Best Futuristic Open-World Games

Key Takeaways

• Futuristic open-world games offer unique, immersive experiences with intricate urban environments and advanced technology.
• Games like
  Watch Dogs: Legion
  and
  Cyberpunk 2077
  place players in futuristic megacities, rich in detail and featuring unique design choices rarely seen elsewhere.
• Futuristic space exploration games, including
  Starfield
  ,
  Mass Effect: Andromeda
  , and
  No Man’s Sky
  , allow players to explore vast alien worlds.

The open-world genre offers players the freedom to explore vast, breathtaking landscapes full of activities, encouraging a creative approach to gameplay. Among the first elements to draw players in is the game’s setting, which can sometimes be so compelling that it alone provides an immersive journey. This is especially true for futuristic settings, which are less common in the genre compared to the more prevalent medieval or fantasy worlds.

Crafting a futuristic open world presents unique challenges. Developers must create intricate urban environments, advanced technology, and imaginative architecture, as opposed to the natural landscapes often found in open-world games. Combining the genre’s endless possibilities with the distinctive atmosphere of a futuristic setting results in some of the most engaging and memorable titles available.

10 Watch Dogs Legion

A Fictionalized Dystopian London Of 2030

Watch Dogs: Legion stands out as one of Ubisoft’s rare open-world games set in the near future. This creative choice allows the developers to bring their vision of a fictionalized, dystopian London to life. In the game, London is dominated by Albion, an oppressive private military company that has transformed the metropolis into a surveillance state following devastating terrorist attacks.

The game fully capitalizes on its futuristic setting, presenting a familiar yet advanced version of one of Europe’s most iconic cities. This also serves as the backdrop for unique gameplay opportunities. Players can hack nearly every piece of technology, from security systems to vehicles. They can also use gadgets like the AR Cloak, which renders them invisible for stealthy maneuvers. Additionally, the ability to pilot massive cargo drones offers a thrilling and efficient way to explore London’s vast open world.

9 Death Stranding

Set In 2050, After A Series Of Cataclysmic Events Shattered Reality

Death Stranding demands patience to appreciate, but once players acclimate to its unique rhythm, it offers a refreshing time unlike any other. The game takes one of gaming’s most common task types — fetch quests — and turns it into its core gameplay mechanic. It incorporates rugged, almost impassable terrain, realistic and often awkward walking physics, and the occupational hazards of being a courier in a post-apocalyptic world.

Against the backdrop of a devastated Earth afflicted by the mysterious ‘Death Stranding,’ event players step into the shoes of Sam Porter Bridges, a courier tasked with delivering crucial packages to isolated survivors. Despite its mundane premise, Death Stranding transforms the act of traversal into a meditative and fulfilling endeavor, thanks to its innovative mechanics. The game’s futuristic designs of weapons, vehicles, costumes, and accessories create a breathtaking environment.

8 Cyberpunk 2077

Set In A Futuristic Megapolis, Night City, In America Of 2077

Cyberpunk 2077 stands as a unique open-world experience, unmatched in its depiction of the sprawling Night City. CD Projekt Red’s ambitious vision brings this vibrant metropolis to life, with a detailed world brimming with colorful and complex inhabitants. Night City itself feels like an essential character, providing a stunning backdrop for the gripping story missions.

The city is divided into several large, distinct districts, each with its own personality, alongside expansive wastelands ripe for exploration. From sleek vehicles to intricate weapons and cybernetic augmentations, every detail reflects a meticulous dedication to immersion. This attention to craft ensures that players are enveloped in the dark, yet compelling vision of a future where technology and humanity collide.

7 Mass Effect: Andromeda

In Another Galaxy In 2185, Two Species Are At Constant War

The original Mass Effect trilogy is celebrated for its immersive sci-fi universe. However, the games were criticized for their small, linear environments — a limitation that Mass Effect: Andromeda sought to overcome. Set in the Andromeda Galaxy, this entry introduces massive, open worlds for players to explore. Each one offers unique challenges and mysteries, including the homeworld of the Angara species. As humanity searches for a new home, many of these worlds remain untamed and hostile, hiding ancient Remnant ruins that hold the key to terraforming them into habitable environments.

From a design perspective, Andromeda takes bold strides with visually striking weapons, spaceships, spacesuits, and the iconic Nomad vehicle, all of which contribute to the game’s memorable aesthetic. While divisive among fans, the game’s ambitious approach to exploration and design marked an important evolution in the franchise.

6 Starfield

In The Year 2330, Earth Has Become Unsustainable For Life

Starfield stands out among space exploration games thanks to its distinctive NASA-punk aesthetic, offering a grounded vision of a space colonization era. While it may not be as seamless as some fans hoped, the game features thousands of explorable planets, ranging from barren landscapes to thriving human colonies and advanced outposts.

Beyond its procedurally generated planets, Starfield includes several major celestial bodies hosting expansive cities and settlements. The game’s deep crafting systems and customizable ship-building mechanics give players the freedom to design and construct spacecraft tailored to their needs, whether for combat, exploration, or trade.

5 The Outer Worlds

Set In 2355, In An Alternate Timeline Of Human History

Set in an alternate timeline in the distant future, The Outer Worlds combines elements of Fallout and Starfield to deliver a satirical space-exploration adventure filled with quirky humor, vibrant action, and retro-futuristic flair. True to Obsidian Entertainment’s style, players can expect memorable characters, engaging quests, and robust roleplay options that grant substantial freedom.

While The Outer Worlds isn’t the largest game and may not fully qualify as a traditional open-world title, it features multiple planets for players to explore. These planets host futuristic cities, bustling settlements, and intricate spaceships and space stations. The game’s distinct tone and playful yet meaningful narrative make it a standout space-faring RPG.

4 Borderlands 3

Set In The 29th Century, On Distant Planets Across The Galaxy

Any Borderlands game could qualify as a great example of futuristic open-world action, but Borderlands 3 stands out as the pinnacle of the series. With its stunning visuals, expanded scope, and multiple planets to explore, it offers the most refined Borderlands experience. It also shines as one of the most entertaining co-op games in recent years.

The franchise’s biggest allure lies in its loot system. With countless procedurally generated weapons with unique perks and abilities, players can hunt endlessly for the ultimate tool of destruction. Borderlands 3 impresses visually, too, showcasing breathtaking landscapes and settlements from the distant future, all wrapped in the franchise’s signature post-apocalyptic, punk-infused aesthetic. It’s vibrant, high-energy gaming that keeps players coming back for more.

3 Horizon Forbidden West

A Post-Apocalyptic World Dominated By Machines, In The Year 3041

Horizon Forbidden West blends the feel of humanity’s earliest eras with an ultra-futuristic twist, imagining a world where early humans might have discovered coding and circuitry instead of stone tools. Like its predecessor, Horizon Zero Dawn, it boasts a sprawling, stunning open world teeming with mechanical beasts to hunt, dismantle, and conquer.

Every new machine presents a fresh challenge, requiring players to study attack patterns and pinpoint weak spots. With an incredible variety of unique machines, action game enthusiasts will find no shortage of thrilling encounters. To aid in these battles, Forbidden West equips players with an arsenal of futuristic weapons, traps, and tools. The ability to hack and control these mechanical creatures adds another layer of depth, offering new possibilities for traversal in this large world.

2 No Man’s Sky

Takes Place Millennia After Our Era, After Humans Left Earth

No Man’s Sky offers a procedurally generated universe to explore, featuring a mind-boggling 18 quintillion planets. Each planet can be landed on, explored, and even transformed into a home base, making the game a strong contender for the largest open-world environment ever created. While its scale is undeniably futuristic, the worlds themselves tend to focus on alien biomes rather than high-tech settings.

Without massive cities to discover, the game instead empowers players to build their own with its flexible construction tools. This has led to the creation of awe-inspiring player-made settlements such as Hiya City, Colossal Archive City, Rainbow City, and Sky City. The result is a universe that feels alive, constantly evolving through exploration and ingenuity.

1 NieR: Automata

Set In 11,945 AD, After A Devastating War Between Humanity & Aliens

NieR: Automata unfolds in a dystopian world thousands of years in the future, where humanity has retreated to the Moon after a catastrophic war against alien invaders. Earth is now overrun by robots, with its surface left in ruins — an apocalyptic landscape featuring crumbling cities, vast deserts, and flooded metropolises. The game excels at portraying a planet reclaimed by machines, blending haunting desolation with a unique robotic aesthetic.

Players step into the role of 2B, an android tasked with reclaiming Earth for humanity. The open world offers diverse and striking biomes, seamlessly integrated with thrilling hack-and-slash combat. Beneath the relentless action lies an emotionally gripping story, complemented by a mesmerizing soundtrack that enhances the feeling of exploring this decaying, yet strangely beautiful, world.