8 Top Games That Let You Discover Your Own Path

I’m not entirely sure why, but the smell of old leather always reminds me of a time when games didn’t hold your hand… yeah, kinda weird, right? Anyway, let’s dive in—no, jump in, more like it—into the wild world of games that just toss you into the deep end. No map, no guidebook. You’re just there, fumbling around, which is kinda fun. Or a nightmare. Depends on your mood, maybe?

A lot of us gamers are, let’s say, kind of over these games that treat us like we need every itsy-bitsy detail spoon-fed to us. It feels like they’re being, I dunno, way too overprotective? Like those annoying training wheels you had on your first bike that made you look like a total dork to the neighborhood kids. Not that I’m bitter or anything. I get that some folks really need the help—I mean, I got lost in my basement once—but come on, enough is enough, right? Every game ends up feeling all the same: bland, safe.

Let’s take a trip down memory lane and rank some top-notch games that throw you right into the chaos. They give you no choice but to figure things out or fail spectacularly. Which, honestly, is part of the thrill, the adventure. Maybe it’s intentional that you don’t know what’s around the corner, or maybe you just tripped and fell into a virtual pit. Oops. Well, game on!