Open-World Games That Are Quality Over Quantity

Key Takeaways

• Open worlds with carefully crafted content elevate games to something special, beyond procedurally generated content.
• Ghost of Tsushima, Elden Ring,
  and
  Red Dead Redemption 2
  exemplify the impact of immersive details and storytelling.
• Sable
  offers a unique and combat-free open-world experience focused on exploration and character interactions.

The open-world genre is one of the most prominent in the modern gaming industry. The idea of tackling a vast fantasy landscape, rich with secrets and surprises, is enticing for a lot of fans. But, as many players know all too well, an open world is really only as strong as the content inside of it.

A lot of open-world games pad out their maps with procedurally generated quests and minor dungeons, repeating enemies and even bosses to provide more content for fans. This approach can certainly yield some very entertaining games, but developers who take the extra step of putting thought and care into the characters and quests scattered about their open worlds can elevate their games to something truly special.

10 Ghost Of Tsushima

Living Off The Land

The developers of Ghost of Tsushima put a lot of thought into their open world, even visiting the real-life island of Tsushima twice to ensure that their portrayal was faithful to the real world while still offering a compelling gameplay environment. The results speak for themselves: Ghost of Tsushima‘s game world is rich with diverse environments and settlements to explore.

Much of Ghost of Tsushima‘s charm comes from the Sucker Punch’s minimalistic approach to HUD elements. Protagonist Jin Sakai is guided on his quest by the wind itself, which blows unerringly in the direction of his next objective. Jin can also follow creatures like foxes and birds to secret spots hidden throughout the island, providing crucial immersion and keeping the focus on the beautiful design of the world itself.

9 Elden Ring

The Majesty Of The Lands Between

The world of Elden Ring is truly massive, with sprawling underground caverns and ruins expanding an already sprawling overworld. These vast environs are dotted with dungeons and caverns to entice the adventurous Tarnished, and while many of them do feature repeated boss designs and enemies, each is intricately and intentionally designed to fit in the game’s sprawling lore.

This design is especially evident in the game’s DLC, Shadow of the Erdtree, where Elden Ring’s fascinating environmental storytelling truly shines. Blackened ruins house shadowy spirits, standing as a grim testament to the horrific atrocities that took place in the Realm of Shadow. Every location and sidequest is another piece of the puzzle that is the dark, bloodstained history of Elden Ring.

8 Red Dead Redemption 2

Taming The Wild West

Rockstar’s beloved Wild West prequel spans five fictitious US states in the late 1800s, providing players with a lot of wilderness to explore. Rockstar infamously put a lot of work into the immersion and detail work of its open world, from the historical accuracy of its towns and buildings to the smallest details of mud spatter on clothes. This makes traveling through Red Dead Redemption 2 a real trip through the ages.

Amid the fantastic detail and elaborate setpieces, players will also have a deeply emotional storyline to immerse themselves in as they follow the slow decline of the Van Der Linde Gang. The game is a true modern tragedy, set in a beautifully-realized open world.

7 Sable

Coming Of Age

Sable is a very distinctive open-world game that flies in the face of some of the genre’s most prominent conventions. While most open-world games offer sprawling worlds and lengthy playtimes, Sable is much more modest, with a playtime of only about 15 hours. It’s also completely free of combat, putting the emphasis squarely on exploration.

The game doesn’t have a single, set storyline, further incentivizing exploration as players talk to various NPCs and make new discoveries. Sable‘s unique sci-fi wasteland setting is rich with life, character, and detail, making it a very high-quality journey to embark on.

6 The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Fantasy For The Ages

The Witcher 3 is one of CD Projekt Red’s greatest successes, and it’s often held up to this day as one of the paragons of the open-world genre. The game has some very rich inspirations to draw from: the book series that inspired them is a considerable international success, weaving a detailed tapestry of warfare, magic, and monsters.

The vast open world of The Witcher 3 takes full advantage of the source material’s rich mythology and Slavic folklore inspirations. The setting comes to life through a variety of engaging side quests, fleshing out the world and its history and providing numerous compelling storylines for players to immerse themselves in.

5 Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales

A Super Spin-Off

Insomniac’s Marvel’s Spider-Man titles are some of the most prominent superhero games on the market, fantastically simulating the titular heroes’ web-slinging powers and athletic fighting style. While the two main games in the series deliver some truly substantial crime-fighting adventures, Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales provides some of the best value for players in a hurry.

This spin-off game scales down the elaborate scope of the main series, focusing its action primarily on the neighborhood of Harlem. It is therefore a much smaller game than its counterparts, but it remains dense with plot, side content, and challenging encounters. The game’s reduced scope lets the developers focus on what matters most to Miles’ quest to protect his new home, avoiding the bloat that appears in most big-budget open-world games.

4 Grand Theft Auto 3

Changing The World

The Grand Theft Auto franchise is a series that needs no introduction. While the whole series has a very illustrious history, Grand Theft Auto 3 is the game that arguably started it all. This legendary title is foundational for the open-world genre, establishing most of the hallmarks that define the games to this day.

By modern standards, GTA 3‘s map is relatively small, but it’s packed with life and activities to take on. The game’s silent protagonist, Claude, finds himself deep in a twisted tale of crime and corruption that sets the standard for every game in the series to come. It takes a very special game to impact a genre to this extent, and GTA 3 unquestionably fits the bill.

A Superior Stealth Sandbox

The long and convoluted history of the Metal Gear franchise arguably peaked with Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain. This open-world adventure stars the mysterious Punished “Venom” Snake in a stealth-focused sandbox rich with targets to take out and objectives to conquer.

Versatility is the focus of Metal Gear Solid 5. The game gives fans an incredible variety of tools for infiltration and attack, ensuring that no mission will play out the same way twice. The level of game design that went into each aspect of Metal Gear Solid 5‘s open world is truly unparalleled.

2 The Legend Of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom

The Building Blocks Of Life

Tears of the Kingdom, like its predecessor Breath of the Wild, presents an expansive Hyrule with few borders and almost no limits. While the basic map is largely the same as the first game, it’s been vastly expanded by the presence of an immense underground realm that covers the entire map, as well as a wide variety of sky islands dotting Hyrule’s airspace.

Due to the new building and item fusion mechanics, player freedom in The Legend of Zelda has never been greater. Players can construct elaborate structures and fantastical vehicles to surpass just about any obstacle in their path. This incredible gameplay freedom is complimented by some of the best sidequests in the franchise, delivering emotional moments that are every bit as cathartic as bringing an incredible build idea to life.

1 Fallout: New Vegas

Raking In The Chips

Fallout: New Vegas used to be the pinnacle of the renowned RPG franchise and with good reason. The Mojave Wasteland, which serves as the game’s setting, is mired deep in conflict, and this brewing war touches every corner of the map. The game’s major factions are all making power plays in different ways, and traveling the desert gives players a first-hand look at how each government functions and who might be the best fit to rule the wastes.

In addition to the coming conflict that acts as the center of the game’s main storyline, Fallout: New Vegas is rich with side quests, each of which helps bring the setting to life. The people of the Mojave are brilliantly written, to the point that the whole setting feels truly alive, and even the most minor of errands feels like something personal and important to the NPC it’s associated with. Fallout: New Vegas is the gold standard of high-quality open-world games, and is definitely not to be missed.