Pretty much, I’m looking for a game where I’m not the hero, I’m not the protagonist, I’m just a pawn in the big picture.
Preferably a game with a big open world too, one that feels real and isn’t just a predetermined path for my player.
I also like games where you aren’t clearly stronger than all your opponents like you’re some sort of God so they actually feel intimidating and there is a fear of dying
All suggestions are welcome
Thanks :>
Subnautica!
You feel pretty damn small when that reaper grabs you
You just described Shadow of the Colossis.
One of the best games I’ve ever played.
Can’t believe how long it took to find this answer
Real life
Kingdom Come: Deliverence. Heard so much good about this game. Open world, you need to train to actually become decent or good at anything at all. Might be a perfect fit.
You start out as a medieval bum, and you are as good at life as a medieval bum would be. Even if you are a god at the combat system, you ain’t winning fights against tough opponents until your character gets skilled. You start out illiterate as well, and have to learn to read, just like a medieval bum
Whew boy, yup this one fits. Great fun, but your just a small cog. Get to training!
Perhaps Outer Wilds? You zoom around in a small space ship in a solar system and when you approach different phenomenas and see how big they get it gets pretty amazing.
You perfectly describe Rain World!
You’re a small and insignificant creature in a dangerous and unforgiving ecosystem. You’re not saving the world. Even the enemies are playing by the rules. Evading enemies is often the safest option, but sometimes you must do a risky confrontation. It’s rare you even take down an enemy at all. Deaths are punishing. It’s open world, but the random placement of enemies often dictate the path you’re taking.
It has also one of the most intricate AI systems in any game. There’s YouTube videos describing it in detail, but I recommend to not watch them and go into the game clean.
I second Rain World, this game is letter for letter what you are describing, and best experienced COMPLETELY blind. I really hope you decide to give it a try, because I’ve spent countless hours enjoying the world.
Sounds like you’d enjoy a good play through of Outer Wilds.
OP, this is the answer! It is exactly what you’re looking for.
Outer Wilds
What are the chances… I’m waiting for the game to load for the first time when I saw this comment. Perfect timing. Alright, diving in right now!
Don’t read anything about the game.
Just keep at it. It doesn’t hold your hand at all, and you might get frustrated. Just give it time. If it clicks for you, you’ll experience one of the best gaming experiences of your life.
I don’t think I’ve had a more rewarding video game experience than with Outer Wilds.
Rain World. You are a little slugcat in a hostile ecosystem. You can fight but the predators will brutally kill you most of the time so evading combat is often better. The locations you visit are beautiful and it’s easy to get lost, and the other creatures keep interacting even if you aren’t there
Another different: NaissanceE. You explore incredible vast locations in a lonely monochromatic world. It’s a mix of puzzle with platformer that will make you feel really small with structures that appear to repeat to the infinity. It’s free on Steam.
If you like naissance, check out kairo. One of the first games I got on steam, and I found naissance looking for something like it.
A few more recommendations in the same vein: Fibrillation HD, Antichamber, Manifold Garden
Well I feel like have to kick this off with
Rain World
How has Kenshi not been mentioned
Yeah, Kenshi is pretty much the answer unless OP has already played Kenshi so much that they’re a god now and they’re hoping for the next thing.
Kenshi really is a good fit for OP’s ask. You’ll feel real small and insignificant when you’re being cooked into a stew by cannibals.
Should have also mentioned Mount & Blade, Warband is the old but gold with lots of great mods (Prophecy of Pendor is excellent if you want some low fantasy) but M&B2: Bannerlord is coming along.
Elite Dangerous is like that. You’re small in a literal sense, it has a 1:1 recreation of the entire Milky Way galaxy. You can land on a planet and walk into any direction for hours and see nothing but rocks. In terms of gameplay it fits your description as well, there is no predetermined path, you’re just one pilot and you can try different professions and make a fortune, but you will not change the history of the galaxy.
How do you land on planets? I never found a way to get out of the spaceship except at ports
As your ship gets closer to ground, there should be a marker at some point, you press whatever button it is and it auto lands. Try to slow down as you lower the ship
Landing on planets used to require the Horizons expansion. Since 2020 it’s included in the standard edition. Maybe you tried it a long time ago without the expansion ?
Nowadays getting out of vehicles to walk around requires the Odyssey expansion.
Seconded elite dangerous, especially if you have VR. If you also have the joysticks for 6DOF control it is super super super fun docking at stations and having dogfights.
It’s a shame that they half-assed VR support for Odyssey. Elite really shines in VR.
Space Engine. It’s not quite a game, but rather an accurate simulation of the known universe. Anything beyond what we know is procedurally generated. The first time I played it it made me feel so small.
I started at Earth and flew around the solar system, then picked a star and flew towards it. You have to increase your speed by multiples of the speed if light to get them to move. The stars started moving and then moving past, me, but the star I chose wasn’t moving. I realised it was actually different galaxy, so increased my speed by many many multiples of the speed of light until eventually it dwarves to move. I flee over to it, and then slowed and explored a few star systems there, I found a binary star system, that was really cool.
Then I had a realisation. If I didn’t use the search function, and I just flew around trying to find my way back to Earth, I just never would. I could play it for the rest of my life and be certain that I wouldn’t find it. The odds are that small. That thought scared the shit our of me and I closed the game and couldn’t okay it again for a few days.
Don’t know if that’s what you’re looking for but I do recommend the experience!
Thanks for the existential dread in addition to my depression!
X3: Terran Conflict - Ignoring the story plot and just playing sandbox (“custom game”) makes you nothing more than a citizen in a universe that doesn’t care if you succeed and success is a long, hard road to the top of whatever avenue you pursue. One of the best space games there is. It’s also moddable and there are some awesome mods out there to make the game even better.
Mount & Blade: Bannerlord - Basically the same as above; but in a medieval wargame/RPG… It’s pretty unique in gameplay so I’m not sure what to really call it. You start off as just a dude and can work your way up to becoming a king and conquering the entire country. The combat is part large-scale strategy, part 4X and part action sim as you move units around a world map for positioning and getting to cities and outposts, and battles put you in control of your singular dude swinging your weapon with some nice mouse controls, while also able to command your literal thousands of men in moment to moment tactical decisions.
Dwarf Fortress - Specifically Adventure mode in the pre-Steam version (since Adventure mode is not yet in the Steam version). You’re literally whatever character you create living in a fantasy world. It’s a simulation more than any other kind of genre. You can basically do whatever you can think of. You can be whatever you want up to and including a literal god if you work hard enough. There is no story other than the history of the world, which the game records and even after you die and make a new character in the same world, any mark that previous character left continues to exist and can affect others. Like say you steal from a guy, get into a fight and end up killing him. His son might seek revenge on your character, succeed and then fall into a depression. It’s kind of a mad lib of sorts so you have to have some imagination, but it’s the most complex game that exists right now.
Kenshi - Nobody likes you, you own nothing, you’re weak as shit, the world is massive, and you can also basically do anything if you work at it. Command huge armies. Become a robot and forego the need to eat. Build cities. Conquer the planet. Not only is the game play incredibly fun and rewarding, it has a super interesting world with plenty of cool lore. Plays kind of like an ARTS and has complexity that comes close to Dwarf Fortress’s.
Kenshi is without doubt the answer to OP.
I stopped playing and disliked the game because I felt too small and insignificant, all the time.
I eventually became a cyborg and destroyed every settlement in the game with an army of the undead. It made me feel like God. But it was hard as shit and took many hours of being beaten and forced into slavery.
Every game I mentioned is like this. Kenshi just straight up uses it as a descriptor on the store page lol
Super heavy agree with Kenshi, it’s probably as close to what’s being requested in OP as it’s gonna get
Try Outer Wilds for a healthy dose of existential crisis.
And don’t look up ANYTHING! No googling whatsoever. The only barrier and enjoyment is knowledge. If really stuck, ask for help in a community. The one on the old site is very good.
I cried for about thirty minutes after I beat that game. It was wonderful.
