The Best Open-World Games With Parkour Abilities

Parkour abilities have been featured in countless games over the years. The ability to run and jump from building to building and climb the tallest structures are things that most players really enjoy. Open-world games allow players to roam around and explore vast areas with no restrictions. By adding parkour elements, players can really test the boundaries of a game and maybe even find a secret or two along the way.

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From Assassin’s Creed to Dying Light, there is no shortage of open-world games that allow players to climb almost every structure. This article will go over a handful of open-world games with some pretty interesting parkour features. It’s worth noting that each video game series will only have one game mentioned on this list, otherwise this list would end up being mostly made up of Assassin’s Creed games, and no one wants that.

8

Honorable Mention: Mirror’s Edge: Catalyst

Takes The Iconic Mirror’s Edge Parkour Into A Semi-Open World

Action-Adventure

Adventure

Platformer

Released

April 22, 2016

ESRB

t

Mirror’s Edge: Catalyst deserves an honorable mention. The game features some impressively smooth parkour abilities. Unfortunately, it isn’t a true open-world game. Instead, there are some areas where players can roam freely, while the rest of the game is pretty linear. Despite it not being a fully open-world game, the parkour features are very well-made. With a bit of practice, players can glide smoothly over obstacles, run along walls, scramble across rooftops, and climb various structures with ease.

7

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2

Has Some Of The Easiest Parkour Features To Learn

Open-World

Action-Adventure

Superhero

Systems

Released

October 20, 2023

ESRB

T For Teen Due To Blood, Drug Reference, Mild Language, Violence

Free running is much easier when the player can shoot out a web to prevent themselves from falling. While Marvel’s Spider-Man 2’s parkour mechanics are very easy to master, it doesn’t take away from the fun of swinging from building to building and exploring the city.

The game did receive some backlash over its rather repetitive play and lack of details, but it’s hard to dismiss its parkour features. Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 has lots of hidden collectibles for players to find, most of which can only be found in obscure and high-up places. Also, even without doing any missions, simply leaping from building to building can be a lot of fun.

6

Watch Dogs 2

Great Graphics And Great Parkour Abilities

Open-World

Action

Adventure

Released

November 15, 2016

ESRB

M for Mature: Blood, Intense Violence, Nudity, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Use of Drugs

Despite being released in 2016, Watch Dogs 2’s graphics still hold up well today. The world is vast, and players can travel across the map either on foot or in a vehicle. However, climbing on top and over buildings is one of the more fun ways to get around the map.

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Unfortunately, there are some limitations around parkour. Also, after a while, the moves do get a little repetitive. Also, unlike many of the other entries on this list, not every building can be climbed. That said, overall, there are enough things to climb and hop over to satisfy most players’ parkour inclinations.

5

Assassin’s Creed Unity

Explore Paris From Above

Released

November 11, 2014

ESRB

M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Use of Alcohol

At the time of writing, there are thirteen main Assassin’s Creed games and a handful of spin-offs, most of which allow players to climb almost every structure in their worlds. Each game has a slightly different feel when it comes to parkour abilities.

That said, Assassin’s Creed Unity is often quoted as the best Assassin’s Creed game for parkour fans. While the game did have its issues at launch, it has come a long way since then. Players can explore the city of 1700s Paris and soak in the incredible views from the tops of the tallest buildings.

4

Dying Light 2 Stay Human

A Healthy Mix Of Parkour And Zombies

Action

RPG

Survival Horror

Released

February 4, 2022

ESRB

M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language, Suggestive Themes

Released in 2022, Dying Light 2 Stay Human greatly expands on the parkour abilities available in the series’ first game. The game has a pretty advanced parkour system that allows players to build up their skills over time. It’s almost impossible to survive in Dying Light without jumping from roof to roof, especially at night.

The developers did a great job of creating a detailed parkour system that is easy to learn but difficult to master. With a bit of practice, it’s possible to combine parkour and attacks to unleash devastating assaults on unsuspecting zombies.

3

Cyperpunk 2077

Use Parkour Abilities To Take Down Enemies

Released

December 10, 2020

ESRB

M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Nudity, Strong Language, Strong Sexual Content, Use of Drugs and Alcohol

The world of Cyberpunk 2077 is a big one. While the game got off to a bumpy start, CD Projekt Red managed to fix many of the bugs and turn the reviews from largely negative to very positive pretty quickly.

As for parkour features, players can incorporate parkour into their attacks and use it to scale buildings. By utilizing this feature, players can quite literally get the drop on enemies. While the game’s parkour features aren’t as detailed as some of the other entries on this list, they do make for an entertaining gameplay experience.

2

inFAMOUS 2

Superpowers And Parkour Rolled Into One

Systems

Released

June 7, 2011

ESRB

T For Teen due to Blood, Drug Reference, Language, Sexual Themes, Use of Alcohol, Violence

There are three main Infamous games out there. However, out of the three, inFAMOUS 2 is seen as the best in terms of its parkour features. With flips, jumps, and electrical blasts, the borderline God-like abilities that players have access to in this game are impressive.

Players will need to decide whether they want to use their powers for good or evil, but no matter the path they take, the parkour features are fun and overpowered, and they give players plenty of freedom.

1

Middle-Earth: Shadow Of Mordor

A Huge Open World To Explore And Plenty Of Structures To Climb

Released

September 30, 2014

ESRB

M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence

Released in 2014, Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor still holds up pretty well today. Players can sneak their way around enemies to take them by surprise, climb incredibly tall structures to peer down on surrounding areas, and perform some pretty impressive stealth kills.

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Players can climb almost everything in sight, making the whole map one huge parkour playground. The parkour aspects of this game are some of its best features. Players can jump/vault over most in-game obstacles, climb along the edges of cliffs, and dive from above to perform deadly attacks on the foes down below.

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More RPGs Should Have Parkour Like Avowed

I can’t remember the last time I played a Skyrim-like RPG that had such fluid traversal mechanics as Avowed does. Sure, calling sprinting and mantling over objects “parkour” might be a bit of a stretch, but I truly do appreciate how smooth movement in this game feels, especially since so many of its magic items are hidden off the beaten path.