Top Upcoming Exploration Games of 2018

Note: This article was updated in August of 2018.

2018 is quickly approaching and with it will come a slew of new video game titles to look forward to playing. With that said, now’s a good time to start marking down what video games to keep an eye on when they officially launch next year. Let us lend a hand, in this list, in particular, we’re going over the top exploration video games launching in 2018.

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Monster Hunter: World

Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom
Release: Jan 26, 2018
Platforms: PS4, XBO, PC

The Monster Hunter franchise is consistently growing and with each new installment a number of new gamers explore the monster filled worlds development studio Capcom has crafted. Monster Hunter: World will mark as the fifth main installment to the franchise and as you can expect, there will be a number of notable updates.

For instance, Capcom has placed larger maps, a more seamless experience between zones and what’s a Monster Hunter video game without the ability to hunt with friends? Outside of the offline campaign, the game will allow a four-player online co-op opportunity.

Far Cry 5

Developer: Ubisoft Montreal
Publisher: Ubisoft
Release: Feb 27, 2018
Platforms: PS4, XBO, PC

Far Cry 5 will be seeing a release in 2018. The video game takes place within the United States of America this time around, though more specifically, in a fictional Hope County, Montana.

Within the narrative, Far Cry 5 pins players against Joseph Seed, a leader of a cult who has forced his way into controlling Hope County. As more innocent civilians become trapped and forced into submission under Joseph Seed’s rule, only a handful of resistance stands between Seed and his reign.

The map players are dropped within is quite massive and full of quests to take on, both as part of the main campaign along with side quests. Exploring will also present small caches full of ammo and resources within three of the main sections the map is divided into.

Sea of Thieves

Developer: Rare
Publisher: Microsoft Studios
Platforms: PC, XBO
Release: March 20, 2018

Sea of Thieves is all about being a pirate with a crew. Scavenge for treasure, loot islands, take to the open sea, and battle against other crews that are unfortunate enough to come across your pathway.

A big portion of the game will be simply exploring both in a ship or on foot when you reach various islands. We imagine gamers will be exploring the open seas for quite some time especially with the development studio providing support through content and expansion updates.

Red Dead Redemption 2

Developer: Rockstar Studios
Publisher: Rockstar Games
Platforms: PS4, XBO
Release: October 26, 2018

Rockstar Games has crafted up a number of incredible pieces of work. Their beloved long-running series Grand Theft Auto, the single IP release of Bully, and of course their old western series, Red Dead Redemption just to name a few. Red Dead Redemption has a massive following and gamers all over the world are undoubtedly waiting for new information to trickle down from Rockstar for their upcoming installment, Red Dead Redemption 2.

Just like with the past installments released under Rockstar Games, Red Dead Redemption 2 will have an open world environment. As you progress through the narrative as outlaw Arthur Morgan, the developers behind the game have likely added a number of side missions and goodies to seek out during your open travels but we’re still waiting just to see what all the developers are including in the game’s world this time around.

Dual Universe

Developer: Novaquark
Publisher: Novaquark
Platforms: PC
Release Date: 2018

Overall, Dual Universe seems to be quite ambitious and even said to combine elements from Minecraft, No Man’s Sky, Eve Online, Star Citizen, and Space Engineers.

Players will share a massive single universe with the ability to edit game worlds by adding structures, altering terrain, along with creating ship scripts and constructs. Dual Universe will focus on collective gameplay with gamers exploring, mining, trading, crafting, and creating in-game politics. Because players are constantly editing the game you’ll always find something new during your explorations.

Shadow of the Colossus

Developer: SCE Japan Studio, Bluepoint Games, Inc.
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Platforms: PS4
Release: February 6, 2018

Shadow of the Colossus is an iconic title, one of which that originally released back in 2005 for the PlayStation 2. Overall, players take on the role of a young man named Wander who has entered into a forbidden land. Your overall goal in the video game is rather straightforward, players must explore the land and fight these massive creatures known as Colossi in order to restore the life of a girl named Mono.

The video game as mentioned was introduced and released for the PlayStation 2, however, it was later re-released with enhanced graphics in 2011 for the PlayStation 3 and again on the PlayStation 4. While there’s not a ton to see within the world, players will have to explore as they attempt to track down the giant colossus to fight against.

Ooblets

Developer: Glumberland
Publisher: Double Fine Presents
Platforms: PC, XBO
Release: 2018

Developed by indie studio Glumberland, Ooblets is described as a mixture between Harvest Moon, Pokemon and Animal Crossing. At its base, the game is a life simulation title where players control beings known as ooblets while also keeping up with your farm, town life, and creature collection.

Players will also find that they can run a shop, explore the open world lands, battle ooblets, and other ooblet trainers. While the game has us intrigued, we’re still unsure of just when the title will officially launch. Developers have simply stated that the game will see a release within this year.

Yakuza Kiwami 2

Developer: Sega
Publisher: Sega
Platforms: PS4
Release: August 28, 2018

If you enjoy the Yakuza series then you may have picked up Yakuza Kiwami. The game was a remake of the original Yakuza title and this year we’re going to be receiving yet another remake. Yakuza Kiwami 2 is the remake of 2006 release, Yakuza 2.

Much like other Yakuza installments within the franchise, Yakuza Kiwami 2 is an open world action-adventure title where players take the role of Kazuma Kiryu. Without spoiling the original narrative, Kiryu is a former Yakuza member but he soon finds himself back into another fight and investigation when Yukio Terada, the clan’s Fifth Chairman is murdered.

Outside of the visual upgrades, the upcoming remake also includes a new storyline that unveils the history of Majima leaving the Tojo Clan. Currently, Yakuza Kiwami 2 is slated to launch within August of this year, exclusively for the PlayStation 4.

This is an open world title so you can be sure that there will be a bit of exploration involved. Just like other Yakuza titles, players may find a nice variety of mini-games if they search around hard enough. Some of the games you’ll find include virtual karaoke, golf, and batting practice.

Spider-Man

Developer: Insomniac Games
Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment
Platforms: PS4
Release: 2018

Spider-Man is an upcoming video game title under developers Insomniac Games who are previously known for their Ratchet & Clank and Resistance video game franchises. Their latest upcoming title will breathe some new life into the Spider-Man story as this video game title will not be linked to any past comic books or cinematic movies.

Furthermore, we’re not going through some origin story of Spider-Man, instead, the video game will be focused around Peter Parker, eight years after he has established the role of being the famed hero. From what we know so far, this is an open-world title where the narrative will follow Peter Parker graduating college while keeping up as protector of New York City.

This will be an open world look into the Spider-Man universe set in New York City. As such, players can web-sling from building to building though as you explore the in-game world, there will be criminal activity. When you’re not progressing the game through the campaign but mindlessly exploring New York City, you may find random criminals up to no good that Spider-Man can take care of.

Spider-Man will give players the ability to go through the narrative as not only as masked hero but as the civilian Peter Parker. From what we know from so far through trailers released, Spider-Man’s main antagonist will be Mister Negative, who turns out to be Martin Li, one of New York’s prominent philanthropist and owner of the F.E.A.S.T. shelters.

Shadow of the Tomb Raider

Developer: Eidos Montreal
Publisher: Square Enix
Platforms: PC, PS4, XBO
Release: September 14, 2018

Within the upcoming installment, players will find Lara Croft will pick things back up after the events of Rise of the Tomb Raider. So far we know that the game will follow Lara as she attempts to stop a Mayan apocalypse though the antagonist organization Trinity believes they can wield the power in order to reshape the world.

Much like the previous installments as well, Lara will have to use not only stealth but force as she battles against Trinity’s guards. There is of course wildlife lurking within the jungles, puzzles to solve and resources to gather in order to craft previous materials.

Shadow of the Tomb Raider won’t be an open world, but if it’s like the previous installment, Rise of the Tomb Raider, players will be exploring bigger areas in order to figure out just how to progress. Likewise, there’s probably a good chance you’ll come across collectibles to find hidden within the various levels and areas.

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey

Developers: Ubisoft
Publisher: Ubisoft
Platforms: PC, PS4, XBO
Release: October 5, 2018

Assassin’s Creed will have a new installment this year with Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. The video game is set in 431 BCE where players will have the choice of being a mercenary that fights for Athens and the Delian League or the Peloponnesian League led by Sparta. Either way, players will be a descendant of Spartan King Leonidas I during the Peloponnesian War.

Much like the previous Assassin’s Creed installments, Assassin’s Creed Odyssey will feature a modern day protagonist as well. Ubisoft will be reintroducing players to Layla Hassan who was present during Assassin’s Creed Origins.

Developers over at Ubisoft seems to also be working more on an RPG progressive system in this upcoming title which ranges from dialogue choices to a skill tree that can help in aspects such as stealth and combat.

The Assassin’s Creed series continues to grow with each installment outside of searching for collectibles, you’ll likely want to take a moment and just visit ancient Greece to see just what all the game has to offer. Ubisoft is also bringing back naval combat so you’ll also get the opportunity to navigate the open seas or even explore islands nearby.

Ni No Kuni 2

Developer: Level-5
Publisher: Bandai Namco Entertainment
Release: March 23, 2018
Platforms: PS4, PC

If you enjoyed Ni no Kuni, a video game title that released for Sony’s PlayStation 3 exclusively, then you’ll likely be delighted to know that the series will continue on. Developers Level-5 are planning to release the video game sequel to Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch early 2018.

The video game takes place a hundred years after the events of the first title where players follow a young king named Evan Pettiwhisker Tildrum who sets out to reclaim his kingdom.

While fans of the first title can expect the role-playing experience with the sequel. The game will feature an open world and a cast of characters that can be controlled during battles. Speaking of battles, there are a range of attacks and strategies available to use during battles with characters having melee style standard attacks along with a variety of skills.

Fallout 76

Developer: Bethesda Game Studios
Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
Platforms: PC, PS4, XBO
Release: November 14, 2018

Fallout 76 is the latest upcoming installment to the Fallout franchise though it will be quite a bit different in comparison to past main installments. Bethesda has developed Fallout 76 to be an online multiplayer title that takes place before previous Fallout games.

Within the game, players take on a member from Vault 76 where their goal is to help rebuild the wasteland when the vault opens twenty-five years after the nuclear war. While this is still an action RPG, the gameplay is centered on building up and maintaining settlements.

From we have gathered so far, players will not be seeing any NPCs but instead, the game will feature other live players enjoying the game. As a result, there won’t be any quests to take on which means you’ll be crafting your own story.

However, we do know that the game will be four times larger than Fallout 4 and that the map will be split up into six sections. Each of these sections will offer something different for games so exploring is just a basic component for this game. Also, due to the fact that the game is based on building up structures and settlements, players will always find something new in each venture they take out into the wasteland.

No Man’s Sky Next

Developer: Hello Games
Publisher: Hello Games
Platforms: PC, PS4, XBO
Release: July 24, 2018 (XBO)

No Man’s Sky was a massively hyped video game as it was leading up to its release on PC and PlayStation 4 platforms. However, once the game came out, the hype was quickly killed away where most fans felt that the developers failed to deliver a product that was promised.

However, over the years the developers continued to add content that better shapes up the game to those original expectations. Within July of this year, the game was officially released on the Xbox One platform.

Overall, the game puts players into a massive universe where they are free to explore countless worlds. As you reach a planet, you’ll be able to explore the land, gather resources and meet new alien creatures. Likewise, there is a flight simulator aspect where gamers may find themselves getting into dogfights over pirates in search of easy loot.

Hello Games have also featured an end goal for players to reach. Throughout your journey, players are tasked with reaching the center of the galaxy which will give players another chance to restart their exploration all over again.