Open-world games are a favorite among players who like to explore. People gravitate towards these titles when they want to experience true freedom as they roam fantasy lands or dystopian futuristic cities in search of loot and enemies to beat.
Speaking of beating foes, some open-world games allow players to experience a lot of possible combinations of skills, weapon abilities, and movement. Some players choose a specific game just because they like to experience an intense fight. For those gamers, here are a few open-world games with truly magnificent combat systems, where combat is the main course.
Just to be clear, we are not saying these games only have combat going for them. We are also focusing primarily on melee combat.
8 Nier: Automata
Fast-Paced Platinum-Level Combat
NieR: Automata
- Released
- March 7, 2017
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Platinum Games
- Franchise
- NieR
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG
Nier: Automata offers both a great story and a huge world to explore. But perhaps what defines this game is its arcade-like hack-and-slash combat system. Players can rotate between attack styles, combining heavy and light attacks in an intense series of combos. The Heavy attacks are powerful but slower, while the Light attacks are faster and privilege mobility and quick skirmishes.
8 Best Open-World Games With Third-Person Combat, Ranked
Open-world with great combat is a winning formula for players that are fans of the genre.
During combat, players can also e xecute ranged attacks using their "Pod," a small robot that will follow them around. They can even perform breathtaking dodges and powerful counters to defeat the most challenging bosses. It's quite a fun game for fans of fast-paced combat. The game rewards skill over spamming buttons, with some of the most visually impressive combos seen in a game of this style. The game also has 39 different weapons to pick from (40, counting bare-handed combat), so there are plenty of combinations for players to try.
7 Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning
The Best Combination Of Weapons And Skills In An RPG
Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning
- Released
- September 8, 2020
WHERE TO PLAY
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning (Re-Reckoning in its remastered version) has one of the best combat systems in any RPG. Its class system allows players to re-spec constantly to test out the best weapon/ability combinations, and it has an incredible finisher mechanic (Twists of Fate) perfectly integrated into combat. It offers one of the most complete experiences players can find in an open-world game.
If players prefer to be ranged attackers, there are plenty of weapons they can combine with melee and spells. The game also has some unique weapons, like the Chakrams and the Warglaives, which are tremendously fun to play. It also has an integrated stealth system, so if players prefer a more rogueish approach, they can choose to skulk in the shadows.
6 Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen
A Dynamic Combat/Class System
Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen
- Released
- April 23, 2013
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Capcom
- Platform(s)
- Xbox One, Xbox 360, PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG
Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen is the only expansion of the original game that started the legendary CAPCOM franchise. In it, players step into the shoes of an Arisen, a resurrected dead hero whose heart has been stolen by the Dragon (Grigori). The player must find him to recover it. Picking from three basic classes, players will be able to progress further and choose advanced and hybrid vocations. These include the Champion and the broken Magick Archer, which can shoot magical tracking projectiles that rarely miss their target.
Best Open-World Games For Feeling Like An OP Mage
If you are craving a touch of magic, these open-world games will make you feel like an allmighty mage who can destroy enemies.
Alongside a beautiful soundtrack and a breathtaking world to explore, Dragon's Dogma also perfected real-time combat, especially when compared to most other open-world games from its era. This version even tweaked the base version, fixing some of its issues. The result is a complete and dynamic combat system, with impressive class-oriented builds and coordinated combinations between ally AI and the player's moves. It's a wonderful experience for those who love to take down huge monsters.
Honorable mention to Dragon's Dogma 2, which is also mostly worth playing for its combat.
5 No Rest For The Wicked
Merciless, Brutal, And An Absolute Blast
No Rest for the Wicked
- Released
- April 18, 2024
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Moon Studios
- Platform(s)
- PC, PS5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG
Developed by Moon Studios, No Rest For The Wicked is an isometric open-world hack-n-slash RPG with a dose of Soulslike and a masterfully crafted narrative. Its combat system shines like a bright gem in the middle of its gloomy and dark fantasy setting, with several combinations of weapons and abilities to test.
With many different weapon types, each with its own combo system and a rune system, which allows players to equip weapons with powerful abilities that can be triggered by charging combo energy. It has a truly satisfactory and fun-to-play combat system, with fully animated skills and combos. The Two-Handed Sword is one of the best options in the game. That thing is from another world and will turn every enemy into mincemeat.
4 Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
Come For The Story, Stay For The Gameplay
Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain
- Released
- September 1, 2015
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Kojima Productions
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One
- Genre(s)
- Action, Open-World
Metal Gear Solid nearly always features decent gameplay, but it is just one part of the overall package and rarely the main selling point. Usually, it is Hideo Kojima's bizarre but relevant storytelling that takes center stage, to the point that certain entries are more cutscene than game. However, The Phantom Pain is a notable exception, as the story not only takes a backseat, but it is nowhere near as impressive as all the other main entries.
Fortunately, MGS5 has the best gameplay in the entire series. A true sandbox experience, the game lets you decide how to approach missions, be it through stealth or guns blazing. The combat is incredibly versatile for not only Metal Gear Solid but also the entire open-world genre, and the world reacts to your decisions. Even the enemy AIs learn from past encounters, adapting so you cannot just recycle the same strategy.
3 Mad Max
Specifically, Car Combat
Mad Max
- Released
- September 1, 2015
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Avalanche Studios
- Genre(s)
- Action-Adventure, Open-World
Honestly, pretty much all of Avalanche's open-world games are worth playing just for their combat. Just Cause has some of the most enjoyable chaotic gameplay in the genre, while Rage 2 transposes DOOM's gunplay into an open-world setting. Finally, we have Mad Max, which delivers a mostly fantastic overall experience. The story and world are good, and the car customization is great, but the game's crowning achievement is the vehicle combat. Even a decade later, no other open-world game has managed to topple Mad Max in this department, and that includes Avalanche's more recent releases.
Longest Open-World Games
Even the most sophisticated gamer will be bewildered by the sheer scale of these games. These are the open-world games that take the longest to beat.
In Max's Magnum Opus, you engage in wild chases and grueling battles that more than live up to The Road Warriors and even Fury Road, and the car combat is presented as the main attraction and not a side activity. Your car's upgrades are also notable enough that they feel worthwhile, rather than just cosmetic changes. Heck, even the melee combat is a passable attempt at the Arkham formula.
2 Sleeping Dogs
Best Martial Arts Open-World Game
Sleeping Dogs
- Released
- August 14, 2012
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- United Front Games
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PC
- Genre(s)
- Open-World, Action
I love Sleeping Dogs. Every few years, I replay it while wondering if it will finally feel too dated to really enjoy. That day has yet to come, and I'm starting to imagine that it never will.
A big reason why Sleeping Dogs has aged so gracefully is the hand-to-hand combat, which might just be the best in the open-world genre. Yes, I know that is a lofty claim to make when Yakuza 0 and Arkham Knight exist, but there is just something satisfying about Sleeping Dogs' martial arts that no other game fully replicates. The combat is fast, fluid, and fair, regardless of whether you are fighting a group or a single enemy. The environments are incorporated into combat seamlessly, to the point that you really start to believe that you are staging a movie set piece.
I will say, Sleeping Dogs' gunplay is nothing special and certainly not among the genre's greatest efforts; however, it is not the focus.
1 Elden Ring
The Ultimate Combat Open-World Game
Elden Ring
- Released
- February 25, 2022
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- From Software
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X
There are infinite reasons to play Elden Ring. FromSoftware's game has incredible exploration that rewards curiosity, impressive versatility, deep lore, dozens of memorable boss fights, and solid multiplayer implementation. Finally, we have perhaps the deepest combat system in the open-world sphere, at least if we are taking build variety into account.
You cannot love Elden Ring without loving its combat, as nearly everything else is designed around it. Even if you were to ignore all the secondary content and just rush through the main storyline, you will still have dozens of hours of great combat to keep you entertained. Elden Ring's build density, weapon variety, secondary mechanics like the Ashes of War, and enemy design all come together to create a combat system that seems to offer endless possibilities.