Open-World Games With Purposefully Empty Maps

Open-world games come in a wide variety of shapes and forms, and every developer has their own ideologies about what makes games fun and engaging. One way in which open-world games differ is not only in the size of their map, but how densely populated the map is with locations, characters, and most importantly, things to do.

While many games aim for a perfect balance where a map is engaging but strays away from over-saturation, other open-world games purposefully have relatively sparse or even empty maps for a myriad of reasons. For example, games that emphasize survival and natural exploration often lean towards more empty maps, and similarly historical games that are all about immersion can often feel more realistic with sparse rural maps.

Updated May 26, 2024 by Joe Grantham:There are many ways in which an open-world game can be considered empty. For example, with the right atmosphere and a lack of NPCs, a game can give off the impression of feeling alone in a vast world, while still giving players plenty to do.

A game can also purposefully choose to have less content with the aim of making moments of action or intrigue hit harder. As more and more developers step away from cluttered maps, fans can expect to see more purposefully empty worlds in upcoming open-world titles.

No Man's Sky

The Feeling Of A Vast Empty Universe Makes Discovery Feel More Rewarding

No Man's Sky is an open-world survival game that is somewhat empty even though it boasts a mind-boggling 18 quintillion planets. Nevertheless, this emptiness plays into the game's hands, as nothing is more rewarding than finding life in a vast solar system or galaxy.

Planets themselves feel mostly empty even though they are often full of flora, fauna, and minerals, and this is likely due to the lack of sentient life in most places. When players come across outposts or enter space stations, the feeling of returning to civilization after time alone in the abyss hits hard.

Elden Ring

The Atmosphere Of A Dying & Broken World Is Beautiful

In some ways, Elden Ring is not empty at all, as it is full of bosses and bands of lesser enemies to kill. However, with a lack of NPCs, civilizations, or even signs of life such as farms, Elden Ring feels empty and this is entirely on purpose. As players traverse the Lands Between, it feels as though they are one of the remnants of a dying world that is beyond repair.

Signs of long-lost life in the architecture tell stories that words alone cannot, and yet, despite this eerie setting, the world is far from empty. With how the map is designed, enemies and secret locations are often hidden in such ways that make them missable from certain angles, but when players travel back in the opposite direction or actively explore, they will find untold horrors and beauty in abundance.

Death Stranding

Trying To Connect Isolated Communities Is At The Core Of The Game

Death Stranding is a game that is all about emptiness, and it is up to the protagonist to try to reconnect the fragments of a shattered modern world. Players are supposed to feel isolated, and like negative space in art, the mostly empty world is terrifyingly beautiful.

The game excels at environmental storytelling, with one of the most haunting aspects being hearing distant sounds that hint at life or danger while trekking through the mountains. Death Stranding is certainly not for everyone, but for those who enjoy a slow-paced immersive experience with heartfelt moments, it is a must-play.

Minecraft

An Empty Map Allows Players To Build To Their Heart's Content

Minecraft is an open-world sandbox game and its emptiness is the exact reason why people love it so much, and end up sinking endless hours of time into it. The whole point of the game is for players to create their own worlds and games which they can then share with friends or even the world.

The blank slate nature of the game opens up a world of creativity, and players will soon discover that they can never get bored as there are so many things to do in Minecraft. Of course, players can eventually turn their originally empty world into a sprawling fantasy metropolis, as almost anything is possible.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance

A Mostly Empty Map Fits The Game's Rural Setting

Kingdom Come: Deliverance is one of the most immersive historical games of all time. Set in a small region of war-torn Bohemia as seen in 1403, it is a gritty, down-to-earth medieval masterpiece. Given the game's rural setting, it is only natural that KCD's map is fairly sparsely populated outside of the small towns.

This is by no means a detriment to the game, as players are better able to enjoy the rolling hills and vibrant fields of springtime Bohemia. Furthermore, when characters or events are waiting in store, they feel more like a pleasant surprise rather than simply ticking off markers on a map.

The Forest

Being Alone In An Almost Empty Forest Sets The Player On Edge

Vast expanses of emptiness can most certainly be terrifying in certain contexts, and this is most definitely true for the first-person horror survival game The Forest. Either alone or with their friends, players are the lone survivors of a plane crash and must find food, shelter, and weapons for themselves on an island infested with cannibals.

Other than a massive sinkhole in the middle of the island and various cannibal settlements scattered around, most of the map is empty, giving players a choice for where they build their base. Despite the map being mostly empty, every step players take in The Forest is terrifying as it is undoubtedly one of the best horror games of recent years.

Medieval Dynasty

Players Are Able To Build Their Medieval Village Where They Like

Medieval Dynasty is a survival game set in the Middle Ages that quickly becomes a first-person town management game after players manage to make it past the early stages.

As the game allows and encourages players to make settlements of their own, it is only fitting that the map is fairly empty with plenty of great locations to build villages. There are other settlements, with NPCs who sell important goods or who can be recruited, but otherwise, the map can be seen as a rural playground.

The Crew 2

Having An Empty Map Is Perfect For Open-World Racing Games

Sometimes in both life and gaming, it is about the journey, not the destination, and that is exactly the case with The Crew 2. This open-world Motorsport game lets players compete online in races all across the USA, and as such, has an incredibly large but fairly empty map that allows the focus to remain on racing.

The behemoth of a map is significantly larger than rival games such as Forzaand features jaw-dropping environments that compete with the best graphical games of all time.

Valheim

An Almost Empty & Procedurally Generated Map Makes Exploration Feel Real

One open-world game that undoubtedly has a purposefully empty map is Valheim, a charming survival and exploration game inspired by Norse Mythology. The map is procedurally generated and is made up of different biomes that get progressively harder.

Outside of randomly spawned dungeons, and a small selection of bosses which players summon, the world is pretty much empty with only the remnants of abandoned villages scattered throughout. Instead, the expansive map is there for players to make into their own, with a fantastic building system.

Shadow Of The Colossus

The Barren World Makes For A Haunting But Beautiful Experience

Shadow of the Colossus is an all-time PlayStation classic that was remade in 2018 for the PS4 and is widely considered to be an example of art in the video game industry. This incredibly dark yet beautiful open-world game also happens to have a purposefully empty map that went against the grain of the jam-packed open-word hype of its time.

In the barren and seemingly inhospitable Forbidden Land players can instead focus on the Colossi they must defeat to bring back their love. Armed with just a sword and bow, the beauty of the game is in its simplicity.