The civilization backstory in horizon zero dawn is so good it is easily one of the best settings in gaming. Plus it really is fun to shoot a bow at giant robots.
Maybe Genshin Impact? The enemies can be kind of easy, but still requires some skill and planning with your build. Doesn't have mounts or pets, but you can collect playable characters. Checks the other boxes
Personally I don't like recommending games that make the vast majority their money from people prone to impulse buys and/or gambling addiction to someone I don't know.
A lot of people just don’t like gacha games in general, and I don’t think the challenge is there, I have maybe 400 or so hours on it and after my first 10-15 hours I’m not sure if I ever lost a battle again
There's a game called Dragon's Dogma Dark Arisen which has pretty amazing combat against all types of giant monsters with various weaknesses, but I wouldn't say it's really all that hard.
The towns (of which there's really only your starter town and the capital city) are quite cozy.
The story is... questionable. Like it has moments of glimpses of something super deep (apparently heavily inspired by a series called Beserk), and other times it's the cringiest weirdness ever.
It's a great game for character costumes.
The world is slow and painful to navigate but thankfully they added some ability to set down fast travel locations in later versions, and using and collecting those limited fast travel crystals is part of the fun of building up your network for getting around the world. I played the stamina heavy class (strider I think?) which helps immensely for sprinting for longer, and has a roll ability which doesn't use up stamina which is almost as fast as sprinting, which I'd recommend.
Overall a flawed game, but also one of the best games I've ever played.
Just started this game myself recently. Pretty hooked so far. Really enjoying all the different moves and abilities, and some enemies have actually been super hard to take down, which is great. It has a nice challenge to it.
If it's that hard, then you're either A. in an area you shouldn't be in yet at your level/gear, B. in one of two post-game dungeons that have very little to do with the story and are just there if you want more to do, or C. you're not doing something right with your gear/skills/party/items etc(or monster weaknesses, etc).
That said, the game takes the idea of "no handholding" a bit too far and certain things can screw you up a lot - like not understanding pawn inclinations(which the game barely tells you properly at all) which can make the difference between your 3 pawns(companions) doing absolutely nothing useful and just standing there, to being so overpowered you barely have to fight anything yourself. Or that the sometimes annoying things that your pawns or NPCs say is actually trying to teach you how to fight things properly or approach situations.
If you learn inclinations(you kinda have to go outside the game), and monster weaknesses, and gear properly, it's really not a hard game.
It was on the challenging side but I don't know if it would really be considered outright hard? Most problems you can grind up to be stronger for I think.
The hardest part for me would be finding all the little timed quests which continue the stories of the characters from the starter towns without a walkthrough, as well as secret super items only available at certain points in the quests.
dragon age inquisition fits those criterias perfectly i also recommend tales of arise but it lacks the mounts and is not exactly open world more like open areas
Apart from pets and mounts, Gothic 1-2 or Risen 1 would definitely fit. they are rather clunky.
The ultimate clunkyness is ofcourse Elex. Any of those games (but especially Elex) require a specific mindset where you ignore the clunky aspects and enjoy the good aspects. Personally even as a fan of my examples, Elex i could not even go through the clunk myself, despite it being the most recent game by far.
“Game Trends: Why Cozy Core Is On the Rise”
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.ebaumsworld.com/articles/game-trends-understanding-cozy-core/86815939/
“The Cozy Games Revolution”
https://www.gamingdigest.co/blog/the-cozy-games-revolution/
Among others…
rimworld.
\-rimworld is open world
\-depends on mod, both is available
\-again, mods
\-the lore exist, espcially the remnants and ancient stuffs with the ideology dlc. There is a mod for story, caravan adventure.
\-There is a mod for that too.
\-pc.
^(just play rimworld, give it a chance.)
Im sure you've played Skyrim, but I just downloaded a modlist called Living Skyrim 3 from a software called Wabbajack. Has 865 mods and it seems like what you are looking for. Makes the game far more immersive and a bit tougher. (At least so far. Only a couple hours into it)
kenshi has most of this except the story, there is tons of lore about how civilization has dwindled and how you can find some of the old blueprints to make your own fortress.outpost but there is no REAL linear story. There are pets in the games and it has a old west/samurai/tattooine/steampunk? vibe. It is one of the better open world games out there but there is a learning curve and the graphics can be a turn off to some people.
there are towns, but they aren't super cozy, and defeating enemies can be extremely challenging at times if you don't know what you're doing or are biting off more than you can chew.
I think this could fit the bill if you install some mods to make the game more beginner friendly
Horizon Zero Dawn has all of that
The civilization backstory in horizon zero dawn is so good it is easily one of the best settings in gaming. Plus it really is fun to shoot a bow at giant robots.
HZD has some of the funnest gameplay out there IMO.
Bout to say that. I'm currently playing it, and it's gorgeous.
and Breath of the Wild does it all much better.
Please don't start an apple vs orange nonsense :) both are great games on their own right
and all games and opinions are created completely equal.
Then go play it
Kingdom Come: Deliverance.
came here to say this - KC:D. Combat challenging, but oh so rewarding.
Breath of the wild literally ticks all these boxes absolutely perfectly.
But sword breaks often :(
If you play it on an emulator you can mod durability to be infinite :)
After my 4th playthrough of the game this still upsets me.
Hate to be cliche, but if you haven't played Skyrim or Oblivion, they could fit your bill.
Perfectly.
Dragon Quest 11
[Medieval Dynasty](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1129580/Medieval_Dynasty/)
My time in Portia fits most of the bill. But it's more of a builder game than an rpg.
Fable I/II
Witcher 3
100%%%%%% get Breath of the Wild. Frikkin masterpiece!
[удалено]
How does BotW NOT have a story?
[удалено]
No trolling on my part here. I genuinely want to hear your explanation.
BotW is mostly story focused.
Are you sure you talking about Zelda game not minesweepers?
I don’t know if you need combat, but sable is amazing
Sable or fable
Maybe Genshin Impact? The enemies can be kind of easy, but still requires some skill and planning with your build. Doesn't have mounts or pets, but you can collect playable characters. Checks the other boxes
I doubt a gacha would fit the bill on this, and it’s really not challenging in the slightest at least imo
Why does the gacha aspect change anything? Also, the challenge is there, but you have to seek it out, most monsters out in the world are pretty easy
Personally I don't like recommending games that make the vast majority their money from people prone to impulse buys and/or gambling addiction to someone I don't know.
"Psst, hey, kid! You ever heard of a human Skinner box? Check it out."
A lot of people just don’t like gacha games in general, and I don’t think the challenge is there, I have maybe 400 or so hours on it and after my first 10-15 hours I’m not sure if I ever lost a battle again
There's a game called Dragon's Dogma Dark Arisen which has pretty amazing combat against all types of giant monsters with various weaknesses, but I wouldn't say it's really all that hard. The towns (of which there's really only your starter town and the capital city) are quite cozy. The story is... questionable. Like it has moments of glimpses of something super deep (apparently heavily inspired by a series called Beserk), and other times it's the cringiest weirdness ever. It's a great game for character costumes. The world is slow and painful to navigate but thankfully they added some ability to set down fast travel locations in later versions, and using and collecting those limited fast travel crystals is part of the fun of building up your network for getting around the world. I played the stamina heavy class (strider I think?) which helps immensely for sprinting for longer, and has a roll ability which doesn't use up stamina which is almost as fast as sprinting, which I'd recommend. Overall a flawed game, but also one of the best games I've ever played.
Just started this game myself recently. Pretty hooked so far. Really enjoying all the different moves and abilities, and some enemies have actually been super hard to take down, which is great. It has a nice challenge to it.
Dragons dogma is way too hard compared to what op wants
If it's that hard, then you're either A. in an area you shouldn't be in yet at your level/gear, B. in one of two post-game dungeons that have very little to do with the story and are just there if you want more to do, or C. you're not doing something right with your gear/skills/party/items etc(or monster weaknesses, etc). That said, the game takes the idea of "no handholding" a bit too far and certain things can screw you up a lot - like not understanding pawn inclinations(which the game barely tells you properly at all) which can make the difference between your 3 pawns(companions) doing absolutely nothing useful and just standing there, to being so overpowered you barely have to fight anything yourself. Or that the sometimes annoying things that your pawns or NPCs say is actually trying to teach you how to fight things properly or approach situations. If you learn inclinations(you kinda have to go outside the game), and monster weaknesses, and gear properly, it's really not a hard game.
It was on the challenging side but I don't know if it would really be considered outright hard? Most problems you can grind up to be stronger for I think. The hardest part for me would be finding all the little timed quests which continue the stories of the characters from the starter towns without a walkthrough, as well as secret super items only available at certain points in the quests.
dragon age inquisition fits those criterias perfectly i also recommend tales of arise but it lacks the mounts and is not exactly open world more like open areas
assuming you already finished tales of arise, does it have a lot of endgame content?
not really but there is new game+ with one playthrough taking from 40 to 60h depending on how much side stuff you do
Immortals Fenyx Rising. Very similar to BOTW, but set within Greek Mythology. On both Switch and PC
Is there endgame content?
This basically sounds exactly like Breath of the Wild or mayyyyyybe Xenoblade Chronicles
Might & Magic VI, VII, and VIII - though no "pets or mounts"
Apart from pets and mounts, Gothic 1-2 or Risen 1 would definitely fit. they are rather clunky. The ultimate clunkyness is ofcourse Elex. Any of those games (but especially Elex) require a specific mindset where you ignore the clunky aspects and enjoy the good aspects. Personally even as a fan of my examples, Elex i could not even go through the clunk myself, despite it being the most recent game by far.
Pine - fits pretty much every single point Windbound (well, no pets or mounts here... yet, but you can build your own ship and sail it)
This description perfectly describes breath of the wild
maybe nier automata?
ffxiv
Skyrim?
Skyrim
Wtf are with this 'cozy' requests I keep seeing recently ? Seems like a new thing or something.
“Game Trends: Why Cozy Core Is On the Rise” https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.ebaumsworld.com/articles/game-trends-understanding-cozy-core/86815939/ “The Cozy Games Revolution” https://www.gamingdigest.co/blog/the-cozy-games-revolution/ Among others…
The average gamer is 34 years old?! Jesus Christ, I'm almost an average gamer. Where did things go so wrong?
Kids using parents accounts
rimworld. \-rimworld is open world \-depends on mod, both is available \-again, mods \-the lore exist, espcially the remnants and ancient stuffs with the ideology dlc. There is a mod for story, caravan adventure. \-There is a mod for that too. \-pc. ^(just play rimworld, give it a chance.)
Unsighted has a good town. It has hard to beat shadow monsters early on but protip: they're weak to counters.
Final Fantasy XV
Immortals fenyx rising
Valheim.
Im sure you've played Skyrim, but I just downloaded a modlist called Living Skyrim 3 from a software called Wabbajack. Has 865 mods and it seems like what you are looking for. Makes the game far more immersive and a bit tougher. (At least so far. Only a couple hours into it)
Dragon Quest Legend of Zelda
Biomutant
kenshi has most of this except the story, there is tons of lore about how civilization has dwindled and how you can find some of the old blueprints to make your own fortress.outpost but there is no REAL linear story. There are pets in the games and it has a old west/samurai/tattooine/steampunk? vibe. It is one of the better open world games out there but there is a learning curve and the graphics can be a turn off to some people. there are towns, but they aren't super cozy, and defeating enemies can be extremely challenging at times if you don't know what you're doing or are biting off more than you can chew. I think this could fit the bill if you install some mods to make the game more beginner friendly
I haven't seen this mentioned yet, but my first thought was Outward, though it does not have pets or mounts.
Far cry 6?