I DON’T mean other games that let you build a car from scratch.
I’m looking for other complex open world games that throw you into the deep end without any explanation, and are completely unforgiving when you make mistakes.
Games that even actively hate the player, but give you a deep sense of satisfaction when you finally figure it out.
So no tutorial, no quest markers, no mini-map, no quick-saving, etc.
Bonus points if they also show you a glimpse into a niche culture, like My Summer Car does with rural life in Finland during the 90’s economic depression.
Other examples I can think of are Kingdom Come Deliverance in hardcore mode and Dwarf Fortress. Which ones do you know?
Stationeers. It’s a game about building and maintaining a station on another planet, with complex and realistic gas/liquid mechanics, properly recreating the refrigeration cycle and everything. You have to grow food and create oxygen and water, and manage the temperature of your station. It has one of the steepest learning cliffs ever, but there are guides for everything online.
(It’s being made by the same company making Kitten Space Agency.)