5 Best Open-World Games With A Focus On Disease And Infection Mechanics

Open-world games are extremely versatile as many allow players to have a ton of options regarding how they want to play, the weapons and items they want to use, and even what their character will look like as they explore. In some titles, the main story is not the priority, whereas others are nothing without their amazing narrative.

Open-world games can be set in medieval fantasy realms with outstanding blacksmith systems, dystopian futuristic societies, and even post-apocalyptic hells where survival of the fittest is the law of the land. In the latter, developers often implement interesting game mechanics where hunger and other health-related elements come into play. Here are some of the best open-world games with a focus on disease and infection mechanics.

5

Dying Light 2 Stay Human

Inhibitors Work As A Way To Increase Aiden’s Stats

It’s been 20 years since the events of the original game. The virus won, and humanity is slowly dying. You play as Aiden Caldwell, a wandering Pilgrim who delivers goods, brings news, and connects the few remaining survivor settlements in barren lands devastated by the zombie virus. However, your true goal is to find your little sister Mia, who you left behind as a kid to escape Dr. Waltz’s torturous experiments. Haunted by the past, you eventually make the decision to confront it when you learn that Mia may still be alive in Villedor — the last city standing on Earth.

You quickly find yourself in a settlement torn by conflict. You’ll need to engage in creative and gory combat, so hone your skills to defeat hordes of zombies and make allies. Roam the city, free run across Villedor’s buildings and rooftops in search of loot in remote areas, and be wary of the night. With every sunset, monsters take control of the streets.

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RPG

Survival Horror

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Released

February 4, 2022

ESRB

M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language, Suggestive Themes

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• Several parkour moves for exploration
• Aiden can use

Dying Light 2 is set 22 years after the original Dying Light, and it features a new protagonist who goes by the name of Aiden Caldwell. This title has a lot of parkour built into it, as it allows players to climb ledges, leap off from high areas, slide and even do some wall running to quickly make their way along the map.

Like other games in this genre, combat is mostly restricted to a melee approach, and melee weapons have limited durability, which adds to the experience and forces players to think about their strategies carefully. As players explore the map of Dying Light, they’ll often come across what are known as “Inhibitors”, which Aiden can take to increase his stats. Inhibitors are believed to increase immunity against THV, which, although not an actual infection and disease mechanic, does play with the concept of antibodies and disease suppression.

4

The Long Dark

Afflictions Play A Significant Role In Survival

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Bright lights flare across the night sky. The wind rages outside the thin walls of your wooden cabin. A wolf howls in the distance. You look at the meager supplies in your pack, and wish for the days before the power mysteriously went out. How much longer will you survive?

Welcome to THE LONG DARK, the innovative exploration-survival experience Wired magazine calls “the pinnacle of an entire genre”.

THE LONG DARK is a thoughtful, exploration-survival experience that challenges solo players to think for themselves as they explore an expansive frozen wilderness in the aftermath of a geomagnetic disaster. There are no zombies — only you, the cold, and all the threats Mother Nature can muster.

THE LONG DARK: SURVIVAL EDITION brings you the genre-defining Survival Mode, honed after years of open development and frequent updates. Widely considered the paramount Survival game of all time, SURVIVAL EDITION gives you pure focus on THE LONG DARK’s Survival Sandbox — the experience that started it all!

In THE LONG DARK, you are getting both the genre-defining Survival Mode, honed after years of open development and frequent updates, and the award-winning episodic narrative mode, WINTERMUTE.

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Released

August 1, 2017

ESRB

T For Teen due to Blood, Language, Violence

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• Five different survival difficulties
• Players must avoid things like wild animals and life-threatening diseases

The Long Dark is not for those people who have an irrational fear of crash-landing in a deserted area and having to survive while they’re rescued. This game’s story is set precisely on Will McKenzie, a man who must survive the Canadian wilderness and all the dangers that lurk in it. This does not only mean harsh weather conditions or hunger, but also wild animals, disease and infections.

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Some of the things players will have to manage to survive are calorie levels, body temperature, hunger, fatigue and other aspects. There are also the so-called “Diseases”, which include: Cabin Fever, Chemical Poisoning, Dysentery, Food Poisoning, Hypothermia, Infection, Insomnia, Intestinal Parasites, and Scurvy. There are also five different difficulties: Pilgrim, Voyageur, Stalker, Interloper, and Misery.

3

Green Hell

Treating The Different Types Of Ailments Takes Time And Knowledge

GREEN HELL is an Open World Survival Simulator set in the Amazonian rainforest. You are left in the jungle without any food or equipment, trying to survive and find your way out. On this journey, you won’t get any help from the outside world. Equipped only with your bare hands you’ll have to learn actual survival techniques to build shelters, make tools, and craft weapons in order to hunt and defend yourself. Constantly threatened by the jungle you’ll fight with both wild animals and tropical illnesses. You will strive to not only keep your life but also your sanity.

You can do it alone or with up to four friends in co-op play.
 

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Released

September 5, 2019

ESRB

M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood, Crude Humor, Strong Language, Use of Drugs, Violence

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• There are many ailments that can affect players’ character
• Finding food and shelter is critical

Green Hell is set in the Amazon rainforest and is played from a first-person perspective. The title is open-world and pits players against insurmountable odds, tasking them with surviving by collecting food and raw materials that they’ll have to find scattered across the land.

However, finding nourishment is not enough, as players will also have to find shelter and establish various bases to ensure their survival. Green Hell also gives players a smartwatch, which helps them keep track of their diet to ensure it’s balanced enough for them to stay healthy. Some of the most common injuries in Green Hell are: infection, laceration, leeches, rash, venom wound, fever, and food poisoning. Treating these ailments requires various solutions, giving infection and disease the spotlight in this title.

2

Unturned

Players Must Be Very Careful To Ensure Their Sickness Bar Is In Check

UNTURNED is an open-world survival sandbox where you assume the role of a survivor in the zombie-infested ruins of modern-day society and must work with your friends and forge alliances to remain among the living. Find weapons and supplies to survive against the zombies and gain experience points which can be used for upgrades while you progress through the game.

You can scavenge for clothes, weapons, food, and supplies, all while avoiding zombies and other players. You can also gather and craft resources (wood, metal, etc.) to create a stronghold, defenses, etc.

Explore the maps and find what you are looking for: every resource will be useful to keep you alive and to create the necessary equipment to defend you and fight zombies and other players. There’s a huge variety of available items, weapons, and vehicles (airplanes, cars, tanks…): find out what might be suitable for your game strategies!

As you progress through the game, wiping out zombies helps to earn experience points, useful for upgrades and increasing your skills in three categories: Offense, Defense and Support.

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Survive online and battle together with up to 24 friends thanks to dedicated servers oxr share the adventure at home in split-screen multiplayer!

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Released

July 7, 2014

ESRB

T For Teen due to Blood, Violence

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• Simple game mechanics that are fun
• Players must be on the lookout for their sickness bar status

Unturned might seem extremely basic at a glance, and while it doesn’t feature many complex game mechanics or any over-the-top elements, it has all that’s necessary to make a zombie survival game that’s fun. Players can choose Survival mode, which spawns players’ characters on a game map with clothes depending on their skill set. To survive, they’ll have to find supplies, weapons, and other elements to survive the vicious hordes of zombies after them.

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Throughout the game, players will notice that there’s a sickness bar on their screen. They must do whatever it takes to prevent the bar from reaching 0, since, if that happens, they will die of illness. Players who’ve already completed Unturned and want to try other similar games will have no shortage of options, as there’s plenty of them out there.

1

Fallout 4

Radiation Poisoning Is A Real Threat That Must Be Kept An Eye On

Bethesda Game Studios, the award-winning creators of Fallout 76 and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, invite you to the ambitious open world of Fallout 4. Do whatever you want in a massive Commonwealth with hundreds of locations, characters and quests.
As the sole survivor of Vault 111, only you can rebuild and determine the fate of the Wasteland. Join multiple factions vying for power or go it alone – the choices are yours.
From a Power Armor-toting soldier to the charismatic smooth-talker, be whoever you want with the S.P.E.C.I.A.L. character system and develop your own playstyle from hundreds of Perks.
Experience exciting first- or third-person combat with the dynamic Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System, or V.A.T.S., targeting enemies for maximum tactical advantage (and cinematic carnage!) Collect, upgrade and build thousands of items with Fallout 4’s crafting system. Weapons, armor, food and with the right materials, even entire settlements are possible. Welcome home.

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Released

November 10, 2015

ESRB

M FOR MATURE: BLOOD AND GORE, INTENSE VIOLENCE, STRONG LANGUAGE, USE OF DRUGS

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• Tons of different NPCs top interact with
• Radiation sickness can be treated with RadAway

Lastly, there’s Fallout 4, which is arguably the most popular installment in the franchise up to this point. There are many reasons why the Fallout franchise is so popular, such as the various creatures players can encounter along the way, the combination of vintage elements with advanced technology, and, of course, the many romanceable and non-romanceable NPCs players can interact with.

While it could be argued that disease and infection are not a central piece of the Fallout 4 experience, Radiation Sickness plays a key role in how the Sole Survivor fares in the Boston Commonwealth. Radiation Sickness can affect players when they drink polluted water or food, causing a wide range of issues that make the gaming experience harder. Luckily, there’s RadAway, a consumable item that removes radioactive particles from the user’s system. On top of the radiation poisoning system in Fallout 4, there’s also the possibility of creating several overpowered builds that make the experience much more fun.

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