Open-World Games That Are Pure Insanity

Pure insanity. That's what you might think about a game that lets you cause unlimited chaos through physics, an arsenal of weapons, or sandbox-style gameplay. It's what comes to mind when you play games like Goat Simulator 3 or Cyberpunk 2077. The world is your oyster, and you're the biggest menace in it. On the other hand, insanity can also mean the stressors the game puts on you. A horde of zombies, running after you? Overwhelming combat against endless or much more powerful enemies? Or maybe even survival mechanics that are bordering on making you crazy? Green Hell and Dying Light fall into these categories.

Insanity is a wide concept, but all the following games fall comfortably under its umbrella. They're ideal for people who aren't afraid of a bit of chaos or being truly challenged. In the mix, there are RPGs, action-adventure, and sandbox survival games, so no matter what kind of gamer you are, you'll find your brand of insanity here.

Goat Simulator 3

The Physics Can And Will Get Crazy

What could be a better definition of pure insanity than an open-world, physics-based game where you play as a goat? Goat Simulator 3 is exactly that, a game where your only purpose as a goat is to cause as much mayhem as possible, from explosions to sending people flying at high speed by bashing into them, or wrecking cars.

The game encourages this chaos, too, by presenting you with a bunch of funny challenges and mini-games. Better yet, the game has co-op, and with friends, it gets even wilder as you drive cars, dress up in funny outfits, and terrorize the poor NPCs of the world. This is pretty much the perfect game when you're tired of being told what to do in all those serious open-world RPGs where you're the chosen one who can save the world. How about no saving the world, and destroying everything instead? That's Goat Simulator 3 for you.

Grand Theft Auto 5

Become The Greatest Menace In All Of Los Santos

Missions and story aside, GTA 5 is a wonderful sandbox to just mess around in, and that's arguably where the game truly shines. You get this entire city as your playground, with countless weapons, vehicles, and NPCs to terrorize. You can open fire on a crowd or set a gas station on fire in a dramatic explosion. Maybe you'd rather get the cops on you and see how long you can survive against a horde of law enforcement.

You could fly a jet and jump down from it, launch cars off cliffs, block traffic, attack random NPCs with melee weapons... The list truly goes on. If you're ever feeling frustrated with life and need to just experience being an agent of chaos safely in a virtual world, GTA 5 is the game you'll want to hop on. And let's not even get into all the shenanigans you can get up to on GTA Online RP servers once you get into character.

Cyberpunk 2077

The Legend Of The Afterlife Doesn't Care About Consequences

It may not be exactly as crazy as GTA 5, but there's a lot of insanity you can get up to in Cyberpunk 2077. One of the main enjoyments is playing around with different builds, like the stealthy, super-fast cyberninja who takes down his enemies with throwing knives before they even know what's going on. Or, you could be the netrunner, eliminating an entire complex of hostiles without ever soiling your hands by tapping into their cameras and cyberware. The builds get really out of control in the game, and that's without even discussing the melee madness you can get up to.

Night City has a ton of enemies, police forces, and MaxTac forces scattered around. The more mayhem you cause, the more you'll be chased. Try aggroing the MaxTac guys and see how long you survive, because those are the real final bosses of the game. You can also participate in a car race in one of the quests, go find some company at Jigjig Street, play arcade games, or invite one of your lovers for a date at one of your many apartments. Oh, and you can ride a rollercoaster with Johnny Silverhand after fixing it in Pacifica.

Kenshi

Insanely Hostile World That Doesn't Care If You Live Or Die

Let's discuss a different kind of insanity now: Kenshi. It's a jack-of-all-games, being an open-world sandbox RPG with very little handholding and direction, and because it gives you so much freedom, you're guaranteed to run into some unexpected chaos at some point. Walking through the desolate terrain, you might get ambushed by bandits or captured as a slave, and all of a sudden, you're trapped in an encampment that you have to slowly work your way through to escape.

The chaos in Kenshi is unexpected and intriguing, a fun little piece of flavor the game puts on your character's story without you having to plan everything out in your head. You never know exactly what might happen when you venture out, so preparation and increasing your toughness are two ways to not succumb to the first meanie you meet.

Green Hell

Everything Wants You Dead As Soon As It Starts

Just like Kenshi is an insane experience for putting you through the wringer, so is Green Hell. Hailed as one of the hardest survival games out there, it puts you into the lush rainforest after separating you from your girlfriend on a mission gone wrong. The rainforest is full of resources you can take advantage of, but it's also incredibly dangerous. There are poisonous frogs that can kill you, predators that stalk the bushes, waiting for the right opportunity to pounce, and insects that will infest you if you don't prepare a safe sleeping area for yourself. Oh, and the local tribe isn't very friendly either.

And if that all still sounds manageable, know that you'll have to manage your nutrition carefully by tracking your calories, and that low mental health will have you hallucinate threats that aren't there. Checking your health isn't just a matter of looking at a health bar; you need to check the quadrants of your body for their status. The systems are, all in all, built in a way to drive you mentally to your limits, even in a virtual world.

Project Zomboid

This Is How You Died, Again And Again

Your Project Zomboid experience is going to wildly differ depending on where you spawn and the kinds of difficulty settings you have on. Assuming you're playing on the standard difficulty (or even Extinction, the new hardcore difficulty), you'll have to deal with a lot of pure insanity. From the get-go, you spawn with nothing to your name and have to find resources in this huge map of Knox Country. You're the only one alive, and if you don't take your time and play stealthily, you'll succumb to a horde of zombies faster than you can imagine.

A bad situation can very quickly escalate in Project Zomboid if you're running around and attracting even more zombies to chase after you. Add in the sprinters that you find in Extinction mode, and you're in for an even scarier time with running zombies coming after you when you least expect it. It's a tense experience, one that demands your full focus. One mistake, and you could get zombified. And then, it's pretty much game over for that character.

Dying Light

Jump Over Zombies, Crazy Parkour, And Night Time Insanity

Dying Light is a game that just feels like it was miles ahead of its time when it first came out. It has an incredible traversal system that takes advantage of parkour mechanics, and those alone make this game feel absolutely crazy. You can climb the tallest buildings, vault over zombies, and zipline across streets. It's one of the best games for pretending the floor is lava. You also get a whole host of hilarious, awesome, and epic melee weapons to help you take down the zombies, some of which are not to be messed with easily.

At night, especially, Harran becomes a very dangerous place, with Volatiles coming out to play. These zombies are incredibly fast-paced and can chase you long distances. The glancing over your shoulder mechanic is pretty terrifying and cool in that context, which just adds to the insane atmosphere of the game and just how overrun every location is with the infected. It's honestly the perfect, overwhelming horde game, and the best part is that it supports co-op, too.