Summary
There are certain well-known tropes that many games leverage, includingopen-world games. Tropes such as setting off to free a princess, or embarking on a quest to find hidden treasure. One of the most commonly exploited tropes is setting off to seek revenge for some harm done to the protagonists, their family, or their friends.
A revenge-driven plot for a game opens up some great options for game developers, as the often violent nature of fulfilling a righteous quest opens upquestions of morality. This allows game designers to craft a story that sits within the gray area between right and wrong.
When J.R.R. Tolkien first came up with his ideas for the fantastical setting ofMiddle-earth, it is unlikely that he ever imagined that decades later, people would be playing games based on it. Few fantasy lands have been as influential as Middle-earth, spawning movies, TV shows, and numerous games that leverage the lore of the realm.
InMiddle-Earth: Shadow Of Mordor, the player takes on the role of a young ranger named Talion. His family has been brutally murdered by Suaron’s forces, and he is out for revenge. But there is a twist. Talion was also killed at the time, but he is brought back to life, and finds he has powers similar to those of the Wring Wraith.
Taking on the role of Jason Brody,Far Cry 3players find themselves stranded on atropical islandalone, after his brother has been murdered, and his friends kidnapped. Thus begins an often brutal quest for revenge.
The villain in the game is named Vaas, a local Warlord. The player must seek out Vaas and dish out some retribution. The open-world map is stunning, and populated by many hazards. This includes pirates and mercenaries, as well as wild animals. The story is compelling, as Jason slowly loses the plot and his grip on reality.
InGhost of Tsushima, the player is put in the shoes of Jin Sakai, who is a Samurai during the Mongol invasion of Japan in the 13th century. His family and home are destroyed by a group of raiders, and Jin sets out to get some revenge on them.
The open-world game map is exquisitely crafted, with biomes running from villages destroyed by way, through dense forests, to desolate mountains. Stealth and strategy are a large part of this game. Jin’s morality is questioned during the compelling story, and players will need to think carefully about their decisions.
Prototypeis set in an open-world rendition of the city of New York. It follows the journey of Alex Mercer, as he sets off on a journey to find the people that infected him with a strange virus. This virus has left Alex with superhuman powers, and the ability to shapeshift.
The open-world map is huge, and makes a fantastic backdrop for Alex to exploit his special powers to the max. He can run up buildings and glide between them, and engage in frantic combat with a range of enemies. Overall, this is a great addition to this list, as it is a little different.
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twicedoes open-world map design a little differently. The game features a number of maps, that must be completed in a linear fashion, but each of these maps is fully open-world. Each map has secrets and multiple paths the player can take to complete them.
The game follows the adventures of Wold, a shinobi, who is looking for some payback on a clan of samurai that left him at the brink of death whilst kidnapping his lord. The combat inSekiro: Shadows Die Twicecan be brutal at times, and requires the player to learn the combat mechanics fully, in order to tackle the toughest battles.
Many open-world games are set in apost-apocalypticallandscape, but few of them are based on such iconic lore asMad Max. Playing as the road warrior himself, players embark on a journey seeking revenge on Scabrous Scrotus, who left Max for dead. Max hopes to get his revenge, and then find his peace by reaching the Plains of Silence.
Much of the gameplay revolves around building and upgrading Max’s iconic vehicle, the Magnum Opus. Unsurprisingly, vehicle warfare also forms a large part of the gameplay. The action is fast-paced, as Max tries to find a place in the world, dealing with his grief and trauma.
Aiden Pearce is a hacker, too skilled. He becomes the target of an assassination attempt, during which, his niece is accidentally killed. Understandably, Aiden is rather upset by this, and heads out to find out who ordered the assassination and take his revenge inWatch Dogs.
The open-world map of Chicago makes the perfect,futuristic backdropto Aiden’s adventures. Much of the gameplay revolves around hacking, and taking control of various parts of the infrastructure of the city to help achieve Aiden’s goals. There are also tons of side quests to be found by exploring the open-world map.
