The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is easily one of the most impressive and enjoyable open-world games of all time. It has a lot going for it in terms of story, gameplay, and aesthetics, but a large part of its success and acclaim comes from the exploration aspects of every playthrough, allowing players to ride across the beautiful landscape and glide effortlessly from mountain tops to reach new areas or simply take in the surroundings.
However, as great as BOTW's exploration is, there are still a few open-world games that manage to hit the nail a little bit harder when it comes to exploring the environment and traversing a large, expansive setting. Some games remove limits and give players unrestricted freedom to see and do whatever they choose, while others manage to fill their world with enough content to make every expedition feel meaningful, even in the furthest corners of the map.
Xenoblade Chronicles X
Taking Off Into The Clouds
Xenoblade Chronicles X
- Released
- December 4, 2015
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T For Teen Due To Animated Blood, Language, Suggestive Themes, Use of Alcohol, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Monolith Soft, Nintendo SPD
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG, Open-World
Xenoblade Chronicles X remains one of the most ambitious open-world RPGs ever created, even many years after its debut. Set on the alien planet of Mira, the game's world is truly awe-inspiring and perfectly captures the concept of wanting to see every single piece of the environment. The biomes are massive and diverse, ranging from glowing jungles and barren deserts to floating islands that feel straight out of a dream, allowing every inch of the world to feel alive and brimming with life.
Where it truly surpasses Breath of the Wild is in the sense of scale and discovery. While the open plains of Hyrule are beautiful and satisfying to explore, Mira brings a level of unpredictability to its exploration, constantly subverting the player's expectations. When it comes to moving around the world itself, the Skells are a massive step-up from any of Link's tools, letting players launch from the ground and ascend high above the surface. That first take-off is a truly unforgettable moment, and even after many adventures across the lands, it never gets old.
Outer Wilds
Adding Meaning And Intention To Exploration
Outer Wilds
- Released
- May 28, 2019
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- E10+ For Everyone 10+ due to Fantasy Violence, Alcohol Reference
- Developer(s)
- Mobius Digital
- Genre(s)
- Adventure
Outer Wilds isn’t just a game about exploration, but a living experiment that represents what it means to be curious. The whole game takes place in a miniature solar system stuck in a perpetual time loop of destruction, where every planet is a puzzle waiting to be solved. Rather than chasing loot or showing off their skills in combat, players are instead driven by the desire to solve the central mystery, following whatever signs and strange signals they can find to lead them down a path of understanding.
8 Open-World Games Where Exploration Is Exhausting, Ranked
These open-world games are a blast to play, but trying to explore the map in full can leave players weary.
What makes Outer Wilds outshine games like BOTW is how it redefines exploration as a learning experience rather than an act of conquering. There are no enemies to defeat or stats to grind, just the slow buildup of knowledge that culminates in a final revelation that changes the player's perspective on the entire universe. The game is far less interested in sending players into battles across a giant world, and more focused on delivering a thought-provoking playthrough which demands that players search for answers, rather than providing them itself.
The Legend Of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom
Where BOTW Walked, TOTK Flies
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
- Released
- May 12, 2023
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- Rated E for Everyone 10+ for Fantasy Violence and Mild Suggestive Themes
- Developer(s)
- Nintendo
- Genre(s)
- Adventure, Action, Open-World
Breath of the Wild may have reinvented the open-world formula, but Tears of the Kingdom perfected it. Building upon everything its predecessor did well, it introduced verticality and creativity in a way few games dare to attempt, making the world feel larger yet more accessible at the same time. With the Ultrahand and Fuse abilities, players can manipulate the world itself, crafting vehicles, bridges, and machines to reach formerly unthinkable locations and turning exploration into an act of invention that has virtually no limit.
This change gives the game a more personal touch. Rather than using the same glider or horse routes as anyone else, players can instead invent their own ways to travel the world. It’s not just about climbing mountains or swooping across valleys anymore. With the addition of the Depths and the Sky Islands, Hyrule becomes a multi-layered adventure where every direction holds potential and no two routes ever feel the same.
Elden Ring
Every Direction Is A Feast For The Senses
Elden Ring
- Released
- February 25, 2022
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence
- Developer(s)
- From Software
Elden Ring blows almost every other open-world game out of the water, gifting players an unbelievable world to explore that never fails to surprise. Players are immediately greeted by the sight of the Erdtree when they load in, and from there, they are faced with an unguided adventure that takes them deep into underground cities full of countless enemies and bosses, then high into the mountains to face giants and dragons of all shapes and sizes.
BOTW may have better options in terms of actual movement, but The Lands Between offer a much more content-filled experience that continues to deliver right up until the credits roll. It doesn't matter how many times players beat the game; there will still be more locations that are yet to be seen. With an expansion that adds a map the size of an entirely new game, there are even more places to see, treasures to find, and brutal foes to slay.
Subnautica
Revealing Secrets And Horrors Under The Sea
Subnautica
- Released
- January 23, 2018
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- E10+ for Everyone 10+: Fantasy Violence, Mild Language
- Developer(s)
- Unknown Worlds Entertainment
Subnautica takes players to an untouched world beneath the surface, submerging them in an alien world where they must dive into the unknown to find a way off the planet. The game's beauty lies in how the world is presented as both tranquil and horrifying at the same time, creating an interesting dynamic of fear and awe that remains with the player throughout. Every descent into the waters below can hide wonders beyond comprehension and dangers straight out of a nightmare, but no matter what they meet, players will always feel a slow progression forward.
Longest Open-World Games
Even the most sophisticated gamer will be bewildered by the sheer scale of these games. These are the open-world games that take the longest to beat.
The game also manages to perfectly bond exploration to the actual core gameplay element of survival, forcing players to search further and harder for potentially life-saving resources to actually progress. BOTW may be a liberating experience that can calm the mind, but Subnautica manages to make exploration essential, pushing players to overcome their fears and to press on into the dark unknown below.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 96 /100 Critics Rec: 96%
- Released
- March 3, 2017
- ESRB
- E for Everyone: Fantasy Violence, Use of Alcohol, Mild Suggestive Themes
- Developer(s)
- Nintendo EPD
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo