Summary
- Adaptable open-world games like Borderlands 2 reward players with diverse gameplay loops and extensive content.
- Battle Brothers offers deep customization and variety in its sandbox RPG, sustaining fun with its open-world exploration.
- The Long Dark's immersive survival simulation combines tranquility and high-stakes survival, providing lasting enjoyment for players.
While many open-world games have plenty of replay value, many can get stale after hours of play. Some open-world titles, however, have immense staying power. These titles remain fun for hours on end, despite length or repetition.
Best Open-World Games That Reward Adaptive Players
These creative open-world games are great for adaptive players who crave dynamic challenges and rewarding creative solutions.
Above all else, these games feature satisfying and diverse gameplay loops that frequently reward and respect the player's time. Some may be more repetitive than others, but they remain fun for an extended period thanks to their finely-tuned gameplay and/or immersive worlds.
8 Borderlands 2
A Semi-Open World FPS With Extensive Content
Borderlands 2
- Released
- September 18, 2012
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Language, Sexual Themes, Use of Alcohol
- Genre(s)
- Shooter
Borderlands 2 is an action-packed first-person shooter that excels with its stylish visuals, procedural loot, and free-form exploration. In the game, players travel across harsh and hostile landscapes, battling unhinged bandits and vicious creatures with a variety of weapons.
Best Open-World Games That Focus On Gameplay
Many open-world games place story front and center, but these titles focus on gameplay first and foremost.
Though Borderlands 2 does feature a narrative and a variety of quests to complete, the core motivation is the loot; new weapons provide frequent moments of excitement that keep things from becoming stale even after several hours of play. Furthermore, the game features an extensive amount of content to complete, bolstered by the addition of co-operative play and DLC content.
7 Battle Brothers
A Sandbox RPG With Deep Customization & Variety
Battle Brothers
- Released
- April 27, 2015
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- t
- Genre(s)
- Indie Games, Tactical, RPG, Strategy, Adventure
Battle Brothers is a sandbox RPG that stands out with its brutal and unforgiving turn-based combat. Featuring an open overworld to explore, Battle Brothers also allows players to carve their own path as they manage a ragtag company of mercenaries.
This open-world exploration only works to serve the combat, adding an economy and elements of resource management that deepen the overall gameplay. Along with the game's variety of starting scenarios and end-game crises, Battle Brothers is able to sustain its fun for many hours.
6 The Long Dark
A Challenging But Immersive Simulation
The Long Dark
- Released
- August 1, 2017
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T For Teen due to Blood, Language, Violence
- Genre(s)
- Survival Horror
Although The Long Dark's gameplay loop is relatively straightforward, its combination of tranquility and high-stakes survival keeps it fun for many hours. Determination and grit are needed to succeed in The Long Dark, at least at first, as its environments and wildlife can be brutally unforgiving threats. However, the atmosphere and immersive mechanics give it staying power.
The quiet and almost tranquil ambiance provided by The Long Dark's subtle sound design and isolated environments helps a great deal, steeping players in an all-encompassing atmosphere. From the howl of wind to the crackling of a life-giving fire, the sheer mood of The Long Dark rarely gets old.
5 Kenshi
An Unforgiving Sandbox That Champions Agency
Kenshi
- Released
- December 6, 2018
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- nr
- Genre(s)
- RPG, Open-World, Survival
Kenshi may be a harsh and unforgiving game, but although it doesn't seem like it wants players to succeed, its refusal to hold the player's hand makes it a unique experience. Furthermore, while it can be a tremendously difficult title and fatigue with its systems will be inevitable for some, Kenshi offers staying power with its championing of player agency.
Best Open-World Games With Complex Decision-Making
Making important, complex decisions in open-world games can often be a lot of fun. These are some of the games that do it the best.
Since players are given such immense freedom to explore and make their own way in its open world, the overwhelming threats of Kenshi are an easier pill to swallow. Furthermore, as players gain a deeper understanding of its systems and world, the game becomes easier to navigate.
4 Terraria
Open-World Survival-Crafting With Steady Escalation
Terraria
- Released
- May 16, 2011
WHERE TO PLAY
Terraria is an open-world survival-craft game that offers a diverse gameplay loop, blending both creative base-building mechanics with cave exploration, horde survival, and - perhaps best of all - some truly memorable boss battles. The game even features some light town management systems, allowing players to build homes for NPCs and get access to new amenities in the process.
This diversity of gameplay gives Terraria tremendous staying power, even with its escalating difficulty and occasionally frustrating boss fights. The sheer abundance of loot also allows players to deeply customize their experience, and a healthy mod community gives the game even more longevity.
3 The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim
A Diverse RPG With A Dense Open-World
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
- Released
- November 11, 2011
WHERE TO PLAY
Despite its somewhat repetitive combat system, The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim remains a highly replayable experience that stays fun from beginning to end. This is thanks in large part to its tremendously expansive open world, dense with points of interest, unique NPCs, and awe-inspiring locations that remain fun to explore to this day.
The deep RPG systems also allow players to develop a variety of builds, adding a great deal of expression that helps to keep the game engaging. However, it's the variety of hidden locations, quests, and memorable NPCs that give Skyrim's dynamic world true life, offering an experience that's always hiding something new around each corner.
2 Fallout: New Vegas
An Expressive RPG With Plenty Of Quests
Fallout: New Vegas
- Released
- October 19, 2010
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Use of Drugs
- Genre(s)
- RPG
With its quirky wasteland setting and abundance of distinctive NPCs, the open-world environments of Fallout: New Vegas are consistently engaging to explore even after hours of play. There's almost always something new to discover or a new way to interact with the world, and the game's deep RPG systems help to sustain this for many hours.
With the abundance of unique perks and skills, players can complete many of New Vegas' quests in an expressive manner. Furthermore, the game's world is dynamic, allowing for a great deal of emergent gameplay that keeps the moment-to-moment unpredictable. As a result, New Vegas is able to offer tremendous staying power.
1 Caves Of Qud
Expressive Character Creation & An Expansive World
Caves Of Qud
- Released
- July 15, 2015
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- Roguelike, RPG
Caves Of Qud is a traditional roguelike that excels immediately with its granular character creator, instantly allowing players to express themselves by developing a character that's truly their own. But this is only the tip of Qud's iceberg, and soon players are thrown into a truly exotic science-fantasy world that's packed with content to explore.
The combination of hand-crafted and procedural content keeps Qud engaging and unpredictable even after hours of play, and this easily counteracts the unforgiving nature of its gameplay. Players will first need to stick out a steep learning curve, but the dynamic and imaginative world, combined with frequent opportunities for expression, gives Caves Of Qud great staying power.
8 Best Open-World Games With Dynamic Worlds
These open-world games impress with their dynamic worlds, providing players with immersive places that live and breathe without them.