Favourite places to explore in a game?

What are some of your favourite places to wander around in when you are playing a game? For me that's the jungle and the desert.

I've always liked exploring mountainous regions, as well as jungles and futuristic settings.

Caves or ruins of a previous civilization are typically my favourite.

Mansions.

Anywhere I'm not allowed to go into. For instance, I love exploring the different islands in GTA when they are blocked off. Once they become available, it's no longer special.

@crimsonbrute: Bad boys, bad boys...

@hyksiu: That song on a loop while trying to survive with a 6-star wanted level is one of the greatest joys in GTA.

mountains and under water if available

caves, jungles,

Outland.

Yea, forrest and mountains for me I think. It always feels like something could be just around the corner. That being said, a good city is fun to ambe around too. Getting out and walking the streets in GTA V always has interesting moments.

I think I mostly prefer man made, non organic environments such as futuristic, sci-fi utopian/dystopian cities. Examples of this would be The Citedal from Mass Effect or Rapture from Bioshock. I also really enjoy medieval castle settings, especially if they are presented in a dark or Gothic theme such as Dark Souls or Castlevania.

Definitely jungle/forest. FR3 for me was great in this point

Definitely agree with this.

@hyksiu: i dont' really have a preference, i look for good level design

This.

But other than that i would have to say urban/city environments particular post-nuclear or abandoned like in Metro Last light or Fallout.

Personally I don't have a particular setting, at least I don't think so. I'm just as engaged exploring the destroyed and "dead" wastelands of Fallout as I am the gorgeous and diverse zones of a game like Dragon Age: Inquisition or the impressive cities of the many GTA/AC games.

What I need is an interesting world. It doesn't need to filled to the brim with quests (though I always appreciate a nice side-quest!) but it does need to grab my attention somehow. The cities in the first AC game were pretty much devoid of actual "life"; outside of NPCs on repetitive set paths, merchants that were as useful as stone bricks and enemies with AI that left much to be desired. And yet, I was completely hooked on just wondering around, exploring every nook and cranny from Acre, Masyaf, Jerusalem and Damascus. They all felt different. They all looked different. They all, despite their very limited "life" felt alive. As Danny mentioned in a video one of these days, it felt like you were entering an actual city and not have a city bend to your objectives for no real reason, which is what has happened with the last few games.

Games like Fallout, wich in terms of setting have little to do with AC (taking my previous example) also immersed me in a world that I wanted to explore, that I wanted to change but that felt very much set on it's ways and alive, especially New Vegas and the original games (1 and 2). It always felt like things had happened, were happening and would happen outside of your quest actions. A thing that comes up with Fallout (due to it's, until now, ugly engine) is that an immersive world, for me, doesn't need to be picture perfect. It made players want to explore it's world by simply rewarding exploration (any new location = XP. Oh, there are a couple of enemies 10 levels above you in this area? Then therell likely be great loot too!) and creating interesting side-quest and places.

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TL;DR - For me, a favourite "place"/setting has little to do with the actual locale and more to do with how it's built, designed and presented to us, the players.

Snowy areas! At least in JRPGs, they tend to be mysterious places with a lot of secrets pertaining to their world. One of my favorites growing up was Crystal Palace from Paper Mario. Any other fans of that one here?

Like it when you first discover a new vault in Fallouts. They all got their own crazy twilight zone stories. Otherwise I like the open ocean and underwater areas. There hasn't been a good pirate game that explores the open ocean, I guess Black Flag is closest but I never played it.

Outer space. Or fjords with cliffs and lowlands.

@EPICCOMMANDER:

This, like in batman games

Mountains caves Specially Buildings and jungles generally citys and or Old civilizations . i know its alot but i like to wander around in all of that :P

Anything underground, like sub ways, the vaults in Fallout, tunnels, etc.

Roof tops (Infamous, The Saboteur, Sly Cooper, etc.)

Industrial areas (train stations, ship yards, warehouses, construction sites, etc.)

Forests/Jungles

Mountains

Deserts

Any fantasy setting or anything highly unrealistic