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 :>
You just described Shadow of the Colossis.
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.
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!
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.
Came here to also say Rain World. Amazing game
How has Kenshi not been mentioned
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.
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.
Sounds like you’d enjoy a good play through of Outer Wilds.
Real life
Outward is really good for this. You aren’t the chosen one, you aren’t special, you’re just a person trying to get by and the game really makes sure you know it haha
Well I feel like have to kick this off with
Rain World
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.
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!
World of Warcraft Classic. You start as a no one. Everybody around you seems to know what to do. Your items are shit. You look like a peasant. The silliest enemies force you to rest and are able to kill you.
It‘s challenging but so rewarding. It makes you feel grateful for every single lvlup, item and skill you can get.
Even after spending literal days of your life, there always will be people who are better than you. Everything is said and done. Still this game manages to pull me back in from time to time. It’s so much fun.
Permanently Deleted
Subnautica!
- The Longing: a really subversive experience
- Kingdom Come Deliverance: open world medieval game with a moderate emphasis on realism. You start out as a peasant who knows how to use a sword and finish the game being not much more than that.
- Dark Souls 1, 2, 3: these games make you feel pretty unimportant, unlike other FromSoft games like Bloodborne or Elden Ring. The bosses and environments will certainly make you feel challenged and powerless all the time.
these games make you feel pretty unimportant
You’re literally addressed as the “Chosen Undead” by a goddess in DS1 and tasked with saving the world.
Yet that doesn’t matter much as the two endings of the game are that you either refuse to link the fire and walk away, leaving the world to die, or you do link it to keep it going for a little bit longer but in the end it won’t matter much as it will die down eventually.
You could say that about any other story where you save the world. You only ever save it from the present danger, you never make it safe for all time. Otherwise there could be no sequels (of which DS has received a couple). “Happily ever after” is figurative.