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The Assassin's Creed franchise might not have been the pioneer of the open-world genre but players would be remiss to not acknowledge the impact it has had on the genre. The series has spawned 12 mainline entries at this point and has been responsible to a great extent for the type of open-world games in the AAA space today, for better and worse.
While some players appreciate the checklist-style grind structure of the games, it has become extremely repetitive and bland to many. However, there is still a lot of value in that style of the open-world game.
Here we take a look at some of the best open-world games in a similar vein to the Assassin's Creed series.
5 best open-world games like Assassin's Creed
5) Dying Light
Dying Light might not have been the game on everyone's radar during the time of its release but it has developed a solid fanbase since. The sequel is slated to arrive very soon and it is bound to be a giant launch given how successful the original has become in 2020.
Dying Light is an exciting first-person zombie shooter with an added focus on parkour traversal and an extremely inventive day-night cycle that affects gameplay. While the story is arguably the weakest aspect of Dying Light, it does a decent enough job at motivating the player to push and complete objectives.
The game is one of the most underrated open-world titles and deserves more attention.
4) Middle-Earth: Shadow of War
The Middle Earth franchise made a huge impact with the original and instantly established itself as a fresh, new contender in the open-world arena. The game utilizes an inventive gameplay mechanic, The Nemesis System, which provides the backbone of why Shadow of War is as engaging as it is.
The Nemesis System is essentially a progression system that keeps track of the player's relationships with various members of the Orc army. Each battle will send a ripple effect through the ranks causing some Orcs to be demoted while others take their place.
This forms an extremely enjoyable gameplay loop that never ceases to engage the player with its intricacies.
3) Horizon Zero Dawn
Horizon Zero Dawn was one of the first Sony first-party titles for the PS4 and would go on to set the tone for the rest of the first-party titles that followed. The game is an excellent open-world title that utilizes several cool combat mechanics and forms an endlessly engaging gameplay loop.
The game's strength, in addition to really fun combat, lies in its story and lore. Horizon Zero Dawn has some of the best world-building ever seen in gaming. The world of Horizon Zero Dawn is fascinating from end to end and players will spend hours taking in the sights and reading up lore to know more about the world.
Horizon Zero Dawn grips the player right from the start with an excellent opening and holds their attention with interesting set-pieces.
2) The Witcher 3
If one were to look at Assassin's Creed's timeline, they would spot a shift post-2015 towards a more RPG-like structure. A big reason for this was the acclaim received by The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt. The game was renowned for its brilliant open-world RPG structure and won accolades as well as love from players worldwide.
CD Projekt Red's magnum opus delivered an open-world experience that was full of rich content and meaningful quest lines that simply never became repetitive. The writing of the game was presented well and feels genuinely emotional and impactful.
The Witcher 3 is the very pinnacle of western RPGs and possibly the most influential game of the past decade.
1) Ghost of Tsushima
Ghost of Tsushima, although inventive, feels extremely familiar to fans of the older style of Assassin's Creed. Players have a decent sized map that feels just right with areas to liberate through set objectives and tasks.
The reason why Ghost of Tsushima works incredibly well boils down to its deep, engaging, and satisfying combat mechanic that always feels just the right amount of challenging. The cinematic value of the game is also extremely high with well-directed cutscenes as well as deliberate camera movements during combat.
The story is satisfying and provides a good sense of the dilemma that the main protagonist Jin Sakai goes through. Ghost of Tsushima is also helped by the fact that it might just be one of the best-looking games in the history of gaming.
