My gamer brain has been rigorously trained to dominate Soulslikes, climb ranks in hero shooters, or navigate that one parkour level in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. But there’s one thing in gaming that genuinely scares me. No, it’s not the House Beneviento section in Resident Evil Village… It’s clearing fog in open-world games.
As someone who obsessively sinks hours into open-world titles and aims to 100% most of them, opening the map only to realize I’ve barely scratched the surface is frightening. It’s happened in games like Assassin’s Creed Shadows, modern Far Cry games, and even older titles like Xenoblade Chronicles.
But out of all games, I think the fear took hold during my 50-hour playthrough of Xenoblade Chronicles 3.
The Xenoblade Chronicles games have always been massive, but the third (and possibly final) title was on another level. Its open world felt boundless. As someone who wants to discover every nook and cranny in its sprawling sci-fi landscapes, the game’s ‘fog of war’ mechanic had me endlessly trudging across unknown terrain to earn that crisp, satisfying view of a fully revealed map. My detail-oriented brain craved it, and Noah and Mio’s party was probably exhausted from all that falling and trekking.
In contrast, Assassin’s Creed Shadows wasn’t too bad. I just had to reach the nearest Synchronization Point and scan the environment using Naoe and Yasuke’s senses. Sure, there were some lingering patches of fog and mysterious question marks, but I usually ignored them until a quest required me to go there.
Ghost of Tsushima is an excellent example of a game that effectively handles the fog of war. I didn’t need to uncover every inch of the world; the game did it for me as I completed quests. Nature also lent a hand: wind and wildlife gently guided me where I needed to be.
Elden Ring nailed it, too. All I needed were Map Fragments to unlock large parts of the world. However, getting to those fragments was a challenge, but the payoff was worth it.
But anyway, all three Xenoblade Chronicles titles offer these massive, layered universes to explore. Granted, most areas are optional, but wouldn’t it be nice if fog cleared just a little more generously? Having to scale a massive mountain (possibly spanning two kilometers) only to clear half of it? That’s a letdown. My obsessively-compulsive brain does not approve.
It’s one of the main reasons I never finished Xenoblade Chronicles 3, a game I dearly love for its somber story and fantastic soundtrack. But it was simply too overwhelming. I became paralyzed by the sheer number of places I could go next.
I genuinely fear open-world games with an unintuitive fog of war. Why can’t I see the map after I’ve flown over it or synchronized with a tower?
Maybe the issue is me. Most definitely. But this one’s for every player who dreads clearing a map to see the full scope of a world they’re already lost in.