Since the development of open world games, animals have been a key part of the gameplay. Most exist as a food source or a resource, others are there to make the world more realistic, and some are there just to make your life hell. We have all been in that situation where we are sneaking around the enemy in order to avoid certain death, only to be blindsided and mauled by the local wildlife that seems to have a vendetta against you. That’s what I get for not crying during Bambi.

These developers either had an agenda to show us the evil ways of eating meat or they inadvertently created a new, more terrifying and hidden foe that you’d think twice before approaching. In this list we will only be mentioning games that did not have wildlife or animals already intended as a main enemy, so games such as Battletoads, Fallout series, Super Mario and Banjo-Kazooie are out. Here are 6 games where I found the real fight was against Mother Nature.

Watch out for spoilers for the following games:

• Dishonoured
• 7 Days to Die
• Far Cry 4
• The Legend of Zelda series
• Grand Theft Auto V
• Scarface: The World is Yours
• Red Dead Redemption
• The Elder Scrolls series

Dishonored – The Hagfish

Anyway in Arkane Studios and Bethesda’s stealth open world game, Dishonoured: you play as Corvo, bodyguard to the Empress of Isles who is framed for her murder and the abduction of the Princess. During Dishonored you explore Dunwall (based on 19-20^th Century London and Edinburgh) teaming up with Empire Loyalists and becoming an elite assassin in order to clear your name and find those responsible for the murder of the Empress and the abduction of the Princess.

Early on in the game after you have navigated your epic prison break, you are taken to a tavern off Wrenhaven River and given some time to explore the area before entering the tavern. After wandering around the riverbanks, you may decide to explore the water in an attempt to locate and hidden loot or secrets (which is fuelled by a half sunken vessel in the water). This dip in the water soon turns into a blood bath as the Hagfish locks onto you and starts biting, this in turn entices all nearby hagfish to swarm you and soon you are fish food.

What makes these fish so deadly is the fact you are introduced to them early on in the game whilst you are still figuring out all the nuances of the controls, added with the inability of Corvo to fight underwater means that a leisurely swim away from the shore will soon lead to disaster. Although these fish can be a food source, a way to get rid of dead bodies and the ability to possess them later in the game, they make any water crossing a treacherous task. The Rats could have also made the list, however you are easily able to fight and kill the rats making them a minor nuisance.

 7 Days to Die – Bears

 The fantastically named Fun Pimps’ 7 Days to Die is an engrossing Zombie survival where the player is dropped into a post apocalyptic open world full of resources, abandoned buildings and of course a myriad of zombies. Whilst scavenging for the necessary tools and resources to survive you can often come across wildlife that will soon become your source of food, as finding canned food is unreliable.

The wildlife at your mercy include Deer, Pigs, Chickens and Rabbits. However you are at the mercy of the bear, even a well equipped player will think twice before getting too close to the bear as it will only attack when provoked or when a player gets within close proximity. Several rounds from a Sniper Rifle to the head seems only to anger this grizzly beast as it charges your position, the best bet is to attack from a barricaded and heightened position to give you ample time to fire into the bear and fill it with more arrows than Legolas’ Quiver (seriously it never runs out).

The bear is the inspiration for my game of ‘Rock or Bear’ where I avoid lumps in the forest because I can’t tell if it’s a rock or a bear. Obviously I’m not including the Zombie Hounds, Zombie bears (seriously they exist) and the giant Hornet/Zombees (couldn’t resist myself) as these are created as intentional enemies that will hunt you.

 Far Cry 4 – All wildlife… no one is safe

 A large selling point of the Far Cry series is that it will drop you into a completely immersive world. In Far Cry 4 settlements are fought over by battling factions and animals roam freely amongst their human counter-parts. But don’t take this as a sign of peace from our four-legged friends as many players have found out. I have chosen Far Cry 4 as it contains one of the most diverse and deadliest selections of animals across the series.

Of course Far Cry Primal hosts the prehistoric beasts such as the Saber Tooth Tiger and the Mammoth, but Far Cry 4’s legion of doom is around every tree. With around 30 different animals recorded and several more rare individual named animals the land of Kyrat is truly the wild outdoors. I have chosen not to single out a specific animal is this game due to the deadliness of nearly all creatures, be it a charging Rhino, a pack of Dohle or climbing a watch tower only to find a viper greeting you, you do not feel safe when out in the wilderness. Although many of the creatures you come across are peaceful, they are all placed on this list because my approach is “if it moves, RPG it”.

 Legend of Zelda – Chickens…Chickens everywhere

Let’s get this clear from the start, I know they are officially named the Cucco, but they are essentially annoying chickens. Now that we have got that out the way let us continue and talk about one of my favourite series and I’m sure many will agree; The Legend of Zelda. A list of deadly video game animals cannot be complete without these little roaming chickens.

I have watched this Green-clad hero move from pixel to slightly more pixels to a person with expressions and have helped him traverse many dangerous obstacles. However it is not Ganon that fears me most wandering through this universe…it’s those pesky chickens! Now in most forms of the game, from A Link to the Past to Ocarina of Time, these Cuccos will appear usually on their own.

They have their uses to help Link glide over small gaps, however if you cannot resist the temptation to take a little swipe at these clucking maniacs. Bad move, you will be punished by a horde of vengeful Cuccos coming to claim your head as a prize. No matter how many times you strike them with your sword or how many weapons you use, there is just no escaping this feathery and oh so annoying doom. 

Grand Theft Auto V – Mountain Lions/Cougars and Sharks

Jaws taught a generation that the water is bad, very bad, and the next two entries in this list help enforce that rational fear or being hunted by giant man-eating sharks. In previous iterations of the Grand Theft Auto series water meant a certain end for our straight up psychopathic protagonist (using the loosest version of protagonist), however Grand Theft Auto V allowed our heroes to relax after a hard days murdering, stealing and causing anarchy by taking a dip in the ocean.

But be careful, if you swim too far out to sea as a little red blip will appear on your mini map to signify that Bruce the friendly shark is replacing fish with humans for his dinner. Although you have the opportunity to fight and kill the shark, once in the water the odds are stacked against you as the shark will circle and wait until your head is above the water strike. This never fails to scare the living daylights out of me no matter how much I’ve prepared for this vicious death. The land, on the other hand, seems much safer, well only for you as there is not going to be some murderous NPC hunting you down.

However if you venture into the mountains or just generally North of Los Santos you can often encounter the Mountain Lion (also known as a Cougar), who will attack you if it sees you first. This entry only just makes the list as the Mountain Lion is fairly easy to take out if you have access to your obscene amount of firearms, but I have included it here because the Mountain Lion has a tendency to sneak up on you, if you are not paying attention to the mini map, and maul you to death. So be it on land or sea the animals of GTA V have a habit of hunting you down.

Scarface: The World is Yours – Return of the Shark

The shark has made it’s triumphant return on this list in yet another Jaws homage. The 2006 game was an open world third person shooter developed by Radical Entertainment and is loosely based on the 1983 film Scarface. Although this has been widely criticised as being very similar to the GTA series, mainly Vice City and San Andreas, it was first in having the killer shark, as that only made it’s player killing debut in GTA V.

It makes a few appearances throughout the game, mainly attacking NPCs, and being seen when on a Shark fin collecting mission. However this king of the ocean will attack you if you decide to leisurely swim in the ocean for a bit too long. This causes instant death and is unavoidable, probably a not so subtle way of telling you to stop playing around and get back to running your drug empire.

Red Dead Redemption – Bears, Bobcats, Cougars, Coyotes, Snakes, Wolves

They call it the Wild West for a reason. Red Dead Redemption takes the player back to a simpler time, a time where kids could play on the street without worrying about cars, a time where problems were simply solved with unneeded violence, a time where walking through the wilderness would result in death. The game follows John Marston who is forced to undertake some morally questionable actions in order to save his family after the Government kidnapped them.

During the game, your main threat bases around gangs and other outlaws who are out to make a quick buck. As well as intensive shootouts, the game offers the player some relaxing hobbies, such as hunting. The open world of RDR hosts a vast array of animals that can be hunted and skinned; however some have a habit of fighting back. Away from the firefights that rage in the outposts and towns, Mother Nature likes to remind us that she is truly in charge.

If you wander too far off the beaten path, or venture on foot, then you will soon have a deadly encounter with some of these predators. The snakes especially are contenders for ‘pain in the ass’ of the game, if the player is not paying attention to the in-game sounds then the snake can appear to come out of nowhere. This slithery, scaly hell blends perfectly into the flora of this game and will often kill the player before you can say:

Special mention: Elder Scrolls series

I have only given this a special mention as this immersive and expansive open world series has a plethora of different creatures for your character to fight, however I would argue that all the hostile creatures within the game are meant as enemies to fight, whereas those mentioned on this list must be provoked to fight or not meant as the main enemy of the game.

It makes the list as a special mention because the animals such as the bears, wolves, mudcrabs, and mountain lions are meant as enemies in the game but do not necessarily always attack you unless provoked or unless you are within a close proximity. Therefore this deserves a mention as the player is constantly battling animals whilst crossing the wilderness and some of the creatures are the most challenging in gaming.

So those are 6 of the games I’ve played where the wildlife has done me in more times than the actual enemy. Are there any games you’ve played where the wildlife has completely owned you? Let us know in the comments!