The Best Open-World Games With Very Little Backtracking

The open-world genre comes with a lot of benefits, but it also makes for some very time-consuming games. Open worlds in video games are usually only as good as the things players can do in them, and if a given open-world game requires a lot of backtracking and repetition, it can start to feel stale pretty fast.

Related

7 Best Open-World Games With Espionage Elements, Ranked

Open-world games are great regardless of the topics they cover. Here are some titles in the genre that have a few espionage elements.

The best open-world games are constantly offering fans new discoveries and things to explore. With new adventures around every corner, these open-world games offer the best, freshest experiences, with very little backtracking involved.

10

Ghost Of Tsushima

Wandering The Island

Systems

Released

July 17, 2020

ESRB

M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Language, Partial Nudity

The illustrious island of Tsushima is full of discoveries, from hot springs to shrines to standoffs with some of the island’s fiercest swordsmen. Players can wander freely in search of things to do, and Sucker Punch has made sure that they will be richly rewarded at just about every turn.

Some side goals or treasure hunts might encourage players to re-tread familiar ground, but the game’s main narrative is good at keeping things moving forward. The map in Ghost of Tsushima is split into three regions, and the game’s three acts each take place in a different one of these zones, meaning fans who are focused on their goal of liberating the island will keep moving forward throughout the game’s narrative.

9

Cyberpunk 2077

Life In Night City Never Stops

Released

December 10, 2020

ESRB

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

In spite of its tumultuous launch, Cyberpunk 2077 has a lot to offer fans. The expansive, glittering dystopia of Night City is a vibrant open world full of danger and opportunity. On their quest to remove the damaged neural chip from V’s brain, players will find themselves traveling to every corner of this twisted city.

The game’s various quests and missions keep fans moving throughout the city and prevent any part of it from becoming too familiar. There are houses players can invest in and return to when they need a break from the action, but aside from visits home, Cyberpunk 2077 will keep them moving forward throughout its lengthy campaign.

8

Red Dead Redemption 2

Life On The Trail

Released

October 26, 2018

ESRB

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

The world of Red Dead Redemption 2 is rich with detail and realism. Players can easily lose hours getting lost in the stunning, intricate landscapes Rockstar has created for this tragic outlaw tale.

Related

27 Pro Tips For Red Dead Redemption 2 You Should Know

Red Dead Redemption 2 is massive and filled with all sorts of dangers. These tips can be used to survive the storyline and more.

As Arthur Morgan and the Van Der Linde Gang roam the West in search of money and the means to survive, new opportunities and powerful new story moments will present themselves, forcing the gang and players alike into desperate situations and making the inevitably tragic end of the tale inescapable despite the vast size of the world.

7

No Man’s Sky

An Endless Galaxy

Adventure

Action

Survival

Released

August 9, 2016

ESRB

T for Teen: Fantasy Violence, Animated Blood

No Man’s Sky‘s endless, procedurally generated universe is a remarkable feat of game creation, giving players a functionally limitless supply of planets to explore. As fans journey through the stars, they’ll acquire more powerful ships and planetary vehicles to enhance their explorations.

Due to the immense scope of No Man’s Sky‘s galaxy, backtracking is not only rare, it’s extremely difficult. If players don’t take care to mark sites of interest, they’ll be virtually impossible to find again. Space station portals allow easy transit back to previously-visited solar systems, and players can build bases that they can return to and improve over time, but in order to learn the secrets of No Man’s Sky‘s universe, they’ll need to push ever farther.

6

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2

New York Swing

Open-World

Action-Adventure

Superhero

Systems

Released

October 20, 2023

ESRB

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

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 expands the scope of New York City, giving the two Spider-Men more neighborhoods to explore and to protect from crime. These neighborhoods are rich with sidequests and activities to tackle, all while Peter and Miles deal with the growing threat of Kraven and the mysterious Symbiote.

As with many open-world games, players can fast-travel wherever they want and take on side quests virtually whenever they’d like. However, the game’s plot keeps moving things forward, to the point that the physical state of the map is altered based on what’s going on in the main story.

5

Grand Theft Auto 5

A World Of Crime

Released

September 17, 2013

ESRB

M For Mature 17+ due to Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Mature Humor, Nudity, Strong Language, Strong Sexual Content, Use of Drugs and Alcohol

The legendary Grand Theft Auto 5 revolutionized the open-world genre in a lot of ways, and the immersive setting of Los Santos is now one of the most iconic open-world settings of all time. The game’s sweeping tale of crime and power plays out across this map, giving players ample opportunity to familiarize themselves with every corner of the world.

GTA 5‘s three protagonists each follow their own paths through Los Santos, ensuring that no matter whose shoes the player fills, they’re always pushing forward and discovering new opportunities for crime and profit. The game’s online component gives players even more opportunities to explore the world and tell their own stories in Los Santos.

4

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

A Desperate Search

Released

May 19, 2015

ESRB

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

The Witcher 3 played a major part in putting the Witcher franchise on the map, and its illustrious open world is a huge reason for its success. The game’s various side quests and challenges are held up as some of the best in the business, and the title is populated with more than enough content to keep fans invested the whole way through.

Since the title’s main storyline hinges on a quest to track down a major character, players are urged to progress through the story the whole way through, given the time-sensitive nature of Geralt’s quest. Since regions are balanced to be level-appropriate, there’s very little reason to go back to areas the player once visited, ensuring a legendary quest that is consistently fresh and engaging.

3

Minecraft

Endless Cubes

Released

November 18, 2011

ESRB

E10+ For Everyone 10+ Due To Fantasy Violence

The legendary Minecraft features a virtually endless world for fans to explore, procedurally generated and rich with structures and dungeons to discover. With constant updates adding new biomes, creatures, and challenges, players can get countless hours of fun out of this iconic title.

Related

Minecraft: 14 Rarest Mob Variants

Players should grab a screenshot when they see one of these rare mob variants in Minecraft.

Minecraft eschews traditional narratives and storylines, letting players set their own goals. There are bosses to pursue and rare endgame dungeons to track down, but players can just easily decide on their own arbitrary goal and pursue it, setting out across the endless realm in search of whatever quest they see fit.

2

Elden Ring

Rescuing The Lands Between

Released

February 25, 2022

ESRB

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

FromSoftware’s first open-world Soulslike scatters the towering bosses and devious foes fans are used to across a truly immense fantasy realm, with numerous dungeons and caves to explore and multiple underground cities to delve. While Elden Ring’s bosses are as difficult and uncompromising as ever, the open world gives fans plenty of freedom to level up in order to face them.

In true FromSoft fashion, enemies in a given region have a set difficulty, and players who try to visit them early will have a major challenge ahead of them. This means fans who want the best chance of survival will need to work through the game carefully in order to level up, and once they’ve done so, there’s little reason to return to lower-level zones. Fans must constantly push themselves to survive in this unforgiving landscape.

1

Fallout: New Vegas

Pushing Your Luck

Released

October 19, 2010

ESRB

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

Obsidian’s cult classic Fallout: New Vegas puts players in the immersive realm of the Mojave Wasteland, where multiple factions vie for control and prepare for a decisive battle. The protagonist’s seemingly simple quest to get revenge for being shot in the head puts them right in the middle of this power struggle, forcing them to pick sides and make alliances to survive.

As the Courier becomes more of a power player in the Mojave, they’ll increase in strength and power, letting them take on increasingly deadly threats. By the end of the game, the early zones where they recuperated from their head wound hold little value for them other than nostalgia, and the allure of the late-game areas is far more appealing.

3:37

More

8 Best Open-World Games With A Focus On Ship And Pirate Exploration

For those searching for open-world video games that focus on ship and pirate-like exploration, these games should be the first stop.