These games scratch a specific type of itch for me; maybe because they play in such a rare way. There is less emphasis on a set narrative and moreso on dynamic encounters that dont ever play out the same way twice for the player. You fight, lose, make mistakes, have some bad luck, etc. but its your journey and it leads to you improving your odds and becoming a bigger fish in the pond over time
- you aren’t the main character, npcs and their parties roam the world and have just as much agency as you.
Example of unpredictable events and sandbox elements:
- in STALKER, the guy you took a quest from might die in a shootout in a different region of the map, causing you to fail the quest. You now have a reason to fight the faction who inadvertently caused a hit to your reputation. Or on the other hand, someone else may gun down the mutant you were hired to hunt while you were asleep at night which results in an easy payday the next morning without lifting a finger
Example of emergent storytelling and dynamic experiences:
- In Mount & Blade, the enemy lord and his party outnumber you, refuses to let you leave peacefully and sells your whole warband into slavery, and you get dragged around as a POW for days only because you have a poor reputation with him from the time you raided one of his fiefdoms. Or maybe you see two massive armies fighting and you decide to join one side as a mercenary, and fast forward years later you are now second in line to the throne as an avowed vassal
I just really enjoy games like these where the player isnt a plot armored chosen one and other NPCs are inhabiting the world, making things happen without any input, leading to interesting interactions or opportunities. What other games are built like these?