The biggest news for open-world games this week comes courtesy of Monster Hunter Wilds' highly anticipated 1.021 update, which Capcom pushed up in an effort to bring lapsed players back into the fold. While plenty of PC players are still reporting various performance issues that Capcom is hoping to address in regular patches, it seems like Monster Hunter Wilds is set to get a bit of a shot in the arm with the addition of new 9-star monster hunts, new endgame items to chase, and tweaks to some of the game's systems. But Monster Hunter Wilds is just one of the open-world games to get excited about playing this weekend.
Joining Capcom's open-world take on the classic Monster Hunter formula are a handful of other games that are tailor-made for lengthy, immersive gaming sessions over the coming weekend. Whether you happen to be in the mood for a solo adventure in a captivating setting or linking up with friends to engage in some co-op or competitive multiplayer, these are some of the open-world games we'd recommend checking out this weekend as part of any gaming-related plans.
Why Now is the Perfect Time to Play Subnautica
The recent delay of Subnautica 2 to 2026 was a blow to fans looking forward to the upcoming open-world survival game, but the original Subnautica is still thriving as one of the best games in the genre. It's currently on sale over at Steam at a pretty hefty 75% discount, and the recent influx of new players to the survival genre means it may be one of the titles players need to go back and brush up on. It's hard to think of a better legacy open-world survival game that would resonate with fans of Grounded 2 or Abiotic Factor than Subnautica.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 84 /100 Critics Rec: 92%
- Released
- January 23, 2018
- ESRB
- E10+ for Everyone 10+: Fantasy Violence, Mild Language
- Developer(s)
- Unknown Worlds Entertainment
- Publisher(s)
- Gearbox Publishing
WHERE TO PLAY
You have crash-landed on an alien ocean world, and the only way to go is down. Subnautica's oceans range from sun drenched shallow coral reefs to treacherous deep-sea trenches, lava fields, and bio-luminescent underwater rivers. Manage your oxygen supply as you explore kelp forests, plateaus, reefs, and winding cave systems. The water teems with life: Some of it helpful, much of it harmful.
After crash landing in your Life Pod, the clock is ticking to find water, food, and to develop the equipment you need to explore. Collect resources from the ocean around you. Craft knives, lights, diving gear, and personal water craft. Venture deeper and further form to find rarer resources, allowing you to craft more advanced items.
Build bases on the sea floor. Choose layouts and components, and manage hull-integrity as depth and pressure increase. Use your base to store resources, park vehicles, and replenish oxygen supplies as you explore the vast ocean.
Why Now is the Perfect Time to Play Final Fantasy 14
The complete 180 that Final Fantasy 14 was able to pull off with the title's relaunch as A Realm Reborn is one of gaming's greatest Cinderella stories, and it also helped the title serve as one of the main pillars of Square Enix's business over the last several years. Accordingly, it's not often that the entire Final Fantasy 14 saga will go on sale, but it is currently, with players able to grab the Complete Edition that collects all expansions up through Dawntrail at a nice discount. As far as open-world MMORPGs go, Final Fantasy 14 remains one of the best and most welcoming to newcomers, making it a great choice for a new game to play this weekend.
- Released
- August 27, 2013
- ESRB
- T for Teen - Language, Mild Blood, Sexual Themes, Use of Alcohol, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Square Enix
- Publisher(s)
- Square Enix
- Engine
- Originally the Crystal Tools engine, but currently it's a custom engine using parts of the Luminous Engine.
WHERE TO PLAY
For newcomers to FINAL FANTASY XIV Online, this edition includes three award-winning titles - FINAL FANTASY XIV: A Realm Reborn the base game, and the first and second expansions: FINAL FANTASY XIV: Heavensward and FINAL FANTASY XIV: Stormblood. This edition also includes a 30-day free play period. Other expansions for the game include Dawntrail, Endwalker, and Shadowbringers.
Join over 30 million adventurers worldwide and take part in an epic and ever-changing FINAL FANTASY. Experience all the hallmarks of the best-selling franchise - an unforgettable story, exhilarating battles, and a myriad of diverse and captivating environments to explore. Party up with friends or play solo! Experience all the main story dungeons on your own by calling upon NPC allies to fight by your side.
Will you play as a healing mage or an offensive black mage? Perhaps you want to be a warrior and smash enemies in the face. The famed Final Fantasy job system lets you experiment!
- Genre(s)
- MMORPG
Why Now is the Perfect Time to Play Fallout 76
Whether you happen to be a lapsed player, a newcomer, or a frequent flyer in the game's post-apocalyptic Appalachia, this weekend is a great time to fire up Fallout 76 thanks to the title's latest update. Fallout 76 just kicked off the Marshal Mallow's Marvelous Fishing Expedition mini-season on August 12, and players have until August 26 to dive into it and explore all its contents. It's the latest content drop as part of the larger Gone Fission update, and Fallout 76 seems to be continually inching closer to players' ideal vision of a massively multiplayer Fallout experience.
Fallout 76
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 54 /100 Critics Rec: 9%
WHERE TO PLAY
Bethesda Game Studios, the award-winning creators of Skyrim and Fallout 4, welcome you to Fallout 76. Twenty-five years after the bombs fell, you and your fellow Vault Dwellers—chosen from the nation’s best and brightest – emerge into post-nuclear America on Reclamation Day, 2102. Play solo or join together as you explore, quest, build, and triumph against the wasteland’s greatest threats. Explore a vast wasteland, devastated by nuclear war, in this open-world multiplayer addition to the Fallout story. Experience the largest, most dynamic world ever created in the legendary Fallout universe. Expand southward to Skyline Valley – a brand-new region of Appalachia. Investigate the cause of the electric storm circling overhead and unveil the mystery around Vault 63 and its dwellers, including a shocking new Ghoul type – The Lost.
Why Now is the Perfect Time to Play Marvel's Spider-Man
Anyone who happens to be a fan of both open-world games and Magic: The Gathering has a perfect title to jump into this weekend with Marvel's Spider-Man. With the Spider-Man Magic set dropping in just a few weeks, swinging around Insomniac's painstakingly crafted open-world version of New York City seems like a perfect way to get in the mood for the fast-approaching pre-release events at your local game shop. Plus, all these years later, Spider-Man is still one of the all-time great superhero games.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 88 /100 Critics Rec: 95%
- Released
- September 7, 2018
- ESRB
- T For Teen Due To Blood, Drug Reference, Language, Mild Suggestive Themes, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Insomniac Games
- Publisher(s)
- Sony
WHERE TO PLAY
Sony Interactive Entertainment, Insomniac Games, and Marvel have teamed up to create an authentic Spider-Man adventure. This isn’t the Spider-Man you’ve met or ever seen before. This is an experienced Peter Parker who’s more masterful at fighting big crime in Marvel's New York. At the same time, he’s struggling to balance his chaotic personal life and career while the fate of millions of New Yorkers rests upon his shoulders.
After eight years behind the mask, Peter Parker is a crime-fighting expert. Feel the full power of a more experienced Spider-Man with improvisational combat, dynamic acrobatics, fluid urban traversal, and environmental interactions. A rookie no longer; this is the most masterful Spider-Man you’ve ever played.
The worlds of Peter Parker and Spider-Man collide in an original, action-packed tale. In this new Spider-Man universe, iconic characters from Peter and Spider-Man’s lives have been reimagined, placing familiar characters in unique roles.
The Big Apple comes to life as Insomniac’s most expansive and interactive world yet. Swing through vibrant neighborhoods and catch breathtaking views of iconic Marvel and Manhattan landmarks. Use the environment to defeat villains with epic takedowns in true blockbuster action.
- Engine
- Insomniac Engine v.4.0
- Genre(s)
- Action, Adventure, Open-World
Why Now is the Perfect Time to Play Monster Hunter Wilds
Capcom's Monster Hunter Wilds has experienced a bit of a sharp decline in player counts and player perception over the past few months, owing to the game's continued performance woes on PC and an apparent lack of new content. To help alleviate these issues, Capcom went ahead and pushed up the title's next major update, bumping up the launch of Monster Hunter Wilds' 1.021 patch to August 13 and delivering a whole host of gameplay tweaks, changes to endgame content, and more. It might be too early to call right now, but so far, impressions of the update indicate that Monster Hunter Wilds is trending back in the right direction, making this weekend a great time to hop in and engage in some co-op hunts.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 89 /100 Critics Rec: 95%
WHERE TO PLAY
The unbridled force of nature runs wild and relentless, with environments transforming drastically from one moment to the next. This is a story of monsters and humans and their struggles to live in harmony in a world of duality.
Fulfill your duty as a Hunter by tracking and defeating powerful monsters and forging strong new weapons and armor from the materials you harvest from your hunt as you uncover the connection between the people of the Forbidden Lands and the locales they inhabit.
The ultimate hunting experience awaits you in Monster Hunter Wilds.