Summary
- Some open-world games provide dynamic experiences, ensuring different playthroughs each time for players.
- Games like Sea Of Thieves, The Witcher 3, and No Man’s Sky offer diverse narratives and immersive worlds.
- Red Dead Redemption 2 and Batman: Arkham Knight offer rich storylines and environments with secrets to uncover.
Some open-world games may have plenty to do, but almost every playthrough can feel similar with only a few options to shake things up. However, other games are designed so that the player can change the routes they take each time, with discoveries or even entire worlds being different from before.
From survival titles to expansive RPGs, open-world games can elevate a mere adventure into an immersive epic, compelling players to revisit their intricate systems and evolving narratives time and again. They are designed to make each playthrough feel as fresh and invigorating as the first time a player pressed Start.
10 Sea Of Thieves
The Open Seas Are Filled With Swashbuckling Adventure
Sea of Thieves
- Released
- March 20, 2018
WHERE TO PLAY
A pirate’s life is not for the faint of heart, but there are a variety of ways to play it in Sea Of Thieves. Players create a pirate character and explore an open world. From fending off deadly sharks in the ocean to finding treasure on countless islands, the game is a sandbox for players to enjoy in any way they wish.
Every playthrough can result in new allies or enemies, as Sea Of Thieves is technically an MMO that can be enjoyed with a party of friends to go up against other parties and NPC enemies. There are also numerous stories to enjoy thanks to years of updates, including a Pirates Of The Caribbean expansion that includes Captain Jack Sparrow and Davy Jones replicated in the game’s art style.
9 Star Wars: The Old Republic
Choose The Life Of A Star Wars Character
Star Wars: The Old Republic
- Released
- December 20, 2011
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T for Teen: Blood and Gore, Mild Language, Sexual Themes, Violence
- Genre(s)
- MMO
Using the BioWare template of established games like Mass Effect and Dragon Age, fans can experience what it’s like to live in an alternate time like the Star Wars universe. In Star Wars: The Old Republic, gamers can be a Jedi, Sith, Smuggler, Bounty Hunter, Trooper, or an Imperial Agent. Each has their own story, worlds to explore, and engaging MMORPG combat.
Since the player can choose to be a hero, villain, or anti-hero with story-based options for dialogue and actions, every playthrough of Star Wars: The Old Republic can be vastly different from the last. When the planets become more open and filled with hundreds of other players, there is no particular order in which to accomplish missions, whether it is a story or some dungeon found in the world.
8 Batman: Arkham Knight
Gotham City Is Filled To The Brim With Content
Batman: Arkham Knight
- Released
- June 23, 2015
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood, Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence
- Genre(s)
- Action
Batman: Arkham Knight has a linear story, but the version of Gotham City it offers is a superhero sandbox with over a dozen side missions that players can complete in any order. Batman can arrest the different villains during and after the main story, which can lead to alternative dialogue. Even the sequence in which specific villains are arrested can trigger different cutscenes.
All Playable Characters in the Batman Arkham Games, Ranked
The Batman Arkham games include a decent amount of playable characters, whether they are heroes or villains. Yet, how do they rank against each other?
On top of it all, Rocksteady filled the open-world Gotham City with hundreds of challenges and collectibles. The developers also added a plethora of Easter eggs and secrets that fans are still finding more than ten years after Batman: Arkham Knight released, becoming a definitive title in the realm of Batman video games.
7 The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim
Most Players Forget The Main Story Exists
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
- Released
- November 11, 2011
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Use of Alcohol
Freedom has helped define the legacy of The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim since it launched in 2011: the freedom to create a character, class, and a path to progress. A new encounter with a dragon or a secret dungeon could be just around the corner. That has since been amplified due to the many expansions, updates, remasters, and mods over the years.
The Dragonborn can be one of many fantastical races, can wield any kind of weapon, and can use all sorts of magic. Skyrim is another case where anything can be done in any order. There are playthroughs where people save the main story for last, after hundreds of hours.
6 The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild
Hyrule's Giant Playground Incentivizes Exploration
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
- Released
- March 3, 2017
WHERE TO PLAY
Nintendo harked back to the original game in the series with The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild when it comes to player freedom. After Link goes through the initial tutorial mission, all of Hyrule is available to explore. If the player can see it, they can probably run or climb onto it, give or take a few upgrades to Link's arsenal and abilities.
Instead of the typical Zelda dungeons, Breath Of The Wild features dozens of smaller dungeons known as Shrines, which can be completed in any order and are the best way to upgrade Link early on. The story-based dungeons known as Divine Beasts can be completed in any order or avoided altogether. The main boss is available almost immediately and can be defeated without the Beasts, if Link is feeling bold.
5 Minecraft
Gamers Have Been Drawn To The Procedurally Generated World For Years
Minecraft
- Released
- November 18, 2011
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- E10+ For Everyone 10+ Due To Fantasy Violence
- Genre(s)
- Sandbox, Survival
Every single playthrough of Minecraft is new, because the cubic world is procedurally generated. While the basic setup of the game is always the same, having to gather materials to craft the means to survive, there is no objective in the basic survival mode of Minecraft.
One person could strive to create the perfect house and live a happy life in whatever biome suits them. That same person could decide to commit their second playthrough to defeating the Ender Dragon and beating the game’s story. Those are just the tip of the iceberg in terms of what players can do in Minecraft, a game so successful that it spawned a blockbuster movie.
4 The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
The Hunt Never Ends For Geralt Of Rivia
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
- Released
- May 19, 2015
WHERE TO PLAY
Geralt of Rivia’s story, trying to find his apprentice and surrogate daughter Ciri, has become an iconic one, but the story is only a fraction of the content available in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. The game is famous for featuring hundreds of side quests, which range from minuscule to resulting in massive side stories.
Over a decade later, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt remains one of the most beloved and successful RPG adventures ever made. It became even more stocked with content thanks to its expansions that are large enough to be their own games, showing just how much CD Projekt Red cared about this title.
3 No Man’s Sky
The Galaxy Always Starts From Scratch
No Man's Sky
- Released
- August 9, 2016
WHERE TO PLAY
Like Minecraft, No Man’s Sky presents a procedurally generated world, but on a much larger scale, presenting an entire universe for the player to explore. Every planet and its topography, flora, and fauna are randomly created for the player to scan or even rename. The main objective is to gather the materials needed to progress to the center of the universe.
6 Best Open-World Games Set In Space, Ranked
Pair open-world exploration with an immersive outer space setting, and the result is what players get in these incredible space games.
When the game first launched in 2016, it failed to live up to expectations, but Hello Games pushed themselves to make it into the space-exploration game they originally promised. Now, No Man’s Sky is an entirely different game with colorful visuals, more diversity of open-world planets, and different ways to progress both solo and with friends.
2 Middle-Earth: Shadow Of War
The Bright Lord Has Many Allies And Enemies In Mordor
Middle-Earth: Shadow of War
- Released
- October 10, 2017
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG
Monolith Productions was known for first-person shooters, but they redefined their career with Middle-Earth: Shadow Of War and its predecessor, Shadow Of Mordor, before their unfortunate closing. Both featured their patented Nemesis system, which allowed them to feature randomly generated Orcs that can have different names, backstories, weaknesses, and motivations.
No playthrough of Middle-Earth: Shadow Of War is the same, as it takes the Nemesis system and pushes it even further to create even more dynamics with Orcs. Orcs can come back to life with vendettas or mutations. Others can betray the player’s army due to the player slaughtering their friend or family member. With an expanded gear system and even better gameplay, Middle-Earth: Shadow Of War became a modern classic.
1 Red Dead Redemption 2
Finding Everything Is Nearly Impossible In One Playthrough
Red Dead Redemption 2
- Released
- October 26, 2018
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Use of Drugs and Alcohol
- Developer(s)
- Rockstar Games
After the initial chapter that introduces Arthur Morgan and the Van Der Linde Gang, Red Dead Redemption 2 opens up, giving players the chance to explore the American frontier at the dawn of the 20th century. There are things to find even on the tenth playthrough, because Rockstar went above and beyond to create a condensed version of the United States, from mountains like those in Montana to the bayous of Louisiana.
Every area in Red Dead Redemption 2 has secrets and rare encounters that some might not find until years later, such as encountering a mysterious flying saucer. The story, an emotional rollercoaster ride, is just icing on top of a delicious cake, making this game the perfect Western for those seeking something to scratch an itch for cowboys.
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