Thankfully, there’s no dearth of options when it comes to games that just let you loose into their long winding roads that have a lot going on as you travel along vast worlds. We’ve put together titles we think fit that description and are certainly worth getting lost in. Some of your most memorable gaming moments could be waiting just around a corner in their worlds!

Let’s dive in.

1. Days Gone

A vast expanse of map waits for you and your trusty motorbike in this one. It’s a pity that its beautiful landscapes are marred by the presence of vicious zombies and humans desperate enough to forget their moral codes. But a large part of the game involves cruising along the map on your motorcycle, ensuring you have a safe way back to it if your next dangerous plan doesn’t pan out the way you wanted it to.

Play things right and you’re back on the road, albeit having to make a quicker exit than your entrance. But you never know what else you might discover as you blaze a path to safety in such situations. It’s a world that does a good job of keeping its players invested in Deacon’s melancholy tale.

2. Pacific Drive

From its riveting opening to a rather bittersweet ending, this is a journey that’s underlined by a literal bond between your Driver and the station wagon you commandeer at the start of your adventure. It’s a story beat that works well for the narrative while also giving you a reason to travel far and wide in your car.

The game’s premise provides the scope for a journey like no other along roads that want you to discover everything they have to offer. We’re not going to forget some very memorable anomalies during our time in the Olympic Exclusion Zone in a hurry. Especially the ones that messed with our car.

3. Death Stranding 1 & 2

Whether on foot or in a vehicle, Death Stranding’s trek through a very memorable adventure with Sam Porter is all about traversing a beautiful yet hostile world. Guiding Sam to his next delivery destination is all about the different things you can discover, or be forced to work around, that you can find along the way.

It’s a journey like no other, and it’s a road that’s as unpredictable as the many threats you’re likely to find before you make it to safety again. There’s always a sense of anticipation as you travel across America, Mexico, and Australia, and a sense of awe when you discover the next thing they have been hiding. The original Death Stranding and its sequel continue to evoke fond memories.

4. The Crew 2

There’s a case to be made for The Crew 2’s scaled-down take on America that really brings moments where it’s just you and your car to life as you make your way between its various activities. Although it’s meant to be played with your buddies, its persistent open world design means that it’s quite easy to just get to exploring, driving around in your favorite ride, and having some racing fun along the way.

Of course, getting to pilot aircraft and operate boats were welcome additions, but our first sight of the Grand Canyon in this massive world was definitely among the highlights of driving around in it.

5. Jalopy

Splat and Lutfi’s journey in this one was nothing short of a masterpiece as far as memorable road trips go. The Jalopy in question is almost a character on its own, requiring a fairly realistic amount of upkeep to keep players ticking along in the narrative as they discover more about what was waiting for them at the end of it.

The option to keep the adventure going after its rather sad ending just adds more intrigue to an already satisfying journey. This is one that’s all about the journey, although there’s a case to be made for that destination being a very memorable moment.

6. Final Fantasy XV

In another adventure that has its protagonist accompanied by memorable companions, Noctis Lucis, the Regalia, and the chocobos, sure make travel and discovery a very memorable part of Final Fantasy XV. It helps that your posse is right by your side for the most part, their banter and conversations making the adventure come alive as you travel across Eos.

It helps that you can customize the Regalia and chocobos, giving your adventure that personal touch that makes such experiences special. Whether you’re chugging along on the road or soaring across the skies to your next destination, this is a game that makes the journey there a very enjoyable facet of the experience.

7. Read Dead Redemption 2

Arthur’s journey is one that absolutely exemplifies the feeling of being on the road, with endless possibilities and a world where life goes on, even if you’re not a part of it, being baked into the adventure. This is a world that’s alive, and almost thrumming with activities, secrets, discoveries, and content that’s sure to make your time with this one unforgettable.

There’s nothing that beats a conversation by chance that turns into a full-blown series of side quests, or the many quirky characters the road leads you to, in this one. There’s also the fact that you need to care for your horse as you would in the real world, and a host of activities that make your time on the road feel quite authentic and immersive. As far as open worlds that put you on a long and winding road go, this one continues to be a classic.

8. Mad Max

Max Rockatansky’s determination to build the Magnum Opus and the fact that this vehicle is a very crucial part of the adventure are reasons enough to qualify this one for our list. But it’s in the way that the Magnum Opus weaves itself so naturally into the gameplay loop and combat, in particular, and makes itself a star of the show.

It’s narratively valid, and the fact that customizing its parts can force you to make trade-offs in other aspects makes for a layer of immersion and engagement that solidifies the bond between man and machine in this one. The open world is a stage just waiting for you to discover moments where you and your vehicle are given an opportunity to shine.

9. State Of Decay 2

This one’s a constant challenge due to the world around you, a tale that builds a community around the struggle, and one in which the world can get quite unpredictable from moment to moment. From the need to nurture your community and take down the area’s Awakened Heart, every zombie-infested site is a chance to take your story down a path that’s different from the one you began with.

A lot of it comes down to your fellow settlers, and weaving everyone’s journey together into a gameplay loop that’s quite addictive makes each bit of territory you free from the zombies an achievement, and a very satisfying one at that.

10. Snowrunner

This is a title where the simulation of off-roading on rough terrain is accompanied by very flavorful discoveries that spell out the stories of the regions you explore while you witness your own role in fixing them up firsthand. It’s a great way to have you braving its landscapes, taking care of your fleet of vehicles while getting invested in a progression loop that becomes quite interesting the more you make your way through a region.

It connects you to the land you’re exploring while your vehicles carry you through it all, making this a journey that just draws you into the world it presents you with. You’re the focal point of an interesting bridge between the past and the present, and it’s up to you to build it up, one success after another.

11. Far Cry 5

Far Cry 5 serves up surreal beats as you roam a world filled with calamity. But it’s the people you meet and the friends you make along the way that make this a worthwhile journey.

The ability to recruit locals who resist the local militia and their rigid control over the land is a great addition to this open-world, and adds a flavor to the entire journey that’s just too great to ignore. It helps that you forge relationships to discover more of the story and side content as you go, along with helping the local resistance, you know, resist the militia’s growing influence. You’re a cornerstone of that struggle, and the journey felt personal and, as a result, memorable.

12. The Long Drive

The road goes on and on in this innovative concept that’s literally all about being on the road and letting the journey continue. With a focus on freedom, immersion, and exploring the vast desert, this one gives its players a lot of freedom to just enjoy the journey.

You’re given a lot of reasons to just hop into your car and drive along, never knowing where the road takes you in this randomly generated desert. If you’re looking to immerse yourself in a game where the adventure takes you down unpredictable paths, look no further.

13. Forza Horizon 5

Mexico proved to be a great location for this instalment to the Horizon series, and driving along to stunning vistas was both entertaining and visually memorable. Getting to drive fancy, fast cars on roads that wound between different elevations, climate patterns, and, of course, new discoveries was a treat.

There’s an active volcano, ancient structures, cities, towns, jungles, and beaches to find and explore, making this title find reasons to put you at the wheel and send you along on your journey.

14. STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl

Survival in The Zone and navigating the complex relationships that govern it while also ensuring that you get enough food and sleep, is quite an immersive loop in GSC Games Studio’s much-awaited return to its popular franchise.

Recruiting people to aid in your journey, while the many discoveries and anomalies that await you in The Zone give this entire world a sense of mystery, and venturing into the unknown can be quite hard to top. With the PlayStation version on its way, now might be a great time to dive into a game whose journey to its current build is as interesting as the one it presents to you.

15. Ghost Recon Wildlands

Operation Kingslayer was a brilliant stage for the adventure that awaits you in this very immersive open world. With so much variety in the terrain along with a lot of freedom with how you approach any mission you find out in cartel-controlled Bolivia, this is a world where every inch of land you capture could be one worth the memories, and even lets you disable your AI companions if you believe in taking single-player literally.

However, there is a case to be made for bringing up to three buddies along for the ride. That immediately makes this one a worthy addition, although the AI companions are always there if you’re going for a suitable middle ground. Either way, dismantling a cartel has never felt so immersive, and entertaining too.

That’s a wrap on our favorite titles that put us on the road and just let us build our best memories of them along the way. Here’s to many more such experiences on the horizon.

Dying Light

Dying Light taps into what makes horror games so irresistible. It’s got a scarcity of resources, infected humans transforming into zombies, and the fear of nighttime adding anxiety on top of it all. And while most gamers would argue the best horror games are linear curated experiences in nature, Dying Light uses its open-world to ramp up the horror in ways only it could. Threats aren’t fully scripted and can come from pretty much any direction in the map. Similarly, scrounging for resources takes on a new life given the large dynamic environments. Dying Light 2 would take the parkour of the first one and really polish it up while adding a paraglider for faster traversal. Though fans still largely prefer the darker tone of the first game over the more colorful style of the sequel.

Days Gone

Want to simulate what it would be like to outrun and outgun an ocean of zombies out in an open field? Well, Days Gone is the closest thing to that experience on the gaming market – yet nothing could prepare us for the sheer size of hordes that the game would bless us with. While it would have been amazing to mow down zombie hordes using pick-up trucks or even a combine harvester, Days Gone limits its vehicles to primarily bikes. Still, the bike controls are quite smooth and ramming into zombies is a fun, though less ideal, way to squash their huge numbers. The icing on the horror cake are the stealth sequences, which make for some terrifying moments when swarms get alerted. Now if only we could finally get a sequel that gives us more vehicles to mow zombies down with.

The Evil Within 2

The world design of The Evil Within 2 may not be as open-ended as the previous games on this list, but it makes up for it in its tightly crafted narrative. Sebastian Castellanos’ mind is still reeling from the events of the first game, but he still has to rescue his daughter, Lily within the surreal Union labyrinth. The stakes are more personal here than in the first game, amplifying the psychological aspect tenfold. The semi-open world design adds some interesting side stories and secrets to discover, nicely contrasting the more claustrophobic sequences. Oh, and the bizarre, surreal world can even be experienced in first-person thanks to a 2018 update to the game.

Sons of the Forest

Being stranded on an island full of cannibals has to be one of the more harrowing concepts in horror, and Sons of the Forest executes it frighteningly well. The size of the island and its predominant forest biome is four times larger than the first game. The larger layout both helps the player and hinders them with helpful NPCs and a host of new terrors lurking in hidden corners of the map.

Ghostwire: Tokyo

After developing The Evil Within, Tango opted to go fully first-person with Ghostwire: Tokyo. The more intimate perspective combined with a supernaturally shifting environment enveloped in fog gave it a unique brand of horror. The game’s developer describes battles with the phrase ‘karate meets magic’. You’d think being adorned with such supernatural abilities neuters the sensation of helplessness a bit, but no, the many occultic monstrosities populating the possessed Tokyo are enhanced with even more terrifying abilities than the player character, making for an unpredictable and haunting journey.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl

Stalker 2, actually the fourth game in the series, was first announced way back in 2010. Typically, games with development hell history turn out poorly, but Stalker 2 nailed the post-apocalyptic premise and gameplay the series had been celebrated for prior. The limited inventory space and sparse resources within the Exclusion Zone make for a true survival experience. Add on a hunger and sleep meter and some reality-altering anomalies within the open-world and you’ve got a game sure to raise players’ blood pressure.

Dead Rising

This 2006 game may be the oldest on this list, but it’s also one of the most iconic in terms of open-world horror. Willamette Parkview Mall makes for a fantastic locale to combat hordes of flesh-hungry zombies. Part of the endless charm of the series is the sheer variety of weapons available to smash zombie brains with. The first Dead Rising hosts 250 weapons ranging from useful shotguns to fun props such as Mega Man’s Megabuster. The horror aspect, while less severe than others on this list, still comes into play when dozens of zombies close in on a defenseless and unaware Frank.

State of Decay 2

The State of Decay series has quickly become one of gaming’s most immersive zombie survival experiences. There’s few games that can match the feeling of building outposts and combating zombies together with other co-op partners quite like State of Decay 2. The series has always been primed for co-op, yet the first game lacked any multiplayer, being a purely solo affair. Besides the four-player co-op, the additional facilities and utilities, as well as a far more diverse map made for an improved gameplay loop. The improved open-world may have sacrificed some of the memorable story moments the first had, but the series is certainly headed in the right direction, giving us optimism for State of Decay 3.

Metro Exodus

Metro Exodus is another game that uses its semi-open world structure well. The Volga, Caspian Desert, and Taiga regions feel so distinct from each other, as opposed to the largely monotonous regions of previous games. But the game still hones in on those narrow tunnel corridors that the original did so well. The Metro series also evokes a peculiar sensation of dread with the semi-frequent hallucinations and horrific mutant creatures aptly named The Dark Ones.

Dead Island 2

Dead Island takes a more arcady and fun approach to its horror, though getting overwhelmed by zombies still provides some tense jump scare moments. The sequel partitions up its open world into regions, helping to make each area distinct. What really makes Dead Island 2 stand out from the rest is the environmental interactions. Most objects lying around can be used as weapons, and a number of hazards such as electric and fire can be used against zombie hordes.

Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare

Combining a spaghetti western wild west setting with a zombie apocalypse probably hasn’t been done in games before Red Dead did it with Undead Nightmare. It’s such a unique fusion of disparate elements, yet feels so satisfying and fun to experience. The addition of classic folklore monsters, from Chupacabras to Sasquatches, is just the cherry on top of a well blended horror-tinged desert of the Red Dead franchise.

Project Zomboid

Project Zomboid takes a unique twist on survival horror. It’s not about how you survive, but how you die in this game. Players are fated to get eliminated by a single slow zombie bite, yet the game manages to make this process rewarding and, above all, fun. The unlimited nature of sandbox mode puts all the tools in the player’s hands, giving control of the zombie population, weather patterns, and loot. It’s a top-down 2D game though, so if you’re just in the mood for a cinematic and graphically intensive horror experience, others on this list will have to substitute.

Once Human

One of the most recent entries on the list, Once Human prides itself on its community-focused gameplay. Players can craft and build base camps meant to serve as a home base within the game world. Hunger and sanity needs to be kept in check lest players lose their loot with a respawn. What helps separate Once Human from other multiplayer survival games is the wild creature design. I mean, there’s a walking bus monster that players can use for transportation for crying out loud. Once Human isn’t lacking in creative  charm.

Beyond Hanwell

Surprisingly overlooked despite its quality, Beyond Hanwell lets players loose in the rainy streets of Westminster London amid an outbreak of mutant anomalies. The sound and music in particular really create an unsettling atmosphere, which is further aided by the environmental details of within the first-person perspective. Your primary source of self-defense is a pistol and some other light weapons, but a bigger aspect of the game is simply exploring the old buildings for notes and objects that help uncover the mystery.

The Sinking City Remastered

Fans of Lovecraftian horror should check out The Sinking City if they haven’t already. It’s filled with a variety of weird monsters beyond the familiar mortal coil, and even features a mental stability meter that diminishes as you learn new truths. The semi-open environments help fill out the background lore of Oakmont well, and the motorboat is just plain fun to traverse the waters with.

This War of Mine

A game to endure rather than enjoy, This War of Mine paints a harrowing picture of survival inside a war-ravaged city. Overseeing a small band of survivors you’ll take sanctuary from the chaos outside during daytime, cooking, crafting tools, healing, and upgrading your hideout. Under the cloak of night time darkness your survivors must venture out in search of materials, resources, and medicine, encountering NPCs both friendly and hostile. Whether you choose to trade, rob, or kill those you meet depends on the desperation within your group; all morals go out the window when you’re besieged, fighting for survival. This War of Mine tells an intimate tale laced with guilt and shame, with the mental wellbeing of your survivors just as important as the food in their bellies and roof over their head.

The update also features several changes, including water now reducing vehicle speed. This means some options will be better than others when traversing through lakes or waterways like a 4×4. The Community screen has been revamped to allow for accessing inventories from all survivors, from equipping to transferring.

Some quality-of-life improvements include door slams and failed search crashes not spawning new zombies but instead attracting existing undead to your location. You can also deposit rucksacks at Landmark Outposts that have been claimed. Check out some of the patch notes below.

With development wrapped up on State of Decay 2: Juggernaut Edition, Undead Labs will shift to State of Decay 3. It’s reportedly out next year for Xbox Series X/S and PC. Stay tuned for more details and updates in the meantime.

Update 38 – Legacy Awaits

Quality of Life Improvements

• Water Will Slow Vehicles – Water resistance will now reduce vehicle speed while travelling through lakes and waterways. Be sure to choose the right vehicle type for the job as each handles differently. A 4×4, for example, will outperform a Sports Coupe in the water.
• Community Inventories – While over in the base, you can now access individual Survivors’ inventories from the Community screen, allowing you to quickly view or equip their items, transfer items between you, or store their gear (including rucksacks) into base storage. No more hunting around the base to find the Survivor you need!
• Zombie spawning has been removed after certain noise events – Failed search crashes and door slams will no longer spawn new zombies. These noise events will now simply attract already existing zombies to the location.
• We’ve reduced the distance at which characters automatically attempt to climb down from ledges. Additionally, characters will no longer attempt to climb down unintentionally whilst the player is aiming, which could often lead to some frustrating moments.
• Rucksacks can now be deposited at claimed Landmark Outposts.

Game Adjustments

• The likelihood of the Blood Donor Enclave Arc appearing has been adjusted to match that of the other Arcs.
• The Blood Donor Morale Bonus has been adjusted to +6 Community Morale, down from the previous value of +15, which was deemed too strong.
• The following weapons can be obtained as rewards for defeating the Black Heart and killing a Jugg during the Gargantua Mutation Curveball: RTX Piranha, RTX Rampart, RTX Cyclone, RTX Cyclone Tactical, and MCX Osprey RT.
• In response to community feedback that it was appearing too frequently, the delay and cooldown for the Bangernomics Curveball have been somewhat increased.
• There is now a chance for new characters to receive the Blood Donor trait.
• Prone Zombies set up to ambush now have an increased sight range from 1m to 6m, allowing them to react more quickly to approaching characters.
• The health of the Gargantua Mutation Juggernauts has been increased for each level of Impact in the Curveball Settings.
• The Haven Device has been rebalanced to improve it’s overall effectiveness. It will now have a noticeable presence over the course of multiple waves during a base siege.

Bug Fixes

Gameplay Fixes

• Improved the reliability of the automatic ladder interaction which would sometimes fail, causing the character to walk right over the ladder and fall from a height.
• You can now build a staging area after claiming the Leeds Concrete Silos landmark. Additionally, the previous issue of the ‘Elimination of Daily Materials Cost’ stacking has been resolved.
• Using heavy weapons now correctly grants Endurance XP as intended.

Zombie and Combat Fixes

• Fixed a bug in which Zombies sometimes became unresponsive after getting stuck in their idle state.
• Fixed an issue in which the finisher prompt appeared when a finishing move could not be executed due to lack of stamina.
• Fixed an issue in which Zombies would sometimes attack and magnetically teleport towards survivors on upper levels.
• Fixed an issue where a downed hostile human would remain incapacitated indefinitely.
• Resolved an issue where melee attacks missed when they should have hit.
• Fixed an issue where Ferals could instantly destroy certain vehicles by attaching to and attacking specific points.
• Resolved an issue in which Blood Plague Bloaters were not appearing in Heartland Hordes.

Curveball Fixes

• Fixed an issue where the Radio Silence Curveball could not appear correctly in Drucker County, Cascade Falls, and Meagher Valley.
• Resolved an issue where Ignited Zombies during the Fuelling the Plague Curveball were not receiving any damage from weapons.
• Resolved an issue where Armored Zombies persisted after the Lost Platoon Curveball had expired.
• Removed the unintended instances where the same Curveball could appear twice simultaneously.
• Resolved a bug that caused Curveball objectives to be unpinned or removed from the Goals menu when their Optional Objective was completed.
• Resolved an issue where some Curveball effects did not update after changing Impact in the Curveball settings.
• Fixed an issue where the Vicious Rumours Curveball displayed incorrect values when adjusting the impact in the Curveball settings. Previously, the ‘Less Influence Received from Selling’ minor effect had major values, and vice versa, causing the curveball to reduce the influence gained from trading more than intended.
• Resolved various issues where the Vicious Rumours Curveball did not increase the radio prices for the Independence Pack and the Locate Plague Heart radio command.
• Adjusted Vicious Rumours to display the correct sell prices when the Curveball is active.
• Adjusted the Curveball Stamina action effects in ‘Up and At Em’ and ‘Under the Weather’ to account for all stamina-cost actions.
• Reimplemented the damage warning that triggers when entering the Toxic Miasma of a Black Heart.
• Fixed an issue in which Curveballs appearing could cause a crash on multiplayer.

Halo 3: ODST

The Halo games have continued to be system sellers for Microsoft for generations at this point, but Halo 3: ODST always ends up being one of the more under-appreciated games in the franchise. And that’s a shame really, because ODST had some really interesting ideas that were executed reasonably well – including but not limited to large open environments and a setting that didn’t rely on Master Chief or Cortana. It’s a unique game that has a lot to say, and fans should definitely give it a try.

Quantum Break

Quantum Break was an ambitious project from Remedy Entertainment, and it sought to combine elements of a TV show with a game. Sure, some of its concepts didn’t really stick the landing – but Quantum Break is an extremely fast and frenetic shooter that features some interesting time-based abilities and a story that’s about as weird as one would expect from the developer. It’s easily one of the more underrated Microsoft exclusives, but one worth trying out nevertheless.

Sunset Overdrive

Sunset Overdrive comes from the now Sony-owned Insomniac Games. It’s a post-apocalyptic adventure game where you grind on rails, jump on bouncy surfaces, and use a vast array of weapons to gun down waves upon waves of enemies. It features a colorful open world with likable characters and quality writing, but the game wasn’t really able to make an impact in the end. Sunset Overdrive is emblematic of the developer’s biggest strengths, which makes it a really underrated game that deserves a lot more love and credit than it gets.

Mafia 1

The original Mafia was a game that was well ahead of its time. In a market where every developer was trying to copy Rockstar’s formula of an open world, Mafia provided its own take with a more realistic world that operated on brutal rules and a story that was a complex tale with plenty of loyalties and conspiracies. It was a special game that unfortunately never got the audience it deserved, most likely due to its demanding gameplay – which is honestly a shame.

The Saboteur

Developed by Pandemic Studios, The Saboteur thrusts players into a beautifully realized rendition of 1940s Paris. You play as a racer-turned-rebel who embarks on a quest to prevent evil schemes from happening, and that story remains engaging from start to finish. But what’s more impressive is the set of mechanics that beautifully combines social stealth elements with action gameplay in an open-world setting, and it’s honestly a surprise as to why such a special game went unnoticed by the masses.

Enslaved: Odyssey to the West

Enslaved: Odyssey to the West is developer Ninja Theory’s take on the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West, and it tells the story of two people who must work together to ensure each other’s survival. The game uses a simple but fun combat loop for its gameplay, but what makes it special is the interesting scenarios it keeps on creating at every turn – which makes it such an engaging experience.

Vampyr

Vampyr is all about a doctor juggling his personal life at a hospital and his struggles with turning into a bloodthirsty vampire. The combat is all about balancing stamina and dishing out damage to your opponents, and the game does a great job of creating a well-knit set of systems that beautifully interact with one another to create a fully realized world. There are a few rough edges here and there, but it is a game that’s worth trying out.

As Dusk Falls

As Dusk Falls is a narrative adventure that starts out simply with a family embarking on a road trip, but that soon evolves into something greater. The art style here is fantastic, and the story is pretty engaging from start to finish. It’s a simple game that does just enough to keep you entertained for its runtime, and sometimes that’s all you need.

Gears of War Judgment

The Gears of War series has continued to be one of the most valuable first-party games for the Xbox platform, and almost every mainline entry has been showered with great critical and commercial reception. Gears of War Judgment stands out as an exception, not because it suffered from bad reviews – but that not many people actually played it. And this is a shame because this prequel provides a ton of context to the events of later entries – and that information will be highly appreciated by fans of the franchise.

Killer Instinct

Killer Instinct attempted a shot at revival in 2014, which ended up receiving a rather tepid reception from fans. While it wasn’t on par with contemporaries like Mortal Kombat or Street Fighter, Killer Instinct was certainly a quality first-party game from Microsoft that never really got the love and attention it deserves.

Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments

Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments is widely considered to be one of the best games in the long-running series, and a lot of that praise can be attributed to the game’s excellently crafted story. Crimes and Punishments never fails to keep you guessing, and the writing is also quality stuff. The gameplay revolves around carefully assessing clues and deducting solutions to these cases, and that provides a very distinct fantasy of being a great detective.

Gears Tactics

Gears Tactics does a great job of translating the series’ signature third-person shooting to a top-down tactical game without losing the game’s identity in that transition. The resulting product is a game that shouldn’t work but somehow feels like a natural evolution of the franchise. It constantly ramps things up with new kinds of obstacles and more complex levels, and that keeps you engaged for a long time.

Wanted: Dead

Wanted: Dead takes inspiration from multiple action adventure classics like Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive, and crafts an experience that feels equal parts a glorious homage and a fresh experience. Wanted: Dead features a solid combat loop where you can effortlessly switch between slashing your foes with a sword and gunning them down with weapons – and that foundation of ideas rarely gets stale.

State of Decay 2: Juggernaut Edition

State of Decay 2 didn’t launch in the best of states, but over the course of multiple major updates – the developers were able to not only fix the game’s technical issues but also realize its potential with new content changes and mechanic overhaul. But for many fans, the boat had already sailed by then – and State of Decay 2 became an underrated game only appreciated by a small group of people. If you are one of those who gave up on the game, give it another try – and you might be surprised.

Metro 2033

The Metro series came into the limelight with Metro: Last Light and recent entries such as Exodus are widely praised for their brand of survival gameplay. As a result, Metro 2033 ends up being a rather underrated game in the series – which is a shame because many of the ideas that we have come to associate so dearly with the series were actually founded in Metro 2033. It’s a really well-made game, and more people should give it a shot.

The following titles will be available at launch:

• Among Us
• Descenders
• Dishonored 2
• Doom Eternal
• Fable Anniversary
• Fallout 4
• Fallout 76
• Forza Horizon 4
• Gears 5
• Grounded
• Halo 5: Guardians
• Halo Wars 2
• Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice
• Human Fall Flat
• Inside
• Ori and The Will of the Wisps
• Psychonauts 2
• State of Decay 2
• The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited

Note that the game library may vary by country. More titles will be announced before the service’s launch in September. New games will be added two to three times yearly, though how many at any given time is unknown. Those currently subscribed to Xbox Live Gold will automatically switch to the new plan with no change in pricing.

Games with Gold officially ends on September 1st. Any Xbox One games redeemed through it are still accessible if you subscribe to Game Pass Core or Game Pass Ultimate. Xbox 360 titles obtained through the same will remain in your library, even without a subscription.  Stay tuned for more details in the coming months.

Dying Light 2 Stay Human

Techland’s sequel to 2015 sleeper hit Dying Light 2 Stay Human is rightly praised for its freewheeling first-person parkour, but its melee heavy combat is uber-satisfying too. In the spirit of post-apocalyptic societal collapse, surviving face-to-face encounters with bands of ravaging zombies requires utilising whatever object comes to hand – bats and batons to bludgeon, machetes to slice, axes to dice. The brutality of Dying Light 2 Stay Human’s combat is ravishing, with parkour skills in the form of flying kicks upping the fun factor.

Dead Island 2

Deep Silver’s zombie sequel delivers heaps of ridiculous hack and slash action, done so hilariously over the top the blood-soaked brawling on the streets of a zombie-ravaged Los Angeles feels slapstick or cartoonish. And on Dead Island 2’s streets are a mass of improvised weaponry – pipe wrenches and pool cues, meat cleavers and makeshift swords, with an endless supply of craft-able upgrades to boost limb damage, or burn, maim, and shred the undead into gloriously gory bits and pieces.

Dead Rising 2    

To survive the hordes of hungry zombies in Dead Rising 2 – sometimes congregating in gangs thousands strong – player character Chuck Greene can combine everyday objects to create ludicrous improvised weaponry. Duct taping a machete to a toy helicopter creates the Heliblade, the Auger attaches a drill motor to a pitchfork, the brutal bat axe Defiler combines a sledgehammer and a fire axe. Even makeshift vehicles make an appearance such as the battery-fied electric wheelchair, which, to push things even more sadistically can be combined with a merc assault rifle to craft the Blitzkrieg, the perfect killing machine to masochistically roll through crowds of zombies.

State of Decay 2: Juggernaut Edition

Open world zombie survival sim State of Decay 2: Juggernaut Edition focuses most on the grim reality of life after a zombie outbreak levels society. Scavenging for food, cobbling resources with other survivors, building a community, and fortifying a home base are the flesh on State of Decay 2’s bones, but with a smattering of zombies stalking the countryside there arises opportunity for hacking and slashing too. Now, ranged weaponry is the usually the safest option, but with a huge list of melee weapons at each survivors’ disposal, it’s much more satisfyingly savage to whack a zombie on the cranium with a nail puller, or get up close and savour every gory detail with a rusty screwdriver.     

Days Gone

There’s a lot to love in Deacon St. John’s odyssey through zombie-ravaged Oregon in Days Gone. Principally, the strategic funnelling of hordes of infected freakers through carefully laid traps to eliminate their numbers en masse in sheer joyous desperation is a seriously well implemented gameplay loop that’s still relatively unique amongst video games some four years after release. This being a post-apocalypse, there are of course plenty of blunt objects dotted around with which to bash freakers over the head with. Crafting recipes unlock even grislier concoctions too: 2×4’s can be stuffed with a box of nails, baseball bats can be made much more durable with a little bit of scrap metal and pipework; even a stool leg can be combined with a saw blade to rip faces off.

The Last of Us Part I

Featuring much more intense hand-to-hand combat brought over from 2020’s The Last of Us Part II, last year’s The Last of Us remake improved character animations, made enemy AI smarter and more tactically astute, and rejuvenated stealth encounters. Of course, encounters can be stealthily skipped, but an aggressive approach to combat is always ultra-satisfying. Whilst it’s a shame Part II’s dodge ability wasn’t included in Part I, the melee weapon-based action remained and with it the brutal satisfaction in decking runners in the skull with a brick or shanking a clicker in the back with a shiv blade.

Killing Floor 2

Killing Floor 2 is dripping in visceral guts and gore, with limbs and entrails constantly flung across the screen. The game’s raft of melee weapons provides multiple satisfying ways in which to rip enemy ZEDs apart too, from conventional slashing katanas and swords, to more unusual items such as the bruising bone crusher, the combination sledgehammer shotgun known as the pulveriser, and the buzz saw spewing eviscerator. One of the best melee weapons in the entire game though is the medieval sword zweihandler. It isn’t especially expensive, but once paired with the massacre perk will transform players into an unstoppable slicing, dicing tornado of death.

Lollipop Chainsaw

Grasshopper Manufacture’s mindless Lollipop Chainsaw, in which players arm cheerleader zombie hunter Juliet Starling with a bedazzled chainsaw before slicing her way through a zombie infested high school, is perhaps the game made for this rundown. Juliet’s knack for pirouetting in kaleidoscopic rays of rainbow and blood is endlessly fun, and that chainsaw in question features tons of humorous, schlocky upgrades: adding an engine and exhaust pipes grants Juliet power to dodge, an 8 rocket cartridge transforms the bedazzled chainsaw into an explosive long-range grenade launcher, and possibly most sadistic of all is the Nick Popper, a speaker phone type attachment capable of launching jock boyfriend Nick Carlyle’s detached head as a projectile.

Zombie Army 4: Dead War       

Ostensibly a shooter set within an alternate history where humankind is locked in endless battle against Hitler’s undead Armageddon, Zombie Army 4: Dead War also features its fair share of glorious hack and slash elements. The sadistic X-ray kill cam from developer Rebellion’s Sniper Elite series makes an appearance here too alongside some seriously killer melee combat, with powerful close-quarter combat weaponry accompanying the brutal fisticuffs. The electric fist, for instance, is a powerful knuckleduster which stuns enemies with a supercharged electrical current; divine blast knocks multiple opponents down with a very useful shockwave; the machete smash blade slices through enemies like a hot knife through butter; and last but not least, the incendiary modified hatchet sets anything within range on fire as well as simultaneously cutting chunks off zombie soldiers withered bodies.

Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice

This isn’t your typical horror; Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice instead chills players to the bone by way of its psychosis laden trauma dripping in existential dread, bringing Ninja Theory’s action adventure close to the realms of the best psychological horror games. Of course, it’s hack and slash combat can be exciting to pull off too, with spritely dodge ability and precise parry systems bringing an element of skill to the button mashing sword swings. Rudimentary combos are also possible with light and heavy attacks that can be chained together to a spectacular stab and launch-kick finishing move.

The Hordes generate Infestations and begin a Siege when close to your Home Base. Plague Hearts are dormant as you venture through Plague Territory, but certain actions will increase the alert level. After awakening, you’ll need to destroy it to stop the Infestations, lest they continue the Infested assault.

Players can also destroy Infesting Hordes before reinforcing an Infestation, slowing the latter’s growth. When infested, you’ll no longer receive any benefits from an Outpost. When tackling an Infestation, you can look forward to Juggernauts and Ferals with lots more zombies overall. Target the Screamers first, since they’re essentially directing traffic.

Check out the full patch notes below. State of Decay 2: Juggernaut Edition is available on Xbox One and PC while supporting up to 4K resolution and 60 FPS on Xbox Series X/S.

Update 33: Heart Attack

Update Details

Plague Hearts

• Now all Plague Hearts on a given map start out dormant – that is not actively trying to seek out and destroy your Base. However, they don’t remain dormant forever
• Dormant / awake Plague Hearts each have a unique icon on the map and menus
• As you explore Plague Territory, certain actions now raise the alertness of a Plague Heart until it fully “awakens” and begins sending out Infesting Hordes
• After a Plague Heart is awakened, it will begin sending Infesting Hordes out to create and reinforce Infested Sites along the way to your Base. Awakened Plague Hearts never become dormant again and must be destroyed
• Destroying a Plague Heart after it awakens will cause all of its created Infestations to wither over time, losing strength and zombies, until they dissipate on their own

Infesting Hordes

• Awakened Plague Hearts begin regularly launching Infesting Hordes out into the world
• When arriving at an uninfested location, Infesting Hordes create new Infestations, effectively making an outpost for the Horde
• When arriving at a currently infested location, Infesting Hordes increase the Severity of that Infestation, bolstering it with even MORE zombies
• Infestations can also generate Infesting Hordes, though this does lower their Severity as a portion of the zombies pick up and follow a Screamer to a new location
• If a player owned Outpost becomes infested any active benefits are nullified until the infestation is cleared out
• Destroy an Infesting Horde before it arrives at a destination to slow Infestation growth
• The more Noise in your base, the faster Infestations grow and spread to your base – quieter bases take longer for Hordes to locate and reach

Infestations

• Infestations, once created, have a number above them to indicate their Severity Level. Higher Severity Infestations have more zombies, eventually attracting dangerous Freaks like Ferals and Juggernauts into the mix.
• Loot can now drop from killing non-Screamer Freaks present at infestations
• Since Screamers control Infestations on behalf of the Plague Hearts, killing all Screamers present at an Infestation will clear the Infestation instantly
• The Severity Level of an Infestation is tied to how many Screamers are present, so you always know how many to look for at each Severity
• Each Infesting Horde that arrives at an Infestation will increase the Severity Level
• Each Infesting Horde that leaves from an Infestation will decrease the Severity Level
• When a Plague Heart controlling an Infestation (indicated by highlighting the Infestation on the map) is destroyed, that Infestation’s Severity Level ticks down over time to 0 and eventually clears itself automatically
• Infestations also increase the density of the ambient zombie population around them.

Siege Sites

• When an Infesting Horde reaches an infestable location close enough to launch a Horde directly at your Base, it may create a Siege Site instead of a regular Infestation. Siege Sites, like infestations can also be reinforced and grow in severity
• As long as Siege Sites exist, there is a chance for them to trigger a Siege, which results in Siege Hordes being launched from every active Siege Site toward your Base. This decreases the Severity of a Siege Site, same as Infestations
• Siege Hordes are released in waves until every Siege Site has reached 0 Severity and despawn (or Siege Sites are manually killed)
• The chance of a Siege triggering is represented by your Base’s Threat. The number of Siege Sites and their Severity both increase Threat. Higher Threat means longer, harder Sieges
• Siege Sites can be attacked and pruned before a Siege triggers, just like Infestations
  Killing all the Screamers present will also automatically clear Siege Sites

Sieges

• Sieges have a chance to trigger based on your current Threat level (higher Threat, the higher the chance and difficulty)
• The Siege itself takes some extra time before beginning, with the Siege Hordes collecting nearby outside of your base until they decide to strike
• Unlike Infestations which get weaker as their Severity level decreases, the waves of Siege Hordes released by the Siege Sites launch in order from easiest to hardest
• Siege Hordes assault the base whether you’re present or not, and once it has been triggered a Siege will only end when all Siege Sites are destroyed or depleted
• If your active character was not present and contributing during a wave, you will see a Siege Consequence notification letting you know how your survivors did without you
• Siege Consequences are applied at random based on siege sites and your selected Difficulty, but it’s never good: they range from survivor injuries to facility damage or worse
• Arriving at your base anytime during a Siege will prevent any Siege Consequences from being applied for that wave and any you’re present for
• If you miss a few waves you can still show up late and save the day – all Consequences stop when you arrive before that wave’s end
• Prestige is given to the player at the end of the siege based on each siege wave they are present for

Radio Commands

• You’re not in this alone – you can use the Radio to send Survivors from your Community to help deal with Infestations while you attend to other matters
• The “Scout All Infestations” call will consume fuel in exchange for a Survivor driving around locating new Infestations you might not be aware of
• The “Take out a nearby infestation” call will help mitigate some of the growth by automatically pruning an Infestation on the map for you

Outpost Defenses

• Similar to Radio commands, your Outposts can also be leveraged to fight back against the Infestations by enabling Outpost Defenses. These Outpost Defenses have costs and durations, but when used correctly can provide unique strategies for containing Infestation growth
• Incendiary Landmines, when enabled on Outposts along frequently traveled Horde routes, will automatically blow them up, along with any ambient zombies as they enter the safezone, preventing Infestation growth
• Infestation Bait, when enabled on Outposts attract and reroute any infesting hordes that enter the scouting range of the outpost where it is activated
  It will also slowly deinfest existing infestations in range by forcing them to send out hordes targeting the outpost until either the outpost is infested, the infestations in range are destroyed, or the time limit is elapsed
• Plague Disruptor, when enabled on Cell Tower Outposts, will greatly reduce the plague heart’s sensitivity to actions that contribute to waking it up
• Hovering over your home base or outposts to see their scouting range. The player will be notified when Infesting hordes, ambient hordes, and freaks that path through these scouting ranges and their icons will be added to the map

Quality of Life Fixes:

• Characters that are busy will now be labeled as such on the community hierarchy screen when changing characters
• Larger vehicles have increased trunk space
• First Aid Kits can now be dropped 1 at a time
• Vertical view angles have been increased when operating your camera

Bug Fixes:

• Ferals will once again be able to climb walls in Daybreak
• Some communities that were triggering crashes on load will no longer do so and should be restored to a usable state
• Using a bandage inside a container is no longer interrupted by closing the container
• The ranged weapons and ammo tab of the supply locker now sorts caliber correctly
• Audio on the community creation screen no longer repeats or spams the player
• We have adjusted the key mapping for sending community members to your legacy pool, fixing an issue where other actions could be bound to the same key

State of Decay 2’s newest update has brought about several noticeable changes, with the most significant one being the graphical overhauls implemented in the game’s three original maps- Maegher Valley, Drucker County, and Cascade Hills. This includes improvements to environmental details, draw distances, terrain, foliage, lighting, and much more.

Another major addition that comes with this new update is the introduction of an FoV slider. While the game’s field of view will be set to 70 degrees by default, players can set it anywhere between 40 and 100 degrees. Meanwhile, fences, windows, sign posts, and more can now be destroyed by heavy weapons, while various quality of life improvements have also been made.

You can check out three videos showing the graphical improvements made to the three maps below, as well as the full patch notes for the update.

State of Decay 2 is available on Xbox One and PC, and playable on Xbox Series X/S via backward compatibility. Meanwhile, State of Decay 3 is in the works for Xbox Series X/S and PC, but doesn’t yet have a release date.

UPDATE NOTES:

• The arid landscape of Drucker County is even more unique. Featuring red rocks, a dusty-yet-clear sky, and drier climate.
• Meagher Valley received new distant vistas, fresh terrain painting, and foliage updates. Look for deciduous trees along the river valley!
• Updated foliage, repainted terrain, and improved rocks are just the start of Cascade Hills’ graphical improvements.
• Players can now set their Field of View. Head to the settings menu to adjust.
• Heavy weapons now destroys fences. Swing away.

Graphical Overhaul

• We’ve added new vista elements to each map’s horizon. Look around in each map to take in the fresh views.
• Foliage and rocks have been replaced with updated versions. Tree and foliage placement has been adjusted to match the surroundings.
• Skies and nighttime lighting have been adjusted per map. Each map has a unique lighting model and feel. Nighttime brightness has been adjusted to meet Trumbull Valley and Providence Ridge standards.
• The terrain has been repainted for a more natural look.

Heavy Weapons Destroy Fences

• Any fence that can be broken by a vehicle can now be dismantled by a heavy melee weapon.
• Also impacted in the mayhem: Windows, Sign Posts, and a few more props.
• Note: Despite the name, the Open Range Pack’s Fencing Tool does not destroy fences.

Field of View

• Go to Settings > Video > Field of View to adjust.
• Field of View can be set to anywhere between 40 and 100 degrees, with 70 as the default value.

Quality of Life Improvements

Environment

• We fixed a small hole in the ground northwest of Jurassic Junction in Trumbull Valley

Gameplay

• The Echo Lab Research Station can once again produce 10 Plague Samples if your community has the Pathology skill, as it should.
• Gunslinging’s Aim Snap ability no longer removes spread on shotguns. The Aim Snap target will be hit, but the spread is now preserved.
• The host’s character will now fall when standing on top of a moving vehicle. Sorry to take car surfing away again.
• We fixed an issue where characters can be stuck in a state where they can’t move after briefly sprinting. This should no longer occur.
• Dismissing a follower while crouching no longer causes that AI character to crouch walk everywhere.

User Interface

• Red Talon and Network specific weapons now have small icons in the corner of their inventory squares to help identify them. Note: This iconography is not associated with a Bounty Pack.
• The Secken’s Work Station site has stopped its lying ways and no longer says it’s claimable.

Bases and Facilities

• Updated the Landmark Outpost menu to clarify initial vs ongoing resource cost presentation for Landmark Outpost Strategies.
• The Haven Device build description now calls out that the player will need to find the Haven Capsule in Trumbull Valley. (hint: Help Izzbee and Dr. Hoffmann.)
• Instead of constantly enabling and disabling, the “Packing the Bunk” passive now stays enabled in communities with 8 or more survivors.

Missions

• Refusing to help in “Marshall Stories: New in Town” now causes the mission to fail. That’s what you wanted, right? Jerks.
• In Heartland, dialogue no longer plays out of order during “Neighborhood Unrest” when Quincy is dead.
• The Still Life mission now tells you the name of the site where you should go.

Miscellaneous

• Advanced Toolkits can now sometimes be found in Plague Hearts on Lethal difficulty.

Undead Labs has multiple content updates planned for this coming year, which will supposedly change elements of the game such as UI, make Infestations more dangerous, allowing players to set up defensive traps at outposts, and much more. As of this moment, there’s no date for when all of these updates are slated to roll out, but more information is sure to come in the coming months- so stay tuned until then.

The much-anticipated sequel State of Decay 3 is still some ways away, and has made the switch to Unreal Engine 5- read more on that through here.