The Best Open-World FPS Games, Ranked

Key Takeaways

• Mixing FPS gameplay with open-world environments is a recipe for success in gaming.
• Older games like STALKER and Far Cry 3 set high standards for the future.
• Notable open-world FPS games like Cyberpunk 2077 and GTA 5 remain iconic.

If there are two things that a lot of gamers seem to love, they are FPS games and open-world games. First-person shooters like Call of Duty top bestseller lists every year, and some of the biggest franchises in gaming are open-world ones.

So, it’s no surprise, then, that mixing the two genres together is often a recipe for success. Some of the best open-world games of all time are FPS games, after all. In fact, there are so many awesome open-world FPS games that it can be hard to choose one, especially since they can take so long to complete. To avoid personal bias, they’re ranked by their review aggregates, but it’ll also be pointed out if these scores were a bit controversial.

Updated on November 4, 2024, By Robbie Mitchell: Originally, the list was only limited to “true” open-world games and ignored those with “zoned” open-worlds, like Borderlands. The list has been updated to include some games that feel open-world even if they make use of zones (loading screens aren’t that bad). A couple of games that can be played in first-person have also been added in, although it’s not the default option. All entries maintain an emphasis on the shooter part of a first-person shooter.

13 Rage 2

A Great Looking Open-World And Excellent Gunplay Make Up For The Games Flaws

There was a lot of hype surrounding Rage 2 before its 2019 release. The original Rage had become somewhat of a cult classic, loved for its impressive world-building and tight gunplay. Fans went crazy for the idea of a bigger, better, open-world version.

Unfortunately, Rage 2 was a bit of a disappointment. It was by no means a bad game, it just lacked the depth and longevity fans had come to expect. Beware of the hype train. However, in hindsight, Rage 2 is a pretty slick open-world FPS. While lots of open-world games take themselves a bit too seriously these days, Rage 2 is an excellent switch-your-brain-off FPS with exhilarating FPS gunplay and very pretty graphics. It’s 73 on Metacritic feels both a little mean and, conversely, completely fair.

12 Dying Light

Brutal First-Person Zombie Killing, Awesome Parkour Movement, And An Authentic Feeling of Open-World

Looking back, it’s kind of amazing Dying Light’s Metacritic score is only a modest 74. As an open-world FPS survival horror game with a focus on parkour, Dying Light was pretty revolutionary. Except perhaps for Mirror’s Edge, there had never really been a game like it before.

Killing zombies was a lot of fun in Dying Light, and it’s still one of the best co-op zombie games. By the end of the game’s lifecycle, it had a truly insane number of weapons to squish zombies with, including a few guns. Dying Light’s gunplay was always pretty simple, and the guns themselves were limited in choice, but head-shotting a zombie always felt great. Gamers looking for a pure FPS experience might want to look elsewhere, but for everyone else, Dying Light is an awesome choice.

11 STALKER: Shadow Of Chernobyl

An Iconic FPS Survival Horror Classic That Revolutionized The Genre

The older STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl becomes, the more impressive it gets. One of the best alternative history FPS games, the game is set in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, except in STALKER’s version, which has mutated monstrosities. The game blends survival horror with open-world FPS gameplay and features a world designed to feel dynamically alive.

In STALKER, resources are scarce, and the player must plan for every eventuality. The story is non-linear and rewards players who explore and dare to make tough decisions. While the actual FPS shooting feels simplistic by today’s standards, everything else about the game remains incredibly impressive (except perhaps its graphics). The only real downside to the game is that trying to get it to run on modern hardware is no easy task.

10 No Man’s Sky

Forget About An Open-World, This Is An Open-Universe FPS

Next to Cyberpunk 2077, No Man’s Sky is probably the biggest redemption story in the history of gaming. Hyped to ridiculous levels before its 2016 release, its developers over-promised a procedurally generated, dynamic universe that players could explore and interact with at will. Instead, what they got was more like a walking simulator crossed with a knockoff of Minecraft. While the original release was more than a little disappointing, years of updates have turned No Man’s Sky into something exceedingly special.

The game has so many systems at this point it’s hard to keep track of, but FPS gunplay is certainly one of them. FPS combat has never been a focus of the game, but it is there, and the originally basic gunplay has been expanded. Players can build their own weapons, and hunt, and kill an endless variety of enemies. They can even hop into a mech loaded with firearms. That being said, No Man’s Sky’s focus is definitely on the exploration and open-world side of things.

9 Starfield

An Ambitious Game That Didn’t Quite Live Up To The Hype But Is Still Plenty Of Fun

Some readers might take issue with Starfield being ranked quite so highly here. It’s easy to see why. There was a lot of hype surrounding the game before release, and Bethesda fans could barely hide their excitement, but sadly, many found the game more than a little disappointing. While gamers could overlook the usual Bethesda bugs, the sad truth was the game’s world failed to live up to the likes of Skyrim and Fallout.

Starfield promises a whole galaxy to explore, but that galaxy is heavily zoned. Even for a Bethesda game, it has a lot of loading screens. It also features a lot of obvious procedural generation (imagine a Fallout where every other structure was an identical Red Rocket). These complaints aside, the game has moments where it achieves what the developers were aiming for. The first-person shooting is the best the studio has achieved, and, in its more structured sections, the world-building is just as good as its siblings. Bethesda seems to have realized this and the recent Shattered Space expansion offered a more traditional Bethesda open-world experience.

8 The Outer Worlds

A Spacefaring Adventure Where Every Decision Counts

Like Starfield, The Outer Worlds is a heavily zoned space-faring game that tries to feel open-world. The difference is that The Outer Worlds was less ambitious and therefore much more successful in achieving this goal. Inspired by old-school Fallout, the game is made up of several zones, each with an open-world structure where the player is free to explore and take on side quests at their own speed.

Obsidian has a serious pedigree when it comes to world-building, and that’s on show here. Likewise, the decision-based quests do an excellent job of making it feel like the player’s choices actually matter. On the downside, the actual first-person gunplay is just ok. The Outer Worlds is an RPG first, shooter second and that shows in the gameplay.

7 Cyberpunk 2077

Epic Moment To Moment Gameplay, Gorgeous Visuals, And An Entertaining Story

Cyberpunk 2077 was released in a shockingly broken state, especially on consoles, and it’s only after years of updates that its immense potential has finally been realized. Today, it is one of the best-looking open-world games ever made and arguably one of the most fun. That 2.0 update did a lot of heavy lifting.

Not just pretty to look at, Cyberpunk 2077 has a brilliant, choice-laden story that offers a fair bit of replayability. Its open world is fairly massive and packed to the gills with hidden content, side quests, and activities for the player to hunt down and complete. While many games of a similar size eventually outstay their welcome, Cyberpunk remains fun in its entirety. That’s largely down to the epic moment-to-moment gameplay. Cyberpunk offers a ton of different ways to play, but whatever the player chooses, guns are likely to still play a role. Cyberpunk’s FPS gunplay is gory, over-the-top, and lots of fun.

6 Fallout 4

A Classic Bethesda Open-World With Decent Gunplay But Slightly Simplified RPG Elements

Some Fallout fans may be upset to see Fallout 4 here instead of either Fallout 3 or New Vegas. After all, there’s a strong argument to be made that either option is both a better open-world and a better Fallout game. However, there’s one area in which Fallout 4 is undeniably better than its siblings – the FPS gameplay.

Fallout 4’s RPG elements might have been watered down to make it more accessible, and its story might be a little dull, but it has the best combat of any Fallout game. It actually feels like a proper first-person shooter, and aiming guns in Fallout 4 feels surprisingly good. Plus, VATS never gets old. Fallout 4 is also a great open-world game with lots to see and do and the franchise’s trademark sense of style and world-building. It may not be the best Fallout game, but it’s a very good open-world FPS.

5 Halo Infinite

The Halo Gameplay Fans Expect Set In A Beautiful Open-World Setting

When Halo Infinite was first announced, some fans were rightly concerned. For years, Halo had been a level-based franchise that emphasized top-of-the-class FPS gunplay. There were concerns that its gameplay wouldn’t translate well to an open world and that its excellent combat would suffer. They needn’t have worried.

While the game ended up being controversial with fans for plenty of reasons, its single-player campaign has never really been one of them. 343 Industries nailed Halo Infinite’s open world while still remembering what Halo fans really want. The open world was designed with one thing in mind – combat. Exploration in Halo Infinite comes second to shooting aliens and completing missions, and that’s how it should be. While most open-world FPS games tend to emphasize the open-world aspect, Halo Infinite is all about the FPS.

4 Far Cry 3

A Classic Open-Word FPS That’s Still Hard To Beat

Far Cry 3 is one of the most influential open-world games ever made. There had obviously been open-world FPS games before it, but Far Cry 3 quickly became the gold standard. Despite later games improving on bits and pieces of its formula, many fans still consider Far Cry 3 to be the best Far Cry game.

That’s because Far Cry 3 has the whole package. Its open world is dynamic and feels like a true sandbox. Enemies react convincingly to the player, the map is huge, and there are always multiple ways to complete any objective. The story’s also a hoot and stars one of gaming’s most iconic villains, Vaas. The FPS gameplay was much improved from earlier Far Cry games, and both stealth and combat felt not just viable but fun. Play any open-world FPS today, and Far Cry 3’s DNA is sure to be all over it.

3 Borderlands 2

The Grandfather Of the Looter Shooter Genre That’s Still A Blast To Play

Borderlands 2 might technically be a zoned game, but it feels open-world in spirit. Compared to Borderlands 3, which had the player jump to locations from a spaceship, Borderlands 2′s map mostly felt interconnected. As if it were possible to trek from one end of the game to another, even if it would be via dozens of loading screens.

Borderlands 2 is one of the best looter-shooters ever made. Its first-person gunplay is still considered best in class for the genre and its writing is hilarious. Compared to the original, it has a heightened focus on storytelling and world-building but never at the cost of gameplay. For many, it’s where the series peaked. Its world may not be as interactive as some on this list (shoot this, press a button next to that) but there’s no denying the game’s excellence. Let’s hope the upcoming Borderlands 4 can match it.

2 Red Dead Redemption 2

One Of The Most Eye-Watering Open-Worlds In Gaming

Red Dead Redemption 2 comes in at joined first place score-wise with GTA 5 and is arguably the better game in some ways but gets second place on this list for one reason. Both games are third-person by default with first-person options, but the mode just feels better in GTA 5. For the purposes of this list that means RDR2 has to come second.

First-person in RDR2 isn’t bad by any means, but it very much feels like an afterthought. As if, since it was included in GTA 5 Rockstar felt they had to include it here. Playing in first-person means missing many of the game’s brilliant animations and just feels weird. The game’s already rather slow-feeling combat also doesn’t benefit from the perspective. These justifications aside, Red Dead Redemption 2 is an infamously amazing game. Its world design is nothing short of epic and few other games are so jam-packed with secrets. The highlight, of course, is the story which is as tragic as it is entertaining and is video game storytelling at its peak.

1 Grand Theft Auto 5

As Immersive As Open-World Gets, Especially In First Person

While the original PS3 and Xbox 360 releases of Grand Theft Auto 5 were in third-person perspective only, subsequent releases have given the player the option of playing completely in first-person. Doing so shines a whole new light on this aging masterpiece and really highlights just how detailed its world is.

Is first-person the best way to play the entirety of Grand Theft Auto 5? Probably not. However, it does make the game’s combat feel much more immersive and adds a nice level of realism to the driving. Grand Theft Auto 5 has the best combat in the series, and it translates well to the FPS viewpoint. The game’s world is still fun to explore or just drive around in, and its story holds up as well. GTA 5 remains one of the best open-world games ever made.