Who doesn’t love a good open-world video game? After all, getting to explore massive maps in fantastical locations while controlling a character with special skills, abilities, and weapons is always entertaining and addictive, as players can accidentally end up putting hundreds of hours of play into one of these titles.
Needless to say, there are a lot of great open-world games out there, and fortunately, Steam is the perfect place to purchase some of the best ones in the entire genre. Steam’s iconic digital storefront is filled to the brim with excellent open-world titles, but the following eight have Overwhelmingly Positive reviews, which is a testament to their undeniable high quality.
Fallout: New Vegas
Obsidian Entertainment Made The Best 3D Game In The Fallout Series
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
The Fallout series saw a major change in gameplay when Bethesda purchased its rights and translated it into the world of 3D, with Fallout 3 being one of the most revolutionary and popular open-world titles of the seventh generation of consoles. As great as this game obviously is, however, it has been greatly overshadowed by its immediate successor, Fallout: New Vegas.
New Vegas took everything that had made Fallout 3 so special — like its decision-making and shooting mechanics — and put it in a fascinating new map full of interesting characters, striking locales, and, of course, a captivating storyline that is still fondly remembered by fans to this day. Fallout: New Vegas is usually considered to be the best entry in the entire series, and its critical and commercial success has allowed Obsidian Entertainment to move on to bigger projects, like The Outer Worlds and Avowed.
Batman: Arkham City - Game of the Year Edition
Batman's First Foray Into The Open-World Genre Changed Superhero Games Forever
Batman: Arkham City
- Released
- October 18, 2011
WHERE TO PLAY
Rocksteady’s Batman: Arkham Asylum revolutionized the concept of superhero video games, which made it all the more impressive when the studio managed to outdo itself just three years later, with the sequel, Batman: Arkham City. This game takes the excellent gameplay of its predecessor and translates it into a huge open-world map, which works surprisingly well.
Arkham City is different from most open-world games because the main playable character is Batman, and using the Caped Crusader’s many abilities and tools (like his gliding cape, his Grapple Gun, and his Batarangs) to explore the world and beat down enemies is incredibly fun and satisfying. To this day, Arkham City is still considered one of the best licensed games ever made, and it pretty much paved the way for every open-world superhero title that came after it.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
2015’s Game Of The Year Has Aged Very Well
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
- Released
- May 19, 2015
WHERE TO PLAY
While all the Witcher games are available on Steam (and they’re all worth checking out), there’s no doubt that The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is the absolute best one, not to mention that this is the game that’s single-handedly responsible for putting the series on the map. More than ten years have passed since its initial release, and yet, it still holds up very well, which explains why it won so many prestigious accolades, including Game of the Year at the 2015 Game Awards.
In The Witcher 3, players take control of the legendary Geralt of Rivia, a powerful monster hunter who explores the Continent while hunting down deadly creatures and meeting many NPCs who need his help. Fortunately, this map is huge and jam-packed with content, which makes the gameplay even more compelling and addictive than in any of its predecessors. Needless to say, The Witcher 3 is the quintessential Western RPG experience, and every fan of the genre needs to try it out at some point.
Subnautica
A Deep But Terrifying Underwater Adventure
Subnautica
- Released
- January 23, 2018
WHERE TO PLAY
Gamers who are not familiar with Subnautica may initially struggle to understand why this game is so massively popular. At first glance, it may seem like a rudimentary open-world survival game with a huge focus on underwater exploration and not much more.
However, those who have played Subnautica for countless hours can assess that this game is much more than meets the eye. Not only are its many subaquatic locales breathtakingly beautiful, but they’re also inhabited by strange yet fascinating creatures, including a bunch of scary giant monsters that always catch new players by surprise. Subnautica is undoubtedly one of the most distinct open-world titles out there, as it offers a unique and captivating gameplay experience that no other game in the genre has been able to replicate.
Red Dead Redemption 2
Rockstar’s Award-Winning Sandbox Western Masterpiece
Red Dead Redemption 2
- Released
- October 26, 2018
WHERE TO PLAY
Rockstar Games is synonymous with the term “open-world sandbox" game, as the studio is responsible for some of the best titles in this genre. Curiously enough, however, only one of its games has Overwhelmingly Positive reviews on Steam and, of course, it’s also the one that’s considered to be the studio’s best: Red Dead Redemption 2 (That’s right, all the Grand Theft Auto games, including GTA 5, are ranked slightly lower than it).
There’s not much to say about Red Dead Redemption 2 that hasn’t been said before. In this award-winning sandbox western, players control Arthur Morgan, an outlaw with an immovable moral compass, as they explore a massive open-world in which they can do pretty much anything they want, from committing various crimes to hunting down deadly animals. With its gripping narrative, its fascinating characters, and its satisfying shooting mechanics, it’s easy to understand why Red Dead Redemption 2 is deemed one of the best video games ever made.
Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered
The Best Spider-Man Video Game Ever Made
Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered
- Released
- November 12, 2020
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T For Teen Due To Blood, Drug Reference, Language, Mild Suggestive Themes, Violence
- Genre(s)
- Action-Adventure, Open-World
Spider-Man has starred in many high-quality video games during his sixty-three-year-old existence, but everything changed with the arrival of Insomniac Games’ recent PlayStation trilogy. The first entry in the series, Marvel’s Spider-Man, is downright incredible and, fortunately, many gamers can now experience this modern classic on PC, because its remastered version was ported over to Steam in 2022.
Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered does one thing exceptionally well: Spidey’s movement. Swinging around New York with his webs feels smooth and satisfying, but has enough realistic physics to make it easy to control. That gameplay mechanic alone is enough to cement this game as a worthwhile open-world video experience, but, to make things even better, Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered also boasts a deep combat system, amazing boss fights against classic Spider-Man villains, multiple side-quests to complete, and a mature and emotional storyline that any fan of the character can enjoy.
Cyberpunk 2077
Against All Odds, It Became One Of The Most Popular Open-World RPGs
Cyberpunk 2077
- Released
- December 10, 2020
WHERE TO PLAY
It’s both strange and endearing to see the Overwhelmingly Positive recent reviews label on Cyberpunk 2077’s Steam page. When CD Projekt Red’s cyberpunk-themed RPG came out back in 2020, it was panned by fans and critics, who were disappointed by its many technical failures, especially after having waited over eight years for its release.
However, after some much-needed updates, a bunch of price drops, and a significant expansion titled Phantom Liberty, CD Projekt Red was finally able to turn Cyberpunk 2077 into the modern open-world masterpiece it was always supposed to be. Night City is one of the most beautiful, complex, and interesting locations ever made for a video game, and in it, players can create their own custom character in order to embark on a dark journey full of stuff to do, enemies to face, and important decisions to make.
Palworld
An Expansive Survival Game With Pokemon-Like Monsters To Catch
Palworld
- Released
- January 19, 2024
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T For Teen Due To Violence
- Genre(s)
- Open-World, Shooter, Survival
That’s right; Pocketpair’s controversial monster-taming project has Overwhelmingly Positive reviews on Steam. This makes a lot of sense, however, considering that, despite all the immediate comparisons to Pokemon (especially when it comes to its creature design), Palworld has almost nothing to do with Nintendo and Game Freak’s iconic franchise, as it’s not even a turn-based RPG.
In reality, Palworld is a survival/crafting open-world title, more comparable with something like ARK than Pokemon. While seeing all these adorable fantasy creatures wielding fireguns can be a tad jarring at first, the gameplay loop and combat system of this game are surprisingly addictive, especially for those who love exploring the map for resources, items, and, of course, new monsters to find and catch. At the end of the day, Palworld borrows elements from other games to create a unique experience, which explains why it has become so massively popular in the past year.