Best Action-Adventure Games That Blend Horror and Exploration, Ranked

Thanks to the subjective nature of horror, there are games from all over the gaming genre spectrum that scratch incredibly unique and specific itches. One subsection of this great library of games is action-adventure games, emphasizing intense action sequences and often difficult combat. While this genre tends to stray towards action and spectacle over terror, some examples of games within it walk the line perfectly.

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Here are several games within the action-adventure genre that walk this line, containing both fast-paced action and genuine horror, with an extra emphasis on the exploration of a wide world, ranked by how well they encourage the player to explore and reward them with scares when they do. There is an inherent horror in being thrust into an unknown world and forced to explore, unsure of what is around each corner, and these games utilize this to the utmost success.

7

Dying Light 2 Stay Human

Open-World Zombie Survival

Those familiar with the Dying Light games will know just how well Dying Light 2 Stay Human blends exploration and unique world traversal with intense moments of sheer terror. Set in a zombie apocalypse, the player must utilize parkour to traverse the open world, scavenging for resources to survive the never-ending onslaught of the living dead. The gameplay is fast and fluid, meshing the swift movement and satisfying combat together for an overall entertaining experience.

Where Dying Light 2 Stay Human falls short is in its power fantasy, the player being given numerous weapons and abilities that allow them to dispatch zombies with relative ease. After the first few hours, the threat of the horde becomes less intense thanks to the lack of difficulty in fighting each undead the player encounters. Despite this, the gameplay remains fun and well worth putting some hours into.

6

The Last Of Us Part 2

More Exploration Than The Original

Systems

Released

June 19, 2020

OpenCritic Rating

Mighty

A divisive entry on the list, The Last of Us Part 2 takes the formula of the first and opens the world, offering two linear narratives with some room for exploration. While not an extensive open-world title, The Last of Us Part 2 allows the player to explore several open-world levels in a similar vein to Metro Exodus. This entry benefits from the world-building set up in the first game, set a few years later, taking the post-apocalyptic American landscape and expanding it into a world worth exploring every inch of.

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The horror remains overwhelming in the second game in the franchise; the fungal zombies are just as horrifying as the first time they graced the screen, and the humans are just as desperate to survive and willing to do anything required to do so. The story is well-crafted, despite its controversial nature, and is the perfect continuation of the narrative of its predecessor.

5

Bioshock

Explore Rapture, And Burn It Down

The lasting impact that Bioshock has had on the first-person action-adventure landscape is inescapable. The first title in the franchise submerges the player in a world of religious fanaticism, steampunk aesthetics, and post-humanist psychological horror. Welcome to Rapture, an underwater utopia designed to be a sanctuary to hide away from the tyrants that run the surface world, controlled by a tyrant mad with power, and populated by a drug-addicted working class.

While Bioshock‘s world is more linear than others on this list, the player has the option to explore the world of Rapture while chasing the main narrative, uncovering a decaying city that is held precariously together by a man the player is hellbent on killing. While most gamers will be familiar with this game, even if they haven’t played it, there is nothing like exploring Rapture, knowing that around any corner could be a hulking Big Daddy or a ravenous Splicer.

4

Elden Ring

The Gold Standard For Action-Adventure Exploration

Systems

Released

February 25, 2022

OpenCritic Rating

Mighty

The latest in FromSoftware’s armory of games, Elden Ring is the first truly open-world game from the developer. While the Dark Souls games encourage exploration and backtracking, Elden Ring is a game in which the player must explore, or forgo any possibility of progression. Unlike previous titles by FromSoftware, Elden Ring allows the player to tackle the game in their own order and explore the world at their own pace, meaning that if one boss is just too difficult, they can go explore somewhere else and return leveled and skilled up.

While exploration is Elden Ring‘s strongest element, it doesn’t feel as horror-focused as other games by FromSoftware, yet there are still some grotesque creatures and nauseating body horror present in many of the enemies. From Godrick the Grafted to the Fingercreepers, there is horror present in every corner of the Lands Between.

3

Death Stranding

Walk, Walk, And Walk Some More

From the revolutionary mind of Hideo Kojima, Death Stranding is an action-adventure game with a distinct lack of action for a large amount of its playtime. Death Stranding is, by all intents and purposes, a walking simulator in which the player must work as a post-apocalyptic postal worker, delivering packages across a shattered America in order to reconnect the scattered population. Sounds simple, but it is made a little harder thanks to the horrific creatures hanging around the world, ready to kill Norman Reedus as soon as they see him.

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Unlike most of the entries on this list, combat is a secondary mechanic in Death Stranding, taking a backseat to allow the exploration mechanics to shine. Walking across a desolate landscape has never been so engaging, and the world looks incredible, even when populated by a host of creatures ready to destroy humanity.

2

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

The Horrors Of Slavic Folklore Meets RPG Exploration

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is the poster child for action-adventure games with extensive exploration, and has been a gold standard since its initial release in 2015. The player takes control of Geralt of Rivia, a monster hunter known as a Witcher, who is looking for his adopted daughter in a world that is heading towards an apocalyptic event. While the combat takes some getting used to, the combat systems in The Witcher 3 are incredibly satisfying and enable the player to explore the world without fear of the many folkloric monsters scattered around.

In typical RPG fashion, The Witcher 3 has a vibrant world full of NPCs and sidequests, taking the player to corners of the map they would otherwise ignore in the chase to complete the main narrative. In terms of horror, The Witcher 3 has plenty of monsters, both animalistic and human, inspired by the creatures of Slavic folklore. From werewolves to griffins, to horrific monsters from the depths, Geralt fights it all.

1

Bloodborne

FromSoftware’s Horror Masterpiece

Systems

Released

March 24, 2015

OpenCritic Rating

Mighty

The final entry on this list is another FromSoftware title and is considered their best by many. Bloodborne is FromSoftware’s most directly horror-inspired game, taking place in Yharnam, a city plagued by Lovecraftian horrors beyond human comprehension. While it doesn’t offer as much free exploration as Elden Ring, the player can explore each of Yharnam’s areas, and can freely move between them once the area’s main boss has been defeated.

The bosses each take a grotesque form, uniquely horrifying from start to finish. Most players will find the narrative, or lack of it, confusing, given very little context for the events of the game outside simply being told that they are hunters, and hunters have to hunt. From the incredible gothic architecture to the meticulously crafted combat, Bloodborne is a perfect game for any fan of Soulslike games, horror games, and anyone looking for a world to explore and get lost in.

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