Summary
- Dying Light 2 emphasizes rooftop parkour, adding an unanticipated thrill factor.
- Subnautica offers unique underwater traversal tools, enhancing survival in its oceanic world.
- Tchia's shapeshifting mechanics provide creative and diverse transportation options.
Open-world games have been around for decades. The promise of a world that players can freely explore with little to no boundaries or blockages to prevent them from playing the game how they choose to. Oftentimes, the worlds themselves demand some form of transportation to experience them in all their glory, without ever feeling boring or a slog to traverse them.
7 Best Open-World Games Where Every Playthrough Is Different
These open-world games offer rich experiences that don't end after the first playthrough.
Many games follow a similar basic route of fast-travel networks or standard vehicles and modes of transport to make the distances between locations just a bit smaller. But there are a few situations in which developers go above and beyond and make the movement within the world a core part of the experience, elevating it beyond just riding a horse and making players want to explore far more than they would without those systems.
8 Dying Light 2
Scaling Rooftops And Leaping Gaps Above The Undead
Dying Light 2 Stay Human
- Released
- February 4, 2022
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language, Suggestive Themes
- Developer(s)
- Techland
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, PlayStation 5
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
Dying Light 2 turns a horrific zombie apocalypse into a playground full of possibilities. The world might be dangerous and full of infected looking for their next meal, but thanks to the parkour systems and traversal possibilities, the game starts to feel far more like a movement shooter than a zombie survival game.
Players have access to an intuitive fast-travel system that lets them move between certain safe locations, but when they want to take things on foot, climbing up a giant skyscraper only to glide to another never gets old and combined with the brutal combat systems, and the game always has something fun just around the corner.
7 Subnautica
Underwater Traversal With More Than Just Swimming
Subnautica
- Released
- January 23, 2018
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- E10+ for Everyone 10+: Fantasy Violence, Mild Language
- Developer(s)
- Unknown Worlds Entertainment
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
Subnautica transports players into an underwater oasis full of wonder and mystery, along with a few scary fish that are less than happy about someone invading their home. Players have the basic swimming mechanic that helps them get around early on, but as they progress into the later stages of the game, more and more tools are unlocked, leading to wider varieties of aquatic adventuring.
Propulsion devices to small submarines to large mobile bases that can carry equipment over longer distances. In a game all about surviving in an oceanic world, there are so many helpful aids to make that task just a bit easier. Many games will have a boat or a single method of moving around below the surface, but here it's all about water, and getting around it without hassle makes the whole experience more satisfying.
6 Tchia
Transformations That Each Serve A Transportation Purpose
Tchia
- Released
- March 21, 2023
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T For Teen Due To Blood and Gore, Crude Humor, Language, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Awaceb
- Genre(s)
- Open-World, Adventure
- Platform(s)
- PC, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
Tchia is an enchanting open-world game that sees players assume the role of a young girl with powerful abilities, in a land that is more interested in childhood wonder than it is in intense combat sequences. Gliding, sailing, and climbing make up some of the basic traversal possibilities, but being able to shapeshift into virtually any object opens the doors for even more.
8 Open-World Games Best Played On The Hardest Difficulty, Ranked
These open-world games can feel a little samey after awhile, but not if players crank the difficulty up to its highest setting.
Players can hop into a tire and roll down hills at high speeds, become a loveable boar and gallop across the landscape, and even take to the skies as a bird and soar high above the islands in search of adventure. Jumping between the forms feels fun and satisfying, and there are so many options for every situation, turning simplistic walks into breathtaking expeditions.
5 Death Stranding
Cooperative Networks That Aid Those Around You
Death Stranding
- Released
- November 8, 2019
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood, Intense Violence, Partial Nudity, Strong Language
- Developer(s)
- Kojima Productions
- Genre(s)
- Action
- Platform(s)
- iOS, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
One of the most remarkable games released in the last decade, Death Stranding is a trippy, breathtaking adventure that sees players walking across gorgeous vistas in search of answers and in order to deliver a cargo more precious than life itself. It revolves around careful management of meters and capacities, all while ensuring a steady path towards each goal.
Toward the start, getting from point A to B feels more like a walking simulator, but it can quickly turn into a wild ride thanks to the interconnected networks that players can share with one another, without ever stepping into the same world. The cooperation in this form makes every movement feel like a grand unison, and with such a beautiful setting to take in, even though the lines speed up the transport, sometimes taking a walk can be even more enjoyable.
4 BioMutant
Unconventional Mounts That Each Bring A Unique Twist
BioMutant
- Released
- May 25, 2021
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T for Teen: Alcohol Reference, Blood, Crude Humor, Fantasy Violence, Use of Tobacco
- Developer(s)
- Experiment 101
- Platform(s)
- PS4, PC, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Switch
- OpenCritic Rating
- Fair
Biomutant blends post-apocalyptic exploration with mutant-powered movement, offering a strikingly diverse range of transportation options. Players can traverse its vibrant, decaying world using customizable mounts, mechanical hand-shaped walkers, jet-skis, air balloons, and even a mech suit. Each mode is tied to specific biomes, meaning that every new area requires its own method to get by.
This variety in traversal not only supports environmental storytelling but also adds strategic depth to exploration. Unlike standard open-world travel, Biomutant demands players adapt and outfit themselves for survival. The transportation mechanics reinforce the game’s hybrid nature, and its creative movement systems stand among its most praised features, giving players playful and purposeful ways to roam a world shaped by mutation and decay.
3 Just Cause 4
Grapple, Glide, Fly, Or All At Once
Just Cause 4
- Released
- December 4, 2018
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ due to Blood, Intense Violence, Strong Language
- Developer(s)
- Avalanche Studios
- Genre(s)
- Action, Adventure, Open-World
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
- OpenCritic Rating
- Fair
Just Cause 4 is the very definition of open-world mobility. A sandbox full of shooting, explosions, and a boatload of flying around at 100 miles per hour, the game perfectly blends the intensity of a third-person shooter with the fun factor of a style-based mobility game, creating an experience unlike any other.
The Best Open-World Games Featuring Third-Person Combat
Many gamers can only truly feel free when observing from the third-person point of view. These are the best open-world games with third-person combat.
The perfection comes from the player's ability to chain together every component of the game's mobility. Grapples into glides, into dives that seamlessly transition the free-roam into combat. The sky is no longer the limit, and freedom doesn't even begin to describe the capabilities and the options that the player has access to right from the start.
2 Sunset Overdrive
Style In Both The Combat And The Movement
Sunset Overdrive
- Released
- October 28, 2014
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ due to Blood and Gore, Drug Reference, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Insomniac Games
- Genre(s)
- Third-Person Shooter, Open-World
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
Sunset Overdrive takes the concept of an open-world outbreak and flips any conventions on its head. Instead of carefully traversing the world, avoiding the infected, players are encouraged to run headfirst into the action, combining their attacks with every single rail grind and leap across the city.
Fighting enemies from the safety of the skyline is satisfying from start to end, and players gain access to plenty of new tools to keep the combos rising and the fun factor growing. The enemies are no longer the main focus, and the game is instead more about style points than slow, calculated play.
1 The Legend Of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom
No Longer Just About Gliding
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
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
Tears of the Kingdom expands on its predecessor’s open-world formula by giving players unprecedented freedom in how they traverse the gorgeous world of Hyrule, both horizontally and vertically. The game introduces the Ultrahand, a physics-based crafting system that allows players to build custom vehicles using a range of components, letting them invent entirely new forms of transport, from hovercrafts and hot-air balloons to flying platforms and land crawlers.
What makes the game's transportation system so unique is its emphasis on player ingenuity. The game doesn't hand out prebuilt solutions, but it encourages experimentation and rewards creativity. Whether soaring between sky islands, diving from great heights using the paraglider, or riding self-made gliders across massive chasms, every movement feels like a personal solution to a puzzle.
10 Best Open-World Games That Aren't RPGs, Ranked
Not all open-world games are RPGs. These titles prove exploration, creativity, and action can shine without leveling systems or stats.