Thanks to improvements in console and PC hardware, game developers havebeen able to ditch linear stages and invisible wallsin recent years, in favor of adventure games and RPGs with huge open-worlds that are filled to the brim with NPCs to speak with, towns to explore, and side quests to complete. The open-world implementation in gaming has certainly not been perfect, as its popularity has encouraged publishers to push developers to include open-worlds in their games, even though it sometimes isn’t necessary and takes away fromwhat could have been an excellent linear experience.
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Warhorse Studios’Kingdom Come: Deliverancewas released in 2018, and it is already considered to feature one of gaming’smost impressive and immersive open-worlds. The incredible map was a driving force behind the game-winning numerous awards upon release includingGamescom’s Best PC Game. Although the game’s open-world stands above most of the crowd, there are a few other titles that offer similarly immersive experiences.
10The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Almost unbelievably, it has been nearly 10 years since the release ofThe Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.Bethesda’s game set a new standard for open-world RPG’s with its huge map that’s filled to the brim with quests to complete and characters to interact with.
There’s no doubt that some of its features have started to show their age in comparison to more recent open-world titles, butSkyrimstill provides one of the most immersive open-worlds that players can easily get lost in for hundreds of hours. Realistically, most people who have enjoyedKingdom Come: Deliverancewill have already triedSkyrim, but for the few that haven’t, it’s certainly worth including on this list.
9Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Painwasreleased in the midst of Kojima Productions' very public breakup with Konami, which unfortunatelyresulted in the game’s ending being rushed.
Depsite the office politics, Kojima Productions were able to create an incredible open-world that was a major factor in the game’s eye-wateringMetascore of 95 on Xbox One. Stealth mechanics tend to be a weakness of open-world games, but Kojima Productions managed to find an excellent balance where it felt both natural and enjoyable, resulting in one of Solid Snake’s best adventures yet.
8Subnautica
When browsing through menus of an online store or shelves of a shop, one may come acrossSubnuaticaand think that it’s a modern interpretation of Arika’s Nintendo Wii titleEndless Ocean. However, it soon becomes clear thatSubnauticawon’t be a relaxing, picturesque adventure likeEndlessOcean,but something far more sinister.
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The game begins with the player crashing into the ocean of an alien planet, and requires them to scavenge materials to escape. The open-world that exists under the watermay initially appear to be devoid of danger, though that will soon change once players begin to dive deeper into the depths ofSubnutica’s unsettling and often terrifying world.
Grand Theft Autofans were understandably disappointed when the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 cycles were coming to an end, and it was becoming clear that there wasn’t going to be a new entry into the series releasing on the consoles. Thankfully, Rockstar’s loyal fanbase got the next best thing, a sequel to 2010’sRed Dead Redemption.
The game unsurprisingly pushed the boundaries of open-world games once again, with its incredible realism and densely populated map. A factor of the game that was surprising, however, was the touching story that centered around protagonist Arthur Morgan, who has quickly become one of gaming’s most beloved anti-heroes.
6Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
French developer and publisher Ubisoft, like most major video game companies, gets its fair share of criticism from gamers for some of its business practices. One thing that has to be respected, however, is the company’s shrewd decision making when it comes to adapting to the current market. Ubisoft pushed its limbless heroRaymanduringthe 90s when the platforming genre dominated the industry, then swiftly ditched him in favor of action games likeGhost ReconandSplinter Cellwhen they started to become the norm, and now the company is most known for itsAssassin’s Creedseries, that has been a cornerstone of the gaming industry’s shift to open-world adventures and RPGs.
The latest title,Assassin’s Creed Valhallatakes place during the Viking invasion of Britain and offers one of themost breathtaking open worldsever released.
5Batman: Arkham City
Decades ago, the idea of an open-world video game set in Gotham was the stuff of nonsensical fantasy; however, the huge rise in prominence of superhero movies, and improvements to console hardware, have allowed Rocksteady Studios to release the critically acclaimedBatman: Arkham Cityin 2011.
The game kept what worked from its predecessor,Batman: Arkham Asylum, while implementing numerous improvements including, of course, an open-world. The increase in free-roaming allowed Rocksteady Studios to implement numerous side missions into the game, and massively expand upon the Riddler’s challenges.
4The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wildmanaged to offer a completely fresh and unique gameplay experience from the rest of theLegend of Zeldaseries in a pretty simple way - it took the franchise back to its roots. The game recaptured the essence of the classic 1986 game by giving players as few limitations as possible.
A lack of limitations is an extremely hard feature for developers to implement into a game, especially one ofBreath of the Wild’s size, but Nintendo smashed it out of the park with the game’s incredible open-world that offers playershundreds of hours of exploration.
3Fallout: New Vegas
It’s fair to say that theFalloutseries has divided fans, with many players ranking the games differently. There is one game that receives universal praise, however, and that is Obsidian Entertainment’sFallout: New Vegas.
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New Vegastook the gameplay formula that Bethesda created withFallout3and expanded upon it by offering players greatly improvedfreedom of choice. Obsidian Entertainment was rewarded for their efforts by the Golden Joystick Awards,winning their Best RPG accolade.
2Grand Theft Auto V
As alluded to before, fans of the iconicGrand Theft Autoseries are beginning to grow frustrated at the lack of news about the next entry in theseries.
Thankfully, the series' most recent entry,Grand Theft Auto V,still hasn’t shown much age. This is largely thanks to the incredible open-world that Rockstar released in 2013, along with frequent updates to the game’s online mode. Rockstar’s game was inadvertently given a boost in 2020 when the faulty release of the highly anticipatedCyberpunk 2077made players appreciate just how ahead of its timeGrand Theft Auto Vtruly was and reminded them of the importance of why such expansive games need lengthy development times.
1The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
The reason why the aforementionedCyberpunk 2077was so heavily desired and defended by some gamers before it had even been released, was thanks to the success of CD Projekt Red’s open-world RPGThe Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.
The Witcher 3was released in 2015 and although likeCyberpunk 2077it had issues at launch, they were soon ironed out and the game’s huge potential was able to shine through. CD Projekt Red’s RPG set a new standard for open-world games with its incredibly dense and detailed world, along with the fantastic range of side quests and secrets available for players to stumble upon.
