Best Open-World Collectathon Games

Narrative might be an extremely important factor in getting gamers to finish titles, but what about the simple joy of collecting? The accomplishment is easy to track and every collectible one finds brings them one step closer to fully completing their character build. It can feel like needless padding in some open-world games, but sometimes, it can be exactly the breezy, low-stress task a gamer needs for a moment.

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By  Tom Bowen

Non-believers of the collectathon only need to read about the open-world games below to see how they can enhance an experience. Some of them add to the plot, while others let gamers indulge in the easy gratification of finding something and putting it in their pockets.

7 Grand Theft Auto

Secret Packages, Spaceship Parts, And Hidden Jumps

This entry applies to the whole series. The story missions are cutscenes followed by missions where players accomplish various tasks. However, many of the side quests are more arcade-like and harken back to a simpler time in gaming. Every entry has collectible packages for players to find and pick up.

Even Grand Theft Auto 5 has alien spaceship parts, as well as hidden stunt jumps to find. Looking for them all in their respective games not only nets some reward but also makes players intimately familiar with the map.

6 Spider-Man

Backpacks

The cool thing about Backpacks in Marvel's Spider-Man, from developer Insomniac, is that they add to the story in addition to letting players upgrade Peter Parker's abilities. Each item in the Backpack prompts a small monologue and a readable description, giving players a deeper glimpse into Spider-Man, however necessary that may be after all the countless adaptations.

Going about finding these does not feel like a chore, since swinging around the city is quick, easy, and tons of fun. If collectibles are not great side content, the city is also filled with plenty of optional challenges and more narrative-based side quests.

5 Death Stranding

The Whole Game Is A Collectathon

Death Stranding's core gameplay loop involves bringing packages from one location to the other, using various tools and assists from other players to make it through the hazardous terrain. In a sense, the whole game is literally a collectathon; collect a package and then deliver it.

Once the main game is over, there is something truly gratifying about zooming through the environment using all the tools Sam Porter Bridges acquired to make what was once an arduous task simple and breezy. With music absent from most of the gameplay save for a few key moments, these tasks go great with some podcasts.

4 Far Cry 3

Relics, Memory Cards, Letters Of The Lost

The debut entry is more of a sandbox than an open world and the sequel made steps towards more immersive gameplay that would influence the later entries' combat. From Far Cry 3 onward, though, the series adapted and further pioneered what would become known as the Ubisoft open-world formula.

Whether one loves it or has grown tired of the design, it does make for a great collectathon. The third game in the series features Relics, Memory Cards, and Letters of the Lost to find throughout the island. The latter two add to the island's lore about the drug cartels and the Japanese Soldiers who were there during World War II.

3 Ghost Of Tsushima

Bamboo Strikes, Haikus, Duels, And More

Developer Sucker Punch is no stranger to open-world games, having developed the three mainline Infamous games before Ghost of Tsushima. The historical setting alone makes it stand out from the crowd, but the way collectibles are seamlessly integrated into the game world helps make collecting feel more immersive.

There are various collectibles such as pieces of armor, shrines to Inari, the god of Sake, and even hot springs. The latter even features some brief male nudity for those interested.

2 Immortals: Fenyx Rising

Part Breath Of The Wild, Part Ubisoft Collectathon

Being a game about Greek gods, only much more innocent than God of War or the film Immortals, it only makes sense for Ambrosia to be the collectible players use to increase their health. The game world is also littered with chests of varying qualities for players to find. Some are simply surrounded by enemies while others require solving a puzzle to unlock.

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Where Breath of the Wild has collectibles so numerous the game does not expect players to find them all, Immortals: Fenyx Rising feels like a combination of the Nintendo title and a more typical open-world jaunt.

1 Horizon Zero Dawn

A Handful Of Collectibles Split Between Lore And Upgrades

The PS4 generation saw Sony deliver some fairly large open-world titles, Horizon Zero Dawn being perhaps the most notable and successful of the bunch.

While the setting and uncovering why the world is populated with robotic dinosaurs will intrigue a lot of gamers, the gameplay offers simpler pleasures, coming packed with many collectibles split between enhancing the gameplay and learning more about the unique setting. For those not interested in collectibles, Horzion Zero Dawn and its sequel Forbidden West are still beefy games without all the side content.

MORE: Best Open-World Games With Real-World Locations