In recent years, the genre has produced Cyberpunk 2077, Death Stranding, and Dying Light 2, all decent titles that could arguably make the cut for the best open-world games ever. However, they have stiff competition.
Updated December 21, 2022 by Mark Sammut: Open-world games started to gain steam during the 2000s, before really blowing up in the following decade. Nowadays, every year tends to produce a couple of noteworthy entries in the genre, and that looks set to continue in the upcoming year. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Starfield, Dune Awakening, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chernobyl, Assassin’s Creed Mirage, Avatar Frontiers of Pandora are all expected to drop in 2023, but will they rank among the best open-world games ever?
20 Gothic 2
Since the early 2000s, Piranha Bytes has specialized in open-world games, serving as an AA alternative to their contemporaries. While janky and rough around the edges, the studio’s releases have their charm, and 2022’s Elex 2 is probably Piranha’s most complete package. However, 2002’s Gothic 2 holds a special place in the hearts of many people.
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Quaint as the title might seem in this day and age, Gothic 2 was an impressive and ambitious release back in the day. Khorinis is a fully realized world that grants players a lot of freedom in crafting their adventure, and this aspect of the game holds up well.
Also, Gothic 2’s The Chronicles Of Myrtana: Archolos mod is fantastic.
Check out the Gold Edition on Steam here!
19 Death Stranding
Directed by Metal Gear Solid’s Hideo Kojima, Death Stranding envisions a post-apocalyptic world devoid of human civilization. While peppered with a couple of settlements, this version of Earth largely consists of a barren wasteland, and the game specifically concentrates on instilling a sense of isolation through its gameplay and presentation.
Tasked with delivering packages across the United States, Sam also sets out to install a communication network in an attempt to start humanity’s recovery. Death Stranding is the definition of an acquired taste; the campaign has an almost contemplative pacing, all the while delivering splashes of Kojima’s trademark storytelling.
18 Subnautica
Subnautica and its sequel, Below Zero, stand out from other open-world projects due to their environments. Except for a few locations, the games largely take place underwater, a creative decision that pays off beautifully. Set on an alien planet, Subnautica is a survival game that encourages the player to explore the sea to their heart’s content. This journey produces both gorgeous vistas and nightmarish encounters, while simultaneously revealing snippets of lore and plot beats.
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Reflecting the studio’s name, Unknown Worlds crafted a constantly-unpredictable sandbox that truly comes across as alien. Both Subnautica titles are great, but newcomers should start with the first game before moving on to Below Zero.
17 Far Cry 3
The Far Cry franchise has gotten a bit long in the tooth in recent years, and the series has struggled to fully recreate the magic of its third main entry. Far Cry 3 represents the pinnacle of the Ubisoft formula, an open-world game that expertly blends addictive gameplay with memorable characters (aka villains) and busywork that feels rewarding.
The FPS takes place on Rook Islands, a gorgeous tropical paradise that is not that welcoming of outsiders. The simple act of exploring this terrain is a joy, and the open-world is big without being overwhelming.
16 Outer Wilds
Size tends to dominate conversations relating to open-world games, but it does not determine a map’s quality. Outer Wilds is nowhere near as expansive as many other entries in this genre, but the title uses its terrain extremely well. Revolving around a 22-minute time loop punctuated by an exploding star, players must travel to different planets in a solar system in search of information regarding the Nomai race.
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Outer Wilds has an overarching narrative that guides the player’s actions, providing some structure to the experience. That said, the game encourages exploration and investigation, rewarding people who are willing to soak in the atmosphere and interact with NPCs who are simply living their lives.
Check out the PC version on Steam here!
15 Yakuza 0
Sega’s Yakuza (or Like a Dragon) franchise has mastered the art of crafting small but dense cities that deliver immersion without over-relying on realism. Yakuza 0 is generally regarded as the license’s best game, and it features two cities in Kamurocho and Sotenbori. These maps can be traversed in a few minutes, but they feel far bigger since each street is packed with minigames, side quests, stores, restaurants, and enemies.
Along with a stellar open-world, Yakuza 0 tells an awesome story that balances action, character growth, tragedy, and epicness. Furthermore, the optional quests do a splendid job of highlighting different aspects of the cities that might otherwise go unnoticed. Everything combines to create a world oozing with personality and substance.
14 Fallout: New Vegas
Except for perhaps Fallout 76, all the entries in this franchise could feasibly rank among the best open-world games ever; however, Fallout: New Vegas strikes the ideal middle-ground between Fallout 1 & 2’s player-driven campaigns and Bethesda’s 3D entries. Technical issues aside, New Vegas brings to life a post-apocalyptic world that is drenched in culture, history, and socio-political ideologies.
This entry has one of the strongest narratives in the series, and that goes beyond just the main quest. While somewhat rudimentary in a post-Witcher 3 landscape, New Vegas’ side quests were a touch above the game’s contemporaries and play a crucial role in shaping the world.
13 Ghost Of Tsushima
Helping to bring the PS4’s time as Sony’s main platform to a satisfying close, Ghost of Tsushima is a painfully gorgeous game set during the 13th Century in Japan. After becoming occupied by Mongols, Tsushima Island evolves into a war zone as Japanese rebels try to strike at the invaders. Players are cast as Jin Sakai, a samurai who fails to protect his master but is given an opportunity to make things right when he avoids death.
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Ghost of Tsushima’s world is lavish, reasonably big, and filled with gripping content that is just waiting to be discovered. Even though the main story is nothing to write home about, the title makes up for it with an incredible setting.
12 Horizon Zero Dawn & Horizon Forbidden West
Guerrilla Games left behind the FPS genre for open-world action RPGs, and the switch brought out the best in the studio. Set in a post-apocalyptic Earth that is both ancient and technologically advanced, the Horizon games center around Aloy, an outcast who has to carry a massive load on her shoulders.
Horizon Zero Dawn and Horizon Forbidden West are equally fantastic, and that is especially the case when it comes to their worlds. These games feature stunning environments filled with monstrous creatures and impressive social hubs.
11 Marvel’s Spider-Man
Insomniac Games created what is arguably the best Spider-Man game ever when they released this PlayStation exclusive. Open-world exploration in Marvel’s Spider-Man is a contender for the most fun of all time, as the simple act of swinging through the air is an absolute delight.
In Spider-Man, players are immersed in a version of Manhattan that closely measures up to the real thing. Spider-Man swings effortlessly from building to building, gliding as if for the first time. Spider-Man is an open-world game done (almost) perfectly, and Miles Morales is also great.
10 Forza Horizon 5
Playground Games has been nothing if not consistent as the studio has produced one open-world masterpiece after another. Consequently, this entry’s pick is primarily a placeholder for the overall franchise as someone’s preference is likely to come down to which setting they prefer. Forza Horizon 5 takes place in Mexico, and the game honors the country by delivering a massive and diverse map.
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The latter characteristic is the sandbox’s true achievement; Forza Horizon 5 features 11 biomes, each of which has its own flavor and nuances. This variety heightens the simple act of driving across the country since there always seems to be something new to see and experience.
Check it out on the Xbox Store here!
9 Xenoblade Chronicles 3
The Xenoblade Chronicles franchise consists of nothing but great open-world games, including the Wii U’s Xenoblade Chronicles X. Any entry could have made the cut, but the 2022 project gets the nods since its transitions between different areas are the most seamless. The JRPG is built upon a real-time combat system that is overflowing with mechanics and depth, ensuring battles remain engaging throughout the lengthy campaign.
Xenoblade Chronicles 3’s world is massive, detailed, and packed with things to uncover and do. The Nintendo Switch does struggle to run the game at times, but XC3 nevertheless accomplishes a lot on the console’s limited hardware.
8 Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag
Assassin’s Creed has an impressive track record when it comes to crafting sandboxes based on historical time periods, even if not every game is a masterpiece. Ubisoft’s franchise has produced quite a few epics, quite a few of which would not look out of place among the best open-world games; that said, the series may have peaked with Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag.
The pirate-themed adventure takes players to the West Indies and delivers a unique experience even within its own franchise. This game was so successful that fans have been clamoring for Ubisoft to return to the sea ever since.
7 Elden Ring
Elden Ring successfully expands and opens up the Dark Souls formula, a transition that somehow retains nearly all the strengths of the latter while introducing plenty of new reasons for fans to get excited. Set within the harrowing Lands Between, players are left to their own devices as they explore towering castles, hidden underground cities, and battlefields soaked in blood.
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FromSoftware delivered a flexible combat system, dozens of challenging boss fights, incredible lore that can easily be ignored, and a plethora of unforgettable side quests.
6 Grand Theft Auto 5
Rockstar Games didn’t let up with its most recent Grand Theft Auto title. Grand Theft Auto 5 is a behemoth containing a vast open-world set in and around Los Santos, which is inspired by Los Angeles. The sandbox is packed with an abundance of activities to keep players busy.
As an open-world game, GTA 5 is exceptional, presenting players with a lot of freedom on how they would like to leave their mark on the map. It is not just the world that delivers the goods, though, as the game’s story and characters are also great, while GTA Online has grown into a massive beast.
5 The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild
The Legend of Zelda might have been late to embrace the open-world craze but, as Nintendo is known to do, Breath of the Wild changed the genre. Arguably the quintessential example of a pitch-perfect sandbox, this version of Hyrule is sprawling and, more importantly, unrestricted. Outside of an end goal to defeat Calamity Ganon, players are otherwise free to explore this fallen kingdom at their leisure; the only waypoints on the map are the ones Link places himself.
Except for maybe Elden Ring, Breath of the Wild delivers a sense of adventure and discovery perhaps better than any other open-world game on the market. Even after spending hundreds of hours in Hyrule, someone could still have plenty to do.
4 The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
It was clear long before The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt was released that developer CD Projekt Red had a hit on its hands. It is an adventure that truly needs to be experienced, even if players are discouraged by the combat’s learning curve (make sure to select “alternative movement”).
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Some boss battles are intense beyond words, and the quality of the game’s side quests is far ahead of any other RPG released around or after 2015. Although not as diverse or gorgeous as some other environments, The Witcher 3’s world is dense, immersive, and authentic to the franchise’s lore.
3 Red Dead Redemption 2
Rockstar might take its time developing a new project, but the company tends to make the wait worth it. Red Dead Redemption 2 takes place prior to 2010’s entry, which is also one of the greatest open-world games of all time, and follows Arthur Morgan and the Van der Linde gang.
Rockstar prioritized realism when crafting RDR2, and that extends to the protagonist’s controls, the gameplay mechanics, and the world’s presentation. Narratively, this game is a masterpiece with precious few peers.
2 Minecraft
As the best-selling game of all time, Minecraft has left a huge mark on the industry. This behemoth is an open-world survival game that has a significant building component, and its gameplay features are simplistic but terrifically executed.
Millions of people around the world play Minecraft because the sandbox game embraces creativity in a way that feels reminiscent of things like Lego. Minecraft is only limited by a player’s imagination, and as the last decade has proven, some people have no limits.
1 The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim
Skyrim does not have the best gameplay, story, or side quests in the open-world genre. Bethesda’s RPG also does not have the biggest map or the most beautiful locations, especially when compared to other games released during the 2010s. Yet, when it comes to determining the best open-world game of all time, Skyrim feels like the only answer. Arguably, “popular” might be a better descriptor, but that would also be doing a disservice to this game’s brilliance.
Make no mistake, even if it has been surpassed in quite a few areas, Skyrim is nevertheless the most complete open-world project in gaming. A decade has passed since its release and Skyrim still averages thousands of players on Steam, which is a ridiculous number for a single-player RPG.
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