Combat is the main tool developers use to introduce elements of tension, danger, and skill expression in their open-world games. While this is the case for the vast majority of games in this genre, there are exceptions.
Players looking for an open-world game that focuses very little on combat or forgoes it entirely have a fair number of options to choose from, ranging from walking simulators to gachas to survival builders to everything in between.
8The Witness
A Combat-Free Island of Puzzles and Beauty
The Witnessis a prime example that you don’tneedcombat to make a game interesting. It’s an open-world puzzle game played entirely in first-person, where players go around a huge island filled with secrets worth uncovering.
Combat is non-existent inThe Witnessand players are only given the tools they need to explore the gorgeous landscape and marvel at the wonders therein, attempting to find the solutions to the cleverly designed puzzles if the fancy strikes them.
7Subnautica
A Deep-Sea Survival Adventure Without Combat
Few open-world games have received as much universal acclaim asSubnautica, anundersea survival base-building adventurethat draws the player in with the promise of a compelling story but keeps them there thanks to an addictive progression loop and excellent base-building.
Combat is rudimentary at best, mainly consisting of using the knife tool to kill small creatures. The real monsters of the sea dwell deep beneath the waves and can only be avoided; the tools players get access to have no way of hurting them.
6Forza Horizon 5
No Enemies, Just Endless Roads
TheForza Horizonseries has long staked its claim as the king of theopen-world racing genre, seemingly with no real competition.Forza Horizon 5takes players to an absolutely massive map depicting Mexico in all its varied glory. From steep hills to forests to desert maps, the variety on offer is better thanForzahas ever been.
As a pure racing game, there are obviously no enemies to fight inFH5, though there is a battle royale mode called The Eliminator, a popular holdover fromFH4, but even in this mode, players are only racing against one another in a head-to-head. Of course, all this is entirely optional, and players looking for no conflict at all in their game are free to, well, free roam, and enjoy all the sights thishyper-realistic versionof Mexico has to offer.
5Tchia
An Archipelago Adventure With Heart
Tchiais acozy, laid-back, open-world gameset in an archipelago. Tchia is the name of a young local girl who sets out on a mission to find her lost father, exploring the various islands and meeting their inhabitants along the way.
Tchia’score mechanic is Soul Jumping, an ability that allows players to transfer their souls into an animal or an object, moving it independently. Combat is a factor, but it is a side activity at best; exploration is the game’s core focus.
4Outer Wilds
Cosmic Curiosity
Outer Wildshas the reputation for being one of themost immersive open-world games of all time, and for good reason. The premise is hard to put into words, and explaining it completely ruins the experience for anyone who hasn’t had a chance to play it yet.
What can be safely disclosed, however, is that it is asci-fi space exploration gamewhere the player hops from planet to planet, discovering secrets as they come. Violence is non-existent in the cosmos and there is no killing of any kind. The only reason for the PG-13 tag is occasional environmental traps. The core gameplay loop revolves around puzzle-solving and exploration.
3Satisfactory
A Study In Efficiency
Satisfactoryis an open-world game aboutbuilding the most efficient factory possible, using unlimited resources, a deliciously complex building system, and enough targets and quotas to last hundreds of hours. While players are free to slap together a mining operation, feed it into a manufacturing building, and call it a day, the real fun in the game lies in optimizing the manufacturing loop, tweaking and adjusting outputs and inputs until the result is a picture-perfect factory with no waste, no surplus, and no limit in sight. And then they do it again. The pursuit of perfection is whatSatisfactoryis about, and it is glorious.
While players absolutely can, and will have to, kill alien lifeforms inSatisfactory, it is a minor part of the experience at most. Almost the entirety of a player’s playtime is spent trying to come up with a factory design that makes the best use of space and available resourcesandlooks pretty doing it. The weapons available to the player are limited in scope, with just a basic attack that zaps hostile monsters if they attack. It’s straightforward, button-mashy, and almost definitely the least important part of the game.
2Death Stranding
Traverse A Quiet Apocalypse
Death Strandingis anopen-world game centered entirely around exploration. The game is about navigating the rolling plains and hills of a mostly empty landscape while managing a heavy backpack in order to make the next delivery.
While it is possible to kill things inDeath Stranding, players have to really go out of their way and focus on achieving this goal in order to accomplish it. Even then, it is almost entirely optional and not something the game focuses on in any capacity.
1Infinity Nikki
Wander With Wonder
Infinity Nikkiis anopen-world gacha gameboasting cute outfits and cozy exploration. The game’s focus is delivering absolutely stunning visuals, excellent world design, and a surprisingly in-depth story with occasional puzzle-solving elements. The developers have made absolutely sure that everything in the world, from dresses to vehicles to landscapes, is pretty enough to fill the player with wonder and wanderlust. It’s a game that is clearly inspired by theGenshim Impactformula, but deliberately shies away from it, targeting a completely different audience, one that appreciatesa more slice-of-life approach.
WhileInfinity Nikkidoes have combat, it is by far the least important of the game’s other core systems. Fights against monsters and bosses play out more like a timed puzzle-platforming challenge than an actual battle. For players looking for a game that doesn’t emphasize the need for combat, there is no game that embodies this philosophy more.
