Open-World Games Where One Item Completely Changes Exploration

Exploration in open-world games is one of the most critical aspects of the genre. You can craft the most intricate, detailed, and immersive map in history, but if it's not fun to explore it, all that effort goes to waste. Creating engaging traversal mechanics is one way to go, something that Insomniac's Spider-Man games have set the bar for. However, sometimes it pays to ease players into your game world and then give them an item that unlocks its true exploration potential.