Open-World Games With The Best Power Creep


Key Takeaways

  • Players often love the power creep in open-world games where they start weak but become unstoppable, enhancing their sense of empowerment.
  • Games like Infamous Second Son, Far Cry 3, and Skyrim gradually empower players, making them feel like formidable warriors.
  • Developers drip-feed upgrades to keep the game engaging, allowing players to return to early-game areas to dominate enemies once too tough to beat.



People play video games for plenty of reasons, but one of the biggest has to be as a form of escapism. Open-world games, in particular, let players explore strange new lands and empower them to do the kind of things they can only dream of in real life. In many of the best-ever open-world games, the player starts as a mere mortal before gradually becoming an unstoppable killing machine.

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This process has a name: power creep. If fans had every tool, skill, power, and upgrade at the beginning of a game, it would be fun for a little bit, but things would get boring quickly. However, when developers drip-feed their players upgrades throughout the game, it leads to a satisfying degree of empowerment. Who doesn’t like returning to early-game areas to curb stomp enemies who once made their lives miserable? The games below have been chosen according to their overall quality combined with how satisfying their power creep is. In the case of franchises with similar progression systems, the game with the most enjoyable power creep was chosen.



1 Infamous Second Son

From Aimless Rebel To Overpowered Superhero

Systems

PlayStation-1

Any of the three main Infamous games could be included, but Second Son is highlighted thanks to the sheer variety of powers the game offers. It’s a direct sequel to Infamous 2 and follows new protagonist Delsin Rowe, one of the few surviving conduits following the events of the second game. Delsin starts with fairly lame smoke-based powers, but throughout the game, adds Neon, Video, and Concrete to his repertoire.


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At ten years old, Second Son is still one of the best open-world superhero games. That’s largely down to the game’s power creep. In the Arkham or Marvel’s Spider-Man games, fans start the game with a fairly competent version of Batman or Spider-Man. But at the beginning of Second Son, Delsin is squishy and weak. Until the player starts unlocking new powers, it’s often better to run than fight and Delsin is easily overwhelmed. In contrast, by the end of the game, he’s almost unstoppable, especially when fighting normal grunt enemies. The power creep is enhanced if players choose the evil progression path for their powers, which emphasizes sheer firepower while the good path focuses on restraint.

2 Far Cry 3

From Spoiled Thrill-Seeker To Fearless Warrior


Released
November 29, 2012

As one of the best open-world FPS games in gaming history, Far Cry 3 remains one of the best examples of power creep done right. Its protagonist, Jason Brody, starts the game as the ultimate annoying gap-year student. He and his pals are visiting the Rook Islands as part of the ultimate thrill-seeking trip when they get captured by psychotic pirates. Faced with death and most likely torture, Jason manages to escape from a pirate camp, starting his hero’s journey.

His first kill is brutal and desperate and is one of the first times in a video game that fans see a protagonist respond realistically to taking a life. It doesn’t take long for Jason to transform into a remorseless killing machine, but it does take a while for him to unlock the skills he needs. Jason starts with a basic stealth kill move, a machete, and a lousy pistol to take on one island full of pirates and another full of mercenaries. By the end of the game, he’s capable of almost superhuman feats of agility, can glide like Batman, and has an arsenal that would make the U.S. military blush. Even more impressive, Far Cry 3 ties this power creep into its story, asking if Jason is the same good person at the end of the game that he was in the beginning, or if his powers have changed him into something much darker.


Escaping The Chopping Block To Become The Dragonborn And Tamriel’s Savior

Released
November 11, 2011

Developer(s)
Bethesda Game Studios

Skyrim‘s progression systems are so simple to cheese and the game is so full of exploits that it’s easy to forget how useless the Dragonborn is in the beginning. The player starts as a blank slate with their head literally on the chopping block. After escaping thanks to Alduin, the player only has access to the crummiest weapons and armor, and anything more powerful than a lone wolf can spell death.

But the Elder Scrolls is one of the longest-running open-world franchises, so of course Bethesda knows how to handle power creep. As the player starts to take on quests, they’ll begin gradually unlocking better gear. At the same time, leveling up will make them less squishy and unlock handy perks. Those wise enough to focus on the main story early on will quickly unlock their first dragon shouts. From there, it becomes increasingly easy to turn the tables on Skyrim‘s various monsters.


Soon the bears, trolls and Saber Cats that were once the stuff of nightmares aren’t such a worry. Eventually, the dragons that once sent players running are nothing more than a nuisance. Played without exploits, Skyrim‘s power creep starts slowly but picks up the pace quickly and the player will finish the game nothing short of a demi-god.

4 Elden Ring

Allows The Player To Grow In Power But Always Rewards Skill Over Brute Strength

Released
February 25, 2022

Power creep is hard to get right because if it happens too quickly the game becomes a cakewalk. Being overpowered tends to get old fast. FromSoftware’s Dark Souls series has always had power creep, but their games’ brutal difficulty keeps players in check. A high-level player can still get wrecked in early areas if they get too cocky because enemies never stop hitting hard. Getting this balance right in Elden Ring, one of the best RPGs for exploration, wasn’t easy, but the developers nailed it.


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After leaving the tutorial dungeons, players are free to go pretty much anywhere they like and tackle the game’s many dungeons and regions in whatever order they wish. Most players, though, will want to spend their first few hours in Limgrave leveling up and hunting down better gear that suits their playstyle. Get some decent gear and dump some points into the right stats and Elden Ring starts to become a little easier. Being a FromSoftware game, it’s never downright easy, but it is possible to feel much more powerful than in the traditional Dark Souls games.

In particular, with the right spell-based builds it’s possible to become truly overpowered, capable of one-shotting the game’s toughest bosses with enough preparation. At some point, every player returns to Limgrave so they can massacre the enemies that used to give them so much trouble.


5 Dying Light

Running Away From And Killing Zombies Gets Easier By The Hour

Dying Light

Open-World

Survival Horror

Released
January 27, 2015

Both Dying Light games feature respectable levels of power creep, but the original’s was arguably more satisfying. At the beginning of the first Dying Light, Kyle Crane is pretty useless. He’s OK at basic parkour but runs out of breath quickly and his combat skills leave a lot to be desired. Thankfully, Dying Light features excellent skill trees that allow the player to hone Crane’s combat and parkour skills. At the same time, the game drip-feeds the player new weapon types and tools that transform both parkour and combat.


What that means is that in the early game, Dying Light feels very much like survival horror. It’s almost always better to run and hide than fight and the player will be very conscious of the setting sun. Things are very different once the player reaches the final few upgrades in the skill trees though. By this point, Crane’s parkour skills are ninja-level and only the strongest volatiles remain a threat in combat. Crane can even disguise himself in guts and take out entire hordes by snapping zombie necks one at a time without a care in the world.

6 Kingdom Come: Deliverance

Takes Henry From Humble Peasant To Unstoppable Knight

Released
February 13, 2018

Developer(s)
Warhorse Studios

Let’s not beat around the bush. Henry starts Kingdom Come: Deliverance as a total weakling. He can barely defend himself from the weakest enemies, and the player will spend a fair amount of the game’s early hours running away. The game’s survival mechanics only add to this, making Henry feel like a baby who needs near-constant nursing. If the player is too ambitious and rushes too far into the main quest line, they’ll find themselves facing heavily armored Cumans they have no hope of defeating.


The secret to success in Kingdom Come: Deliverance is training Henry. This is one of the most realistic open-world games around and the player needs to teach Henry how to fight. That means spending a fair amount of time sparring with NPCs who not only teach the player the ins and outs of combat, but Henry too. With a bit of training, Henry is no longer a total wimp and can start taking on some side quests to earn money and some decent gear. It’s a slow and methodical process, but with time, Henry can become a powerful knight capable of cutting his way through the Cuman camps singlehandedly. Kingdom Come: Deliverance‘s more realistic approach means he rarely feels god-like, but becoming overpowered is certainly possible.

7 Prototype

A Game All About Becoming An Overpowered Biological Weapon


Prototype

Released
June 9, 2009

Developer(s)
Radical Entertainment

The original Prototype is the kind of game that a lot of people overlooked at release but has gained a cult following since. Despite the franchise being long dormant at this point, the original is fondly remembered as one of the best mature-rated superhero games ever made. The game follows Alex Mercer, a researcher turned amnesiac anti-hero as he fights against his former employees to stop a virus he helped to create.

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After being exposed to the Blacklight virus, Alex begins to develop fearsome superhuman abilities. He starts with fairly standard powers like enhanced strength, agility, and regeneration, but gains powerful new abilities as he learns to control his biomass and absorb that of others. Soon, Alex can wipe out whole squads of enemies with ease and the game makes sure that his power scaling is always slightly ahead of that of his enemies.


The first time a tank shows up, it’s a big problem, but then Alex learns how to hijack them or cut them to pieces with his Blade Arm, and all of a sudden they’re not so scary. Prototype is a game built around power creep. Alex has become a biological weapon, and the stronger he becomes, the more he struggles internally with the virus and his humanity. A struggle that fans of the sequel know he loses.

8 Cyberpunk 2077

Cyberware, Hacks, And Futuristic Weaponry Transform V Into Night City’s Greatest Merc

Released
December 10, 2020

Cyberpunk‘s V is never what one would call a pushover, but there’s no hiding the fact they go through some substantial changes throughout the game. Power creep has always been a central pillar of Cyberpunk 2077‘s gameplay but after years of updates, it feels better balanced now than ever before.


As the player goes around completing quests, side activities, and killing enemies, V earns XP, Street Cred, and Eddies. All of these contribute to making V gradually more powerful. Cyberware from ripperdocs can increase V’s stats and unlock new abilities, while the skills trees can make V a silent assassin, walking tank, master hacker, or whatever the player feels like. With the right build, V becomes unstoppable, with only monsters like Adam Smasher being capable of giving the player any real trouble.

9 Assassin’s Creed Odyssey

Turns A Spartan Warrior Into A History-Making Demi-God


Released
October 15, 2018

Power creep has been a big part of the Assassin’s Creed franchise ever since Assassin’s Creed 2. Each game has followed a similar formula. Give the player a starting assassin with next to no skills, weapons, or abilities, and level them up until they’re a total beast, either in the shadows or in combat. Assassin’s Creed Odyssey is arguably the pinnacle of the franchise’s power creep formula as, bit by bit, it takes the player from being a lowly warrior to a legendary Spartan hero.

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The player is almost constantly fed new weapons and abilities that make Kassandra/Alexios increasingly deadly. The powerful mercenary mini-bosses who roam the massive open world go from massive threats to afterthoughts. Enemy camps that the player once spent ten minutes sneaking around can now be wiped out in a couple of minutes of brutal combat. Never is the power creep more on show, though, than during regional battles.


The first couple of these battles are pretty tough as the player faces almost overwhelming odds but evolve into chances for players to show off as they turn the tide of battle almost singlehandedly. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla tried something similar with its power creep but was too generous with the skill points, meaning Eivor became too powerful too quickly.

10 Saints Row 4

Less Power Creep, More Power Sprint To The Finish

Third-Person Shooter

Open-World

The Saints Row franchise started as a more grounded Grand Theft Auto knockoff. The first game did OK, but the developers soon realized that gamers liked the outlandishness of GTA. With each new Saints Row, the gameplay became crazier and crazier until the team completely jumped the shark with Saints Row 4. This game isn’t centered around power creep so much as it is a power sprint aimed at making the protagonist as insanely overpowered as possible.


The player gets their first simulation-breaking superpower very early on in Saints Row 4 and from there they come thick and fast. The player will also unlock a string of increasingly OP weapons, there’s just never much of a reason to use them. The gameplay tries to balance things out by sending more powerful enemies to take down the player, but it’s almost always too little too late. By the end of the game, the player can unlock immunity to pretty much all forms of damage and wields the powers of half the Justice League.

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