If it doesn't have to be a 1st person game then Another World is pretty much the definition of what you asked for.

A small warning though: That game really deserves to be called Nintendo hard. You will die. A LOT!

Morrowind is pretty alien, and with lots of things to discover.

Oh yes that's a good one, and by the same token so is Heart of Darkness come to think of it. I've gotten some distance into Another World and yes, it's painfully clear that you die a lot :P

I suppose, not that I think I will ever finish that game before burning out 5% in :P I'm thinking more along the lines of a human in an alien world.

Here are some games that provide me with a similar mystical feel of finding my way through an "alien" world as Unreal does:

On GOG:
Advent Rising
Apotheon
Aquaria
Capsized
Enclave
Morrowind
Prince of Persia
Soul Reaver
Turok

Not on GOG:
Aztaka
Knytt Underground

I'd have to second Prince of Persia 2008, which is a great game, even though it doesn't exactly "feel" like an open world. The individual 'levels' are arranged in more of a circle, and there's seldom even a third direction to choose from.

What you have in there, however, is exploration and narration. You will at all times be accompanied by a knowledgeable guide who knows the environment and will, if asked, tell you a whole lot about its history.

Also, she will stare at your ass. Just a little warning there.

Thanks for the suggestions :) Of those Advent Arising looks the most promising. Enclave also looks interesting, and I've been meaning since forever to finish Soul Reaver someday :P

Knytt Underground looks absolutely gorgeous in the background department. Not to worry, I'll respond in kind :) That Prince of Persia has always seemed like an oddball for me, and I'll admit I was a bit surprised to read all the favorable reviews. The gameplay footage at the time didn't look like a whole lot of fun to me compared to what I considered the pinnacle of the series, Warrior Within.

PoP2008 is basically the only PoP for me. I replay it once per year and have been since 2010.

That "oddball"? It is. In the course of the series, yes of course it is. I'm glad it is. :)

The instalment is going in more of a QTE direction during battles (which are always one-on-one or rather two-on-one in your favor), finds a sensible narrative explanation for respawn points (which the negative nellies describe as "you can't die"), is a lot about rhythm in the acrobatic parts and appears much more chatty than previous instalments as you have a permanent companion ingrained in game mechanics. And it has far more of a fantasy element than previous games.

And, of course, the very bold ending narrative has the tendency to alienate people (even though I still consider it the best ending most fitting to the Arabian Nights' dark tales, ever, before Ubisoft ruined it with Xbox DLC).

What I like the most about this iteration of Prince of Persia is that the main focus lies cleary on exploring the beautiful environments rather than combat. Fights are very sparse and then intense, which gives the game the feel of exploring the ruins of an extinct civilisation. It's almost like playing through a dream and I return to it every couple of years.

Edit: Seems like Vainamoinen was faster, and the fact that he gives a very similar explanation speaks for the game, I guess. And yes, the companion!

Well I'll definitely try it once I have a gaming rig up and running again (currently my laptop will just curse at me if I try it) and see how I feel about the new mechanics. I'm not sure about the whole QTE and one-on-one approach though. I really liked Warrior Within's extensive list of tricky combat moves that you almost had to rely on to survive fights against multiple enemies.

Also come to think of it, I'm not sure I actually do consider Warrior Within the pinnacle of the series from what I've played. I might have to give that to the 2nd game, which I really hope we see here one day. I could never finish the damn thing :P

The tricky beat'em'up combo moves are still there, fear not. :)

Cool stuff, I liked how sometimes I felt like I was playing Mortal Kombat trying to remember button sequences :)

Have a glimpse.

http://faqsmedia.ign.com/faqs/image/article/936/936981/pop47_combo_ps3_2008dec09.jpg

0.0 Wow ok