Open-world games have come a long way since their inception, allowing us more exploration and flexibility in how we approach goals, but which ones have it all? What is the finest open-world, what are the best difficulties, what is the best story, what are the best characters? IWMBUZZ squabble to compile a list of the top open-world games, evaluating how well they allow us to get lost inside a universe, take over opponent outposts, and find ludicrous ways to outrun adversaries.
Elden Ring
Elden Ring is among the decade’s finest daring and pioneering open-world games, allowing players to forge their own course without even being steered by an infinite sequence of map markings, checkpoints, and meaningless side quests. The landscape of The Lands Between is not only massive, but it’s also densely packed with caves and tombs to explore, roving boss encounters to defeat, precious artifacts to unearth, and a slew of other obstacles to face.
Red Dead Redemption 2
The fact that Red Dead Redemption 2 lets you carry out the story of a fictionalized cowboy titled Arthur Morgan is purposeful. Morgan’s story is written, but the beauty of Red Dead Redemption 2 is how its broad universe allows players to fill it with valuable experiences owing to its painstakingly built world.
Grand Theft Auto 5
Grand Theft Auto V’s reputation and impact have remained strong in the industry, serving as a fitting send-off to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 era of gaming. Grand Theft Auto V more than lives up to its reputation as a magnificent effort, thanks to its triple-protagonist structure, which provides a gripping overall narrative that keeps you committed until the conclusion. Los Santos is teeming with life, interesting locations to visit, and an enormous lot to do both in the narrative and in GTA Online, and the impressiveness of its open environment cannot be overstated.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Even though it came out in the same year as the other titles on this list, The Witcher 3 created a new standard for open-world games that is still being referred to today, seven years later. Every area of The Continent is exploding with monsters to slaughter, mysteries to discover, and are plenty of hours of side missions that feel just as clearly laid out and impactful as its storyline, from the barren hills of Velen to the heart of downtown of Novigrad or the lush vegetation fields of Blood & Wine’s Toussaint.
Breath of the Wild (The Legend of Zelda)
Breath of the Wild is the final realization of the Zelda series’ vision, a blueprint first laid out on the NES. Simply said, Breath of the Wild is the game we envisioned ourselves enjoying all those years previously. The mental images we had were instantly made three-dimensional, completely explorable, and eternally replayable, thanks to the art in the user guide.
