28 Exploration video games

The Beginner's Guide is an interactive storytelling video game created by Davey Wreden under the studio name Everything Unlimited Ltd. The game was released for Microsoft Windows, OS X and Linux on October 1, 2015. The game is Wreden's follow-up to the critically praised The Stanley Parable, his previous interactive storytelling title that was initially released in 2013.

Californium is an exploration game co-developed by Darjeeling and Nova Productions, and released in February 2016 for Microsoft Windows and OS X. Californium was developed as a tribute to science-fiction author Philip K. Dick on the 30th anniversary of his death. The player controls Elvin Green, a struggling writer dealing with family matters, as he discovers the means to manipulate reality, and explores several surreal landscapes.

Dear Esther is a first-person exploration and adventure video game developed by The Chinese Room for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. First released in 2008 as a free-to-play modification for the Source game engine, the game was entirely redeveloped for a commercial release in 2012. Featuring minimalistic gameplay, the player's only objective in the game is to explore an unnamed island in the Hebrides, Scotland, listening to a troubled man read a series of letters to his deceased wife. Details of her mysterious death are revealed as the player moves throughout the island.

Dr. Langeskov, The Tiger, and The Terribly Cursed Emerald: A Whirlwind Heist is an exploration video game developed by Crows Crows Crows, a studio created by William Pugh, best known for his work on another video game, The Stanley Parable. The game was released for Microsoft Windows and OS X on December 4, 2015 as a free offering. The game sets up expectations of participating in a narrative-driven story about a heist, but players instead find themselves helping out an unseen narrator before they can participate in the story.

Eidolon is a first-person open world exploration video game with narrative and survival elements, developed and published by Ice Water Games. The game was released on August 1, 2014 for Microsoft Windows and macOS.

Event[0] is a first-person science fiction exploration video game developed and published by Ocelot Society. It was released on September 14, 2016 for both Microsoft Windows and macOS. The game follows an astronaut en route to Europa, who after their ship suffers a catastrophic failure takes refuge in a dilapidated leisure ship, with the only remaining entity on board being the ship's AI, Kaizen-85. Gameplay consists of exploring the ship, repairing it in hopes of escaping, and speaking with Kaizen-85, who is a functional AI that the player can have conversations with. The game received positive reviews upon release.

Everybody's Gone to the Rapture is an adventure game developed by The Chinese Room. It is a story-based game, taking place in a small English village whose inhabitants have mysteriously disappeared. It is considered a spiritual successor to Dear Esther, also by The Chinese Room. It was published by Sony Computer Entertainment and released for the PlayStation 4. The game was released for Windows on 14 April 2016.

FAR: Lone Sails is an exploration adventure video game developed by the Swiss development company Okomotive. The game released on Microsoft Windows and macOS on 17 May 2018, with Xbox One and PlayStation 4 versions released in April 2019, and the Nintendo Switch version on 18 August 2019. It was released in Japan on January 23, 2020.

Firewatch is an adventure game developed by Campo Santo and published by the developer in partnership with Panic. The game was released in February 2016 for Microsoft Windows, OS X, Linux, and PlayStation 4, for Xbox One in September 2016, and for Nintendo Switch in December 2018.

Gone Home is a first-person exploration video game developed and published by The Fullbright Company. Gone Home was first released for Microsoft Windows, OS X, and Linux computers in August 2013, followed by console releases for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in January 2016, the Nintendo Switch in September 2018, and iOS in December 2018.

Hello Kitty: Big City Dreams is a Hello Kitty game for the Nintendo DS.

Infra is a first-person adventure video game developed by Loiste Interactive. The game was developed in multiple parts, of which the first was released on January 15, 2016. The second part was released as a free update on September 24, 2016. The third and final part was released as a free update on September 27, 2017.

Jazzpunk is an adventure video game developed by Necrophone Games and published by Adult Swim Games. The game was released for Microsoft Windows, OS X and Linux in February 2014. A director's cut of the game, self-published by Necrophone Games, was released for the PlayStation 4 in September 2016, and for personal computer platforms in June 2017.

Last Stop is an upcoming supernatural adventure video game developed by Variable State and published by Annapurna Interactive for Microsoft Windows, Xbox One. The game is expected for release in 2021.

The Longing is an indie point-and-click adventure idle video game, released on March 5, 2020 by Studio Seufz. The game follows a creature called a Shade, who waits 400 days to awaken a sleeping king. During this wait, the Shade must find ways to pass the time. The game is notable in that the in-game four hundred days pass in real-time, regardless of whether or not the player opens the game. The plot of the game is based on the legend of Kyffhäuser. The Longing received positive reviews and was praised for its experimental nature.

LSD: Dream Emulator is an exploration game developed and published by Asmik Ace Entertainment for the PlayStation. In LSD, the player explores surreal environments without any objective. The player can only move and touch objects that will warp them to another setting. The game was conceived by Japanese artist Osamu Sato, who rejected the idea of games, and wanted to use the PlayStation as a medium for creating contemporary art. The game's concept is based on a dream diary kept by an Asmik Ace employee for over a decade.

Night in the Woods is a single-player adventure game. It was developed by Infinite Fall, a studio founded by game designer Alec Holowka and animator/artist Scott Benson, and published by Finji.

Only If is an adventure game developed and published by now defunct Dubai-based indie studio Creability. Only If was released on July 25, 2014 for Microsoft Windows and macOS.

The Park is a first-person psychological horror adventure game developed and published by Funcom. The game was released for Microsoft Windows via Steam on October 27, 2015 and is a spin-off of an earlier Funcom game, The Secret World. It was released for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on May 3, 2016 and Nintendo Switch on October 22, 2019. It will be released in Japan on September 24, 2020. The game takes place in the Atlantic Island Park that closed back in the year of 1980 for mysterious reasons that are gradually revealed throughout the game.

Proteus is a 2013 exploration and walking simulator video game designed and created by Ed Key and David Kanaga for Microsoft Windows, OS X, Linux, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita. In the game, the player traverses a procedurally generated environment without prescribed goals. The world's flora and fauna emit unique musical signatures, combinations of which cause dynamic shifts in audio based on the player's surroundings.

Scanner Sombre is a cave exploration video game developed by Introversion Software.

Someday You'll Return is a psychological horror video game developed by CBE Software. The game follows the protagonist Daniel in the search for his daughter in Moravian forests. The game was commercial failure which was partly attributed to Piracy as the Beta version of the game was leaked prior its release by one of Journalists who received the build for Preview. It was estimated by Developers that 98% of Players played illegal copies.

The Stanley Parable is an interactive drama and walking simulator designed and written by American developers Davey Wreden and William Pugh. The game was originally released on July 31, 2011 as a free modification for Half-Life 2 by Wreden. Together with Pugh, Wreden later released a stand-alone remake using the Source engine under the Galactic Cafe studio name. The remake included new story elements and upgraded graphics. It was announced and approved via Steam Greenlight in 2012, and was released on October 17, 2013, for Microsoft Windows. Later updates to the game added support for OS X on December 19, 2013, and for Linux on September 9, 2015.

Thirty Flights of Loving is a first-person adventure video game developed by Brendon Chung's indie video game studio, Blendo Games. It was released in August 2012 for Microsoft Windows, and in November 2012 for OS X. The game employs a modified version of id Software's 1997-era id Tech 2 engine—originally used for Quake 2—and incorporates music composed by Idle Thumbs member Chris Remo. It follows three people as they prepare for an alcohol heist and the aftermath of the operation.

The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is a 2014 horror adventure video game developed and published by The Astronauts for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch.

Virginia is a 2016 first-person mystery adventure video game developed by Variable State and published by 505 Games. The game follows graduate FBI special agent Anne Tarver as she investigates her first case: the disappearance of a boy in rural Virginia.

Walden, a game is a first-person open world video game developed by Tracy Fullerton and the USC Game Innovation Lab for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X and PlayStation 4. Released on itch.io on July 4, 2017 for PC/Mac and PlayStation 4 on May 15, 2018, the game translates the experience of naturalist and author Henry David Thoreau's stay at Walden Pond in 1845–47 to a video game. The game was announced for PlayStation 4 at the 2017 PlayStation Experience.

What Remains of Edith Finch is a 2017 adventure game developed by Giant Sparrow and published by Annapurna Interactive. The game centers on the character of Edith, a member of the Finch family, afflicted by a perceived curse that causes all but one member of each generation to die in unusual ways. The game was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in 2017, and for Nintendo Switch in 2019.