Open-world gamescome in many shapes and sizes. Some projects, likeKingdom Come: Deliverance,seek realism, immersing you in a historical setting that does not bestow success quickly. Others are straight-up life sims, where the goal is casual escapism without much combat or tension. Finally, there are games that want you to feel powerful. They haveone-man-army protagonistswho blow through cities like a hurricane, leaving destroyed buildings and demoralized enemies in their wake.
Naturally, the latter games love their superheroes, casting players as beings gifted with abilities that go well beyond the norm. However, an open-world game does not need superpowers to make you feel superhuman; in fact, some of the best power fantasies feature protagonists with no magical or supernatural powers at all. Let’s highlight these titles.
Considering he has probably punched into oblivion more than 100K thugs and gangsters over his lifespan, Kazuma Kiryu’s status as a “normal” human can be quickly forgotten. Throughout his decades of hard-fought battles, the Dragon of Dojima has almost exclusively relied on his muscles (along with the occasional weapon), and that has been enough to demolish squads of experienced fighters at a time. Kiryu also does it in style.
Most of the games fit the bill, butYakuza 0is not only the best place for newcomers to start, but arguably the greatest entry in Sega’s franchise. The dual protagonists, Kiryu and Majima, are reasonably strong from the start, and they just progressively get more powerful as they unlock new skills and expand their fighting styles. Unlike a few of the other entries, likeYakuza Kiwami,Yakuza 0balances its difficulty perfectly to provide a constant challenge that rarely becomes frustrating.
Say what you want aboutFar Cry, but the games are satisfying power fantasies. While the stories do not typically feature larger-than-life protagonists, instead opting forrelatively ordinary folks, the gameplay is another thing entirely. In nearly every entry afterFar Cry 3, players are master marksmen who can survive numerous bullet wounds, drive all sorts of vehicles, swim a billion miles, and lead resistance forces against tyrannical rulers backed by thousands of trained warriors.
Far Cry 5gets the nod here due to being the most recent “well-liked” entry in the series, but most of them should work. Personally, this game is my favorite, and I had an absolute blast tearing through Hope County and its resident cult. The game is pretty easy, too, which is not a criticism.
OK, this one feels like a bit of a cheat sinceCyberpunk 2077’s customization options allow for incredibly broken buildsthat transcend humanity. However, V is mostly using technology that is available to everyone else, and he is not narratively more powerful than the strongest enemies he goes up against.
Cyberpunk 2077just accommodates for routes that transform V into a walking tank who can shred through enemies without breaking a sweat, making him the definition of asuperhuman character. It is not even all that hard to break the game and end up OP, and you can pick what type of killer you want to be. Prefer to slash through enemies with a sword? Go for it. Want to be a gun-wielding god of destruction? You can do it.
Technically, thefullDead Risingseriesqualifies, as each game drops an average dude into a zombie apocalypse and then tells them to smash the undead using a wide assortment of weapons. However, the first two entries are relatively difficult and slow, which works for them but means they are not as great as superhuman romps.Dead Rising 4is kind of undermined by featuring a cartoony version of Frank Castle, who barely feels like a real person.
That leavesDead Rising 3, a slightly polarizing sequel that expanded the franchise’s scope by stretching the playground to a full town and increasing the number of zombies significantly. Far easier than its predecessor,Dead Rising 3is basically a Musou game with zombies, as players use makeshift weapons to reduce waves of the walking dead into mush. While lacking the tension of the originalDead Rising, the 2013 title offers cathartic fun, along with probably the most nondescript protagonist in the series.
A game all about crowd control.Ghost of Tsushimais about as close to a full package as the open-world genre gets, in the sense that it gets nearly everything right. The game brings to life a refreshing setting that has barely been touched by the industry. A lull during the second act aside, the story is generally quite good and benefits from a top-notch presentation and stellar voice acting. The world is stunning; seriously, it is gorgeous. The combat is smooth, responsive, and fits the era well.
Finally, and most importantly for this article, Jin Sakai is a force of nature who comes across like a myth or a legend. Technically, he is a normal samurai (or ronin), but there is nothing “normal” about the way he weaves and dances while precisely slicing through dozens of trained enemies at a time.
Who says that one person cannot change the world? Rico Rodriguez has brought down multiple island-based regimes, and he very much prefers to work alone rather than rely on assistance. Now that its broken launch is just part of history,Just Cause 3is probably the most fun entry to play, especially if you are craving an explosion fest with a big sandbox as its playground.
While having no powers whatsoever, Rico is essentially an ’80s action hero in the style ofCommando’s John Matrix, which means he loves to blow things up using a varied assortment of trinkets, guns, and vehicles. He also spends so much time in the sky that he has effectively mastered flight, and thegrappling hook and wingsuitare the definition of excessive.
I mean, it had to be this, right? Yes, Batman is a superhero, but he is also the most famous non-powered vigilante of all time. Even though Gotham is not filled with cosmic threats, Bruce is no stranger to going up against villains who, in theory, are either on his level or have abilities that venture into supernatural territory.
Yet,Arkham Citydoes a great job of making Batman feel larger-than-life, a nightmare who haunts perpetrators of injustice through fear (and a lot of expensive gadgets). While boss fights are usually quite even,Arkham City’s “ordinary” battles typically find Batman juggling a dozen grunts at any given moment, demolishing them through physical and tactical domination rather than superpowers. Bruce Wayne’s humanity is his greatest selling point, but Batman is superhuman.
