Great Open-World Games That Discourage Fast Travel

Many would argue — with me agreeing — that having the fast travel feature embedded in an open-world title misses the point of such games, but then again, when I’m involved in a world like the one Elden Ring has, that mechanic more or less becomes a necessity. On the flip side, though, there are a handful of titles out there that despite having a free-roam setting, feel as if they oppose the idea of fast travel. 

And for that, I genuinely commend what they attempt to bring to the world, and that is an immersive world where the player is expected to go back and forth places by themselves without opting for a shortcut. This piece is centered on such games, highlighting well-designed worlds that push against the norms of the industry.  

Take The Long Road With These Titles, Not The Other Way Around

Make sure to comment down ahead and talk about some of the games not mentioned here that fit the bill from your perspective. 

1. Marvel’s Spider-Man (Series)

While the entire Marvel’s Spider-Man video game franchise by Insomniac Games is filled to the brim with straight gems, there’s no question about how the latest in the series handles fast travel.

First off, the traversal in all Spider-Man games is half the fun — thanks to the incredible job that Insomniac has done here — but even if someone tries to pull the trigger on that front, they’re dealt with an utterly sublime animation sequence in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, which is a treat on its own to witness.

Seriously though, free-roam gameplay of Spider-Man games is amazing and addictive, and nothing to overlook. eXputer rated Spider-Man 2 4/5 in its review, with author Usama Mehmood remarking, “[The game] is a cut above its predecessor, with significantly improved gameplay and a narrative that tugs at your heartstrings.”

2. Kenshi 

Lo-Fi Games’ Kenshi is more of a life lesson than a game, fairly speaking. With its world’s overly grand scale making you feel trivial hour in and hour out, Kenshi teaches you to embrace your losses and keep getting back up after the world knocks you down. It’s a hard as hell game with a learning curve that’s as steep as it gets, but once you master your failures, you find yourself having more fun than you’d like to admit. 

• Get it on Steam.

3. Death Stranding

With a sequel lurking, Death Stranding currently stands tall as a “walking simulator” among the masses. Just kidding, Kojima Productions’ fantastical open-world venture features a neat upgrade system that makes traveling, combat, and traversal easier and more fun for you, even if it does get off to a slow start.

The title has a lot of depth to it, being a Kojima game of course, and is based on traveling on foot to your objectives. Otherwise, you might just end up missing key dialogue and everything of the sort. 

4. Outward 

I don’t really have the perfect way of describing Outward, considering how it’s got elements of Elden Ring, Dark Souls, Ark, and multiple other IPs mixed in there, but one thing’s for certain: It’s not for everyone. For starters, the game is super hard, and you’re going to have a hard time keeping your calm together as the smallest of inconveniences go on to become lethal for your character. 

Secondly, it’s an open-world game that, despite having a need as clear as day for it, lacks a proper fast travel mechanism. Instead, players keep trying to come up with new ways to get from one point to another in the shortest time possible, often ending up with hilariously horrible results. But then again, it’s the absence of this feature that makes Outward truly Outward. 

• Get it on Steam.

5. Subnautica

When you’ve poured in your hours and learned the ins and outs of the game’s systems, you finally think to yourself that you’re getting the hang of Subnautica, but that’s really you scratching the surface. The game has no map, no fast travel, but only a strong focus on you familiarizing yourself with your surroundings. It’s an amazing game through-and-through, and a solid recommendation from myself at eXputer.   

6. Dragon’s Dogma 2 

Last but not least, we’ve got Dragon’s Dogma 2, which is a clear-cut example of an open-world game that frowns upon the fast travel feature. It does this by making fast travel extremely limited, followed by locking it behind a resource (Ferrystones) and keeping your options restricted. Instead, even the developer wants you to roam the in-game world yourself, and make tantalizing discoveries while doing so. 

eXputer gave Dragon’s Dogma 2 a 4.5/5.0 rating in its review, calling it “one of the best RPGs ever made” with a reactive world, fantastic combat, diverse character classes that it coins as “Vocations,” and an amazing Pawn system.