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Open-world games allow players to immerse themselves in creatively designed fantasy worlds for countless hours. There is no rush to complete a set storyline, and it is this freedom to explore at one's own pace that makes open-world games a standalone genre.
Players around the world spend countless hours immersing themselves in some of the richest open-world games ever created.
Every year, newer, bigger, and more captivating open-world games are released, leaving gamers spoilt for choice. It’s an endless conveyor belt of grander releases that players can enjoy for days without getting bored.
Open-world games are now moving beyond the storyline, and deep exploration has become a key element of the genre.
5 massive open-world video games that are filled with hundreds of in-game elements
1) EVE Online
EVE Online is one of the longest-running video games in the sci-fi space pilot genre. Initially released in 2003, the game has been running for over 19 years. It is a massive online space exploration title filled with real-time game economics, resources, galactic confederations, and spaceship combat.
The game is truly huge, with many galaxy clusters to explore and over 29 million players. It features intense space exploration and a large-scale combat system. What’s more? EVE Online also has real-time game money that can be converted to real money online. The title is rewarding, thrilling, beautiful, and massive.
2) No Man's Sky
Developed by Hello Games, No Man’s Sky is an unbelievably massive action-adventure survival game. Since the world is procedurally generated, it's essentially infinite in scope. Players get to explore a virtual universe filled with 4.2-billion-star systems and 18 quintillion explorable worlds.
Every world within the game is unique, detailed and so rich that it can keep players engaged for a long time. The entire point of No Man's Sky is endless exploration, and the game lacks any storyline as such. It is the ideal open-world game to play with a bunch of friends.
No Man's Sky's open world is so massive that even after playing for years, players will still have many regions to explore.
3) Assassin's Creed: Odyssey
Ubisoft ticked all the right boxes with its 2018 release, Assassin's Creed: Odyssey. It is the 11th edition of the fan-favorite action-adventure role-playing video game series. In this iteration, players get to choose either one of the Greek mercenary warriors, Alexios or his half-sister Kassandra, on a huge open-world map set in ancient Greece during the Peloponnesian War.
Through Assassin's Creed: Odyssey, Ubisoft transformed its stealth-based action-adventure games into a full-fledged role-playing action-adventure game. Thus, bringing in fresh engagement for gamers. Although assassinations and stealth killings are still at the core of the game, there is a lot more that Assassin's Creed: Odyssey brought to the table, that previous games of this particular series did not.
For instance, taking down military infrastructure or killing high-ranking generals can have a ripple effect on the overall course of the Peloponessian War (Athens vs Sparta). The responsive nature of the open-world game, wherein an action done hours before in the story can prove to be a make-or-break decision later, is what gives Assassin's Creed: Odyssey a real-world vibe.
Moreover, there are many interesting side quests such as killing influential politicians or a group of troublesome bandits, and a lot more to keep gamers occupied for a very long time in this open-world title. Assassin's Creed: Odyssey's scope is so massive and beautifully designed that players can just end up voyaging through the Greek countryside for many days.
4) Red Dead Redemption 2
Developed by the creators of the GTA Series, Rockstar Games’ Red Dead Redemption 2 is an epic action adventure that is set in the heartlands of America. The protagonist, Arthur Morgan, travels on horseback on one of the biggest open-world maps that is jam-packed with side quests and hidden features.
There are a ton of activities that players can do in the open world of Red Dead Redemption 2. They can go on a hunting spree and pitch a campfire at night to cook any game they have caught, and even take part in home invasions. They can also explore hidden locations to unlock cool side quests that may include killing a bunch of outlaws or bandits, and a whole lot more.
In addition to a very engaging storyline and numerous side quests, Red Dead Redemption 2 has one of the best in-game soundtracks compared to any other open-world game. All these features put together make Red Dead Redemption 2 a gem of an open-world game to immerse oneself in.
5) GTA 5
Rockstar’s legendary GTA series has never failed to amaze gamers with its sleek storyline and great character mechanics. GTA 5, with a storyline as interesting as San Andreas, and much-improved missions. Its Online mode also gives players the option to choose the modus operandi of the heists from different possibilities.
Unlike the previous editions, gamers get to play three characters – Franklin Clinton, Michael De Santa, and Trevor Philips. GTA 5 is easily one of the best open-world video games and has a ton of activities to do, stuff to buy, Easter eggs to explore, and side quests engaging enough to fool around for months in the open world.
GTA 5 is a great example of gamers having freedom as most missions are unique. They can also explore around for fun with a lot of cool entertainment activities on offer, from playing golf to becoming an entrepreneur, a gambler, or hanging out with friends.
5 huge open-world video games that are repetitive and exhausting
With open-world video games becoming bigger with each passing year, developers must realize that a bigger scale doesn’t necessarily mean better. Often, open-world titles end up becoming too vast and repetitive in nature. Here are five games that are too massive for their own good:
1) Cyberpunk 2077
Cyberpunk 2077 is the perfect embodiment of game developers pushing too hard. Even the hype generated before its release ended up being quite a spectacle at the end. At 79 sq miles, the game is not the biggest, but it feels like a huge map due to poor map design.
Cyberpunk 2077 has got everything - an excellent storyline with multiple endings depending on how players choose to play, brilliant character backstory, and enjoyable gameplay. However, the game falls short when it comes to open-world map design.
Cyberpunk's Night City landscape has a spectacularly beautiful neon night sky backdrop and is full of secrets waiting to be explored, from discovering Easter eggs to completing side quests assigned by Fixers (small-time criminal bosses) spread across the Night City.
Despite having such cool additional points of interest, Cyberpunk 2077 falls short of keeping gamers entertained for a long period of time. Fun activities and side missions, such as those assigned by the Fixers, for instance, tend to become repetitive at times.
Roaming around looking for things with no real sense of direction sounds cool only when the engagements have multiple possible outcomes. While there are plenty of activities to do in Cyberpunk 2077, such as taking a tram ride across the Night City, looking out for cool new threads to wear, and numerous others, it all ends up becoming rather dull and boring after a few hours of play.
2) Just Cause 3
Released in 2015, Just Cause 3 is a stunningly beautiful single-player, action-adventure game. The title is about liberating dozens of towns from the evil despot named Di Ravello. Players get to control the action-packed hero Rico Rodriguez, who operates as a one-man army.
The game is about continuous movement, and the combat mechanics are also frantic and controlled at the same time. Aiming feels great, and gunfire brings a precision touch to it as well. There are a ton of cool ways to traverse the vast 400 sq mile open-world landscape of Medici, which also includes gliding through a Parachute.
Despite its beautiful landscape, brilliant game design, and mechanics, Just Cause 3 didn’t quite hit the mark. Just Cause 3 is just too big at 400 sq miles. While traversing the map in a parachute may sound fun, the open world of Just Cause 3 has huge swathes of empty landscapes with no particular points of interest.
The points of interest are also located in the dozens of towns and bases in the open-world of Medici that need to be liberated. Everything else in between is a vast and beautiful landscape of absolute emptiness.
3) Test Drive Unlimited 2
Staged on the islands of Ibiza, Test Drive Unlimited 2 is a bold open-world racing game that tries to bring across many new elements into the open-world racing genre. This includes the ability to buy property on the island, decorate the property, show off exotic car collections to friends, and even the option to interact with other racers.
Although Test Drive Unlimited 2 brought many fresh ideas into the open-world racing game genre, the execution ended up being poor. Ugly character build-up and awful character voices combined with a vast open-world with very little to do added to the already existing woes in the game.
Test Drive Unlimited 2's open world is just too big, to the point that it becomes frustrating to drive around the map. Events and other points of interest are separated by long stretches of empty landscape. The biggest drawback of this particular open-world racing game is that there aren't as many events and points of interest.
4) Final Fantasy XV
With 700 sq. miles of open-world to explore, Final Fantasy XV brought one of the biggest role-playing action-adventure games. It is a spectacularly beautiful open-world game with a captivating storyline. The storyline alone requires over a hundred hours of gameplay to finish.
Set in the world of Lucis, the storyline is about the journey of Prince Noctis and his three friends - Gladiolus, Ignis, and Prompto - to defeat the evil tech-savvy Empire of Niflheim. Despite Lucis' open-world being incredibly vast and beautiful, filled with many side quests and activities, players often find it difficult to move around from Point A to Point B.
Maintaining the right logistics in Final Fantasy XV can be a little inconvenient at times for players, as they have to take care of many things like keeping the cars fueled-up or saving up for long-road trips. Even fast-travel waypoints are far apart on the map, which makes Final Fantasy XV an exhausting game due to its tediously long travel time.
5) Metal Gear Solid V: Phantom Pain
Developed by Konami Studio, Metal Gear Solid V: Phantom Pain is a huge survival game at 135 sq. miles.The narrative follows a mercenary commander named Venom Snake who returns to Soviet-occupied Afghanistan to avenge the death of his former army colleagues — nine years after the events of Ground Zero.
Despite its huge size and brilliant graphics, Metal Gear Solid V: Phantom Pain's storyline ends up being a tad too bland. At times, the story feels undercooked as it lacks a good build-up and thematic relevance. The story kicks-off on a brilliant note, but it tends to lose its focus and direction over the course of the gameplay.
Metal Gear Solid V truly gives its players a plethora of options when it comes to solving problems. There are literally hundreds of ways in which one can complete an objective or mission in Metal Gear Solid V.
It may go down in history as one of the best stealth-based action-adventure games ever made; however, that's about it when it comes to the open-world map. Aside from giving players a variety of ways to finish a storyline mission, the vast open-world lacks any real engagement besides completing missions in unique ways.
Moreover, the vast open world of Metal Gear Solid V: Phantom Pain offers sparse features and activities in the open world outside the main storyline. The map has vast empty regions with no particular point of interest, and the majority of the main story missions are clumped in one corner of the map.
