Open-world games allow players a sense of total freedom, with developers creating expansive environments that beg to be explored. In these worlds, gamers will find themselves naturally wandering off the beaten path, potentially ignoring their mission marker for hours just to see where that tunnel might lead. There are usually countless collectibles and hidden items to discover, along with a number of perfectly crafted side quests and characters who need the player’s help.
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The Biggest Open World Games Based On The Size Of Their Maps
When it comes to open world games, more map means more places to explore, and these are the 10 games with the biggest maps of all.
Whilst much of this content is completely optional, its completion can make an experience with a great game even greater. Helpfully, the Nintendo Switch catalog offers plenty of worlds to escape into, offering hours upon hours of quality, optional content perfect for gaming sessions at home and on the go.
10
Immortals Fenyx Rising
A World Of Gods And Greek Legends
- Released
-
December 3, 2020
- OpenCritic Rating
-
Strong
- Franchise
-
Immortals Fenyx Rising
With a densely packed world inspired by Greek mythology, Immortals Fenyx Rising encourages free exploration from the get-go, giving players all the tools to explore and navigate its various hills, valleys, and islands moments after creating their character.
As players traverse
the beautifully decorated “Golden Isles” and its seven distinct subsections , they’ll come across plenty of puzzles and vaults, each offering different items and armor sets to collect. Alongside the quests received from Greek gods, there are also plenty of engaging hidden quests to discover, offering lessons in ancient mythology that shouldn’t be missed.
9
A Short Hike
Run And Fly Around A Pixel-Art World
- Released
-
April 5, 2019
- Developer(s)
-
Adam Robinson-Yu
- OpenCritic Rating
-
Mighty
A Short Hike is definitely one of the shorter games on this list, its explorable environment of the optional content it offers up would put a smile on anyone’s face. Playing as a small bird named Claire, players are tasked with climbing to the mountain’s peak, but the game’s best content comes from its smaller slice-of-life moments.
There are
plenty of awesome things to do whilst completing tasks for townsfolk such as putting out fires and playing beach volleyball. Across the brightly-colored island, players can also find collectibles such as sprouts and fish, along with golden feathers that enhance Claire’s flight abilities and make her soar around its charming game world.
8
Subnautica
Getting Lost In The Open Ocean
Survival
Horror
Open-World
Science Fiction
- Released
-
January 23, 2018
- OpenCritic Rating
-
Mighty
Set on a strange alien world, Subnautica crash-lands the player in the middle of a vast, explorable ocean with the simple task of repairing the ship and returning home. With no map to aid the journey, the player’s innate curiosity leads the exploration as they find wrecked ships, resources, and
monstrous creatures such as Reapers and Leviathans.
As a survival game, much of its optional content comes from self-led goals, such as the completion of the PDA databank or attaining the game’s most advanced equipment, offering countless hours of polished survival gameplay and exploration around the depths of this terrifying body of water.
7
Pokemon Legends: Arceus
Get The Pokédex At The Ready!
- Released
-
January 28, 2022
- OpenCritic Rating
-
Mighty
As one of the series’ more recent additions, Pokemon Legends: Arceus updates the tried-and-tested RPG formula to fit the open-world model, this time taking fans back in time to the fully-explorable Hisui region.
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Between its different zones and biomes, players will find Pokemon roaming freely in the wild, and much like any other entry, it proves difficult for players to not find themselves wanting to fill the Pokédex with all 242 of them. Besides this and the main questline, there are many small tasks and requests to complete via request boards and NPC interactions, making for one of the franchise’s best games in recent memory.
6
No Man’s Sky
Exploring Procedurally Generated Planets
Adventure
Action
Survival
- Released
-
August 9, 2016
- OpenCritic Rating
-
Fair
Despite a rocky original launch, No Man’s Sky has proven itself with one of the largest explorable maps in gaming history, hosting a number of different procedurally generated planets, galaxies, and star systems for the player to explore.
Throughout the game, players will be encouraged to discover new species, attain new materials, and follow a number of engaging optional quest lines and expeditions,
many of which have been added via massive expansion updates from the developers . With the additions of gameplay mechanics like base building and space combat, No Man’s Sky offers hours of content for those wanting an adventure into the stars.
5
Xenoblade Chronicles 3
An Epic Sci-Fi World
- Released
-
July 29, 2022
- OpenCritic Rating
-
Mighty
Set on the war-torn planet of Aionios, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 boasts a large open world filled with impressive natural vistas and combat opportunities for players to experience. As with any JRPG, the main party of characters can be upgraded with the items players can receive from side quests or hidden around the game world.
There is even
the exciting opportunity to add heroes to the party by completing the various optional side quests unlocked as the player explores and liberates Aionios’ various colonies, giving clear progressional reasons to explore and interact with its world.
Quests Galore For The Dragonborn
Skyrim
- Released
-
November 11, 2011
Thanks in large part to its polished RPG elements, Skyrim encourages the player to sidequest to their heart’s content. Almost every quest objective receives in the game is completely optional and can be completed or ignored in any order players desire, offering a flexible and free gaming experience.
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What is Skyrim’s Best Progression Route?
Skyrim’s vast world and freedom of choice can be overwhelming, but taking a certain route can cut down complications and make progression easier.
As these quests offer upgrades to major skills and new equipment to match any playstyle, these side quests will naturally act as the bulk of the player’s experience, meaning that playtime can fall anywhere between 20 and 200 hours. At points, it’s easy to be so engaged that players forget about the main objective entirely, making for an exciting and constantly changing game loop.
3
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Slay Monsters Across This Expansive World
- Released
-
May 19, 2015
- OpenCritic Rating
-
Mighty
Hailed by many as CD Projekt Red’s magnum opus, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt boasts an impressively detailed fantasy environment for the player to explore, putting them in the shoes of legendary monster-hunter Geralt of Rivia.
Split into four regions, the map holds an impressive quantity of optional side quests and objectives like monster contracts, allowing for more time with its combat system whilst potentially affecting the ending of the main questline. In various villages and towns, there’s the oppurtunity to find and interact with NPCs, shops, and
optional minigames like Gwent , giving players plenty of welcome distractions as they travel across the Continent.
2
Minecraft
The Options Are Endless!
- Platform(s)
-
3DS, Android, iOS, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Wii U, PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PS Vita, Xbox One, Xbox 360
- Released
-
November 18, 2011
- OpenCritic Rating
-
Mighty
Minecraft needs no introduction and has been offering players the complete freedom to play in whatever way they like since its original release in 2011. Each open-world seed is procedurally generated, creating player experiences and discoveries that are unique to them, and the addition of content like new biomes, mobs, and structures has only given players more exciting ways of playing.
Players are encouraged to work towards their own goals, whether that be obtaining fully enchanted armor sets, defeating mini-bosses like the Wither, or
designing their dream mansion. It’s the best-selling game of all time for a reason.
1
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Saving Hyrule One Quest At A Time
- Released
-
May 12, 2023
- Developer(s)
-
Nintendo
- OpenCritic Rating
-
Mighty
Of course, this list wouldn’t be complete without Tears of the Kingdom, which somehow improves upon every aspect of the already flawless Breath of the Wild. Through its open world of Hyrule and the addition of two equally large areas, the Sky Islands and the Depths, the game boasts
a staggering number of optional tasks for players to indulge in.
Things like side quests, puzzle shrines, and collectible items (e.g. weapons, currency, even Link’s costumes from previous games) are littered in every corner of the world, giving the player countless hours of exciting exploration and an adventure they won’t soon forget.
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9 Great Open-World Games That Run Well On The Nintendo Switch
When looking to play on the Nintendo Switch, the following open-world titles run quite well.
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