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Open world games are one of the most played video game genres. Their popularity stems from the fact that players can spend dozens and dozens of hours in these titles, exploring the vast openness and partaking in many side activities alongside the primary campaign.
Open-world games are some of the most riveting experiences users can have. However, most such modern titles, more often than not, resort to repetitive and tedious quest designs, like the mundane fetch quests in games like Assassin's Creed, Far Cry, or the like, which can end up frustrating gamers.
With open-world games growing bigger by the day, it is understandable that not every single side quest or activity can be unique in terms of gameplay or narrative. Still, most run-of-the-mill open-world titles often go overboard with repetitive content littering their maps, which can easily break a player's immersion.
However, some games contradict the repetitive nature of modern AAA open-world games.
Note: The article is subjective and reflects the author's opinions.
Five great open-world games that stray away from repetitive content to fill their maps
5) The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim
The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim is essentially the poster child of open-world fantasy role-playing games. At this point, Skyrim is more than a decade old, and it's awe-inspiring how it is unmatched when it comes to its world and player freedom.
Skyrim is a household name due to how many revisions and remasters the game has received. Despite its age, it still goes on to sell well, and that's for a good reason. It gives gamers full liberty on how they want to play and experience the world of Skyrim.
If they want to become noble warriors and serve the Jarls of the nine Holds, they can. They can if they wish to become mages and learn forbidden sorcery and conjurations.
Players can even become thieves and make a living out of stealing from the many NPCs in the game. The possibilities are near endless with Skyrim.
Even more impressive is how Skyrim gives all this freedom without ever settling for repetitive and mundane quests design. Every quest that users partake in, and every other dungeon they explore, is unique, giving them a fresh and distinct experience every time they jump into the title.
4) The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is possibly one of the best modern open-world role-playing games. It is known for its narrative and branching quests that allow players to make some very crucial decisions during their playthrough that have ripple effects hours down the line in the story.
The plot in The Witcher 3's side quests features more storytelling depth than what most modern AAA games have in their main storyline. It also excels in its gameplay variety, with assorted and exciting activities and quests littered around its massive open world map.
From hunting abhorrent and gnarly creatures to a robust card game, The Witcher 3 is filled with varied gameplay and narrative experiences for players. Whether exploring through the lush fields of Toussaint or the bustling streets of Novigrad, gamers are bound to stumble upon something fun and unique to do.
3) The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is one of the most unique open-world experiences as it relies heavily on its environment and moment-to-moment gameplay to engage players rather than a compelling narrative. Although not bad by any measure, the story is bland and basic and only serves as a reason to drive the stellar gameplay.
Waking up as Link and stepping out of the Shrine of Resurrection for the first time and seeing the vast open vistas of Hyrule is one of gaming's most memorable and breathtaking moments. The game actively encourages users to explore Hyrule and find fun and unique ways to engage with various puzzles and combat encounters.
The quest design in Breath of the Wild follows a hands-free approach, allowing them to tackle a variety of side quests and main story quests at their leisure. The open world is also reasonably varied with different locales, like a city in the desert, a town high up in the clouds, and one situated atop a mountain surrounded by hot magma.
The title heavily relies on gamers creating adventures through the land of Hyrule without forcing them into a set linear path. It's impressive how the developers were able to cram so much detail and variety into the game without compromising the gameplay experience for fans.
2) Red Dead Redemption 2
Red Dead Redemption 2 is highly influential, making it an iconic game of the modern gaming era. It weaves its narrative with its gameplay and world immaculately, giving players one of the most immersive open-world experiences to date.
The title's visual prowess and open-world depth stand uncontested even some four years after its release. Red Dead Redemption 2 has small stories and unique experiences in every corner of the world.
Arthur Morgan's story is one of friendship and betrayal, and by the end of the game, users grow so attached to the characters that it becomes tough to see the story reach its conclusion.
The world of Red Dead Redemption 2 is massive, filled with bustling cities, ragged countrysides, and lush forests. The quests are no slouch either, with every activity gamers partake in having some narrative attached.
The open world of Red Dead Redemption 2 begs to be explored and handsomely rewards readers for it, be it with some unforgettable stories or unique gameplay experiences.
1) Elden Ring
Elden Ring is FromSoftware's first venture into the open world genre, and they practically nailed the true essence of this experience with their debut.
Known for pioneering the 'souls-like' sub-genre of action games with their Dark Souls titles, the company always relied on creating tightly knit, interconnected levels in their games which, although explorable, do not constitute an open world.
Their recent titles, Dark Souls 3 and Sekiro, displayed glimpses of open-world design in their map layout, but the concept was never fully realized until Elden Ring. Upon release, this game was met with universal critical acclaim, with critics and players praising its vast open world and uncompromised difficulty, a core tenet of the developers' works.
It sees users explore the Lands Between to uncover the mystery of the shattering of the titular Elden Ring. The game's world actively encourages them to explore, with a plethora of catacombs and dungeons littered across the massive map of the Lands Between.
The title puts gamer freedom at the forefront with a massive array of weapons, sorceries, incantations, and other combat options that allow them to create unique builds and carve adventures throughout the world.
It also features a massive variety in its environment, from the lush and vibrant Limgrave and the desolate and decaying Caelid to the snow-covered mountain tops of the Giants and more.
Playing Elden Ring never feels repetitive or mundane, even after exploring the world for hundreds of hours. Individuals are bound to find something new every time they jump into it, be it a character quest they missed, a new weapon, an unexplored dungeon, or even an entirely new area.
Note: This article is subjective and reflects the author's opinion.
