Vlad

Something tells me that someone doesn't read introductions and notes😉 This list specifically focuses on open-world games with deep RPG mechanics rather than action-adventure, which is why BOTW mentioned there

It's not about games being "better" than Ubi-made open-world titles or complaining about them, which is more than clarified in the introduction. So, as for your example of historical accuracy in KCD2 - it's just a case of highlighting how different devs emphasize different things.

Bad-mouthing Ubisoft or any developer isn't anyone's goal here. If you're interested, you can actually find many recent lists (many are related stories right here) with the exact opposite goal - to highlight what Ubisoft's games do great, and how many of their strengths have been overlooked or even hated for no reason.

Understandable, but fortunately the movie is only very vaguely connected, with no original cast returning. This makes it more of a standalone spin off rather than a forced continuation.

Alan Wake 2 is simply fantastic in its visuals, but it's not an open-world game. Maybe the upcoming Control Resonant will be more open in its structure while retaining the same level of visuals Remedy is known for.

Thanks for the suggestion, seems more like cozy life-sim than a more traditional open-world RPG that this list is going for, but maybe someone is looking just for something like that

Clayton Strong choice, but to me it's essentially just more of the same as the first game, and not as groundbreaking as other sequels listed, like RDR2, Mass Effect 2, TLOU 2, or Portal 2. All in all, I’m in the camp of players who were left slightly disappointed by it; glad you enjoyed it more, though!

Michael Personally, I absolutely agree on everything FromSoft in terms of gameplay+storytelling, and your comment pretty much sums it up perfectly, but given how the studio's approach can be divisive for players who aren't fans of it, I decided to go with more narratively traditional picks for this topic. Also, almost every list written by me already includes FromSoft games, so anyways😅

What's so special about Days Gone in your opinion? I mean, it's a good game both narratively and mechanically, but to call it a masterclass in any seems like big stretch to me

It's all a matter of personal taste. I liked almost every AC game from the past decade, loved RDR2, The Witcher 3, and Ghost of Tsushima and Yotei, but I couldn't force myself to play Forbidden West at all – it just didn't click with me. Overall, I don't think Valhalla, Odyssey, Origins, or Shadows is too different from Sony's open-world games; for me, for example, it's mostly a matter of where the game is set.

I once had an idea for the potential Just Cause evolution in line with the Far Cry series, with new installments featuring wildly different settings perhaps, even if Rico remains the protagonist. I think this might help avoid the feeling of samey tropics that started to creep in during the later entries.