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With each passing year, open-world games are becoming even more immersive and impactful. However, there are some open-world games out there that stand out from the rest. Not only are they massive and highly engaging, but they also pull off a riveting tale that can leave gamers in awe after completion.
There are lots of beautifully designed open-world games out there that can often flood the minds of gamers with too much information and content. The best open-world games are player-driven and do not handhold gamers about where to go and when to go.
Here is a handpicked list of some of the best open-world games that have changed the way gamers from all around the world view the genre.
The 5 most impactful open-world games of the last decade
1) The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (2017)
When The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild first came around, it was like a breath of fresh air in a world dominated by hive-minded open-world games. For the first time, Nintendo players could interact with the open world at their own pace. It is truly a boundary-breaking game with a laid-back vibe.
It is an absolute delight to roam around the dreamy landscape of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. The graphics really made this open-world title stand out from the rest. Add to that, the rich storytelling of Zelda: Breath of the Wild can leave gamers speechless.
The sweeping and pleasant-looking landscape of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was so well-received by the gaming community that it inspired a string of other game developers and publishers to come up with equally endearing open-world titles.
Genshin Impact, Immortals: Fenyx Rising, Oceanhorn, Windbound, and the Horizon Zero series are similar games that followed The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild’s success mantra.
2) The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (2011)
The Elder Scrolls series is one of the oldest and most popular role-playing action-adventure franchises that enjoys a cult like following. Developed by Bethesda Game Studios, over the years, the Elder Scrolls series has delivered some evergreen classics that include Morrowind, Oblivion, and Skyrim. However, the Skyrim title is perhaps Bethesda Studios' greatest achievement so far.
Released a decade ago, The Elders Scrolls V: Skyrim provided a huge open-world game for its era, and for the first time offered players lots of engaging features and elements unlike other open-world titles of the time. The game has become the new high standard for future open-world titles and has inspired many others to follow its path towards success.
3) Red Dead Redemption 2 (2018)
The amount of detail put into the open world of Red Dead Redemption 2 by developers Rockstar Games is commendable. Red Dead Redemption 2 not only has a gorgeously beautiful open-world setting, but the game developers have been able to maintain it flawlessly throughout the godsmakingly huge open-world map. For this reason alone, Red Dead Redemption 2 has to go down as one of the genre defining open-world games made recently.
Red Dead Redemption 2 also manages to create dynamic interactions in the open-world with well-made characters. The title also boasts one of the best written storylines as the players follow the journey of an outlaw well complemented by lively in-game characters. It’s a must play game for any open-world game lover.
4) Borderlands 2 (2012)
Borderlands 2 is a genre-defining first-person shooter open-world title in the sense that the game gave birth to an entire sub-genre of open-world games, the shooter-looters. Shooting and looting games offer a different kind of thrill altogether. The urge to hunt down the rarest and most powerful weapons and test them out on a bunch of enemies is a fulfilling feeling that Borderlands-inspired games can bring the best out of.
Games such as Destiny 2 and Rage 2 are successful shooter-looters that followed suit on Borderlands 2’s juggernaut.
However, Borderlands 2 is not just about its genre-defining gameplay mechanics. Beyond the fast-paced combat scenes, Borderlands 2 is a beautifully made open world brimming with creativity.
The well-articulated narrative of Pandora, coupled with some of the quirkiest characters players can come across in first-person shooter history, makes Borderlands 2 one heck of a ride.
5) Elden Ring (2022)
No game has been able to make a bigger impact this year than Elden Ring. Elden Ring is an RPG title that has made waves across the gaming industry, with the freedom offered to players to customize their own unique characters and set foot on an epic adventure across a massive open world that is richly detailed to perfection.
There is so much that Elden Ring has to offer. There are massive boss fights, there are secrets to be discovered, lore to follow, magical abilities to possess, and creatures to summon. No other open-world title can match up to the scale of detail and magnanimity that Elden Ring has to offer and expect it to remain like this for quite a few more years.
Like Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Elden Ring’s open world provides players with a sense of freedom to explore like no other. Elden Ring is perhaps the only open-world game that has been able to generate a similar impact that Zelda: Breath of the Wild made when it was first released.
