I blame my ancestors who were mainly miners but I am actually quite comfy underground. Be it in games like Minecraft or real life.

I dream of being able to sleep deep underground in a mine. Warm and completely dark. So dark that you cannot see your hands in front of your eyes. Water dripping in the background. That is my mental safe space tbh.

I hear that. Playing games set in snowy areas make me feel cold, so I grab myself an extra blanket and turn on the fireplace for those levels/areas. If your brain is reading underground=confined then it's not something a blanket or sweater helps. Even if you don't feel trapped perse it makes sense that you crave open areas. I'm curious whether games that are set in huge dungeons like Hollow Knight, or some of the Skyrim dungeons, trigger the same emotions.

Do not play Deep Rock Galactic.

The human brain is weird about claustrophobia. I coerced a 3D engine out of an 8-bit machine, and it literally did not support ceilings... but I still felt constantly cramped because the HUD was at the top. Scrolling it to the bottom was instantly better.

When I was a kid, one of my friends would refuse to go into caves in Skyrim cause they didn't like being underground. I remember thinking "damn, you've locked yourself out of like 90% of the game but whatever floats your boat"

I had a similar experience with Hollow Knight. Mind you, the entire map is underground, but there are certain very deep parts that are incredibly claustrophobic and I avoided them as much as I could.

I remember being outdoors feeling like a relief in the original Half-Life.

In Far Cry, I definitely preferred being outside. Same with Metro.

I think in most FPS games I've played, the player doesn't have the developer ambush them with stuff outside. Maybe that's a factor.

I don't have an aversion to underground games, but I think on some level I don't love games/movies set out in deserts, whether they're sandy or rocky. I think in the back of my mind, I'm thinking "man, that looks uncomfortable and dry. I wouldn't like being there."

I don't avoid things set in deserts, and I'm sure I've seen/played many good things in that setting, so it may not be as strong as your underground thing, but yeah, I think I have something similar.

Okay, that's all, now we can proceed to call me Anakin Skywalker.

For me, outside correlates with an open world, and underground correlates with a linear progression. I generally prefer the vibe of open world stuff. Underground stuff can sometimes have a lot less variation as well, which can get tiring. The general vibe is often designed to have a somewhat oppressive feel.

Another difference is the sense of being cut off from a safe place (whether real or imagined)--outside feels more flexible with retreating to safety or restocking supplies while dungeons can limit your ability to "return to home base" as it were. I disliked dungeons a lot more when I was younger, turned out to be a generalized anxiety disorder. I enjoy a wider variety of games these days.

Out of curiosity, have you played Baldur's Gate 3? There's a large area that would be interesting to see what you think of it.

I get that way sometimes in Minecraft, when I’m under ground exploring then I get lost and feel trapped. After I get back out I then wonder why I left lol

Unpopular, maybe. Controversial, I hope not. Your opinion and experiences are valid.

Can you pinpoint why it's a turn off? I understand you're saying you want to be outside, but is it from a feeling of being limited when you're inside?

Flipping it: do you prefer playing games that are in the sky like Bioshock Infinite over Bioshock 1/2 that are underground (on the sea floor)?

Mine is snow levels. I feel miserable playing them, like I was sitting outside in Sub-Zero temps.

Games are so real it triggers my agrophobia. Eleden ring in particular. Doing the parkour is scary as heck for me. I can barely stand it.

Same