7 Best Open-World Games That Don’t Feel Empty, Ranked

Highlights

• Open-world games offer unique and engaging gaming experiences with immense freedom and depth.
• The world itself is a crucial aspect of an open-world game, with layered, detailed, and bustling environments being highly praised.
• Games like Cyberpunk 2077, Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt are examples of open-world games with immersive worlds that captivate players.

Open-world games are some of the most unique and engaging gaming experiences ever created. By design, most games are developed to lead the player through a story, but open-world games take time and immense care to create entire complex worlds for a player to explore at their own pace. No other medium is capable of the utter freedom and depth that open-world video games achieve, truly allowing a player to feel in control.

Obviously, one of the most important aspects of an open-world game is the world itself. No player will remain invested in an open-world game with a boring and repetitive environment. Not all players want busy worlds, but would rather spend their time galloping through expanses of desert or trekking through a forest. Although it may take a very long time and a lot of dedication, video games with layered, detailed, and bustling worlds are by far some of the greatest ever made.

7 Cyberpunk 2077

Metascore: 86

Most gamers will know that Cyberpunk 2077 didn’t get off to the best start. Upon launch, the game was infamously glitchy and unfinished, which was a big letdown for players who had believed the hype. A lot of main criticisms were of the gameplay and bugs, but one of its most praised aspects was its setting.

Based in the fictional Night City, a ‘megacity’ consisting of six major areas, Cyberpunk 2077 plunges players headfirst into a sea of conflict, futuristic tech, and compromised morals. It’s full of side-quests and interactions, ones that gamers can seek out or come across while exploring. It does a great job of distinguishing the different regions from one another, and the ultra-modern architecture makes the game feel vivid and dense.

6 Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag

Metascore: 88

Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag is the sixth Assassin’s Creed game, and is often thought to be one of the best in the franchise. Black Flag is set during the golden age of piracy, and there’s an emphasis on ship-based exploration and pirate-themed events.

Black Flag takes place in the West Indies, namely the three central cities of Havana, Kingston, and Nassau. In addition to this, there are dozens of territories that players can explore while sailing the seas, all of them packed with great interactions and content. The game was very much praised for its intricate and brilliantly designed world which perfectly captures the bustling settlements. Even overgrown Mayan Ruins feel packed with life, making for a phenomenal setting.

5 Marvel’s Spider-Man 2

Metascore: 90

Highly anticipated and suitably hyped-up, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 did not fall short of expectations. The action-adventure game perfectly balances its linear story with free-roaming, open-world aspects, and players can even switch between Miles Morales and Peter Parker – both of whom have story points in different areas.

Creating a totally fictional location for an open-world game is an enormous feat because all the nonexistent areas have to be believable and complex. However, basing a game in a real-life place comes with massive challenges of its own. Although certain aspects are fictionalized, Spider-Man 2’s New York is accurate and vivid – managing to be realistic without being boring.

4 The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Metascore: 92

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is generally thought to be a masterpiece, receiving critical acclaim upon its release that still persists to this day. It’s the conclusion to Geralt’s story and is believed to be a fitting end to a great trilogy.

One of the most praised aspects of the game was the world. Players and critics alike agreed that it was absolutely massive in scale, and full of content and detail that would take players hours upon hours to discover. It actively encourages exploration and interaction with NPCs, which, combined with its day-and-night mechanics, makes the world incredibly immersive. The Witcher 3 is essentially the perfect example of creating a world full to the brim with life, experiences, and secrets.

3 Elden Ring

Metascore: 96

Elden Ring is an epic high-fantasy video game collaboration between FromSoftware and Game of Thrones writer George R. R. Martin. This action-adventure game has a completely open world, and players are free to roam the enormous map comprised of six main areas.

Like all high-fantasy, the setting is incredibly important to Elden Ring, and players will be happy to hear that the game’s world is often cited as its strongest achievement. The world is expansive, and full of intriguing areas that reward players for exploring. There’s no doubt the challenging combat may put some players off, but the world is overflowing with inventive and fun areas just waiting to be discovered.

2 The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild

Metascore: 97

The LEgend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is the epitome of a perfectly balanced, utterly captivating open-world game. Set at the end of the Zelda timeline, the game sees Link exploring Hyrule in search of answers and resources – culminating in him defeating Calamity Ganon.

Breath of the Wild is often looked to as one of the best examples of an open-world game. It’s flush with open fields to gallop across, each one littered with ruins, monsters, and secrets. There’s a great selection of towns and villages packed with unique NPCs and fun side-quests. Straying from the path is always rewarded in this game, with thousands of secrets and quests to find. Breath of the Wild’s map truly allows players to roam anywhere they wish, and exploring can only lead to good things. It’s no wonder this was Metacritic’s highest-rated game in 2017.

1 Grand Theft Auto 5

Metascore: 97

If it’s busy, jam-packed worlds players are after, look no further than Grand Theft Auto 5. Released in 2013, the game is still a benchmark for open-world gaming. Brimming with insane NPC interactions, detailed areas, and strange events, GTA 5‘s Los Santos is a world like no other.

In its clear parody of Los Angeles, GTA 5 manages to execute a fantastic world without limit. Everything is exaggerated, from radio presenter conversations to cults in the hillsides, and players are literally spoiled for choice. Even outside the main Los Santos town, the map has exciting new areas to explore with random events, items to find, and people to terrorize. Grand Theft Auto 5 truly is the exact opposite of empty.

MORE: Open-World Games That Bombed At Launch But Became Cult Classics