing’s for sure: you’ll be playing for a long time without even realizing it.

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2026-02-04 03:42