In most open-world game scenarios, players are citizens. They may come from different nations or towns as they explore, but that is the general setup. Other open-world games feature foreigners as a type of invader for various reasons, with some motivations being more obvious than others. NPCs or enemies may treat them with hostility during gameplay or at least in cutscenes.
Then there are open-world games with literal invasion mechanics, such as Elden Ring or Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain, wherein players can enter the worlds of other players and cause chaos. Those examples are perhaps too on the nose, but the following open-world games also cast players as the invader. In these cases, they are a violent newcomer in an unfamiliar land, and their goals are anything but benevolent.
Destroy All Humans!
Take Me To Your Leader
Destroy All Humans! is the ultimate answer for this list, as it is literally a game about aliens invading Earth. Players control Crypto, and on each mission, they can freely zap humans with various extraterrestrial weapons, use telepathic powers, and even fly a UFO.
One of the most fun powers to use involves extracting the brains from humans, which is more cartoony than it is a graphic fatality like in Mortal Kombat. It’s a whimsical game that doesn’t take itself seriously, and the remaster from 2020 does a lot to improve the gameplay loop, along with the story, to make players feel like they are in complete control of their alien invasion.
Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag
A Pirate’s Life
Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag is the first game in the series to center on the life of a pirate via its protagonist, Edward Kenway. His pirate antics are more for show in the story, as he’s not a cutthroat, but with that said, armies do fear him and his pirate brethren for being unruly.
Players can engage in gigantic ship battles against armies or fellow pirates, exchanging cannon fire before swashbuckling on deck. It’s the perfect game for anyone who wants to live out their days in the Caribbean during the height of pirate culture, where they took what they wanted and didn’t care about the consequences of any man-made law.
Xenoblade Chronicles X
Not Your Planet
Xenoblade Chronicles X features a colony from Earth, New L.A., settling down on a new planet that seems great, save for all the giant monsters roaming around. As players progress through the MMO-like combat and world, they will find natives who are not too thrilled with the presence of humans on their planet.
While most of the human colony wants to be peaceful about negotiations, the natives are a bit more hostile, leading to some heavy conflicts. While players aren’t destroying land in the name of the United States or anything, to the natives, they may as well be evil invaders who are trying to colonize their home world and kick them out.
Middle-Earth: Shadow Of Mordor
Giving Orcs A Purpose
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor is a prequel set before the events of The Lord of the Rings and starring a Ranger named Talion. After dying on a routine mission to hunt orcs, the ghost of Celebrimbor, one of the high elves responsible for creating the Rings of Power, revives Talion, and the two combine their powers.
Players will then invade Mordor by methodically taking out bases and orc captains, and if they fail, their enemies will remember. They might be scarred by sword slashes or burns and then rise through the orc ranks, seeking revenge on Talion for his aggression. This Nemesis System is what most players remember from Shadow of Mordor, making Talion enemy number one in the lands of Mordor.
Prototype
Man Eat Man
Prototype is not about a foreign invader, but an invader from within. Alex Mercer is the protagonist, and he was experimented on with a deadly virus, which allows him to transform his body into various forms. Fed up with his military pursuers, Alex seeks vengeance on all who want to take him back to the labs for further testing.
Players can choose to release the virus around New York City to grow more powerful by eating, or more like absorbing, humans and mutants into their body, which will naturally freak out most everyday New Yorkers. From the ability to run up buildings and then leap off them to growing blade arms, Prototype is a power trip for anyone who wants to feel like an evil superhero.
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This article originally appeared on GameRant and is republished here with permission.
